Numbers 7:24

Summary

The verse identifies the tribal leader who presented offerings on the third day of the dedication ceremony: Eliab, son of Helon, is named as the nasi ("leader", H5387A) of the descendants of Zebulun. The verse consists of a temporal phrase followed by a title-plus-genealogy identification of a person.

Key words

• ba-yom ("on the day", H9003 + H3117G) — preposition + noun forming the temporal frame for the entire verse; the article on yom is carried by the prefixed preposition.
• ha-shelishi ("the third", H9009 + H7992) — ordinal number with definite article, agreeing with and modifying yom ("day") to specify which day of the sequence is meant.
• nasi' ("leader", H5387A) — masculine singular noun functioning as a title, standing in construct-like relation to the following phrase "of the sons of Zebulun."
• li-vnei ("of the descendants of", H9005 + H1121A) — preposition le attached to the construct plural of ben ("son"), marking possession/belonging: the leader belongs to this tribal group.
• ben ("son of", H1121G) — construct singular noun linking the personal name Eliab to his father's name Helon, the standard patronymic formula.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence has no main verb in the segment given; it is a nominal identification chain. The temporal phrase ba-yom ha-shelishi ("on the third day") opens the verse, establishing sequence within a larger list (each day a different tribal leader presents offerings). The core of the verse is an apposition: nasi' li-vnei Zevulun ("leader of the sons of Zebulun") identifies a role, and Eli'av ben-Chelon ("Eliab son of Helon") identifies the person holding that role. In Hebrew word order, the title precedes the personal name, so the leader's function (leader of Zebulun) is stated before his identity (Eliab, son of Helon).

The construct chain li-vnei Zevulun uses the preposition le ("of/belonging to") attached to the plural construct bnei ("sons of"), a common way to express tribal affiliation — literally "leader belonging to the sons of Zebulun."

Differences between versions

The Hebrew and LXX (Ἄρχων τῶν υἱῶν Ζαβουλών) preserve the same order: day → title → name. The Vulgate (princeps filiorum Zabulon, Eliab filius Helon) follows this order as well. RV1909 and SBLIBRE reverse the order, placing the personal name (Eliab hijo de Helón) before the title (príncipe de los hijos de Zabulón), a structural inversion not present in the Hebrew word order. BSB adds "drew near," a verb not present in the word-by-word Hebrew data given here, supplying an implied action for readability.