Numbers 36:5

Summary

Moses relays a directive to the Israelites that comes "by the mouth of Yehovah" (i.e., under divine authority), declaring that the tribe of the descendants of Joseph is speaking correctly. The verse functions as a narrative bridge, introducing the ruling that follows in the subsequent verses.

Key words

• va-yetzav ("and he commanded", H6680) — piel narrative form; the piel stem gives the verb an intensive/causative force, "to command with authority," continuing the narrative chain from the vav.
• pi ("mouth of", H6310I) — construct noun forming the idiom al-pi, "on/by the mouth of," used to indicate the source of an instruction.
• ken ("right", H3651A) — adjective used here adverbially, asserting that the previous statement (the Josephite tribe's claim, referenced from the prior context) is correct.
• matteh ("tribe of", H4294H) — masculine singular construct, grammatically singular though it heads a plural predicate.
• doverim ("speaking", H1696G) — qal participle, masculine plural; describes an ongoing or characteristic action ("are speaking") rather than a completed one.

What the text says

The sentence opens with va-yetzav ("and he commanded", H6680), a piel verb that carries more force than a simple qal "to say," marking Moses' act as an authoritative command directed at benei Yisra'el ("the people of Israel", H1121G + H3478). The phrase al-pi Yehovah ("on the mouth of Yehovah", H5921A + H6310I + H3068) is an idiomatic construction meaning that the command originates from Yehovah, with Moses acting as intermediary. The infinitive le'mor ("saying", H0559) introduces the reported speech that follows.

The quoted content begins with ken ("right", H3651A), an adjective functioning adverbially to affirm correctness, followed by matteh benei-Yosef ("the tribe of the descendants of Joseph", H4294H + H1121G + H3130G) as the subject, and doverim ("speaking", H1696G) as a plural participle predicate. Although matteh is grammatically singular, the participle agrees in a plural form, treating the tribe as a collective of individuals — a common feature in Biblical Hebrew where a collective noun can take plural verbal agreement to emphasize the members rather than the abstract unit.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders al-pi Yehovah ("on the mouth of Yehovah") as διὰ προστάγματος Κυρίου, "through the command of the Lord" — replacing the "mouth" idiom with "command/injunction" (πρόσταγμα). The Vulgate diverges further, opening with "Respondit Moyses" ("Moses answered"), a verb not present in the Hebrew, and rendering the source clause as an ablative absolute, "Domino præcipiente" ("the Lord commanding"). The Vulgate also converts the Hebrew participle doverim ("speaking", ongoing) into a perfect, "locuta est" ("has spoken"), shifting the aspect from an ongoing characterization to a completed statement.