Derasha 6 on Bamidbar 2:20

Parashas Bamidbar · Passuk 2:20

The Complete Passuk

וְעָלָ֖יו מַטֵּ֣ה מְנַשֶּׁ֑ה וְנָשִׂיא֙ לִבְנֵ֣י מְנַשֶּׁ֔ה גַּמְלִיאֵ֖ל בֶּן־פְּדָהצֽוּר׃

Next to it:The tribe of Manasseh.Chieftain of the Manassites: Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.

Source: Bamidbar Rabbah 2:10.

Core Text — Bamidbar Rabbah 2:10

ועליו מטה מנשה — מכאן דעליו בסמוך משמע.

English: “And upon him the tribe of Menasheh” — from here [we learn] that “upon him” means adjacent / next to him.

In context: The preposition is not spatial “on top of” but “alongside”; the midrash uses the verse to fix the ordinary sense of the word.

Custom

Chazal derive that “alav” here means in proximity, not literally upon.