Numbers 1:16

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

These are those who were called of the congregation, the princes of the tribes of their fathers; they were the heads of the thousands of Israel.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Highlights

1 first appearance in the Hebrew Bible

Full analysis ↓

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קריאי

qârîyʼ

H7148

“called of”

Adjective, Adjective, Masculine, Plural, Construct

Appears 3× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears here

Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H7121

TWOT: 2063b

called, summoned, called one

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

11: words
11: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is קריאי called H7148 — appearing just 3 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

First appearance in Scripture

This word makes its first canonical appearance in the Hebrew Bible here:

קריאי called H7148

Shared distinctive vocabulary

קריאי called H7148 occurs in 3 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

1 verb
6 nouns
2 adjectives
2 pronouns

Verb forms

קְרוּאֵ֣י Qal · Participle Passive

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 26 words from the Hebrew and 22 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 11 Hebrew tokens and 12 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Numbers 1:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Exodus 18:21 Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God: men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
Exodus 18:25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
Numbers 7:2 that the princes of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, offered. These were the princes of the tribes. These are they who were over those who were numbered:
Numbers 26:9 The sons of Eliab: Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. These are that Dathan and Abiram, who were called of the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against Yahweh,
Numbers 1:4 With you there shall be a man of every tribe; everyone head of his fathers' house.
Numbers 16:2 and they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown;
1 Chronicles 27:16–22 Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri the ruler: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah:
Numbers 2:3–31 Those who encamp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah, according to their divisions: and the prince of the children of Judah shall be Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

Numbers 7:10–83 The princes gave offerings for the dedication of the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the princes gave their offerings before the altar.
Numbers 10:14–27 In the first [place] the standard of the camp of the children of Judah set forward according to their hosts: and over his host was Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
Numbers 11:17 I will come down and talk with you there: and I will take of the Spirit which is on you, and will put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you not bear it yourself alone.
Deuteronomy 1:15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes.
Judges 6:15 He said to him, Oh, Lord, with which shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
1 Samuel 22:7 Saul said to his servants who stood about him, Hear now, you Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give everyone of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds,
1 Samuel 23:23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking-places where he hides himself, and come you again to me of a certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall happen, if he be in the land, that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.
Micah 5:2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Being small among the clans of Judah, Out of you one will come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Numbers 1:16 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

אֵ֚לֶּה קריאי קְרוּאֵ֣י הָעֵדָ֔ה נְשִׂיאֵ֖י מַטּ֣וֹת אֲבוֹתָ֑ם רָאשֵׁ֛י אַלְפֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל הֵֽם

These are those who were called of the congregation, the princes of the tribes of their fathers; they were the heads of the thousands of Israel.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Numbers 1:16 Septuagint · lemma form

οὗτος ἐπίκλητος ὁ συναγωγή ἄρχων ὁ φυλή κατά πατριά χιλίαρχος ἰσραήλ εἰμί

These were famous men of the congregation, heads of the tribes according to their families: these are heads of thousands in Israel.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

On this verse, The Pulpit Commentary discusses the Septuagint’s reading. Read the note in Commentary ↓

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

אִלֵין מְעַרְעֵי כְנִשְׁתָּא רַבְרְבֵי שִׁבְטֵי אֲבָהַתְהוֹן רֵישֵׁי אַלְפַיָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל אִנוּן

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

אִלֵין מְזַמְנֵי עַם כְּנִישְׁתָּא רַבְרְבֵי שִׁבְטַיָא דְאַבְהַתְהוֹן רֵישֵׁי אַלְפַיָא דְיִשְרָאֵל הִינוּן

These (were) the notables of the congregation of the people, chiefs of their fathers' tribes, heads of thousands in Israel these.

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Numbers 1:16 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Commentary source

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

Num 1:16 These [were] the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.

