Clan

CLAN, the RSV rendering of the Heb. מִשְׁפָּחָה, H5476, clan, the circle of consanguineous relatives. The word has various shades of meaning depending on the context. It is read “clan” only in Judges 6:15, “family,” 9:1; 12:9 (KJV) “whom he sent abroad”; Isaiah 60:22 (KJV) “thousand”; Zechariah 9:7 (KJV) “governor.” The other VSS are similarly confused. Semitic lang. words for relationships are difficult to render into Indo-European semantic systems because of the concentric nature of such relationships in the Sem. world. The KJV renders the term, “duke,” “division,” “tribe,” and “kindred” also. Generally such kinship groups are far larger than the simple family and include not only married couples and their children, but a group of brothers and their wives, concubines, nephews, nieces, and servants.