Numbers 35:5
וּמַדֹּתֶם מִחוּץ לָעִיר אֶת־פְּאַת־קֵדְמָה אַלְפַּיִם בָּֽאַמָּה וְאֶת־פְּאַת־נֶגֶב אַלְפַּיִם בָּאַמָּה וְאֶת־פְּאַת־יָם׀ אַלְפַּיִם בָּֽאַמָּה וְאֵת פְּאַת צָפוֹן אַלְפַּיִם בָּאַמָּה וְהָעִיר בַּתָּוֶךְ זֶה יִהְיֶה לָהֶם מִגְרְשֵׁי הֶעָרִֽים׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
Tap a word to see its entry
✦ The same verse in five languages
וּמַדֹּתֶ֞ם מִח֣וּץ לָעִ֗יר אֶת־פְּאַת־קֵ֣דְמָה אַלְפַּ֪יִם בָּֽאַמָּ֟ה וְאֶת־פְּאַת־נֶגֶב֩ אַלְפַּ֨יִם בָּאַמָּ֜ה וְאֶת־פְּאַת־יָ֣ם׀ אַלְפַּ֣יִם בָּֽאַמָּ֗ה וְאֵ֨ת פְּאַ֥ת צָפ֛וֹן אַלְפַּ֥יִם בָּאַמָּ֖ה וְהָעִ֣יר בַּתָּ֑וֶךְ זֶ֚ה יִהְיֶ֣ה לָהֶ֔ם מִגְרְשֵׁ֖י הֶעָרִֽים׃
καὶ μετρήσεις ἔξω τῆς πόλεως τὸ κλίτος τὸ πρὸς ἀνατολὰς δισχιλίους καὶ τὸ κλίτος τὸ πρὸς λίβα δισχιλίους πήχεις, καὶ τὸ κλίτος τὸ θάλασσαν δισχιλίους πήχεις, καὶ τὸ κλίτος τὸ πμὸς βορρᾶν πήχεις. καὶ ἡ πόλις μέσον τούτου ἔσται ὑμῖν, καὶ τὰ ὅμορα τῶν
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Contra orientem duo millia erunt cubiti, et contra meridiem similiter erunt duo millia: ad mare quoque, quod respicit ad occidentem, eadem mensura erit, et septentrionalis plaga æquali termino finietur, eruntque urbes in medio, et foris suburbana.
Fuera de la muralla medirán dos mil codos hacia el este, dos mil hacia el sur, dos mil hacia el oeste y dos mil hacia el norte, dejando a la ciudad en el centro. Así serán los campos de pastoreo para sus ciudades.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Luego mediréis fuera de la ciudad á la parte del oriente dos mil codos, y á la parte del mediodía dos mil codos, y á la parte del occidente dos mil codos, y á la parte del norte dos mil codos, y la ciudad en medio: esto tendrán por los ejidos de las ciudades.
You are also to measure two thousand cubits outside the city on the east, two thousand on the south, two thousand on the west, and two thousand on the north, with the city in the center. These areas will serve as larger pasturelands for the cities.
✦ What the text says
Summary
The verse instructs measuring outward from the city on all four sides — east, south, west, and north — each side extending two thousand cubits, with the city positioned at the center. This measured area is designated as pasture land belonging to the cities (referring to the Levitical cities established in the preceding verses).
Key words
- ma.do.Tem ("you will measure", H4058) — qal sequential perfect, second person masculine plural, continuing the narrative instruction begun earlier in the chapter.
- pe.'at ("side of", H6285) — feminine singular construct noun, repeated four times to introduce each cardinal direction (qedmah "east" H6924B, negev "south" H5045H, yam "west" H3220H, tzafon "north" H6828G).
- 'al.Pa.yim ("two thousand", H0505G) — cardinal number in dual form, repeated identically for each of the four sides, fixing the same distance in all directions.
- ba.'a.Mah ("by the cubit", H0520A) — feminine singular noun with prefixed preposition and article, specifying the unit of measurement for each distance.
- mig.re.Shei ("pasture lands of", H4054) — masculine plural construct noun, naming the legal/functional category of the measured land.
What the text says
The verse is built as a single extended clause governed by the verb ma.do.Tem ("you will measure", H4058), a qal sequential perfect that carries forward the instruction from the previous verse. After this verb, four parallel phrases follow, each introduced by the direct object marker 'et (H0853) plus the construct noun pe.'at ("side of", H6285) attached to a directional noun — qedmah (east), negev (south), yam (west), and tzafon (north). Each phrase ends with the identical numeral 'al.Pa.yim ("two thousand", H0505G) followed by ba.'a.Mah ("by the cubit", H0520A), so the same measurement is stated four times without variation, only the directional noun changing.
The clause ve.ha.'Ir ba.Ta.vekh ("and the city [will be] in the middle") uses no verb, relying on the preposition ba ("in the") plus Ta.vekh ("middle", H8432) to place the city spatially at the center of the four measured sides. The final sentence shifts to a nominal construction: zeh yih.Yeh la.hem ("this will belong to them"), using the qal imperfect yih.Yeh (H1961) to assign ongoing possession, followed by mig.re.Shei he.'a.Rim ("pasture lands of the cities", H4054 + H5892B), a construct chain that defines the measured perimeter as pastureland attached to the cities mentioned earlier in the chapter.
Differences between versions
The Septuagint text as given breaks off before completing the fourth direction (πρὸς βορρᾶν) with a number, showing an apparent gap in the transmitted Greek text at that point, where the Hebrew supplies 'al.Pa.yim ("two thousand", H0505G) for the north side as well. The Vulgate renders the four sides somewhat differently in sequence and phrasing (using "urbes" plural where the Hebrew has ha.'Ir singular with the article), though the numerical values themselves agree with the Hebrew.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.