Numbers 25:9 — Word Study
WLCוַיִּהְי֕וּ הַמֵּתִ֖ים בַּמַּגֵּפָ֑ה אַרְבָּעָ֥ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֖ים אָֽלֶף׃ פ
BSAbut those who diedmûwth [came to their death, perished] in the plaguemaggêphâh [divine judgment, pestilence] numbered 24,000ʼarbaʻ [were counted as, twenty and four thousand, a large multitude]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וַיִּהְי֕וּ | and they were | Verb, Qal, sequential imperfect third person masculine plural |
| הַמֵּתִ֖ים | those [who] died | Particle, verb qal participle (active) masculine plural |
| בַּמַּגֵּפָ֑ה | by the plague | Preposition, noun common feminine singular absolute |
| אַרְבָּעָ֥ה | four | Adj |
| וְעֶשְׂרִ֖ים | and twenty | Conjunction |
| אָֽלֶף׃ פ | thousand |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000. |
| KJV | And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. |
| ASV | And those that died by the plague were twenty and four thousand. |
| YLT | and the dead by the plague are four and twenty thousand. |
| WEB | Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. |
| BBE | But twenty-four thousand of them had come to their death by the disease. |
Where they part company is אַרְבָּעָ֥ה — see How Translations Differ.
The sentence presents a main clause followed by a verb phrase that quantifies the subject.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbהָיָה
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Numbers 25:9
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Judgment on Israelgenerated
Numbers 25:9 describes the aftermath of a severe divine judgment against the Israelites, resulting from their unfaithfulness. The plague was a direct consequence of their actions, and this verse highlights the tragic toll it took on the community, with 24,000 lives lost. This event serves as a reminder of the seriousness of disobedience to God's commands, as seen in the surrounding verses that detail the events leading up to this judgment.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Numbers 25:4–5 | Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that His fierce anger may turn away from Israel.” |
| 2 | Numbers 16:49–50 | But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah. |
| 3 | Deuteronomy 4:3–4 | Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all who followed Baal of Peor. |
| 4 | 1 Corinthians 10:8 | We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 4 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — הָיָה, vai.yih.Yugenerated
The Hebrew verb הָיָה (hayah) means 'to be' or 'to exist.' It is often used in narrative contexts to indicate that something has occurred or come to pass. In this verse, it indicates the state of those who died as a result of the plague.
The parsing shows that it is a sequential imperfect verb in the third person masculine plural, indicating that the action of being was ongoing and refers to a group of people. This word frequently appears in the Old Testament to denote existence or events that have taken place.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses died for the Hebrew word מוּת (mūth). The KJV and ASV also use died, maintaining consistency.
Where translations differ is in the rendering of the number. The BSB states 24,000, while the KJV and ASV refer to it as twenty and four thousand, which emphasizes the numerical value more formally.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The finite verb וַיִּהְי֕וּ (vai.yih.Yu), meaning 'and they were,' governs the entire verse, indicating the state of those who died. The structure is straightforward, with the subject being those who died and the object being the number of casualties.
The sentence is built around a main clause that presents the action of dying in the context of the plague, followed by a numeral phrase that quantifies the loss of life.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates הָיָה as ἐγένοντο (egenonto), which also means 'they became' or 'they were.' This choice reflects a similar meaning but emphasizes the transition from life to death.
The Greek term τεθνηκότες (tethnēkotes) for מוּת suggests a completed action of dying, aligning with the finality of the deaths described in the Hebrew.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Numbers 25:9 tells us that 24,000 people died in a plague sent by God as a judgment against the Israelites. This event highlights the serious consequences of their actions and serves as a warning about the importance of obedience to God's commands.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
The deaths were caused by a plague, which was a divine judgment against the Israelites for their unfaithfulness.
This verse is part of a larger narrative that describes the consequences of Israel's disobedience, illustrating the seriousness of their actions.
The number 24,000 represents a large multitude of lives lost, emphasizing the severity of the judgment and the impact on the Israelite community.
In this context, 'plague' refers to a divine judgment or pestilence that resulted in death, highlighting God's response to the actions of the Israelites.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What lessons can we learn from the consequences faced by the Israelites in this passage?
- How does the concept of divine judgment appear in other parts of the Bible?
- In what ways can we ensure we remain obedient to God's commands in our own lives?
- How can we interpret the significance of numbers in biblical texts, such as the 24,000 who died?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Tertullian references this verse to discuss divine judgment, arguing from the example of the plague as a consequence of sin.
As far as that goes, we too have examples from this same past in favor of our own way of thinking, examples of a judgment on fornication which was not only not remiss but rather immediately executed.Early Church Fathers on Numbers 25 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Numbers 25:9 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. The apostle says 23,000 1 Corinthians 10:8.
