Numbers 27:21 - On the “Israelites” label

(כא) וְלִפְנֵ֨י אֶלְעָזָ֤ר הַכֹּהֵן֙ יַעֲמֹ֔ד וְשָׁ֥אַל ל֛וֹ בְּמִשְׁפַּ֥ט הָאוּרִ֖ים לִפְנֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה עַל־פִּ֨יו יֵצְא֜וּ וְעַל־פִּ֣יו יָבֹ֗אוּ ה֛וּא וְכׇל־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל אִתּ֖וֹ וְכׇל־הָעֵדָֽה׃

But he shall present himself to Eleazar the priest, who shall on his behalf seek the decision of the Urim before GOD. By such instruction they shall go out and by such instruction they shall come in, he and all the Israelites,* and the whole community.”

*all the Israelites I.e., the entire militia, on the nation’s behalf.

(The above rendering and its footnote come from the RJPS translation, an adaptation of the NJPS translation. In this case, the translation itself has not been altered, while the footnote is newly added.)


On the expression כׇּל־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל and its use as a metonym, see the section “Gender and Figurative Language” in this introduction, pp. 3–4; and see my comment to Exod 12:3, where the term כׇּל־עֲדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל is similarly employed.