And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting was to be …: Charge renders the same Hebrew word (mishmeret) translated “duties” in verses 7-8. As there, it refers to duties that had to be done regularly. It may be rendered “duty,” “task,” or “responsibility” (New Revised Standard Version). In this context the sons of Gershon is better rendered “the descendants of Gershon” or simply “the Gershonites” (New International Version). After verses 23-24, most translations continue with the past tense in verses 25-26 as well (so Revised Standard Version with was to be). But the Hebrew lacks a past tense verb, or any verb, for that matter. (King James Version, Russian Synodal Orthodox Version, and Luther translate verses 23-26 with a present or future tense, thus showing more clearly that the text is instructional.) In some languages it may be possible to leave verbs out altogether in order to show that verses 25-26 are part of a list; for example, the beginning of these verses may be rendered “Charge of the sons of Gershon in the tent of meeting: the dwelling-place…” (similarly Buber). Perhaps some special indentation on the printed page would also help to distinguish this genre.

In general, the tabernacle is the same as the tent of meeting (see the comments on 1.50). However, in this verse the tabernacle (literally “the dwelling-place”) is not quite the same as the tent of meeting as a whole, but more precisely, the tabernacle is God’s dwelling-place under the tent coverings. Good News Translation refers to the tabernacle as the “inner cover” of the Tent of Meeting, and the tent with its covering as the “outer cover” over it. By not repeating the word tent, Good News Translation avoids the confusion that Revised Standard Version may cause (how many tents?). Contemporary English Version avoids confusion by rendering the tabernacle, the tent with its covering as “the tent itself, along with its outer covering.” So the following coverings are mentioned here: the inner cover (which is the tent itself) as well as the outer cover. But, while the outer covering is referred to as one covering here, this is not the case in 4.25 and Exo 26.7-14.

The screen for the door of the tent of meeting refers to the curtain that covered the entrance to the Tabernacle.

The hangings of the court refers to the curtains that formed a fence around the Tabernacle and its court, that is, its courtyard.

The screen for the door of the court which is around the tabernacle and the altar refers to the curtain that covered the entrance to the Tabernacle’s courtyard. Good News Translation says “the curtain for the entrance of the court.” The altar refers to the altar of sacrifice in front of the entrance to the Tabernacle and not to the incense altar inside the Tabernacle. The Hebrew word for altar comes from a verb meaning “to slaughter,” but the noun eventually came to be used of places where any kind of sacrifice was offered to God. In some languages the word altar has to be rendered by a descriptive phrase such as “table where people burn sacrifices to God” or “place where offerings are given to God.”

In some languages it may be appropriate to use the same word for covering, screen, and hangings (so Bijbel in Gewone Taal).

Its cords refers to the ropes that held the Tabernacle’s coverings in place. The ropes were tied to tent pegs driven into the ground (see Exo 35.8; 39.40).

All the service pertaining to these is literally “for all its [the Tabernacle’s] service.” Revised Standard Version‘s fairly literal rendering may be very confusing in most languages, especially coming at the end of such a long and detailed sentence. Good News Translation provides a helpful model with “They were responsible for all the service connected with these items.” Contemporary English Version makes it clear what the service was by saying “The Gershonites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down.”

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 .