Read John Gill on Numbers 25 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. Those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. Only 23,000 perished (1 Corinthians 10:8) from pestilence.
Read Robert Jamieson on Numbers 25 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleObject. They were but 23,000, . Answ. The odd thousand here added were slain by the judges according to the order of Moses, the rest by the immediate hand of God, but both sorts died of the plague, the word being used, as oft it is, for the sword, or hand, or stroke of God.
Read Matthew Poole on Numbers 25 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsNumbers 25:9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.Ver. 9. Twenty and four thousand.] Twenty and three thousand, saith St Paul, insisting only in the special punishment of the people, who were provoked to sin by that other thousand, their princes, and all to show, quam frigida et ieiuna sit eorum defensio, &c., saith Junius, how poorly they plead for themselves, that think to excuse their sins by alleging the examples of their superiors. Jun., Parallel.
Read John Trapp on Numbers 25 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(9) Twenty and four thousand.—In 1 Corinthians 10:8 the number of those who “fell in one day” is said to have been “three and twenty thousand.” It has been supposed that a thousand were put to death by the judges, and that these were not included in St. Paul’s enumeration. Presuming, however, that there has been no error in either place on the part of the scribes in recording the numbers, the words “in one day” may account for the apparent discrepancy.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Numbers 25 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 9. Those that died - were twenty and four thousand.] St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 10:8, reckons only twenty-three thousand; though some MSS. and versions, particularly the latter Syriac and the Armenian, have twenty-four thousand, with the Hebrew text. Allowing the 24,000 to be the genuine reading, and none of the Hebrew MSS. exhibit any various reading here, the two places may be reconciled thus: 1,000 men were slain in consequence of the examination instituted Numbers 25:4, and 23,000 in consequence of the orders given Numbers 25:5; making 24,000 in the whole. St. Paul probably refers only to the latter number.
Read AdamClarke on Numbers 25 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges9. twenty and four thousand] S. Paul uses the narrative as a warning to Christians (1 Corinthians 10:8). Either by a slip of memory or owing to a variant reading he gives the number as three and twenty thousand.
Read Cambridge on Numbers 25 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleTwenty and four thousand - Paul 1 Corinthians 10:8 says “three and twenty thousand,” following probably the Jewish tradition which deducted one thousand as the number slain by the hands of their brethren.
Read Albert Barnes on Numbers 25 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.
Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.
Those that died in the plague were 24,000.
Tyndale line
And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
And those that died by the plague were twenty and four thousand.
And those that died by the plague were twenty and four thousand.
And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
And there died in that plague, foure and twentie thousand.
Strictly literal
And those that died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.
and the dead by the plague are four and twenty thousand.
and the dead by the plague are twenty-four thousand.
And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand in number.
From the Latin
And there were slain four and twenty thousand men.
Simplified
but 24,000 had already died.
But twenty-four thousand of them had come to their death by the disease.
Word by word, the decisions they made
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text states: וַיִּהְי֕וּ הַמֵּתִ֖ים בַּמַּגֵּפָ֑ה אַרְבָּעָ֥ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֖ים אָֽלֶף׃ פ. The Septuagint matches this closely, providing a word-for-word correspondence. The Samaritan Pentateuch differs slightly, using מיתים instead of הַמֵּתִ֖ים, but the overall meaning remains consistent.
וַיִּהְי֕וּ הַמֵּתִ֖ים בַּמַּגֵּפָ֑ה אַרְבָּעָ֥ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֖ים אָֽלֶף׃ פ
6 of the 6 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
ויהיו המיתים במגפה ארבעה ועשׂרים אלף
1 word differs from the Masoretic Text: מיתים (die)
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Numbers 25:9
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
The Hebrew word הָיָה (hayah) is a primitive root meaning to exist or become, and it encompasses a range of meanings including to happen, occur, and come to pass. It is often used in narrative contexts, particularly in phrases like "and it came to pass." The word can also denote a state of being or existence, and it appears frequently in various forms throughout the Old Testament.
הָיָה 3570 vb. fall out, come to pass, become, be
Qal
Fall out, happen
occur, take place, come about, come to pass
esp. & very oft., come about, come to pass
וַיְהִי and it came to pass that, most often (c. 292 t.)
rarely also Pf. c. וְ conj. וְהָיָה
less oft. וְהָיָה Pf. consec. and it shall come to pass, or frequentat. came to pass (repeatedly, etc.)
