Exodus 23:15

Summary

Exodus 23:15 commands the observance of the festival of unleavened bread for seven days, tied to the month of Abib because it was the month of the exodus from Egypt. The verse closes with an instruction that no one appear before the speaker "empty."

Key words

• chag ("festival of", H2282) — construct noun linking to matzot, forming "festival of unleavened breads."
• tishmor ("you will keep", H8104G) — qal imperfect, second person masculine singular, expressing an ongoing or future obligation.
• tzivvitikha — from tzivviti ("I commanded", H6680) piel perfect + -kha ("you", H9031) suffix, meaning "I commanded you," a completed act of instruction with the object attached directly to the verb.
• mo'ed ("appointed time of", H4150G) — construct singular, tying the festival to a fixed point on the calendar rather than a general season.
• reiqam ("empty", H7387) — adverb modifying the verb yera'u, describing the manner of appearing, not a separate noun.

What the text says

The verse opens with the direct object marker 'et (H0853, untranslated) attached to chag ha-matzot ("the festival of the unleavened breads," H2282 + H4682), the object of the verb tishmor ("you will keep," H8104G). The construct chain chag ha-matzot binds "festival" tightly to "the unleavened breads," so the noun phrase functions as a single named observance. The second clause repeats the seven-day/eating structure with shiv'at yamim ("seven days," H7651+H3117G) as a construct phrase functioning adverbially, followed by tokhal matzot ("you will eat unleavened breads," H0398+H4682), both verbs in the qal imperfect denoting continuing or repeated action rather than a single event.

The comparison ka'asher tzivvitikha ("just as I commanded you," H9004+H0834D+H6680+H9031) uses a piel perfect verb, marking the command as already completed at a prior point, contrasted with the imperfect verbs describing the ongoing observance. The timing is fixed by the construct chain le-mo'ed chodesh ha-aviv ("to the appointed time of the month of Abib," H9005+H4150G+H2320G+H0024), and the causal clause ki vo yatzata mi-Mitzrayim ("for in it you went out from Egypt," H3588A+H9003/9033+H3318G+H9006+H4714G) explains why this month is chosen, using a qal perfect verb for the completed departure.

The final clause shifts subject: lo yera'u fanay reiqam ("they will not appear, my face, empty," H3808+H7200G+H6440G+H9020+H7387). The verb yera'u is niphal imperfect, a passive/reflexive form literally "they will be seen" or "will present themselves," with panai ("my face," H6440G+H9020) as a construct-plus-suffix expression standing for the speaker's presence, and reiqam as an adverb describing the manner of appearing before that presence.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew lo yera'u fanay reiqam ("my face will not be seen empty") uses third-person plural yera'u, matching a general/impersonal subject not explicit in the Hebrew clause itself; the LXX renders it as second person singular, ouk ophthēsē enōpion mou kenos ("you will not appear before me empty"), and the Vulgate similarly uses second-person singular non apparebis... vacuus. The LXX and Vulgate also restructure the timing clause: where the Hebrew states the causal reason (ki vo yatzata, "for in it you went out"), the LXX reads en gar autō exēlthes with a similar causal sense, while the Vulgate uses quando ("when") rather than a causal "for," slightly shifting the logical relationship between the month and the exodus event.