‘These are they who were called by the congregation the princes of the tribes of their fathers, they were the heads of the thousands of Israel.'
These twelve men were the recognised great chieftains of the tribes, ‘the princes of the tribes of their fathers'. They were the titular heads of the fighting men of Israel, who would themselves be seen in terms of their military units, or of their ‘family groupings'.
“Heads of the ” lph of Israel.' 'lph can signify ‘thousands, families, subtribes, clans, military units, military officers, chieftains'. Here the 'lph of Israel are the sub-tribes which make up the tribe or alternatively the military units which compose their fighting force. In fact in terms of those days the two were almost synonymous. The fighting force was made up of the men of Israel, and the tribes were mainly seen in terms of the men of Israel. It is only in later times that standing armies would be set up.