Come into being, become
abs., in lively narrative, arise, appear, come
sq. prep.
become
sq. pred. noun (to be viewed as implicit accus.)
sq. pred. adj.
become like
sq. pred. לְ pers.
sq. לְ pred.
oft. c. לְ pred. לְ pers.
with עַל and לְ
sts. c. לְ pers. only = became the property of, come into the possession of
Be (often with subbordinate idea of becoming)
exist, be in existence
abide, remain, continue
with word of locality, be in or at a place, be situated, stand, lie
as copula, joining subj. & pred.
H1961 הָיָה fall out, come to pass, become, be .. . . Fall out, happen
. occur, take place, come about, come to pass
. esp. & very oft., come about, come to pass . . וַיְהִי and it came to pass that, most often (c. 292 t.)
. rarely also Pf. c. וְ conj. וְהָיָה
. less oft. וְהָיָה Pf. consec. and it shall come to pass, or frequentat. came to pass (repeatedly, etc.)
. Come into being, become . . abs., in lively narrative, arise, appear, come
. sq. prep.
. become . sq. pred. noun (to be viewed as implicit accus.)
. sq. pred. adj.
. become like
. sq. pred. + לְ pers.
. sq. לְ pred.
. oft. c. לְ pred. + לְ pers.
. with עַל and לְ
. sts. c. לְ pers. only = became the property of, come into the possession of
. Be (often with subbordinate idea of becoming) . exist, be in existence
. abide, remain, continue
1961 hayah haw-yaw
a primitive root (compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become,
come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or
auxiliary):--beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished,
committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint,
fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit
(one-)self, require, X use.
see HEBREW for 01933
הָיָה (ha.yah) — to be.
1) to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out
1a) (Qal)
1a1) ---
1a1a) to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass
1a1b) to come about, come to pass
1a2) to come into being, become
1a2a) to arise, appear, come
1a2b) to become
1a2b1) to become
1a2b2) to become like
1a2b3) to be instituted, be established
1a3) to be
1a3a) to exist, be in existence
1a3b) to abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time)
1a3c) to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated (with word of locality)
1a3d) to accompany, be with
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to occur, come to pass, be done, be brought about
1b2) to be done, be finished, be gone
Hc/Vqw3mp — Verb · Qal · sequential imperfect third person masculine pluralHc/Vqw3mp
מוּת (mūth) is a Hebrew verb meaning 'to die' or 'to kill.' It encompasses a range of meanings from dying naturally to being executed as a penalty. The word can refer to both humans and animals, and it includes various forms such as causing death or being killed. There is a distinction in usage based on the subject, whether it is a person or God inflicting death.
מוּת vb. die
Qal
die, of natural or other causes
die as a penalty = be put to death
Po‛lel. kill, put to death, despatch (intens.)
Hiph.
abs., elsewhere c. acc., subj. man
subj. God, by inflicting penalty
of animals killing men
bring to a premature death
Hoph. be killed, put to death
base
H4191 מוּת die .. die, of natural or other causes
. die as a penalty = be put to death
. kill, put to death, despatch (intens.)
. . abs., elsewhere c. acc., subj. man
. subj. God, by inflicting penalty
. of animals killing men
. bring to a premature death
. be killed, put to death
4191 muwth mooth
a primitive root: to die (literally or figuratively);
causatively, to kill:--X at all, X crying, (be) dead (body,
man, one), (put to, worthy of) death, destroy(-er), (cause to,
be like to, must) die, kill, necro(-mancer), X must needs,
slay, X surely, X very suddenly, X in (no) wise.
מוּת (mut) — to die.
1) to die, kill, have one executed
1a)(Qal)
1a1) to die
1a2) to die (as penalty), be put to death
1a3) to die, perish (of a nation)
1a4) to die prematurely (by neglect of wise moral conduct)
1b) (Polel) to kill, put to death, dispatch
1c) (Hiphil) to kill, put to death
1d) (Hophal)
1d1) to be killed, be put to death
1d1a) to die prematurely
Art | V-Qal — Particle · verb qal participle (active) masculine pluralHTd/Vqrmpa
מַגֵּפָה (maggephah) refers to a blow or stroke, often associated with fatal outcomes such as slaughter or pestilence. It encompasses meanings related to divine judgment and defeat, indicating both physical and metaphorical impacts. The term is used in contexts of plague and slaughter, highlighting its significance in discussions of calamity.
מַגֵּפָה n.f. blow, slaughter, plague, pestilence
base
H4046 מַגֵּפָה blow, slaughter, plague, pestilence
4046 maggephah mag-gay-faw'
from 5062; a pestilence; by analogy, defeat:--(X be)
plague(-d), slaughter, stroke.
see HEBREW for 05062
מַגֵּפָה (mag.ge.phah) — plague.
