פירוש על במדבר 7:24

ביום השלישי וגו׳ means, ON THE THIRD DAY, THE PRINCE who offered WAS OF THE SONS OF ZEBULUN, and similar is the meaning of the parallel statement in the case of all of them (all the other tribes). In the case of Nethaneel, however, of whom it is stated, (v. 18) הקריב “[on the second day] did Nethaneel the son of Zuar offer”, it is appropriate to use after it the phrase: “the prince of Issachar”, since it has already mentioned his name and the fact that he offered, whilst in the case of the others of whom it is not stated “he offered”, this phrase is the appropriate one, viz., the prince belonging to the sons of that-and-that tribe, when the meaning of the entire sentence is: on that day the prince who offered was of the sons of so-and-so.

אליאב בן חלון. He was called so seeing he, or his tribe, enabled Issachar to devote themselves to the uninterrupted study of Torah. Similar considerations prompted Moses in Deut. 33,18 to mention the tribe of Zevulun ahead of the tribe of Issachar in his blessings although Issachar was senior to Zevulun by birth. The most appropriate way of translating his name would be "it behooves me to be called father (in relation to Issachar)." The word חלון emphasises that although, biologically speaking, he is only the descendant of chulin, someone secular, occupied with trading instead of Torah study, he nevertheless has attained the rank of seniority to Issachar being the one who provides the wherewithal for Issachar to study Torah.

On the third day, the leader was. Rashi is answering the question: “On the third day the leader was…” implies that on the third day he was the leader, but afterwards he was not the leader.