Numbers 34:8

Summary

The verse continues the description of Israel's northern border, instructing that the boundary line be marked from Mount Hor toward Lebo-hamath, with the outer limits of the border reaching Zedad.

Key words

• Hor ("Hor", H2023H) — proper name of a mountain, marking the starting point of this boundary segment; preceded by me ("from", H9006).
• tetaU ("you will mark out", H8376) — piel imperfect, second person masculine plural; the piel stem gives an intensive or deliberate nuance to the act of "marking" or "delineating" the border, addressed collectively to those tracing the line.
• leVo' ("Lebo", H0935H) — qal infinitive construct of the verb "to come/enter"; functions here as part of the place name or as a directional indication toward Hamath, literally "the entrance of" or "coming to."
• hayU ("they will be", H1961) — qal sequential perfect, third person plural; continues the narrative chain begun with tetaU, projecting the resulting state once the border is drawn.
• totz'ot ("extremities of", H8444) — feminine plural construct noun, meaning "outgoings" or "limits"; grammatically bound to ha-gevul ("the border", H1366G), forming the phrase "the outgoings of the border."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence structure moves from an initial spatial marker (me-Hor ha-Har, "from Mount Hor") to a command verb (tetaU, "you will mark out") directed at an implied collective subject — likely the officials tasked with delimiting tribal territory, as established earlier in the chapter. The infinitive leVo' attached to Chamat ("Hamath", H2574G) creates a directional phrase: the marking proceeds "toward the entrance of Hamath" or possibly references a place called Lebo-hamath, since leVo' can function either as a common infinitive ("to come to") or as part of a proper toponym, as some translations treat it.

The narrative vav on ve-hayU ("and they will be") shifts the verb to a sequential perfect, a construction that continues the logical/temporal flow from the preceding imperfect verb tetaU. This creates a two-part structure: first the action of marking the border (imperfect), then the resulting state of where the border's outer points will fall (sequential perfect). The noun phrase totz'ot ha-gevul ("the extremities of the border") is in construct state, binding "extremities" tightly to "the border" as its defining noun. The final word Tzedada carries a directional he suffix ("towards Zedad"), indicating the border's endpoint without requiring a separate preposition.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders leVo' Chamat as εἰσπορευομένων εἰς Ἑμάθ ("as they enter into Hamath"), treating the Hebrew infinitive as a participial clause describing the border-markers' entry into Hamath territory, rather than as a place name. The Vulgate similarly reads "venient in Emath" ("they shall come into Emath"), following a verbal reading close to the LXX. Some modern translations (BSB, SBLIBRE) instead treat "Lebo-hamath" as a single place name, reflecting a different interpretive choice about whether leVo' functions verbally or as part of a toponym.