Exodus 12:24

Summary

The verse instructs that "this word/matter" — referring to the preceding Passover instructions — must be kept as a permanent decree, binding both the addressee and his descendants for an unlimited future duration.

Key words

• she.mar.Tem ("you will keep", H8104G) — qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine plural; continues the narrative chain from prior commands and functions as an ongoing obligation rather than a single act.
• da.Var ("word", H1697I) — masculine singular noun, definite (with ha., H9009); paired with the demonstrative Zeh ("this", H2088) to point back to previously stated instructions.
• chok ("a decree", H2706G) — masculine singular noun, introduced by the preposition le. ("to", H9005), marking the da.Var as being established as a decree.
• va.Nei.kha ("your children", H1121G + H9021) — construct plural noun with 2nd person masculine singular suffix, extending the obligation beyond the immediate addressee to descendants.
• o.Lam ("perpetuity", H5769G) — masculine singular noun following 'ad ("until", H5704), forming the phrase marking unlimited temporal extent.

What the text says

The clause opens with the narrative vav (u., H9001) attached to she.mar.Tem, a qal sequential perfect verb in the 2nd person masculine plural. This verb form continues a chain of instructions, indicating an action to be maintained rather than performed once. The object is marked by 'et (H0853, untranslated) followed by ha.-da.Var ha.-Zeh, literally "the word, the this" — a phrase using two definite markers (the article twice, plus the demonstrative) to emphasize that a specific, previously mentioned matter is in view.

The core of the sentence is the construction le.-chok, "to/as a decree." The preposition le. here functions predicatively, casting the "word" into the category of chok, a term denoting an established decree or statute. This is followed by two parallel prepositional phrases built on the same preposition: le.-kha ("for yourself") and u.-le.-va.Nei.kha ("and for your children"), both using le. to indicate the parties bound by the decree — first the singular addressee, then his descendants via the construct plural va.Nei. with the possessive suffix kha.

The temporal scope is set by 'ad-o.Lam, "until perpetuity," combining the preposition "until" with the noun o.Lam, which denotes an unbounded or indefinite extent of time rather than a fixed endpoint.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew chok ("a decree", H2706G) is rendered in the LXX as nomimon (a legal/customary rule) and in the Vulgate as legitimum (something lawful or established by law). Both versions preserve the sense of an established rule, though each draws on the legal vocabulary of its own language rather than reproducing the Hebrew term's specific semantic range.