דַּבְּרוּ־נָ֞א בְּאׇזְנֵ֨י כׇל־בַּעֲלֵ֣י שְׁכֶם֮ מַה־טּ֣וֹב לָכֶם֒ הַמְשֹׁ֨ל בָּכֶ֜ם שִׁבְעִ֣ים אִ֗ישׁ כֹּ֚ל בְּנֵ֣י יְרֻבַּ֔עַל אִם־מְשֹׁ֥ל בָּכֶ֖ם אִ֣ישׁ אֶחָ֑ד וּזְכַרְתֶּ֕ם כִּֽי־עַצְמְכֶ֥ם וּבְשַׂרְכֶ֖ם אָֽנִי׃
“Put this question to all the citizens of Shechem: Which is better for you—to be ruled by all seventy sons of Jerubbaal, or to be ruled by one? And remember, I am your own flesh and blood.”aflesh and blood Lit. “bone and flesh.”
(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 containing אִישׁ.)
Prototypically, אִישׁ is used in sketching a situation schematically. Here, it is employed as a counting unit, which is a related function.
As for rendering into English, the NJPS ‘by seventy men—by all the sons of Jerubbaal’ is obsolete English for nonspecific enumeration purposes, given that nowadays such usage of men points to the sons’ gender—and implies a contrast with women/daughters. The revised rendering places less emphasis on gender and closely matches NRSV, REB, ESV, CEV, NLT, and NIV.