The families of the Gershonites were to encamp behind the tabernacle on the west: Verses 23, 29, 35, and 38 give the Levites’ camp positions around the Tent of Meeting. The Gershonites had to encamp on its west side. As in the previous verses, the Hebrew word for families (mishpachah) is better translated “clans” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Again, the singular word “clan” in Good News Translation is misleading. The verb rendered were to encamp (see 1.50) is not in the past tense in Hebrew. The Hebrew form of this verb is the same as in 1.53 and 2.2. Here in verse 23 as well as in 1.53 and 2.2, Luther translates this verb as a command, saying “should encamp” (similarly King James Version, Russian Synodal Orthodox Version). As a command, the Gershonites had to do it repeatedly, that is, whenever they set up their camp. In some languages this verb may be rendered as a repetitive command or in the present or future tense to bring out the list character of the text. The Hebrew verb here certainly allows for such a rendering. However, the translation should not give the wrong impression that the LORD is speaking to Moses here. Verses 23-24 are a statement by the author.

Behind the tabernacle on the west does not contradict 2.18, which speaks about the camp of Ephraim being on the west side of the Tent of Meeting. According to 2.17, the camp of the Levites was closer to the Tent than any other tribe’s camp. The camp of Ephraim was behind the Tent, but not as close as the camp of the Gershonites. This phrase may be rendered “closely behind [or, very close to] the Tent of Meeting on its western side.” For tabernacle see 1.50; for west see 2.18.

With Eliasaph, the son of Lael as head of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites is literally “and a chief of the house of a father for the Gershonites Eliasaph, the son of Lael.” This is actually quite a difficult or potentially ambiguous construction in many languages. It may be clearer to separate the content of verses 23 and 24, even if this results in sentences that are relatively short (so New Century Version). Strictly speaking, the Hebrew does not have head but “chief” (Good News Translation) or “chieftain” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The Hebrew word for head is nasiʾ, which refers to a prominent and distinguished leader, for example, a sheikh (see the comments on 1.16). In Revised Standard Version fathers’ house seems to be used here in a wider sense than in 1.2 (see the comments there). New Living Translation uses the wider sense by rendering head of the fathers’ house of the Gershonites as “The leader of the Gershonite clans.” However, a rendering such as “the family leader for the Gershonites” (similarly Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bijbel: Vertaling in opdracht van het Nederlandsch Bijbelgenootschap) shows a more accurate analysis of the Hebrew construction here, which is literally “a leader of the house of a father for the Gershonites.” In Hebrew fathers’ house is not directly connected with Gershonites. So it remains valid to interpret fathers’ house (or more accurately “father’s house”) in the same way as in 1.2, which is “family.” According to this interpretation, Eliasaph was one of several family chiefs, the one who led the Gershonites. In the end, however, the complications that go with fathers’ house at this point may have to be avoided in translation. A good model that does this for verse 24 is “The chief of the clans of Gershon was Eliasaph, the son of Lael.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is even less complicated with “Their chief was Eliasaph, the son of Lael.”

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .