Numbers 4:33

Summary

This verse closes the section on the Merarite Levites by summarizing their assigned 'avodah ("service", H5656H) at the Tent of Meeting. It states that this labor falls under the authority of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.

Key words

• zot ("this", H2063) — demonstrative particle opening the verse; it points back to the preceding list of Merarite duties and functions as the subject of a summarizing nominal sentence.
• 'avodat ("service of", H5656H) — feminine singular construct; links to mishpechot ("clans of", H4940) to form the chain "service of the clans of."
• bene Merari ("descendants of Merari", H1121G + H4847) — construct chain naming the specific Levitical family in view.
• kol-'avodatam ("all their service", H3605 + H5656H + H9028) — the construct noun kol plus 'avodah with a 3rd person plural suffix, generalizing the scope of duties described earlier in the chapter.
• be-yad ("in the hand of", H9003 + H3027H) — idiomatic construct phrase indicating oversight or authority, here assigning supervision to Ithamar.

What the text says

The verse is built as a nominal clause: zot ("this") is the subject, and 'avodat mishpechot bene Merari ("the service of the clans of the descendants of Merari") is the predicate noun phrase, formed through a chain of construct relationships ('avodat → mishpechot → bene → Merari). This construct chain expresses a nested possessive relationship: the service belongs to the clans, which belong to the descendants, who are identified as Merari's lineage.

The phrase le-khol-'avodatam ("for all their service") uses the preposition le ("to/for") with the construct noun kol ("all/every") plus 'avodah with the possessive suffix -am ("their"), broadening the reference to encompass every task previously enumerated for this group. The following prepositional phrase be-'ohel mo'ed ("in the Tent of Meeting", H0168G + H4150I) locates this labor spatially.

The closing phrase be-yad Itamar ben-Aharon ha-kohen ("in the hand of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest") uses the idiom be-yad ("in the hand of"), a common Biblical Hebrew expression denoting administrative authority or charge, not literal physical handling. The construct chain ben-Aharon ("son of Aaron") further identifies Ithamar by patrilineage, and ha-kohen ("the priest", H3548 with definite article H9009) specifies Aaron's priestly role.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders mishpechot ("clans", plural, H4940) with the singular δήμου ("of a clan/people"), producing a singular collective where the Hebrew has a plural construct. The Vulgate restructures the clause into two coordinated statements — "Hoc est officium familiae Meraritarum et ministerium in tabernaculo foederis" — splitting what the Hebrew presents as a single construct chain, and adds a future verb "eruntque" ("and they shall be") not present in the Hebrew nominal clause, framing the authority of Ithamar as a future state rather than a present descriptive fact.