Numbers 3:23

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle westward.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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הַגֵּרְשֻׁנִּ֑י

Gêrᵉshunnîy

H1649

“the · Gershonite”

Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Gentilic, Masculine, Singular, Absolute

Appears 13× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Numbers 3:21

Full BDB Definition

Origin: patronymically from H1648

TWOT: None

Gershonite = see Geshur - a descendant of Gershon, firstborn son of Levi

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

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is הַגֵּרְשֻׁנִּ֑י Gershonite H1649 — appearing just 13 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

הַגֵּרְשֻׁנִּ֑י Gershonite H1649 occurs in 12 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

1 verb
4 nouns
1 preposition

Verb forms

יַחֲנ֖וּ Qal · Imperfect

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 11 words from the Hebrew and 11 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — the same length.

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 10 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 3:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Numbers 1:53 But the Levites shall encamp around the Tabernacle of the Testimony, that there may be no wrath on the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be responsible for the Tabernacle of the Testimony."
Numbers 2:17 "Then the tent of meeting shall set out, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps. As they encamp, so shall they set out, every man in his place, by their standards.

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 3:23 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

מִשְׁפְּחֹ֖ת הַגֵּרְשֻׁנִּ֑י אַחֲרֵ֧י הַמִּשְׁכָּ֛ן יַחֲנ֖וּ יָֽמָּה

The families of the Gershonites shall encamp behind the tabernacle westward.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Numbers 3:23 Septuagint · lemma form

καί υἱός γεδσων ὀπίσω ὁ σκηνή παρά θάλασσα παρα ἐνβάλλω

And the sons of Gedson shall encamp westward behind the tabernacle.

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)

זַרְעֲיַת גֵרְשׁוֹן אֲחוֹרֵי מַשְׁכְּנָא יִשְּׁרוּן מַעַרְבָא

(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)

תַּרְתֵּין גְנִיסְתָּא דִי נְפָקוּ מִגֵרְשׁוֹן בָּתַר מַשְׁכְּנָא יִשְׁרוּן מַעַרְבָא

The two families who spring from Gershon shall encamp after the tabernacle westward;

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 3:23 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 →

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(23) Behind the tabernacle westward.—As the position of the twelve tribes in respect of the tent of meeting had been already determined, so in this and the following verses the position of the priests and Levites is fixed. On the east side of the tent Moses and Aaron and Aaron’s sons were to encamp, on the south the Kohathites, on the west the Gershonites, on the north the Merarites.

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

23. behind] The usual expression for ‘westward,’ because the Hebrew faced eastward when thinking of the points of the compass; cf. Exo_3:1, Deu_11:30, Jdg_18:12, Isa_9:12. With the characteristic tautology of the priestly style another word for ‘westward’ is added; cf. Num_3:38, Exo_27:9. The latter denotes literally ‘towards the sea,’ shewing that the narrator was in Palestine when he wrote, the Mediterranean being the sea referred to.

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

The families of the Gershonites,.... The two before mentioned, the Libnites and Shimites:

shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward; this was their situation when encamped; they were placed in the rear of the camp of the Levites, between the tabernacle and the camp of Ephraim, which was westward also, Num 1:18.

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

The Pulpit Commentary

Shall pitch. These directions as to the position and duties of the Levitical families retain the form in which they were originally given. The way in which they are mixed up with direct narrative affords a striking proof of the inartificial character of these sacred writings. Behind the tabernacle westward. The tabernacle opened or looked eastward towards the sunrise.

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

Ramban (Nachmanides)

Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban / Nachmanides)

THE FAMILIES OF THE GERSHONITES WERE TO PITCH BEHIND THE TABERNACLE WESTWARD. Scripture did not begin from the east in [explaining] the charge of the [various families of the] Levites as it did in the case of the standards [of the other tribes], because the Levites had no charge there, except for Aaron and his sons the priests and Moses the priest of the priests. Therefore it began from the west, which was the position opposite the east. But He put the sons of Kohath who were the most honored of the Levites in the south [of the Tabernacle], which is the most distinguished direction [after the east], and He gave them [the charge of carrying] the ark and [all] holy vessels; and in the west [of the Tabernacle] He placed the sons of Gershon, since he was the firstborn [of Levi], and gave them [the charge of carrying] the Tabernacle and the Tent, and in the north, which is the last of the [four] directions, He put the sons of Merari, and gave them [the charge of] the implements of the sacred things.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (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 Gêrᵉshunnîy (“Gershonite”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word Gêrᵉshunnîy carries the sense “Gershonite.” How does it shape the verse?
Numbers 3:21 shares the word «Gershonite» with this verse. 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 «יַחֲנ֖וּ» is Qal Imperfect. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers and The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

This verse counts 6 Hebrew ↔ 10 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 12 words in this verse.
6 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 6 words in this verse.