Numbers 27:5

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

Moses brought their cause before Yahweh.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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וַיַּקְרֵ֥ב

qârab

H7126

“and · to approach”

Conjunction + Verb, Hiphil, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular

Appears 283× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Genesis 12:11

Full BDB Definition

Origin: a primitive root

TWOT: 2065

to come near, approach, enter into, draw near - (Qal) to approach, draw near - (Niphal) to be brought near - (Piel) to cause to approach, bring near, cause to draw near - (Hiphil) to bring near, bring, present

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 →

6: words
6: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Grammatical profile

1 verb
4 nouns
1 particle

Verb forms

וַיַּקְרֵ֥ב Hiphil · Sequential Imperfect

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 6 words from the Hebrew and 7 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 6 Hebrew tokens and 8 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 27:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Leviticus 24:12–13 They put him in custody, until the will of Yahweh should be declared to them.
Exodus 25:22 There I will meet with you, and I will tell you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the testimony, all that I command you for the children of Israel.
Numbers 9:8 Moses answered them, "Wait, that I may hear what Yahweh will command concerning you."
Job 23:4 I would set my cause in order before him, And fill my mouth with arguments.
Proverbs 3:5–6 Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, And don't lean on your own understanding.
Exodus 18:15–19 Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
Numbers 15:34 They put him in custody, because it had not been declared what should be done to him.

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 27:5 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וַיַּקְרֵ֥ב מֹשֶׁ֛ה אֶת מִשְׁפָּטָ֖ן לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָֽה

Moses brought their cause before Yahweh.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Numbers 27:5 Septuagint · lemma form

καί προςἄγω μωυσῆς ὁ κρίσις αὐτός ἔναντι κύριος

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

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)

וְקָרֵב משֶׁה יָת דִינְהוֹן קֳדָם יְיָ

(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)

דֵין חַד מִן אַרְבָּעָה דִינִין דִי עָלוּ קֳדָם משֶׁה נְבִיָא וּסְכַם יַתְהוֹן עַל דַעְתָּא דִלְעֵיל מִנְהוֹן דִינֵי מָמוֹנָא וּמִנְהוֹן דִינֵי נַפְשָׁתָא בְּדִינֵי מָמוֹנָא הֲוָה משֶׁה זָרִיז וּבְדִינֵי נַפְשָׁתָא הֲוָה משֶׁה מָתוּן וּבְאִלֵין וּבְאִלֵין אָמַר משֶׁה לָא שְׁמָעִית מִן בִּגְלַל לְמַלְפָא רֵישֵׁי סַנְהֶדְרֵי דְיִשְרָאֵל דַעֲתִידִין לְמֵיקוּם מִן בַּתְרֵיהּ דִי הֲווֹן זְרִיזִין לְדִינֵי מָמוֹנָא וּמְתוּנִין לְדִינֵי נַפְשָׁתָא וְלָא יְבַהֲתוּן לִמְשַׁיְילָא דִינָא דְמִתְקַשֵׁי לְהוֹן אֲרוּם משֶׁה דַהֲוָה רַבְּהוֹן דְיִשְרָאֵל צָרִיךְ דְיֵימַר לָא שְׁמָעִית בְּגִין כֵּן קְרַב משֶׁה יַת דִינְהֵין קֳדָם יְיָ

This is one of the four cases of judgment brought before Mosheh the prophet, and which he resolved in the manner above said. Of them some were judgments, &c. And Mosheh brought their cause before the Lord.

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 27:5 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 →

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Tyndale Open Resources

27:5-11 Moses took their case before the Lord, who accepted the women’s appeal and established their case as a principle in order to preserve property within families.

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

That is, their matter to be judged, to know what he should determine, as he did all hard matters.

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

John Gill's Exposition

And Moses brought their cause before the Lord. For it seems it was too difficult for this court to decide; and it devolving upon Moses, as the president of it, and who only could have recourse to God at all times, he carried it to him and consulted with him about it: this, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem say, was one of the four causes that came before Moses the prophet, that he solved according to the mind of the Lord, which he consulted; one was concerning the blasphemer, Lev 24:11, the other concerning those defiled by the dead, Num 9:8, the third concerning the sabbath breaker, Num 15:34 and the fourth was this; See Gill on Lev 24:12.

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Numbers 27:6

num 27:6

num 27:6

num 27:6And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... From off the mercy seat, where he consulted him, and from whence he promised to commune with him about any difficult matter that came before him, Exo 25:22,

saying; as follows.

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

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

i.e. Into the tabernacle, where God was pleased to speak with Moses upon occasions, Exo 25:22; Num 7:89. For it was a hard case; and though their plea seemed reasonable, yet Moses showed his humility and modesty, that he would not determine it himself without God’s particular direction.

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

5. Moses brought their cause before the Lord — This shows the sense of equity which inhered in Moses, and his superiority to the prejudices of his age and nation. In this particular he foreshows the Prophet like unto him, Jesus Christ, who treated woman with the utmost respect. Joh_4:6, note. This act of Moses also beautifully demonstrates that distrust of his own moral judgments which every good man feels in the presence of such an infallible authority as the word of God.

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

Moses brought their cause before the Lord. Presumably by going into the tabernacle with this matter upon his mind, and awaiting the revelation of the Divine will. (cf. Exo_18:19 Num_12:8)

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

Keil & Delitzsch

C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch

This question of right (Mishpat) Moses brought before God, and received instructions in reply to give the daughters of Zelophehad an inheritance among the brethren of their father, as they had spoken right. Further instructions were added afterwards in Num 36:1-13 in relation to the marriage of heiresses.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

ויקרב משה את משפטן AND MOSES BROUGHT THEIR CAUSE [BEFORE THE LORD] — The law on this subject escaped him (Sanhedrin 8a). Here he received punishment because he had assumed a “crown” (he had set himself up as the supreme judge) by saying, (Deuteronomy 1:17) “And the cause that is too hard for you ye shall bring to me”. Another explanation: This chapter ought to have been written by Moses (i.e., like most laws in the Torah it should have been spoken to the people by Moses without his having waited until some incident made its promulgation necessary), but for the fact that the daughters of Zelophehad had so much merit, it was therefore written through them (it was their complaint which gave occasion for stating it) (Bava Batra 119a; Sanhedrin 8a).

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 6 words (6 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is qârab (“to approach”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

How does “to approach” (qârab) shape what this verse is saying?
Leviticus 24:12–13 shares this passage’s theme. How do the two illuminate each other?
The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
The verb «וַיַּקְרֵ֥ב» is Hiphil Sequential Imperfect. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Tyndale Open Study Notes and Geneva Bible (1599) read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

This verse counts 6 Hebrew ↔ 8 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 6 words in this verse.
6 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 6 words in this verse.