Numbers 2:29

Paleo Hebrew Niqqud

RBT Hebrew Interlinear:

ומטה וּמַטֵּה

None

STRONGS

Strong's Lexicon

ו

wə

Definition

and

Root

From H8505; a prefix

Exhaustive

The conjunctive ו is not merely a fixed coordinator with a stable semantic value (“and/but/or/then”). Its core function is linkage, not meaning. It binds units into a single discourse field—phrases, clauses, or whole scenes—while leaving the logical relation to be inferred from aspect, word order, genre, and context.

So the variability in translation (“and / but / or / even / then”) is not polyvalence in the particle; it is underspecification by design. The language expects the reader/hearer to perceive the relation rather than have it encoded.

Crucially, conjunctive ו does not imply temporal sequence. It implies continuity of attention. Think of it as:
- “this belongs with what precedes,”
- “remain within the same frame,”
“do not reset the discourse.”
This is why Hebrew can chain dozens of clauses with ו without subordination or explicit logic markers. The text advances by accumulation, not by branching syntactic trees. Meaning arises from the interaction:
- Aspect (qatal / yiqtol / participle),
- Position (fronted elements, resumptive nouns),
- Genre (law, narrative, oracle),
- Context (who speaks, to whom).
The ו simply keeps the circuit closed so these cues can operate together. Remove tense assumptions, and the system becomes coherent.

Source: The Aonic Nature of Biblical Hebrew Prepositions

מטה

maṭṭeh

Definition

a branch (as extending); figuratively, a tribe; also a rod, whether for chastising (figuratively, correction), ruling (a sceptre), throwing (a lance), or walking (a staff; figuratively, a support of life, e.g. bread)

Root

or (feminine) מטה; from H5186 (נטה);

Exhaustive

or (feminine) מטה; from נטה; a branch (as extending); figuratively, a tribe; also a rod, whether for chastising (figuratively, correction), ruling (a sceptre), throwing (a lance), or walking (a staff; figuratively, a support of life, e.g. bread); rod, staff, tribe.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance — H4294

Fürst

Fürst Lexicon

מַ֫טָּה

adverb • Consonantal / Medium • Page 384

downwards

Matched via consonantal key only

מִטָּה

noun feminine • Root נטה • Consonantal / Medium • Page 841

That on which one leans or reclines, hence a bed, bolster, table-couch, sofa, litter, palanquin, bier, or a store-room.

Matched via consonantal key only

מֶטֶה

noun masculine • Root נטה • Consonantal / Medium • Page 841

Iniquity.

Matched via consonantal key only

מַטָּה

noun masculine • Root נטה • Consonantal / Medium • Page 841

A support, a staff, a stick; figuratively, a rod of correction, punishment, or chastisement; also a tribe. Plural form מַטּוֹת; singular is unused. Same as מַטֶּה.

Matched via consonantal key only

מַטָּה

adverb • Root מטה מוט • Consonantal / Medium • Page 841

A bowing down, sinking. As an adverb, it means down, downwards, beneath, deep, under.

Matched via consonantal key only

מַטֶּה

noun masculine • Root נטה • Consonantal / Medium • Page 840

1. A stick, staff, rod, sceptre, yoke. 2. Stem of a people, a tribe. 3. Injustice, wrong. 4. A sinking, bending.

Matched via consonantal key only

מֻטָּה

noun feminine • Root נטה • Consonantal / Medium • Page 841

Extension, spreading out.

Matched via consonantal key only

Gesenius

Gesenius Lexicon

מַטֶּה

noun masculine • Root נטה • Page 371

1. a bough, branch (Ezek. 19:11 ff.). 2. a staff, stick, rod (Ex. 4: 2). 3. a tribe of the Israelites (Num. 1: 49). 4. perhaps an arrow, javelin (Hab. 3: 9, 14). 5. an inclining or sinking downwards; as an adv. מַטָּה down, below (Deut. 28: 43).

מֻטֶּה, מֻטָּה

plur. וֹת • Root נטה • Page 371

1. a stretching out (Is. 8: 8). 2. a bending or perversion of justice (Ezek. 9: 9). Verbal from the Pual of נָטָה.

