Numbers 3:18

Study note

Setting — Moses records this genealogical list for the Israelite community during the wilderness census, immediately after identifying Levi’s three primary sons.

The words — לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑/ם (le./mish.pe.cho.Ta/m) translates literally to "to/ clans/ their," marking the shift from individual patriarchs to organized family divisions.

The thread — This specific pairing recurs in Exodus 6:17, 1 Chronicles 6:17, and Numbers 3:21, where the same two names are formally designated as the Gershonite clans.

Why it lands — The text states only the names and their clan affiliation before any theological inference; it requires the reader to track how institutional structure preserves lineage rather than relying on oral 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.