Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service; and four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service: The tasks of the Gershonites and the Merarites are specified in 4.21-28 and 4.29-33 respectively. The Merarites had to transport the Tabernacle’s heavier framing materials, so Moses gave them twice the amount of wagons and oxen. New Living Translation provides a helpful model here, saying “He gave two wagons and four oxen to the Gershonite division for their work, 8 and he gave four wagons and eight oxen to the Merarite division for their work.” The sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari may be rendered simply “the Gershonites” and “the Merarites” (Contemporary English Version). According to their service is literally “according to the mouth of their service,” which may be translated simply “for their work” (Contemporary English Version). Service renders the same Hebrew noun as in verse 5 (see the comments there).

Under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest is literally “in the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest” (see the comments on 4.28). Good News Translation begins a new sentence here, saying “All their work was to be done under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron.” This rendering serves to clarify that the Gershonites as well as the Merarites served under Ithamar’s direction (see 4.28, 33). However, the problem with Good News Translation‘s separate sentence is that it suggests that the role of Ithamar is new information, mentioned here for the first time. This problem can be avoided by saying “Under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest, all their work could thus be done” (similarly Bijbel in Gewone Taal).

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 .