Deuteronomy 32:48

Summary

The verse reports that Yehovah (H3068) spoke to Moses on a specific day, introducing what follows as direct speech. It functions as a narrative introduction, marking the precise moment of a divine communication with a temporal formula emphasizing "this very day."

Key words

• va-yedaBer ("and he spoke", H1696G) — piel narrative form with vav-consecutive, indicating a sequential main narrative action: "and then he spoke."
• Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) — proper name functioning as subject of the verb, identifying the speaker.
• 'Etzem ("substance/bone of", H6106H) — feminine singular construct noun, here used idiomatically to intensify "day," yielding "the very substance/essence of this day," i.e., "this exact day."
• ha-Yom ("the day", H3117G) — masculine singular noun with definite article, the temporal anchor of the construct phrase.
• leMor ("saying", H0559) — qal infinitive construct, standard formula introducing reported speech that follows.

What the text says

The clause opens with the narrative vav on va-yedaBer, which chains this statement to the preceding text as the next event in sequence. The piel stem of daBer ("to speak", H1696G) carries an intensive nuance often associated with formal or authoritative speech, distinguishing it from the simpler qal form of "to say." The subject Yehovah (H3068G) follows immediately, then the preposition 'el (H0413) introduces the recipient, Mosheh (H4872).

The temporal phrase be-'Etzem ha-yom ha-zeh ("on the substance of this day") uses the construct noun 'Etzem (H6106H), whose base meaning relates to "bone" or "substance," in an idiomatic sense meaning "the very same day" or "this exact day." This construction, 'Etzem ha-yom, intensifies the demonstrative ha-zeh ("this", H2088) that follows, producing a doubled emphasis on precision of timing — not merely "on this day" but "on the very substance/core of this day."

The clause closes with leMor ("saying", H0559), a qal infinitive construct that functions as a formulaic bridge introducing the content of speech to follow, a standard narrative device in Biblical Hebrew.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders be-'Etzem ha-yom ha-zeh simply as en tē hēmera tautē ("on this day"), omitting any equivalent for 'Etzem (H6106H) and thus losing the intensifying "substance/very" nuance present in the Hebrew. The Vulgate's in eadem die ("on that same day") similarly smooths the idiom into a simpler temporal marker without reproducing the construct emphasis. The Spanish RV1909 and SBLIBRE render it as "aquel mismo día" ("that same day"), and the BSB as "on that same day," all conveying the emphatic sense of exactness but not preserving the literal bone/substance imagery of the Hebrew construct phrase.