Numbers 31:3 - On the noun אֲנָשִׁים

(The above rendering comes from the RJPS translation, an adaptation of the NJPS translation. Before accounting for this rendering, I will analyze the plain sense of the Hebrew term אִישׁ—in this case, its plural form אֲנָשִׁים—by employing a situation-oriented construal as outlined in this document, pp. 11–16.)

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Here, as usual, אֲנָשִׁים is employed to schematically depict a situation—in this case, a situation that revolves around its key participant. It marks the participant in question (in this case, a plural entity) as essential for grasping that situation. This is a classic function of the situating noun, and a directive like this one is a classic setting for that function.

The governing verb חלץ seems to designate a process of selection or picking out from a larger body for a given purpose (Harry M. Orlinsky, Notes on the New Translation of the Torah, 1970, ad loc.). Rashi perceptively likens the usage here to that in Exod 17:9 and in Deut 1:15.

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As for rendering into English, the NJPS rendering ‘men’ nowadays overstates gender as being at issue. (This noun formerly labeled its referent reliably in terms of the situation, making it usually the best equivalent for the meaning of biblical אֲנָשִׁים.)

For translating in contexts of use like this one, where the English situating noun is not (or no longer) suitable, a relational noun most often serves as the best equivalent to אִישׁ by calling attention to the situation under discussion. In the co-text, the military purpose conveyed by לַצָּבָא is not made entirely clear by the NJPS rendering “for a campaign.” That vagueness suggests now rendering אֲנָשִׁים by the role noun “troops,” to clarify that the situation in view is one of warfare. That label is also compatible with the NJPS rendering later in the passage: אַנְשֵׁי הַצָּבָא as “troops” (v. 21).

Rendering as ‘troops’ here is not a claim that אֲנָשִׁים means “troops” in Hebrew. Rather, in this setting, ‘troops’ is the best available rendering in English. See further my comment for rendering the similar usage in Exod 17:9.