Exodus 12:26

Summary

Exodus 12:26 introduces a hypothetical future scene: when the children of the Israelites ask their parents about the meaning of a ritual practice, the text anticipates the question "What is this service to you?" The verse functions as a narrative setup for the explanation that follows in the subsequent verse.

Key words

• ve.ha.Yah ("it will be", H1961) — qal sequential perfect, opening a future scenario within the narrative chain; often rendered "and it shall come to pass."
• ki ("that/if", H3588A) — subordinating particle marking the condition or circumstance under which the sequence unfolds ("when...").
• yo.me.Ru ("they will say", H0559) — qal imperfect, third person masculine plural, expressing a repeated or future action ("they will say/ask").
• 'a.vo.Dah ("service", H5656G) — feminine singular noun with definite article (ha, H9009), naming the practice being questioned.
• Zot ("this", H2063) — demonstrative particle modifying 'a.vo.Dah, pointing to a specific, identifiable practice ("this service").

What the text says

The verse opens with ve.ha.Yah ("and it will be"), a construction that in Biblical Hebrew narrative frequently introduces a future circumstance within a chain of instructions or events. This is followed by the particle ki, glossed here as "that" but functioning to introduce the condition — "when your children say to you." The subject of the verb yo.me.Ru ("they will say") is be.nei.khem ("your sons/children," H1121A construct + H9026 suffix), formed by a construct noun plus a second-person plural possessive suffix, literally "sons of you."

The quoted question itself is short and direct: mah ha.'a.vo.Dah ha.Zot la.khem — "what [is] the service, this, to you?" The interrogative mah ("what") stands first, followed by the definite noun ha.'a.vo.Dah ("the service"), the demonstrative ha.Zot ("this") agreeing in gender with the feminine noun, and finally the prepositional phrase la.khem ("to you," H9005 + H9036), repeating the second-person plural suffix already used with be.nei.khem. This repetition of "you" (once for "your children," once for "to you") ties the addressed group tightly into the sentence structure, framing the question as one generation asking another about a practice belonging to that same addressed group.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew 'a.vo.Dah ("service," H5656G) is rendered in the LXX as λάτρια ("service/worship"), while the Vulgate uses religio ("religious practice/observance"), a broader term than the Hebrew noun, which more literally denotes "labor" or "service" without inherently religious connotation. The Hebrew conditional/temporal particle ki ("when/that") appears in the LXX as ἐάν ("if"), shifting the nuance slightly toward a hypothetical condition rather than an anticipated future event. Modern translations such as BSB ("service") and SBLIBRE ("ceremonia") diverge further by choosing terms emphasizing ritual or ceremonial meaning not explicit in the Hebrew noun itself.