Conjunction, Noun common both singular construct

LXX: φυλῆσ ῥάβδον ῥάβδοσ φυλῶν ---

LXX Usage Statistics

H4294:

φυλῆσ 138× (52.6%)

ῥάβδον 22× (8.7%)

ῥάβδοσ 13× (5.2%)

φυλῶν 10× (4.0%)

--- 8× (3.6%)

φυλὴν 7× (2.8%)

στήριγμα 5× (2.3%)

ῥάβδῳ 5× (2.0%)

ῥάβδουσ 5× (1.9%)

'' 4× (1.5%)

נפתלי נַפְתָּלי

My Twistings ("Naphtali")

STRONGS

Strong's Lexicon

נפתלי

Naphtâlîy

Definition

Naphtali, a son of Jacob, with the tribe descended from him, and its territory

Root

from H6617 (פתל); my wrestling;

Exhaustive

from פתל; my wrestling; Naphtali, a son of Jacob, with the tribe descended from him, and its territory; Naphtali.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance — H5321

Fürst

Fürst Lexicon

נַפְתָּלִי

noun proper masculine • Root נפתולים • Consonantal / Medium • Page 983

Wrestlings; the name of a tribe of Israel and the district belonging to it.

Matched via consonantal key only

Gesenius

Gesenius Lexicon

נַפְתָּלִי

noun proper • Page 452

son of Jacob by Bilhah and progenitor of the tribe of Naphtali (Gen. 30:8, Josh. 19:32-39).

Noun proper name masculine

LXX: νεφθαλι νεφθαλιμ κεδεσ

LXX Usage Statistics

H5321:

νεφθαλι 45× (86.7%)

νεφθαλιμ 4× (7.7%)

κεδεσ 2× (3.5%)

ונשיא וְנָשִׂיא

None

STRONGS

Strong's Lexicon

ו

wə

Definition

and

Root

From H8505; a prefix

Exhaustive

The conjunctive ו is not merely a fixed coordinator with a stable semantic value (“and/but/or/then”). Its core function is linkage, not meaning. It binds units into a single discourse field—phrases, clauses, or whole scenes—while leaving the logical relation to be inferred from aspect, word order, genre, and context.

So the variability in translation (“and / but / or / even / then”) is not polyvalence in the particle; it is underspecification by design. The language expects the reader/hearer to perceive the relation rather than have it encoded.

Crucially, conjunctive ו does not imply temporal sequence. It implies continuity of attention. Think of it as:
- “this belongs with what precedes,”
- “remain within the same frame,”
“do not reset the discourse.”
This is why Hebrew can chain dozens of clauses with ו without subordination or explicit logic markers. The text advances by accumulation, not by branching syntactic trees. Meaning arises from the interaction:
- Aspect (qatal / yiqtol / participle),
- Position (fronted elements, resumptive nouns),
- Genre (law, narrative, oracle),
- Context (who speaks, to whom).
The ו simply keeps the circuit closed so these cues can operate together. Remove tense assumptions, and the system becomes coherent.

Source: The Aonic Nature of Biblical Hebrew Prepositions

נשיא

nâsîyʼ

Definition

properly, an exalted one, i.e. a king or sheik; also a rising mist

Root

or נשא; from H5375 (נשא);

Exhaustive

or נשא; from נשא; properly, an exalted one, i.e. a king or sheik; also a rising mist; captain, chief, cloud, governor, prince, ruler, vapour.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance — H5387

Fürst

Fürst Lexicon

נָשִׂיא

noun masculine • Root נשא • Strongs / High • Page 995

1. an exalted, distinguished one, hence a prince, applied to kings, heads or princes of tribes, heads of families, generals. 2. one bearing, a bearer. 3. (only pl.) ascending vapour, a cloud.

Gesenius

Gesenius Lexicon

נָשִׂיא

noun masculine • Root נשא • Page 460

m. strictly part. pass. from נָשָׂא. 1. a prince. 1 K. 11: 34. Ezek. 12 : 10. Num. 7: 11 ff. 2. plur. נְשִׂיאִים vapours, which form clouds. Jer. 10 : 13. 51: 16. Ps. 135: 7. Prov. 25: 14.

