‘And these are the names of the men who will stand with you. Of Reuben: Elizur the son of Shedeur. Of Simeon: Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. Of Judah: Nahshon the son of Amminadab. Of Issachar: Nethanel the son of Zuar. Of Zebulun: Eliab the son of Helon. Of the children of Joseph, of Ephraim: Elishama the son of Ammihud, of Manasseh: Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. Of Benjamin: Abidan the son of Gideoni. Of Dan: Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. Of Asher: Pagiel the son of Ochran. Of Gad: Eliasaph the son of Deuel. Of Naphtali: Ahira the son of Enan.'
The names of the twelve chieftains are given. The preponderance of names including ‘El' or ‘Shaddai' (Shedeur, Zurishaddai, Ammishaddai) should be noted. As yet the use of Yah was rare in names, although Moses' ‘maternal ancestor' was named Yo-chebed (Numbers 26:59; Exodus 6:20) This confirms the early date of the list. Elizur signifies ‘My God (El) is a rock.' Shedeur means ‘Shaddai is my light', Shelumiel means ‘God is my friend'. Zurishaddai means ‘Shaddai is my rock'. Nahshon probably means ‘serpentlike' or ‘enchanter'. Eliab means ‘my God is father'. Ammishaddai means ‘Shaddai is my kinsman'. And so on.