Numbers 4:26

Summary

Numbers 4:26 continues the list of Gershonite duties, specifying the courtyard curtains, the screen at the entrance gate, the ropes, and the equipment used in service. The verse closes with a general clause covering "whatever is done" with these items, followed by the notice that this constitutes their service.

Key words

• kal'ei ("curtains of", H7050B) — masculine plural construct, opening a chain of construct nouns naming courtyard components.
• masakh ("screen of", H4539) — masculine singular construct, paired with a string of dependent genitives (petach, sha'ar) to pinpoint the exact object: the screen located at the entrance of the gate of the courtyard.
• meitrei ("ropes of", H4340) with suffix hem ("their", H9028) — construct plural noun plus pronominal suffix, meaning "their ropes," referring back to the previously named structures.
• ye'aseh ("it will be done", H6213A) — niphal (passive) imperfect, third person, expressing an unspecified future action performed on these objects without naming an agent.
• 'avadu ("they will serve", H5647H) — qal sequential perfect (vav-consecutive), which continues the narrative sequence and shifts to describe the resulting service performed.

What the text says

The verse is built almost entirely from a chain of construct phrases governed by direct object markers ('et, H0853), each introducing an item entrusted to the Gershonites: the curtains of the courtyard, the screen of the entrance of the gate of the courtyard, the ropes belonging to these structures, and "all the equipment of their service" (kol kelei 'avodatam). This construct-chain syntax allows Hebrew to stack multiple genitive relationships (curtain → courtyard; screen → entrance → gate → courtyard) without repeating verbs, producing a dense inventory list typical of priestly administrative texts.

The final clause shifts grammatical voice: kol 'asher ye'aseh lahem ("all that will be done for/with them") uses a niphal imperfect, leaving the agent unspecified — the action is described as happening to the objects rather than naming who performs it. The sequential perfect ve'avadu ("and they shall serve") then closes the verse, linking back to the subject of the wider passage (the Gershonites) and indicating that this list of duties constitutes their ongoing service function.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the courtyard/altar clause more loosely, referring to "the tent of testimony" (σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου) rather than mirroring the Hebrew's paired references to mishkan ("tabernacle", H4908) and mizbeach ("altar", H4196). Where the Hebrew ends with a passive ye'aseh ("it will be done") followed by ve'avadu ("they shall serve"), the LXX uses an active future verb, ποιήσουσιν ("they will do"), collapsing the two Hebrew clauses into one action performed by an implied subject. The Vulgate text provided ends mid-list at "vasa ministerii" ("vessels of service"), without rendering the final Hebrew clause about future action and service found in the Masoretic Text.