Leviticus 24:10
in Leviticus 24Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and the son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp:
KJV
And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp;
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This verse in Leviticus 24
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, etc. - This is a very obscure account, and is encumbered with many difficulties. 1. It seems strange that a person proceeding from such an illegal mixture should have been incorporated with the Israelites. 2. What the cause of the strife between this mongrel person and the Israelitish man was is not even hinted at.
This site's exposition
the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian
on Leviticus 24:10-11
The book breaks into narrative for the second and last time, and the man at the centre of it is half Egyptian. Exodus 12:38 records a mixed multitude going up with Israel, so a household like his was ordinary in that camp. He and a man of Israel fight, he blasphemes the Name and curses, and the text names his mother, Shelomith the daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan, while leaving him unnamed. What started the quarrel is never said.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Whose father was an Egyptian - This circumstance seems noted, partly to shew the danger of marriages with persons of wicked principles, and partly by this severity against him who was a stranger by the father, and an Israelite by the mother, to shew that God would not have this sin go unpunished amongst his people, what-soever he was that committed it.
And the son of an Israelitish woman,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The "mixed multitude" [Ex 12:38] that accompanied the Israelites in their exodus from Egypt creates a presumption that marriage connections of the kind described were not infrequent. And it was most natural, in the relative circumstances of the two people, that the father should be an Egyptian and the mother an Israelite.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
AND THE SON OF AN ISRAELITE WOMAN, WHOSE FATHER WAS AN EGYPTIAN, WENT OUT, etc. This means that he went out among the children of Israel, 520 In the Hebrew, the word vayeitzei (and he went out) is not adjoined to the phrase, among the children of Israel.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּצֵא֙ | vaiyetze' | and he went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | a son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אִשָּׁ֣ה | ʾishah | a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| יִשְׂרְאֵלִ֔ית | yisreelit | Israelite | H3481 → | 5 times |
| וְהוּא֙ | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [was] a son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מִצְרִ֔י | mitzri | Egyptian | H4713 → | |
| בְּת֖וֹךְ | betokh | in among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַיִּנָּצוּ֙ | vaiyinatzu | and they struggled together | H5327 → | |
| בַּֽמַּחֲנֶ֔ה | bamachaneh | in the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| בֶּ֚ן | ben | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִ֔ית | haiyisreelit | the Israelite [woman] | H3481 → | 5 times |
| וְאִ֖ישׁ | veish | and [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִֽי׃ | haiyisreeli | the Israelite[s] | H3481 → | 5 times |
וַיֵּצֵא֙and he went out
vaiyetze'H3318 →1067 times
בֶּן־a son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אִשָּׁ֣הa woman
ʾishahH802 →781 times
יִשְׂרְאֵלִ֔יתIsraelite
yisreelitH3481 →5 times
וְהוּא֙and he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
בֶּן־[was] a son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אִ֣ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מִצְרִ֔יEgyptian
mitzriH4713 →
בְּת֖וֹךְin among
betokhH8432 →418 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַיִּנָּצוּ֙and they struggled together
vaiyinatzuH5327 →
בַּֽמַּחֲנֶ֔הin the camp
bamachanehH4264 →215 times
בֶּ֚ן[the] son of
benH1121 →4930 times
הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִ֔יתthe Israelite [woman]
haiyisreelitH3481 →5 times
וְאִ֖ישׁand [the] man of
veishH376 →1663 times
הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִֽי׃the Israelite[s]
haiyisreeliH3481 →5 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 11:4Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:6
These things took place as examples to keep us from craving evil things as they did.
- Exodus 12:38
And a mixed multitude also went up with them, along with great droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.
- Psalms 106:14
They craved intensely in the wilderness and tested God in the desert.
- Psalms 78:18–20
They willfully tested God by demanding the food they craved.
- Nehemiah 13:3
As soon as the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all of foreign descent.
- 1 Corinthians 10:6
Through
Exodus 12:38And a mixed multitude also went up with them, along with great droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.
it leads to
- Numbers 11:4
Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?
- Zechariah 8:23
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue will tightly grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for…
- Numbers 11:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.