1) blow, slaughter, plague, pestilence, strike, smite
1a) blow (fatal stroke)
1b) slaughter (of battle)
1c) plague, pestilence (divine judgment)
Prep | N-fs — Preposition · noun common feminine singular absoluteHRd/Ncfsa
plag (negha`, makkah, maggephah; mastix, plege): This word which occurs more than 120 times is applied, like pestilence, to such sudden outbursts of disease as are regarded in the light of divine visitations. It is used in the description of leprosy about 60 times in Le 13 and 14, as well as in De 24:8. In the poetical, prophetic and eschatological books it occurs about 20 times in the general sense of a punitive disaster. The Gospel references (Mr 3:10; 5:29,34; Lu 7:21) use the word as a synonym for disease.
The specific disease now named "plague" has been from the earliest historic times a frequent visitant to Palestine and Egypt. Indeed in the Southeast between Gaza and Bubastis it has occurred so frequently that it may…
Plague
A “stroke” of affliction, or disease. Sent as a divine chastisement (Num. 11:33; 14:37; 16:46-49; 2 Sam. 24:21). Painful afflictions or diseases, (Lev. 13:3, 5, 30; 1 Kings 8:37), or severe calamity (Mark 5:29; Luke 7:21), or the judgment of God, so called (Ex. 9:14). Plagues of Egypt were ten in number.
(1.) The river Nile was turned into blood, and the fish died, and the river stank, so that the Egyptians loathed to drink of the river (Ex. 7:14-25).
See PESTILENCE.
→ As a judgment on the Egyptians Ps 105; 135:8,9; Ac 7:36
→ The plague of
Blood Ex 7:14-25
Frogs Ex 8:1-15
Lice Ex 8:16-19
Flies Ex 8:20
→ On cattle Ex 9:1-7
→ Of boils and open sores Ex 9:8-12
→ Hail Ex 9:18-34
→ Locusts Ex 10:1-20
→ Darkness Ex 10:21-23
→ Death of the firstborn Ex 11:4-7; 12:17,29,30
אַרְבַּע (arba) means 'four' in Hebrew. It is a masculine noun derived from the root associated with the number four. The entries consistently affirm this meaning without any significant disagreement among lexicons.
אַרְבַּע, אַרְבָּעָה four
base
H702 אַרְבַּע, אַרְבָּעָה four
702 'arba` ar-bah'
masculine oarbaah {ar-baw-aw'}; from 7251; four:--four.
see HEBREW for 07251
אַרְבַּע (ar.ba) — four.
four
Adj — AdjHAcbsa
for ('arba`; tessares): "Four" (cardinal number) was a sacred and complete number with the Hebrews, as well as with several other peoples. It occurs very frequently in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
(1) It indicates completeness. We have the four rivers of Paradise (Ge 2:10); the four winds of heaven (Eze 37:9; Da 7:2; 8:8; 11:4; Zec 6:5, the Revised Version, margin "spirits"; /APC 2Esdras 13:5); "the four winds" (Mt 24:31; Mr 13:27); "the four corners of the earth" (Isa 11:12;
עֶשְׂרִים (esriym) means 'twenty' and can also refer to the ordinal 'twentieth.' It is derived from the root word for 'ten' and has an Aramaic equivalent, עֶשְׂרִין (es.rin). The entries consistently define the term without significant disagreement.
עֶשְׂרִים (a) twenty
base
H6242 עֶשְׂרִים (a) twenty
6242 `esriym es-reem'
from 6235; twenty; also (ordinal) twentieth:--(six-)score,
twenty(-ieth).
see HEBREW for 06235
עֶשְׂרִים (es.rim) — twenty.
twenty, twentieth
Aramaic equivalent: es.rin (עֶשְׂרִין "twenty" H6243)
HC/Acmpa — ConjunctionHC/Acmpa
twen'-ti.
See NUMBER.
אֶ֫לֶף (eleph) means 'thousand' in Hebrew. It can refer to the numeral itself or denote a company or clan, particularly a group of men under one leader. The word is built from the concept of a thousand, and it is associated with the ox's head, which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
אֶ֫לֶף n.m. thousand
base
H505 אֶ֫לֶף thousand
505 'eleph eh'-lef
prop, the same as 504; hence (the ox's head being the first
letter of the alphabet, and this eventually used as a numeral)
a thousand:--thousand.
see HEBREW for 0504
אֶ֫לֶף (e.leph) — thousand.
: thousand
1) a thousand
1a) as numeral
2) a thousand, company
2a) as a company of men under one leader, troops
אֶ֫לֶף (e.leph) — thousand: clan.
: clan
1) a thousand
1a) as numeral
2) a thousand, company
2a) as a company of men under one leader, troops
HAcbsa — HAcbsa
thou'-zand ('eleph; chilioi).
See NUMBER.