Conjunction, Noun common both singular absolute

LXX: ἄρχων ἄρχοντεσ ἀρχόντων ἀφηγούμενοσ ἄρχοντα

LXX Usage Statistics

H5387a:

ἄρχων 47× (35.2%)

ἄρχοντεσ 21× (14.9%)

ἀρχόντων 10× (7.5%)

ἀφηγούμενοσ 7× (4.9%)

ἄρχοντα 6× (4.8%)

νεφέλασ 3× (2.5%)

--- 3× (2.5%)

ἄρχοντι 3× (2.3%)

ἀφηγούμενοι 3× (2.2%)

ἄρχοντασ 3× (2.2%)

לבני לִבְנֵי

to the sons

STRONGS

Strong's Lexicon

ל

lə

Definition

to, for

Root

A primitive particle; a prefix

Exhaustive

(lamed) — to / toward / for

Core value: orientation, directionality, belonging
ל is often mistranslated as purpose (“in order to”), but that smuggles in future-time. In reality, ל marks:
- movement toward,
- dedication unto,
- reference with respect to.
Aonically, ל is vectorial, not teleological.
not “for the sake of a future outcome”
but “oriented toward a locus or pole.”
This is why possession (“belongs to”) and motion (“toward”) use the same preposition: both indicate relational alignment, not time.

Source: The Aonic Nature of Biblical Hebrew Prepositions

בן

bên

Definition

a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)

Root

from H1129 (בנה);

Exhaustive

from בנה; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.); [phrase] afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-) ite, (anoint-) ed one, appointed to, ([phrase]) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-) ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, [phrase] (young) bullock, [phrase] (young) calf, [idiom] came up in, child, colt, [idiom] common, [idiom] corn, daughter, [idiom] of first, [phrase] firstborn, foal, [phrase] very fruitful, [phrase] postage, [idiom] in, [phrase] kid, [phrase] lamb, ([phrase]) man, meet, [phrase] mighty, [phrase] nephew, old, ([phrase]) people, [phrase] rebel, [phrase] robber, [idiom] servant born, [idiom] soldier, son, [phrase] spark, [phrase] steward, [phrase] stranger, [idiom] surely, them of, [phrase] tumultuous one, [phrase] valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance — H1121

Fürst

Fürst Lexicon

בֵּן

masc. noun • Root בין • Strongs / High • Page 253

1. A child, begotten, born, often without distinction of sex (frequently pluralized as children). 2. Specifically, a son, a male child (opposite daughter). 3. Used metaphorically to denote personal characteristics (virtuous or vicious personality, heir of virtue/vice) or objects (e.g., young animals, plants, or inanimate objects). 4. A grandson; also used as boy, youth, prince, heir to the throne.

Preposition, Noun common masculine plural construct

LXX: υἱοὶ υἱὸσ υἱῶν υἱοῦ υἱοῖσ

LXX Usage Statistics

H1121a:

υἱοὶ 1075× (22.0%)

υἱὸσ 753× (16.8%)

υἱῶν 607× (12.2%)

υἱοῦ 368× (8.1%)

υἱοῖσ 329× (6.1%)

υἱοὺσ 292× (5.7%)

υἱὸν 213× (4.6%)

--- 116× (2.6%)

υἱὲ 96× (2.2%)

'' 84× (1.6%)

נפתלי נַפְתָּלִי

My Twistings ("Naphtali")

STRONGS

Strong's Lexicon

נפתלי

Naphtâlîy

Definition

Naphtali, a son of Jacob, with the tribe descended from him, and its territory

Root

from H6617 (פתל); my wrestling;

Exhaustive

from פתל; my wrestling; Naphtali, a son of Jacob, with the tribe descended from him, and its territory; Naphtali.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance — H5321

Fürst

Fürst Lexicon

נַפְתָּלִי

noun proper masculine • Root נפתולים • Consonantal / Medium • Page 983

Wrestlings; the name of a tribe of Israel and the district belonging to it.

Matched via consonantal key only

Gesenius

Gesenius Lexicon

נַפְתָּלִי

noun proper • Page 452

son of Jacob by Bilhah and progenitor of the tribe of Naphtali (Gen. 30:8, Josh. 19:32-39).

