Numbers 33:48

Summary

The verse records a stage in the wilderness itinerary of Numbers 33: the Israelites depart from the mountains of Abarim and set up camp in the plains of Moab, next to the Jordan across from Jericho. It is a simple two-clause narrative sentence typical of this chapter's travel-list style.

Key words

• va-yis'u ("and they set out", H5265) — qal narrative verb (vav-consecutive imperfect), marking the first event of the sequence: departure.
• harei ("mountains of", H2022G) — masculine plural noun in construct state, linking directly to the following place name.
• ha-Avarim ("the Abarim", H5682) — proper name of a mountain range, definite by the article ha (H9009).
• va-yachanu ("and they encamped", H2583) — second qal narrative verb, marking the resulting action: settling into camp.
• arvot ("plains of", H6160I) — construct-state noun designating the flat/steppe terrain of Moab where the camp is placed.

What the text says

The verse is built on two verbs joined by the narrative vav (H9001), producing the classic "and X happened, and then Y happened" chain found throughout the itinerary list of Numbers 33: va-yis'u ("they set out") followed by va-yachanu ("they encamped"). Both verbs are third-person masculine plural, referring back to the collective "sons of Israel" understood from the wider list, with no subject stated explicitly in this verse.

The locations are expressed through construct chains: harei ha-Avarim, literally "mountains-of the-Abarim," and arvot Mo'av, literally "plains-of Moab." The final geographic marker, Yarden Yericho ("Jordan-of-Jericho"), is likewise a construct pair, syntactically presenting the Jordan as "belonging to" or associated with Jericho, rather than using a separate preposition to link the two place names. The preposition 'al (H5921A, "at/by/upon") introduces this last phrase, situating the camp spatially relative to the river.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew arvot (H6160I, "plains/steppes") is rendered in the LXX as δυσμῶν ("the west" or "the setting/sunset side"), a different semantic domain than the Hebrew's flat terrain sense. The Vulgate's campestria ("flat lands, plains") aligns more closely with the Hebrew meaning than the LXX's "west."

The Hebrew construct phrase Yarden Yericho ("Jordan-of-Jericho") is split in both the LXX (ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου κατὰ Ἰερειχώ, "at the Jordan, opposite/according to Jericho") and the Vulgate (supra Jordanem, contra Jericho, "above/upon the Jordan, opposite Jericho") into two separate prepositional phrases rather than preserving the single construct-chain structure of the Hebrew.