Numbers 32 — Hebrew and Greek compared
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Same 9 Similar 5 Different 13 Divergent 4 Disparate 11
Disparate in this chapter: 32:11, 32:12, 32:15, 32:21, 32:23, 32:28, 32:30, 32:32, 32:35, 32:38, 32:39
Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.
The Petition
32:1 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:1 The Reubenites and Gadites had very abundant livestock. They saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and the region was suitable for livestock.
Greek · Saints priority
32:1 The Reubenites and Gadites had a great multitude of livestock. They saw the country of Jazer and the country of Gilead, and the place was suitable for livestock.
32:2 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:2 The Gadites and Reubenites came and said to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the congregation,
Greek · Saints priority
32:2 The Reubenites and Gadites approached and said to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the rulers of the congregation,
Greek reverses Gad and Reuben.
32:3 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon—
Greek · Saints priority
32:3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sibmah, Nebo, and Beon—
Hebrew here has Sebam; Greek has the fuller name Sebama, represented as Sibmah. Ordinary Greek transcription differences are normalized elsewhere in the list.
32:4 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:4 the land that YHWH struck down before the congregation of Israel—is land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.”
Greek · Saints priority
32:4 the land that the Lord handed over before the Israelites—is land that nourishes livestock, and your servants have livestock.”
Hebrew describes YHWH striking the land’s inhabitants; Greek describes His handing over the land.
32:5 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:5 They said, “If we have found favor in your eyes, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.”
Greek · Saints priority
32:5 They said, “If we have found favor before you, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.”
The Rebuke
32:6 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:6 Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here?
Greek · Saints priority
32:6 Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Your brothers are going to war, and will you sit here?
Both challenge the proposed exemption from the common campaign.
32:7 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:7 Why do you discourage the hearts of the Israelites from crossing into the land that YHWH has given them?
Greek · Saints priority
32:7 Why do you turn aside the minds of the Israelites so that they do not cross into the land that the Lord is giving them?
Hebrew describes discouragement of heart; Greek describes distortion or diversion of their thinking.
32:8 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:8 Your fathers did this when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to inspect the land.
Greek · Saints priority
32:8 Did not your fathers do this when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to examine the land?
Greek frames the reminder as a rhetorical question.
32:9 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:9 They went up to the Wadi Eshcol and inspected the land, but discouraged the hearts of the Israelites so that they would not enter the land that YHWH had given them.
Greek · Saints priority
32:9 They went up to the Ravine of the Cluster and examined the land, but turned away the hearts of the Israelites so that they would not enter the land that the Lord had given them.
Greek translates Eshcol’s meaning, “cluster,” rather than retaining the place-name.
32:10 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:10 YHWH’s anger burned on that day, and He swore, saying,
Greek · Saints priority
32:10 The Lord became fiercely angry on that day and swore, saying,
32:11 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the ground that I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not followed Me wholeheartedly,
Greek · Saints priority
32:11 ‘Surely these men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, who know evil and good, shall not see the land that I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they did not follow after Me,
Greek adds “who know evil and good,” explicitly qualifying the condemned adult generation by moral discernment.
32:12 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:12 except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, because they have followed YHWH wholeheartedly.’
Greek · Saints priority
32:12 except Caleb son of Jephunneh, the one set apart, and Joshua son of Nun, because he followed after the Lord.’
Greek replaces the ethnic designation “Kenizzite” with “the one set apart” and uses a singular concluding verb, where Hebrew describes both men in the plural.
32:13 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:13 YHWH’s anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until the whole generation that did evil in YHWH’s eyes had come to an end.
Greek · Saints priority
32:13 The Lord became fiercely angry with Israel and whirled them about in the wilderness for forty years, until the whole generation that did evil before the Lord had been consumed.
Greek uses the forceful image of whirling about for Hebrew’s wandering.
32:14 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:14 Now look! You have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to YHWH’s burning anger against Israel.
Greek · Saints priority
32:14 Look! You have risen in your fathers’ place, a band of sinful men, to add still more to the fury of the Lord’s anger against Israel.
The collective descriptions differ while the accusation agrees.
32:15 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:15 If you turn back from following Him, He will again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy this whole people.”
