Deuteronomy 5:23

Summary

The verse narrates that when the people heard the voice coming from the midst of darkness while the mountain was burning with fire, the tribal leaders and elders approached Moshe. It functions as a narrative transition, introducing what will be reported as direct speech in the following verses.

Key words

• vaYehi ("and it was", H1961) — narrative vav + qal verb, the standard formula opening a new narrative sequence ("and it came to pass").
• ke-shom'akhem ("when you heard", H8085G) — infinitive construct with prefixed preposition ke ("when/as") and 2nd person plural suffix, expressing simultaneity ("in your hearing").
• mi-tokh ha-choshekh ("from the midst of the darkness", H8432 + H2822) — construct chain: tokh ("middle of") governs ha-choshekh ("the darkness"), locating the voice's source.
• bo'er ("burning", H1197A) — qal participle, masculine singular, describing the mountain's ongoing state ("the one burning") rather than a completed action.
• tikrevun ("you drew near", H7126G) — qal narrative form with paragogic nun, an archaic/emphatic suffix adding rhetorical weight to the verb of approach.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative formula vaYehi ("and it was"), a standard device marking a new stage in the account. The temporal clause ke-shom'akhem ("as you heard") uses an infinitive construct rather than a finite verb, which in Hebrew syntax expresses simultaneity: the hearing and the subsequent action are tightly bound in time. The phrase mi-tokh ha-choshekh ("from the midst of the darkness") uses a construct chain to specify precisely where the voice originated — inside the darkness itself, not merely near it.

The clause describing the mountain uses a participle, bo'er ("burning"), rather than a finite past-tense verb. Hebrew participles denote an action in progress, so the mountain is presented as continuously ablaze at the moment the voice was heard, not as having burned and then stopped. The final verb, tikrevun ("you drew near"), carries a paragogic nun, a suffix that in Biblical Hebrew often adds emphasis or archaic solemnity to the verb form, marking the collective approach of "all the heads of your tribes" (rashei shivteikhem) and "your elders" (zikneikhem), both expressed as construct chains linking leadership titles to the possessive "your."

Differences between versions

The Hebrew states the voice came mi-tokh ha-choshekh ("from the midst of the darkness", H2822). The LXX renders this as ἐκ μέσου τοῦ πυρός ("from the midst of the fire"), substituting "fire" for "darkness." The Vulgate's de medio tenebrarum ("from the midst of darkness") matches the Hebrew. Additionally, the Vulgate appends atque dixistis ("and you said"), a clause not present in the Hebrew of this verse, anticipating the speech that follows in subsequent verses.