Numbers 34:29

Summary

This verse closes a list by identifying the men whom Yehovah commanded to distribute the land of Canaan as an inheritance to the Israelites. It functions as a colophon summarizing the preceding section, which named the leaders assigned to this task.

Key words

• 'E.leh ("these", H0428) — demonstrative particle opening the verse, pointing back to the persons named earlier in the chapter.
• tzi.Vah ("he commanded", H6680) — piel perfect of the verb, indicating a completed, intensive act of command performed by the subject that follows.
• Yah.weh ("Yehovah", H3068G) — the divine name, grammatical subject of the verb tzi.Vah.
• na.Chel ("to apportion as an inheritance", H5157) — piel infinitive, expressing the purpose or content of the command; the infinitive form ties the action of dividing land directly to the verb of commanding.
• be.nei- ("[the] people of", H1121G) — construct plural noun, linking "sons/people" to "Israel" in a construct chain meaning "the sons of Israel."

What the text says

The sentence is built as a nominal clause introduced by the demonstrative 'E.leh ("these"), followed by the relative particle 'a.Sher ("whom"), which introduces a subordinate clause describing who these men are: those whom Yehovah commanded. The main verb of that subordinate clause is tzi.Vah ("he commanded"), a piel perfect verb with Yehovah as its subject. The piel stem here carries an intensive or directive nuance, consistent with the idea of formal, authoritative command.

The purpose of the command is expressed through the infinitive construct na.Chel ("to apportion as an inheritance"), preceded by the preposition le- ("to/for"). This infinitive construction indicates the task assigned: to divide the land into inheritances. The direct object marker 'et- introduces the recipients of this action, be.nei- Yis.ra.'El ("the sons of Israel"), a construct chain meaning "the people of Israel." Finally, the prepositional phrase be- 'E.retz Ke.na.'an ("in the land of Canaan") specifies the geographic location where this apportioning is to take place, itself built as a construct chain ("land of Canaan").

The verse thus functions structurally as a summary statement, using the demonstrative-relative construction typical of concluding formulas in lists, tying the preceding named individuals to the divine command and its purpose.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew uses the infinitive na.Chel ("to apportion as an inheritance to"), which the LXX renders with καταμερίσαι ("to divide/allot"), a comparable but more general term for division without the specific inheritance nuance carried by the Hebrew piel form. The Vulgate uses dividerent ("they should divide"), also a general division term, and explicitly adds terram ("the land") as a direct object, making the land itself the thing divided, whereas the Hebrew syntax places "the sons of Israel" as the direct object of the apportioning verb, with "in the land of Canaan" as a separate locative phrase.