Numbers 7:11

Summary

Yehovah instructs Moses that the tribal leaders are to bring their offerings for the dedication of the altar, one leader per day. The Hebrew phrase "one leader for the day" is stated twice before the verb, establishing a distributive schedule for the offerings.

Key words

• nasi ("a leader", H5387A) — appears twice, both times as an indefinite masculine singular noun, without article, functioning as the distributive subject ("a leader... a leader...").
• 'echad ("one", H0259) — cardinal number repeated after each nasi, reinforcing the one-per-unit structure ("one leader, one leader").
• yaqrivu ("they will bring near", H7126H) — hiphil imperfect, third person plural, the causative form of "to draw near"; though the subjects named are grammatically singular ("a leader"), the verb is plural, referring collectively to all the leaders across the days.
• qorbanam ("their offering", H7133A + H9028) — construct noun with third-person plural suffix, singular in form despite the plural referents, indicating each leader's individual offering.
• chanukat ("dedication of", H2598) — feminine singular construct, linked to hamizbeach ("the altar", H4196) to form the phrase "dedication of the altar".

What the text says

The verse opens with the standard narrative formula vayomer Yehovah 'el-Mosheh ("and Yehovah said to Moses"), introducing direct speech. The core instruction is built on a doubled phrase: nasi 'echad layom ("one leader for the day") is stated twice in immediate succession. This repetition is a Hebrew narrative technique used to express distribution — one leader per day, then a second one leader per day — effectively meaning "on each day, one leader." The verb that follows, yaqrivu ("they will bring near"), is plural, referring to the leaders collectively even though each phrase describing them individually is singular. This shift from singular subject-phrases to a plural verb reflects the cumulative sense: each day sees one leader acting, but taken together they "bring near" their offerings.

The noun qorbanam ("their offering") is singular in form with a plural suffix, so grammatically it reads as "their [singular] offering," matching the one-offering-per-leader pattern. The purpose clause lachanukat hamizbeach ("for the dedication of the altar") uses a construct chain, tying the offering action directly to the altar's inauguration.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the doubled Hebrew phrase as "Ἄρχων εἷς καθ' ἡμέραν, ἄρχων καθ' ἡμέραν" ("one leader per day, a leader per day"), dropping the numeral "one" in the second occurrence where the Hebrew repeats 'echad. The LXX also translates qorbanam as "τὰ δῶρα αὐτῶν" ("their gifts"), a plural noun, differing from the singular construct noun in the Hebrew. The Vulgate condenses the doubled Hebrew phrase into a single clause, "Singuli duces per singulos dies" ("each of the leaders, on each of the days"), which conveys the distributive sense but does not preserve the Hebrew's literal repetition of nasi 'echad layom.