Numbers 32:16 - On the “dependents” label

וַיִּגְּשׁ֤וּ אֵלָיו֙ וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ גִּדְרֹ֥ת צֹ֛אן נִבְנֶ֥ה לְמִקְנֵ֖נוּ פֹּ֑ה וְעָרִ֖ים לְטַפֵּֽנוּ׃

Then they stepped up to him and said, “We will build here sheepfolds for our flocks and towns for our dependents.

(The above rendering comes from the RJPS translation, an adaptation of the NJPS translation.)


On the denotation of טַף here, see my comments at Exod 10:10 and at Num 31:9.


As for rendering into English, the NJPS “children” is misleading; it obscures the fact that women are likewise in view. The revised rendering employs a broader term that includes women in its scope.