According to the BibleHub, the word merivvot is plural. If so, why it is translated as "ten thousands" instead of "tenS of thousands"
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1The idiomatic English is 'ten thousand' (See many questions on Stack Exchange English Language & Usage) which appears to be singular grammatically because it is the singular nouns which express the number which conveys the concept 10,000. 'Tens of thousands' would indicate more than 10,000.– Nigel JCommented Jul 10 at 11:03
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1 Answer
As the OP has correctly pointed out, מֵרִבְבֹ֣ת (meribbboth = ten thousand) in Deut 33:2 is plural and is thus should be translated as either:
- ten thousands (eg, ESV, KJV, NKJV, ASV, ESV, WBT, etc)
- tens of thousands (this is clumsy English and is avoided by all versions I could find)
- myriads (eg, NIV, NASB, BSB, Aramaic in English, JPS, LSV, MSB, NAB, NRSV, etc)
Any of these are equally correct and it is up to the translator as to which they choose. Note that our English word "myriad" come from the same Greek word μυριάς, μυριάδος, meaning 10,000.