Greek · Saints priority
32:15 Because you will turn away from Him, He will again leave them in the wilderness, and you will act lawlessly against this whole congregation.”
Hebrew warns that they will destroy the people; Greek says they will act lawlessly against the congregation. The expressed consequence differs.
The Counter-Proposal
32:16 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:16 They approached him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock and towns for our little ones.
Greek · Saints priority
32:16 They approached him and said, “Let us build sheepfolds here for our livestock and towns for our dependents.
Hebrew explicitly names the little ones; Greek uses the household term aposkeuē.
Rabbinic reception: Rashi criticizes the tribes for naming livestock before children and reads Moses’ reversed order in 32:24 as restoring the priority of children over property.
Source: Rashi, Numbers 32:16
32:17 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:17 But we will arm ourselves and go swiftly before the Israelites until we have brought them to their place. Our little ones will live in fortified towns because of the inhabitants of the land.
Greek · Saints priority
32:17 We will equip ourselves as an advance guard ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their own place. Our dependents will live in walled towns because of the inhabitants of the land.
Greek explicitly calls the armed men an advance guard; Hebrew emphasizes readiness and speed.
32:18 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:18 We will not return to our homes until each Israelite has received his inheritance.
Greek · Saints priority
32:18 We will certainly not return to our homes until the Israelites have each been allotted his inheritance.
32:19 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:19 For we will not inherit with them across the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on the eastern side of the Jordan.”
Greek · Saints priority
32:19 We shall not inherit further among them across the Jordan and beyond, because we have received our allotments on the eastern side of the Jordan.”
The Ratified Agreement
32:20 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:20 Moses said to them, “If you do this, if you arm yourselves before YHWH for war,
Greek · Saints priority
32:20 Moses said to them, “If you act according to this word, if you equip yourselves before the Lord for war,
32:21 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:21 and every armed man among you crosses the Jordan before YHWH until He has dispossessed His enemies before Him,
Greek · Saints priority
32:21 and every armed man among you crosses the Jordan before the Lord until His enemy is wiped out from before Him,
Hebrew speaks of dispossessing His enemies; Greek uses a singular enemy and the stronger wording “wiped out.”
32:22 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:22 and the land is subdued before YHWH, then afterward you may return. You will be free of obligation toward YHWH and Israel, and this land shall be your possession before YHWH.
Greek · Saints priority
32:22 and the land is brought under dominion before the Lord, then afterward you may return. You will be guiltless before the Lord and toward Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the Lord.
Both release the tribes from their obligation once the common campaign is fulfilled.
32:23 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:23 But if you do not do so, you will have sinned against YHWH; know that your sin will find you out.
Greek · Saints priority
32:23 But if you do not do so, you will sin before the Lord, and you will recognize your sin when evils overtake you.
Hebrew personifies sin as finding the offenders; Greek explicitly describes calamities overtaking them and bringing recognition of sin.
32:24 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:24 Build towns for your little ones and folds for your flocks, and do what has come from your mouth.”
Greek · Saints priority
32:24 Build yourselves towns for your dependents and folds for your livestock, and do what comes from your mouth.”
Greek’s household and livestock terms are broader than Hebrew’s little ones and flocks.
Leadership Charge
32:25 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:25 The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands.
Greek · Saints priority
32:25 The Reubenites and Gadites said to Moses, “Your servants will do as our lord commands.
Greek reverses the tribal order and uses “our lord” rather than Hebrew’s singular “my lord”; Moses is addressed.
32:26 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:26 Our little ones, our wives, our herds, and all our livestock will remain there in the towns of Gilead.
Greek · Saints priority
32:26 Our dependents, our wives, and all our livestock will remain in the towns of Gilead.
Greek condenses the two Hebrew livestock expressions and omits “there.”
32:27 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:27 But your servants will cross over, everyone armed for the army, before YHWH for war, as my lord says.”
Greek · Saints priority
32:27 But your servants will cross over, all armed and drawn up in formation before the Lord for war, as the lord says.”
Greek explicitly adds military formation. Its final “the lord” is retained without importing the Hebrew possessive; the immediate conversation is with Moses.
32:28 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:28 Moses gave instructions concerning them to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the ancestral heads of the Israelite tribes.
Greek · Saints priority
32:28 Moses appointed over them Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the rulers of the ancestral houses of the tribes of Israel.
