Bible Strands

Numbers 26:23

These were the descendants of Issachar by their clans: The Tolaite clan from Tola, the Punite clan from Puvah,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator records a census of Israel’s second generation during their wilderness encampment before crossing the Jordan. This verse functions as a genealogical ledger listing the clan divisions of Issachar immediately after Judah’s registration.

The words — בְּנֵי יִשָּׂשכָר (benei Issachar) literally means “sons of Issachar,” marking direct tribal descent. מִשְׁפַּחַת (mishpaḥat) denotes a clan or extended family unit branching from that patriarchal line.

The thread — This list mirrors the birth records in Genesis 46:13 and 1 Chronicles 7:1, which identify Tola and Puah as Issachar’s sons. The consistent naming across historical and genealogical texts confirms the preservation of tribal boundaries.

Why it lands — The text requires acknowledgment that covenant promises are tracked through precise familial documentation. A reader must accept that continuity of identity depends on recorded lineage rather than abstract tradition.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

בְּנֵ֤יbe.Nei[the] descendants ofיִשָּׂשכָר֙yi.sa.sh.KharIssacharלְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֔םle./mish.pe.cho.Ta/mto/ clans/ theirתּוֹלָ֕עto.La'Tolaמִשְׁפַּ֖חַתmish.Pa.chat[the] clan ofהַתּוֹלָעִ֑יha./to.la.'Ithe/ Tolaite[s]לְפֻוָ֕הle./fu.Vahof/ Puahמִשְׁפַּ֖חַתmish.Pa.chat[the] clan ofהַפּוּנִֽי׃ha./pu.Nithe/ Punite[s]

King James Version

Of the sons of Issachar after their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites: of Pua, the family of the Punites:

Cross-references