Numbers 26:24

Study note

Setting — The text records a census of the tribe of Issachar in the plains of Moab, listing specific family groups. Moses documents these clan names as part of the second registration of Israel before entering the land.

The words — The Hebrew terms מִשְׁפַּחַת (mishpaḥat) and the gentilics הַיַּשׁוּבִי (hayyashuvi) and הַשִּמְרֹנִי (hashimroni) identify the Jashubite and Shimronite clans. These words literally denote family units named after their founding patriarchs, Jashub and Shimron.

The thread — This verse continues the lineage list found in Genesis 46:13, which records Shimron as one of the sons of Issachar. The tribal registration pattern repeats throughout the Pentateuch to establish territorial inheritance rights.

Why it lands — The text demands precise acknowledgment of family origins to validate each clan’s share in the promised land. Readers must recognize that tribal identity and land allocation depend on documented genealogy rather than individual merit.

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.