Numbers 4:36

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

Those who were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred fifty.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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וַחֲמִשִּֽׁים

chămishshîym

H2572

“and · fifty”

Conjunction + Adjective, Cardinal number, Both, Plural, Absolute

Appears 163× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Genesis 6:15

Full BDB Definition

Origin: multiple of H2568

TWOT: TWOT- 686c

fifty - fifty (cardinal number) - a multiple of fifty (with other numbers) - fiftieth (ordinal number)

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 →

7: words
7: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Grammatical profile

2 verbs
1 noun
4 adjectives

Verb forms

וַיִּהְי֥וּ Qal · Sequential Imperfect
פְקֻדֵיהֶ֖ם Qal · Participle Passive

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 15 words from the Hebrew and 16 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 7 Hebrew tokens and 11 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.

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 4:36 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וַיִּהְי֥וּ פְקֻדֵיהֶ֖ם לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑ם אַלְפַּ֕יִם שְׁבַ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת וַחֲמִשִּֽׁים

Those who were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred fifty.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Numbers 4:36 Septuagint · lemma form

καί γίγνομαι ὁ ἐπίσκεψις αὐτός κατά δῆμος αὐτός δισχίλιοι διακόσιοι πεντήκοντα

And the numbering of them according to their families was two thousand, seven hundred and fifty.

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)

וַהֲווֹ מִנְיָנֵיהוֹן לְזַרְעֲיַתְהוֹן תְּרֵין אַלְפִין שְׁבַע מְאָה וְחַמְשִׁין

(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)

וַהֲווֹ סְכוּמְהוֹן לִגְנִיסַתְהוֹן תְּרֵין אַלְפִין וּשְׁבַע מְאָה וְחַמְשִׁין

and the sums of them were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

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 4:36 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 →

Geneva Bible (1599)

Geneva Bible translators

Hebrew, the numbered of them.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 36. Those that were numbered] In Nu 3:27, c., we have an account of the whole number of the Levites, and here of those only who were able to serve the Lord in the sanctuary. By comparing the two places we find the numbers to stand thus: -

KOHATHITES

Able men

Unable

Total

2,750

5,850

-----

8,600

GERSHONITES

Able men

Unable

Total

2,630

4,870

-----

7,500

MERARITES

Able men

Unable

Total

3,200

3,000

-----

6,200

Thus we find that the whole number of the Levites amounted to 22,300, of whom 3,580 were fit for service, and 13.720 unfit, being either too old or too young. What an astonishing number of men, all properly eccleslastics all performing some service by which God was glorified, and the congregation at large benefited! See Ainsworth.

FROM this and the preceding chapter we see the very severe labour which the Levites were obliged to perform while the journeyings of the Israelites lasted. When we consider that there was not less than 10 tons 13 cwt. 24 lb. 14 oz., i. e., almost ten tons and fourteen hundred pounds' weight of metal employed in the tabernacle, (see the notes on Exod. xxxviii.,) besides the immense weight of the skins, hangings, cords, boards, and posts, we shall find it was no very easy matter to transport this movable temple from place to place.

The Gershonites, who were 7,500 men in the service, had to carry the tent, coverings, veils, hangings of the court, c., c., Nu 3:25-26.

The Kohathites, who were 8,600 men, had to carry the ark, table, candlestick, altars, and instruments of the sanctuary, Nu 3:31.

The Merarites, who were 6,200 men, had to carry the boards, bars, pillars, sockets, and all matters connected with these belonging to the tabernacle, with the pillars of the court, their sockets, pins, and cords, Nu 3:36-37.

The tabernacle was an epitome of the temple: the temple and tabernacle were representatives of the Church of the living God, and of the humanity of our blessed Lord. As God dwelt in the tabernacle and temple, so his fulness dwelt in the man Christ Jesus. These again were types of the Christian Church, which is termed the body of Christ, Eph 1:23, where he dwells in the plenitude of the graces of his Spirit.

Mr. Ainsworth has a very useful note on the 20th verse of this chapter, the most edifying part of which I shall here lay before the reader. He considers the tabernacle and temple, not only as pointing out the old dispensation, the annulling of which was typified by their destruction, but he considers also the former as emblematical of the body of man.

"The apostle," says he, "treating of the death of the saints, uses this similitude: 'If our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For we that are in THIS TABERNACLE do groan, being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life' 2Co 5:1-4. So Peter calls his death the putting off of his TABERNACLE, 2Pe 1:14. And this similitude is very fit; for, as here, in the tabernacle of Moses,

1. The holy things were first covered and taken away, (see Nu 4:20), so the soul and its powers are first withdrawn from the body by death.

2. As the curtains and coverings were taken off and folded up, so the skin and flesh of our bodies are pulled off and consumed.

3. As the boards of the tabernacle were disjointed and pulled asunder, so shall our bones and sinews: compare Job's description of the formation of man, Nu 10:8-12; and Solomon's account of his dissolution, Ec 12:3-4.

4. As the disjointed and dissolved tabernacle was afterwards set up again, Nu 10:21, so shall our bodies in the day of the resurrection; see 1Co 15:51-54."

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

John Gill's Exposition

From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old,.... See Gill on Num 4:34.

.

Numbers 4:44

num 4:44

num 4:44

num 4:44Even those that were numbered of them after their families,.... See Gill on Num 4:34.

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

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 7 words (7 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is chămishshîym (“fifty”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word chămishshîym carries the sense “fifty.” How does it shape the verse?
These translations render this verse differently. What is at stake in choosing one wording over another?
«וַיִּהְי֥וּ» is a Qal Sequential Imperfect verb. How does that grammatical form shape the action described?
Compare how Geneva Bible (1599) and Adam Clarke's Commentary read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

This verse counts 7 Hebrew ↔ 11 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 13 words in this verse.
7 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 7 words in this verse.