Ibn Ezra on Numbers 26:12

הימיני. אל תבקש דקדוק בשמות וכן מן פוני ומן לשפופם השופמי לימנה משפחת הימנה ואיננו הימיני כמו מן בריעה בריעי וחגי ושוני חסר יו"ד היחס או זה יו"ד היחס ושל השם חסר והוא הנכון ואחר ראובן שמעון וגד החונים עליו רק מנשה קודם אפרים ובמדבר סיני הפוך והנכון שזה בעבור מספרם כי בני אפרים יוסיפו על בני מנשה במדבר סיני שמונת אלפים ושלשת מאות ובערבות מואב יוסיפו בני מנשה על בני אפרים עשרים אלף ומאתים וכן זכר למשפחות חמשה בנים לבנימין והם בכר וגרא ונעמן וראש וארד: THE JAMINITES. Do not seek grammatical consistency in names. Compare, puvvah²³Puvvah the son of Issachar. and puni (Punites) (v. 23).²⁴We would expect puvvi rather than puni to be used for a member of Puvvah’s family. From shefufam²⁵The son of Benjamin. Scripture derives shufami (v. 39).²⁶As the term for a member of his family. However, we would expect the term shefufami to be used. Scripture also reads: of yimnah (Imnah), the family of yimnah (v. 44), not ha-yemini²⁷Which is the correct grammatical form for a member of the family of yimnah. as it does in the case of bri’ah²⁸The son of Asher. and beri’iy (Beriites)²⁹The family of Beriah. (v. 44); Chaggi³⁰Chaggi and shuni were sons of Gad. Scripture refers to members of their family by the terms chaggi and shuni rather than chaggi’iy or shuni’iy. and shuni (v. 15) lacking the yod gentile.³¹These terms are thus irregular. On the other hand, the yod of chaggi and shuni might be the yod gentile and the yod of the proper name³²The yod of the names of chaggi and shuni. is missing. The latter is correct. After Reuben, Scripture lists Simeon and Gad, who pitched next to Reuben.³³And similarly the other tribes. In other words, Scripture does not list the tribes in the order of their births but by their banners. See Num. 10:11-28. However, Manasseh is mentioned before Ephraim.³⁴In verses 28-34. The order is reversed in the wilderness of Sinai.³⁵In Num. 1:32-35. It appears that this is due to their number, for the sons of Ephraim were more numerous than the sons of Manasseh in the wilderness of Sinai by eight thousand and three hundred,³⁶Hence they were there mentioned first. At the census taken in the wilderness of Sinai, Ephraim numbered 40,500 (Num. 1:33) and Manasseh numbered 32,200 (Ibid., 35). and in the plains of Moab the sons of Manasseh numbered more than the sons of Ephraim by twenty thousand and two hundred.³⁷Hence they were mentioned first. See verses 34 and 37. No mention is made of the family of the following five sons of Benjamin: Becher, Gera, Naaman, Rosh, and Ard.³⁸See Gen. 46:21.