Numbers 4:28

Summary

This verse closes the section on the Gershonite Levitical clans by summarizing their assigned work ('a.vo.Dat, H5656H) at the Tent of Meeting. It also states that their oversight (Mish.mar.Ta, H4931 + suffix) falls under the authority of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.

Key words

• 'a.vo.Dat ("service of", H5656H) — feminine singular construct noun, opening a construct chain that defines the whole clause as a summary statement about labor/duty.
• mish.pe.Chot ("clans of", H4940) — feminine plural construct, links the service to the specific family groupings within the Gershonite line, not to individuals.
• ge.re.shu.Ni ("Gershonite", H1649) — gentilic form with definite article (ha., H9009), identifying the descent group as a collective class rather than a proper name alone.
• Mish.mar.Ta ("duty", H4931) with pronominal suffix -m ("their") — construct noun marking a distinct term from 'a.vo.Dat, referring to the guarding/charge aspect of their work.
• be.yad ("in the hand of", from H9003 + H3027H) — construct phrase expressing subordination, placing the Gershonites' duty under Ithamar's authority.

What the text says

The verse is built as two parallel statements joined by we- ("and", H9002). The first, introduced by the demonstrative zot ("this", H2063), functions as a summary formula: "this is the 'a.vo.Dat of the mishpechot of the bene of the Gershonite," a chain of four construct nouns narrowing from general "service" down to the specific clan-descent group, followed by the locative phrase be-'Ohel Mo'ed ("in the Tent of Meeting", H0168G + H4150I), which anchors where this service occurs.

The second clause shifts vocabulary from 'a.vo.Dat ("service") to mishmarTam ("their duty/charge"), using a different root (H4931) with a third-person plural suffix referring back to the Gershonite clans. This duty is placed be-yad ("in the hand of", H3027H), an idiom of authority and oversight, over Ithamar, identified through a genealogical chain: ben Aharon ha-kohen ("son of Aaron the priest"). The Hebrew grammar thus distinguishes between the nature of the work (service, H5656H) and its administrative supervision (duty/charge, H4931), a distinction not always visible when both are translated by a single English word like "duty" or "service."

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ge.re.shu.Ni ("Gershonite", H1649) as the proper name "Γεδσών" (Gedsōn), treating the clan designation as a personal/tribal name rather than the gentilic adjective form used in the Hebrew. The Vulgate similarly reads "familiæ Gersonitarum" ("family of the Gersonites"), aligning more closely with the collective clan sense of the Hebrew mish.pe.Chot + ge.re.shu.Ni construction.