Noun proper name masculine

LXX: νεφθαλι νεφθαλιμ κεδεσ

LXX Usage Statistics

H5321:

νεφθαλι 45× (86.7%)

νεφθαλιμ 4× (7.7%)

κεδεσ 2× (3.5%)

אחירע אֲחִירַע

None

STRONGS

Strong's Lexicon

אחירע

ʼĂchîyraʻ

Definition

Achira, an Israelite

Root

from H251 (אח) and H7451 (רע); brother of wrong;

Exhaustive

from אח and רע; brother of wrong; Achira, an Israelite; Ahira.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance — H299

Fürst

Fürst Lexicon

אֲחִירַע

noun proper masculine • Root רעה • Strongs_Numbers • Page 101

('Ach i.e. God, is a friend) proper name, masculine.

Noun proper name masculine

LXX:

LXX Usage Statistics

H0299:

No stats available

בן בֶּן־

builder/son

STRONGS

Strong's Lexicon

בן

bên

Definition

a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)

Root

from H1129 (בנה);

Exhaustive

from בנה; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.); [phrase] afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-) ite, (anoint-) ed one, appointed to, ([phrase]) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-) ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, [phrase] (young) bullock, [phrase] (young) calf, [idiom] came up in, child, colt, [idiom] common, [idiom] corn, daughter, [idiom] of first, [phrase] firstborn, foal, [phrase] very fruitful, [phrase] postage, [idiom] in, [phrase] kid, [phrase] lamb, ([phrase]) man, meet, [phrase] mighty, [phrase] nephew, old, ([phrase]) people, [phrase] rebel, [phrase] robber, [idiom] servant born, [idiom] soldier, son, [phrase] spark, [phrase] steward, [phrase] stranger, [idiom] surely, them of, [phrase] tumultuous one, [phrase] valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance — H1121

Fürst

Fürst Lexicon

בֵּן

masc. noun • Root בין • Strongs / High • Page 253

1. A child, begotten, born, often without distinction of sex (frequently pluralized as children). 2. Specifically, a son, a male child (opposite daughter). 3. Used metaphorically to denote personal characteristics (virtuous or vicious personality, heir of virtue/vice) or objects (e.g., young animals, plants, or inanimate objects). 4. A grandson; also used as boy, youth, prince, heir to the throne.

Gesenius

Gesenius Lexicon

אֶל

chald. • Page 49

Chald. idem. [to Hebrew אַל]. Dan. 2: 24.

אֶל

preposition • Page 50

Primary preposition meaning: 1. to (sign of the dative); 2. towards, even to (Num. 24:1); 3. at, on, near (1 K. 13:20); 4. about, concerning (Gen. 20:2); 5. in, into (Gen. 8:9); 6. among (1 Sam. 10:22); 7. through (Ezek. 44:7); 8. for, on account of (1 K. 14:5); 9. in combination with other prepositions implies direction.

Noun common both singular construct

LXX: υἱοὶ υἱὸσ υἱῶν υἱοῦ υἱοῖσ

LXX Usage Statistics

H1121a:

υἱοὶ 1075× (22.0%)

υἱὸσ 753× (16.8%)

υἱῶν 607× (12.2%)

υἱοῦ 368× (8.1%)

υἱοῖσ 329× (6.1%)

υἱοὺσ 292× (5.7%)

υἱὸν 213× (4.6%)

--- 116× (2.6%)

υἱὲ 96× (2.2%)

'' 84× (1.6%)

עינן עֵינָן׃

None

STRONGS

Strong's Lexicon

עינן

ʻÊynân

Definition

Enan, an Israelite

Root

from H5869 (עין); having eyes;

Exhaustive

from עין; having eyes; Enan, an Israelite; Enan. Compare חצר עינן.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance — H5881

Fürst

Fürst Lexicon

עֵינָן

noun proper masculine • Strongs / High • Page 1083

(a Fountain-distributer, viz. El is) n. p. m.

Noun proper name masculine

LXX: αιναν

LXX Usage Statistics

H5881:

αιναν 4× (100.0%)

RBT Translation:

No verse found

RBT Paraphrase:
No verse found

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
And the tribe of Naphtali: the chief for the sons of Naphtali, Ahira, son of Enan.

LITV Translation:
And the tribe of Naphtali; the ruler of the sons of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan.

Brenton Septuagint Translation:
And they that encamp next shall be of the tribe of Naphtali; and the prince of the children of Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan.