Numbers 34:18

Summary

Numbers 34:18 instructs that one leader be taken from each tribe to carry out the allotment of the land. The Hebrew achieves the distributive sense ("one from each tribe") through a doubled phrase rather than a single distributive word.

Key words

• nasi ("a leader", H5387A) — masculine singular noun, repeated twice in the verse to create a distributive meaning ("one leader per tribe" rather than simply "one leader").
• 'echad ("one", H0259) — cardinal number, also repeated twice; paired with nasi each time to form the idiomatic doubling construction.
• matteh ("a tribe", H4294H) — masculine singular noun with the prefixed preposition mi ("from", H9006), specifying the source of each leader.
• tikchu ("you will take", H3947G) — Qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural, the main verb of the clause, addressed to a plural group (continuing the instruction begun in the surrounding verses).
• linchol ("to give as inheritance", H5157) — Qal infinitive with prefixed li ("to"), expressing the purpose of the action: the leaders are taken in order to allot the land.

What the text says

The verse's grammatical core is the sequence nasi 'echad nasi 'echad mi-matteh — literally "a leader one, a leader one, from a tribe." This doubling of nasi 'echad is a Biblical Hebrew strategy for expressing distribution: rather than using a single word meaning "each," the text repeats the phrase "one leader" to indicate that the action applies individually, tribe by tribe. The verb tikchu ("you will take") then governs this doubled phrase, addressed to a plural audience (masculine plural verbal form), meaning the instruction is directed at a group — grammatically continuing from the preceding verses' address to Moses and Eleazar or to the Israelite leadership more broadly.

The purpose of taking these leaders is expressed by the infinitive linchol, built on the root H5157, which relates to allotting or distributing an inheritance. This infinitive, prefixed with li ("to"), turns the clause into a purpose statement: the leaders are selected for the task of causing the land (ha'aretz, marked by the direct object particle 'et) to be inherited or allotted.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew's distributive doubling (nasi 'echad nasi 'echad mi-matteh) is rendered differently across versions. The LXX uses a single archonta hena ek phyles ("one ruler from a tribe"), without repeating "one," relying on the singular construction alone to imply distribution across tribes. The Vulgate instead uses paired plural-singular forms, singuli principes de tribubus singulis ("individual leaders from individual tribes"), employing Latin's own distributive vocabulary (singuli) rather than repetition. Both LXX and Vulgate achieve a distributive sense through different grammatical means than the Hebrew's word-repetition strategy.