Ver. 16. Princes of the tribes.] These were those officers over them in Egypt, saith a Hebrew doctor, that had been beaten for them. {Exo 5:14} Now they are raised to great preferment. Sic per angusta ad augustum, per spinas ad rosas, per motum ad quietem, per crucem ad coelum contendimus.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Tyndale Open Resources

1:16 These tribal leaders had apparently shown themselves responsible and trustworthy by fulfilling other important duties.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Geneva Bible (1599)

Geneva Bible translators

Or captains, and governors.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown

These were the renowned--literally, "the called" of the congregation, summoned by name; and they entered upon the survey the very day the order was given.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 16. These were the renowned] Literally, the called, of the congregation - those who were summoned by name to attend. The order of the tribes In the above enumeration may be viewed thus: -

1. Reuben |

2. Simeon |

3. Judah |- Sons of Leah.

4. Issachar |

5. Zebulun |

6. Ephraim |

7. Manasseh |- Sons of Rachel.

8. Benjamin |

9. Dan......... 1st son of Bilhah, Rachel's maid

10. Asher....... 2d son of Zilpah, Leah's maid.

11. Gad......... 1st son of Zilpah.

12. Naphtali.... 2d son of Bilhah.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(16) The renowned of the congregation.—Lit., the called men of the congregation, i.e., the men chosen as representatives of their respective tribes, and appointed to act in that capacity in regulating the affairs of the nation.

Heads of thousands in Israel.—Better, they were the heads of the thousands of Israel. Comp. Exo_18:21; Exo_18:25, where rulers, or princes of thousands, are the highest class of officers recommended by Jethro, and appointed by Moses. See also Num_10:4.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

16. they that were called] i.e. ‘chosen’ to help Moses in conducting the census.

their fathers] Their ancestors, the sons of Jacob.

thousands] Another term for a group of relations, irrespective of its exact number; it is probable that it denotes a large group such as a clan, rather than a small group such as a ‘fathers’ house’ (Num_1:2); cf. Jdg_6:15, 1Sa_10:19; 1Sa_10:21, Mic_5:2.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

These were the renowned of the congregation,.... The most famous and eminent among the people, for their birth and pedigree, or for their excellent qualities of wisdom, courage, and the like; or "the called of the congregation" (d), whom God had called by name and selected from the rest of the congregation to the above service, whereby great honour was done them: Aben Ezra says, the sense is, that the congregation did nothing until they had called them; with which agrees the note of Jarchi,"who were called to every business of importance in the congregation:"

princes of the tribes of their fathers; as Elizur was prince of the children of Reuben, Num 7:30; the same is there said of the rest in their respective tribes:

heads of thousands in Israel; the congregation of Israel being divided into thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, by the advice of Jethro, Exo 18:21; each of these divisions had a ruler over them, and thousands being the highest number, these princes were chiliarchs, rulers or heads of thousands.

(d) "convocati coetus", Montanus, Drusius; "convocati e coetu", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Army. Hebrew, "of a thousand." The Vulgate commonly styles them tribunes. They were "people of name in the assembly," as the Hebrew indicates. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

The renowned, Heb. the named or called, to wit, by Moses and by God’s appointment, to manage this affair, and others as there was occasion. Compare Num 16:2; 26:9.

Heads of thousands. See Exo 18:21; Num 10:4.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

16. Heads of thousands in Israel — This language sounds so much like Exo_18:21 that it is probable that the assistant judges, carefully chosen by Moses at the suggestion of Jethro his father-in-law, were named by the Lord associates of Moses and Aaron in completing the registration. The Hebrew for the renowned of the congregation is, the called of the congregation, a select number, suggesting a representative body, to whom Moses often spoke when it is said that he addressed all the congregation. “The social condition of the Israelites in the wilderness bore a close resemblance to that of the nomad tribes of the East in the present day. The head of the tribe was an hereditary dignity, vested in the eldest son, or some other to whom the right of primogeniture was transferred, and under whom were other inferior heads, also hereditary.” — Jamieson.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

Heads of thousands. Septuagint, chiliarchs; but the word is used for families, (see Jud_1:6:15) and, like all such words, it rapidly lost its numerical significance.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

the men appointed

This can be stated in active form. AT: "the men whom Yahweh appointed" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

appoint

ancestor

tribe

clan

Israel

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

אלה קרואי העדה THESE WERE THOSE CALLED OF THE CONGREGATION — those who were called upon for every matter of importance that happened in the congregation.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Numbers, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 11 words (11 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is qârîyʼ (“called”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word qârîyʼ carries the sense “called.” How does it shape the verse?
The word “called” first appears here in Scripture. What is being introduced at this debut?
Numbers 16:2 shares the word «called» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
These translations render this verse differently. What is at stake in choosing one wording over another?
The verb «קְרוּאֵ֣י» is Qal Participle Passive. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Tyndale Open Study Notes read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

1 word makes its first canonical appearance in Scripture here.
This verse counts 11 Hebrew ↔ 12 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 6 words in this verse.
11 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 11 words in this verse.