Deuteronomy 3:25

Summary

In this verse Moses asks Yehovah for permission to cross the Jordan and see the good land on its other side, specifically the hill country and Lebanon. The verse is a direct petition expressed through two cohortative verb forms joined by the particle of entreaty.

Key words

• 'e'.be.rah ("let me pass over", H5674A) — qal form expressing a first-person wish/request, "let me cross over."
• na' ("please", H4994) — interjection of entreaty attached to the verb, softening the request into a plea.
• 'er.'eh ("I may see", H7200G) — imperfect with vav, continuing the request as a purpose following the crossing: "so that I may see."
• 'E.ver ("the other side of", H5676H) — construct noun, linking directly to "Jordan" to indicate the location "on the other side of the Jordan."
• Har ("hill country", H2022H) — masculine singular noun, designating the elevated region referred to as "this good hill country."

What the text says

The verse opens with two verbal forms in sequence: 'e'.be.rah ("let me pass over," H5674A) followed immediately by na' ("please," H4994), forming a polite request — "let me pass over, please." This is joined by the conjunction ve ("and," H9002) to 'er.'eh ("I may see," H7200G), producing a purpose clause: crossing over so that seeing may follow. The two actions—crossing and seeing—are grammatically bound together as a single petition with sequential intent.

The object of seeing is introduced by the untranslated marker 'et (H0853) followed by ha-'Aretz ha-tovah ("the good land," H0776G + H2896A), where the adjective "good" follows the noun with the definite article repeated on both words, a common Hebrew pattern for definite noun-adjective phrases. The relative particle 'asher ("which," H0834A) introduces a description of this land's location: be-'ever ha-Yarden ("on the other side of the Jordan," H5676H + H3383), using the construct noun 'ever ("side of," H5676H) tied directly to "the Jordan."

The final phrase lists two additional features in apposition to the land already mentioned: ha-har ha-tov ha-zeh ("this good hill country," H2022H + H2896A + H2088), using the demonstrative zeh ("this," H2088) to point specifically to the hill country, and ve-ha-Levanon ("and the Lebanon," H3844G), joined by the conjunction ve. The repeated definite articles across "the hill country," "the good," and "this" show grammatical agreement, marking the phrase as a single definite unit within the larger request.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders 'e'.be.rah na' ("let me pass over, please") as διαβὰς οὖν ("having crossed, therefore"), omitting the explicit "please" and using a participial construction rather than a direct plea. The Vulgate's Transibo igitur ("I will therefore cross") similarly drops the entreaty force of na' (H4994), presenting the request as a plain future statement rather than a polite appeal found in the Hebrew.