Exodus 13:16

Summary

The verse closes a legal instruction, stating that a certain observance will function le'ot ("for a sign", H0226H) on the hand and totafot ("marks", H2903) between the eyes. The reason given is that Yehovah brought the people out of Egypt be-chozek yad ("with strength of hand", H2392/H3027H).

Key words

• ve.haYah ("and it will become", H1961) — a sequential perfect (vav + qatal) that continues the narrative chain from the preceding verses, projecting the action into ongoing future validity rather than a single past event.
• 'Ot ("a sign", H0226H) — feminine singular noun marking the function of the object described; introduced by the preposition le ("into/for"), indicating purpose.
• totaFot ("marks", H2903) — feminine plural noun, paired with 'ot by the conjunction u ("and"), placed in the construct phrase bein 'eineikha ("between your eyes", H0996G/H5869A), a body-location expression.
• Chozek ("strength of", H2392) — masculine singular noun in construct with yad ("hand", H3027H), forming the fixed idiom "strength of hand."
• hotzi'Anu ("he brought us out", H3318H) — hiphil (causative) perfect verb with the 1st person plural suffix -nu ("us"), marking Yehovah as the causing agent of the exodus, completed action.

What the text says

The sentence divides into two clauses joined by ki ("for", H3588A), a subordinating particle giving the reason for the preceding statement. The first clause (ve.haYah le'ot 'al-yadekha u-letotafot bein 'eineikha) uses two parallel prepositional phrases with le ("for/into") to state the function of the referent as 'ot and totafot, located respectively "on your hand" ('al-yadekha, construct + suffix) and "between your eyes" (bein 'eineikha, dual construct + suffix). Both location phrases use 2nd person masculine singular suffixes (-khah, -kha), addressing an individual.

The second clause supplies the causal ground: be-chozek yad hotzi'anu Yehovah mimitzrayim ("with strength of hand, Yehovah brought us out from Egypt"). The construct chain chozek yad ("strength of hand") functions adverbially, modifying the manner of the verb hotzi'anu. The hiphil stem of hotzi' marks a causative action — "to cause to go out" — and the suffix -nu ("us") shifts the grammatical person from the singular addressee of the first clause to a plural group encompassing speaker and audience together.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders totafot ("marks", H2903) as ἀσάλευτον ("immovable thing"), a translation that does not correspond directly to the Hebrew noun's plural form or its located sense "between the eyes" as a marker. The Vulgate expands this same term into quasi appensum quid, ob recordationem ("as something hung, for remembrance"), adding the interpretive word "recordationem" not present in the Hebrew text. Additionally, where the Hebrew hotzi'anu carries the 1st person plural suffix "us", the LXX uses ἐξήγαγέν σε ("he led you out"), a 2nd person singular object, differing from the Hebrew's plural referent.