And with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince,
throughout all the tribes of Israel
The nine tribes and a half, so that the half tribe of Manasseh sent a prince, as well as the whole tribes:
and each one [was] an head of the house of their fathers among the
thousands of Israel;
that is, among the rulers of the thousands of Israel; and so the Greek version calls them Chiliarchs, rulers of thousands; for the people were divided into tens, fifties, hundreds, and thousands, over whom there were distinct rulers, ( Exodus 18:25 ) . Now these were among the chief of them, of the highest rank and authority; they were the chief princes, heads of several tribes; a very honourable deputation this! the son of the high priest, and ten princes, the heads of the tribes; these were chosen and sent, partly in honour to their brethren beyond Jordan, and partly that they might carry the greater authority with them, and prevail upon them to hearken to them.