Deuteronomy 31:9

Summary

This verse states that Moses wrote down "this law" and gave it to the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of Yehovah, as well as to all the elders of Israel. The verse marks the transmission of a written text to specific custodians.

Key words

• i.yikh.To ("he wrote down", H3789) — qal narrative verb, third person masculine singular, opening the sequence of action with "and then he wrote."
• to.Rah ("law", H8451) — feminine singular noun, definite (via the article ha, H9009) and further specified by the demonstrative zoT ("this", H2063), producing "the law, this one" = "this law."
• No.se.'Im ("carry", H5375H) — qal participle, masculine plural, functioning as a substantive relative clause: "the ones who carry," describing the priests' ongoing role.
• 'a.Ron ("ark of", H0727) and be.Rit ("covenant of", H1285) — both nouns in construct state, chaining together as "ark of the covenant of Yehovah," each word depending grammatically on the next.
• zik.Nei ("elders of", H2205G) — construct plural adjective functioning as a noun, linked to Yis.ra.'El ("Israel", H3478) to form "elders of Israel."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built on two coordinated narrative verbs joined by the vav consecutive (va, H9001): i.yikh.To ("he wrote down") and i.yi.te.Nah ("he gave it," H5414G with the pronominal suffix Nah, H9034, "it/her," referring back to to.Rah, a feminine noun). This vav-consecutive chain marks sequential action: first writing, then giving.

The object of writing is ha.tto.Rah ha.zoT, "the law, this one," with both the noun and demonstrative carrying the definite article, a common Hebrew construction for "this [specific] law." The recipients of the giving are introduced by the preposition 'el ("to", H0413), used twice: first for the priests, then for the elders, coordinated by ve ("and", H9002). This double use of 'el creates two distinct target groups for the transmission.

The priests are identified through a construct chain, ko.ha.Nim be.Nei Le.vi ("priests, sons of Levi"), and further described by the participial clause ha.No.se.'Im 'et-'a.Ron be.Rit Yehovah ("who carry the ark of the covenant of Yehovah"). The participle No.se.'Im (H5375H) expresses a continuous or characteristic action rather than a single completed event, marking this as their ongoing function. The construct chain 'a.Ron be.Rit Yehovah stacks three nouns in a genitive-like relationship: "ark," "covenant," "Yehovah," each word modifying the next.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ha.tto.Rah ha.zoT ("this law") as τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ νόμου τούτου εἰς βιβλίον ("the words of this law into a book"), adding the notion of a "book" (βιβλίον) and "words" (ῥήματα) not explicit in the Hebrew construct here. The Vulgate follows the Hebrew more closely with legem hanc ("this law"), without the "book" expansion found in the LXX.