Exodus 3:10

Summary

The verse records God's command to Moses: he is told to go, and God announces that he will send him to Pharaoh with the task of bringing the people of Israel out of Egypt. The sentence combines an imperative of motion with a first-person verb of sending, followed by a second imperative describing the mission's goal.

Key words

• le.Kha ("go", H1980K) — qal imperative with paragogic he (h, H9012) attached, an emphatic form of the command "go," directed at Moses (masculine singular).
• 'esh.la.cha. ("I will send", H7971G) — qal imperfect with vav, expressing a first-person action ("I will send") that continues or results from the preceding imperative.
• ho.Tze' ("bring out", H3318H) — hiphil (causative) imperative, meaning literally "cause to go out," assigning Moses the causative action of extracting the people.
• 'a.M ("people", H5971A) with suffix i ("my", H9020) — construct noun forming "my people," marking possession/relationship between God and the group.
• ve.nei- ("[the] people of", H1121G) — construct plural noun linking to Yis.ra.'El ("Israel", H3478), forming the phrase "sons/people of Israel" in apposition to "my people."

What the text says

The verse opens with ve ("and", H9002) plus 'a.Tah ("therefore", H6258), marking a transition or conclusion from the preceding divine speech. The first imperative, le.Kha ("go", H1980K), carries a paragogic he suffix, a grammatical feature that adds emphasis to the command, distinguishing it from a plain unadorned imperative.

The verb 'esh.la.cha. ("I will send", H7971G) is an imperfect form joined with ve ("and"), a construction that in Biblical Hebrew narrative sequence often expresses purpose or consequence following an imperative — hence the sense "so that I may send you" or "and I will send you." The object suffix Kha ("you", H9031) attaches directly to this verb, indicating Moses as the one being sent, with destination marked by 'el- ("to", H0413) before par.'Oh ("Pharaoh", H6547J).

The final clause uses a second imperative, ho.Tze' ("bring out", H3318H), in the hiphil (causative) stem — grammatically distinct from the first imperative le.Kha, but continuing the string of commands/purposes. The direct object is marked by 'et- (H0853, untranslated marker) before 'a.M ("people", H5971A) in construct with suffix i ("my"), forming "my people." This is further specified in apposition by ve.nei- ("[the] people of", H1121G) construct with Yis.ra.'El ("Israel", H3478), and the source location is given by mi. ("from", H9006) plus mitz.Ra.yim ("Egypt", H4714G).

Differences between versions

The LXX adds Βασιλέα Αἰγύπτου ("king of Egypt"), a descriptive title for Pharaoh not present in the Hebrew text, which simply reads par.'Oh ("Pharaoh", H6547J) without qualification. The LXX also renders the source as ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ("out of the land of Egypt"), inserting γῆς ("land"), whereas the Hebrew has only mi.mitz.Ra.yim ("from Egypt"), without an explicit word for "land." The Vulgate's ut educas ("that you may bring out") renders the second imperative ho.Tze' as a subjunctive purpose clause rather than a direct command, differing from the imperative form in the Hebrew.