Numbers 7:7

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

He gave two wagons and four oxen to the sons of Gershon, according to their service:

World English Bible · Public Domain

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גֵרְשׁ֑וֹן

Gêrᵉshôwn

H1648

“Gershon”

Noun, Proper

Appears 17× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Genesis 46:11

Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H1644

TWOT: None

Gershon or Gershom = "exile" - firstborn son of Levi born before Jacob's family went to Egypt

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
10: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is גֵרְשׁ֑וֹן Gershon H1648 — appearing just 17 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

גֵרְשׁ֑וֹן Gershon H1648 occurs in 17 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

1 verb
6 nouns
2 adjectives
2 particles

Verb forms

נָתַ֖ן Qal · Perfect

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 16 words from the Hebrew and 17 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 15 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 7:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Numbers 3:25–26 The charge of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, its covering, and the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting,
Numbers 4:24–28 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens:

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 7:7 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

אֵ֣ת שְׁתֵּ֣י הָעֲגָלֹ֗ת וְאֵת֙ אַרְבַּ֣עַת הַבָּקָ֔ר נָתַ֖ן לִבְנֵ֣י גֵרְשׁ֑וֹן כְּפִ֖י עֲבֹדָתָֽם

He gave two wagons and four oxen to the sons of Gershon, according to their service:

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Numbers 7:7 Septuagint · lemma form

ὁ δύο ἅμαξα καί ὁ τέσσαρες βοῦς δίδωμι ὁ υἱός γεδσων κατά ὁ λειτουργία αὐτός

And he gave two wagons and four oxen to the sons of Gedson, according to their ministrations.

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)

יָת תַּרְתֵּין עֶגְלָתָא וְיָת אַרְבַּעַת תוֹרֵי יְהַב לִבְנֵי גֵרְשׁוֹן כְּמִסַת פּוּלְחַנְהוֹן

(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)

יַת תַּרְתֵּין עֶגְלָתָא וְיַת אַרְבַּעַת תּוֹרֵי יְהַב לִבְנֵי גֵרְשׁוֹן כְּמֵיסַת פּוּלְחַנְהוֹן

Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to the amount of their service,

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 7:7 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

For their use to carry with.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 7. Two wagons - unto the sons of Gershon] The Gershonites carried only the curtains, coverings, and hangings, Nu 4:25. And although this was a cumbersome carriage, and they needed the wagons, yet it was not a heavy one.

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

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

7–9. The transport duties of each of the Levitical families are laid down in ch. 4.

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

Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon,.... The eldest son of Levi:

according to their service; which was to bear and take care of the curtains, coverings, hangings and rails of the tabernacle; and which, when carrying from place to place, it was proper they should be covered from being exposed to rain and dust; and being so many as they were, must be heavy, burdensome, and cumbersome, and therefore two wagons, with two yoke of oxen, were given them, to ease them.

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

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

To the Gershonites, who had to transport the hangings and coverings of the tabernacle, two wagons are assigned: to the Merarites, who had the charge of the solid parts of the tabernacle, four wagons. The furniture and vessels the Kohathites were to carry on their own shoulders. Compare Num 3:25-26, Num 3:31, Num 3:36-37.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

7. The sons of Gershon, having the smallest number competent to serve, and having only the curtains, coverings, and hangings, received only two wagons and four oxen. See census of competent Levites, Num_4:34-49, notes.

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

Keil & Delitzsch

C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch

He gave two waggons and four oxen to the Gershonites, and four waggons and eight oxen to the Merarites, as the former had less weight to carry, in the coverings and curtains of the dwelling and the hangings of the court, than the latter, who had to take charge of the beams and pillars (Num 4:24., Num 4:31.). "Under the hand of Ithamar" (Num 7:8); as in Num 4:28, Num 4:33. The Kohathites received no waggon, because it was their place to attend to "the sanctuary" (the holy), i.e., the holy things, which had to be conveyed upon their shoulders, and were provided with poles for the purpose (Num 4:4.).

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)

כפי עבדתם [TWO WAGGONS AND FOUR OXEN HE GAVE UNTO THE SONS OF GERSHON,] ACCORDING TO THEIR SERVICE — only two wagons and four oxen, whilst the sons of Merari were given twice as many, because the burden of the sons of Gershon was lighter than that of the sons of Merari since they carried the boards, the columns and the sockets.

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

Discussion questions

What does “Gershon” (Gêrᵉshôwn) contribute to the verse as a whole?
Genesis 46:11 shares the word «Gershon» 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 «נָתַ֖ן» is Qal Perfect. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Geneva Bible (1599) and Adam Clarke's Commentary read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

This verse counts 11 Hebrew ↔ 15 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 3 words in this verse.
10 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 11 words in this verse.