Hebrew describes instructions given to the leaders; Greek describes their appointment over the tribes.
32:29 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:29 Moses said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, everyone armed for war before YHWH, and the land is subdued before you, give them the land of Gilead as a possession.
Greek · Saints priority
32:29 Moses said to them, “If the Reubenites and Gadites cross the Jordan with you, everyone equipped for war before the Lord, and you gain dominion over the land before you, give them the land of Gilead as a possession.
Greek reverses the tribal order and explicitly makes the addressees the agents of gaining dominion.
32:30 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:30 But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall receive a possession among you in the land of Canaan.”
Greek · Saints priority
32:30 But if they do not cross over equipped with you for war before the Lord, you shall bring their dependents, their wives, and their livestock across ahead of you into the land of Canaan, and they shall receive an inheritance among you in the land of Canaan.”
Greek adds an extensive instruction to move the households and livestock into Canaan ahead of the others. This changes the stated procedure for noncompliance.
32:31 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:31 The Gadites and Reubenites answered, “What YHWH has spoken to your servants, we will do.
Greek · Saints priority
32:31 The Reubenites and Gadites answered, “Everything the Lord says to His servants, we will do.
Besides the reversed tribal order, Hebrew says “your servants” to Moses; Greek says “His servants,” referring to the Lord.
32:32 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:32 We will cross over armed before YHWH into the land of Canaan, while our inherited possession remains with us on this side of the Jordan.”
Greek · Saints priority
32:32 We will cross over equipped before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and you shall give us our possession on this side of the Jordan.”
Hebrew asserts retention of their inherited possession; Greek explicitly asks the addressees to grant it.
32:33 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:33 Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan: the land with its towns and their territories, the towns of the surrounding land.
Greek · Saints priority
32:33 Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, of the sons of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan: the land and its towns with its boundaries, the towns of the surrounding land.
The territorial grant agrees.
City Rebuilding and Settlement
32:34 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:34 The Gadites built Dibon, Ataroth, and Aroer,
Greek · Saints priority
32:34 The Gadites built Dibon, Ataroth, and Aroer,
32:35 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:35 Atroth-shophan, Jazer, and Jogbehah,
Greek · Saints priority
32:35 Shophar and Jazer, and raised them up,
Greek has Shophar for Atroth-shophan and a verbal clause, “raised them up,” where Hebrew lists the town Jogbehah.
32:36 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:36 Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran, fortified towns and sheepfolds.
Greek · Saints priority
32:36 Nimrah and Beth-haran, fortified towns and sheepfolds.
Greek lacks Beth, “house,” in the first place-name.
32:37 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:37 The Reubenites built Heshbon, Elealeh, and Kiriathaim,
Greek · Saints priority
32:37 The Reubenites built Heshbon, Elealeh, and Kiriathaim,
32:38 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:38 Nebo and Baal-meon, their names being changed, and Sibmah. They gave names to the towns they built.
Greek · Saints priority
32:38 and Baal-meon, surrounded with defenses, and Sibmah. They named the towns they built according to their names.
Greek omits Nebo and describes surrounding or fortifying where Hebrew speaks of changed names. The Greek wording is not silently harmonized to the Hebrew renaming notice.
32:39 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:39 The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.
Greek · Saints priority
32:39 A son of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and destroyed the Amorite who lived there.
Hebrew has plural descendants and dispossession; Greek has a singular son and destruction.
32:40 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:40 Moses gave Gilead to Machir son of Manasseh, and he settled in it.
Greek · Saints priority
32:40 Moses gave Gilead to Machir son of Manasseh, and he settled there.
32:41 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:41 Jair son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, and called them Havvoth-jair.
Greek · Saints priority
32:41 Jair of Manasseh went and took their settlements, and named them Settlements of Jair.
Greek translates the settlement-name’s meaning; Hebrew retains Havvoth-jair.
32:42 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
32:42 Nobah went and captured Kenath and its dependent towns, and called it Nobah after his own name.
Greek · Saints priority
32:42 Nabau went and took Kenath and its villages, and named them Naboth after his own name.
Greek preserves the differing forms Nabau and Naboth; Hebrew uses Nobah for both the man and the renamed settlement.
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