Exodus 12:49

Summary

Exodus 12:49 states that a single legal norm applies equally to two categories of people: the 'ezRach ("native-born", H0249) and the ger ("sojourner", H1616) who resides among the community. The verse closes a section of instructions (likely concerning the Passover regulations) by affirming the uniformity of this law across both groups.

Key words

• toRah ("law", H8451) — feminine singular noun, the subject of the sentence, referring to a specific legal instruction or regulation.
• 'eChat ("one", H0259) — feminine singular cardinal number, agreeing grammatically with toRah, emphasizing singularity/unity of the law.
• yihYeh ("it will be", H1961) — Qal imperfect, third person masculine singular, denoting a state that will hold true or continue; expresses ongoing validity rather than a one-time event.
• ger ("sojourner", H1616) — masculine singular noun, designates a resident who is not native-born.
• Gar ("sojourns", H1481A) — Qal participle, masculine singular, functioning as a relative description ("the one who sojourns"), modifying ger through the article ha ("who", H9009).

What the text says

The sentence structure places toRah 'eChat ("one law") at the head of the clause, functioning as the grammatical subject. The verb yihYeh ("it will be", H1961), in the Qal imperfect, follows the subject — a common verb-subject-complement pattern in Biblical Hebrew when emphasis falls on the initial noun phrase. The imperfect aspect here conveys a state that holds or continues, rather than a single completed action.

The two parties governed by this law are introduced through parallel prepositional phrases: la'ezRach ("to the native-born") and velaGer ("and to the sojourner"), both using the preposition la ("to the", H9005) with the definite article. The second party receives further specification through a relative clause: haGar betokhKhem ("who sojourns in your midst"). The participle Gar (H1481A), introduced by the article ha (H9009) functioning relatively ("who"), describes an ongoing action — the sojourning itself — rather than a completed one. The phrase betokhKhem ("in your midst") uses the construct noun tokh ("midst of", H8432) with the second person plural suffix khem ("you", H9026), locating the sojourner spatially within the community addressed.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ger ("sojourner", H1616) as proselytō ("proselyte"), preceded by the participle proselthonti ("having approached/come to"), which adds a nuance of movement or approach not explicit in the Hebrew participle Gar ("sojourns", H1481A). The Vulgate uses colono ("settler/tenant") and peregrinatur ("travels/sojourns"), a translation choice distinct from both the Hebrew's simple "sojourner" and the LXX's "proselyte" terminology.