Exodus 3:12

Summary

The verse reports God's answer to Moses, promising presence ("I will be with you") and giving a future event—worship at the mountain after the people's exodus from Egypt—as the confirming 'ot ("sign", H0226G) that the sending is genuine. The sentence moves from a causal clause of divine presence to a causal clause of divine commissioning, both introduced by the same particle.

Key words

• 'eh.Yeh ("I will be", H1961) — qal imperfect, first person; expresses an action not yet completed, here a future/ongoing state of presence rather than a single act.
• ki ("that", H3588A) — appears twice (items 3 and 13), a subordinating particle that can mark either a causal/explanatory clause ("that/because") or a conditional one ("if"); its repetition links the promise of presence and the promise of the sign to the same logical structure.
• ha'ot ("the sign", H0226G) — feminine singular noun with definite article, the grammatical subject of what "this" (zeh, H2088) refers to.
• shalachTi ("I sent", H7971G) — qal perfect, first person; marks a completed action, contrasting grammatically with the imperfect 'eh.Yeh, so the sending is presented as already accomplished while the presence is ongoing.
• ta'avDun ("you will serve", H5647H) — qal imperfect, plural, with paragogic nun (H9013) added for emphasis; the plural form addresses the group beyond Moses alone, and the paragogic ending intensifies the verb without changing its basic meaning.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the narrative vav (H9001) attached to yo'mer ("he said", H0559), continuing the narrative chain from the previous verse. The subject "God" is not repeated here in the Hebrew word list (the LXX supplies ὁ θεὸς Μωυσεῖ, "God to Moses," explicitly, filling in who speaks). The core of the answer has two ki-clauses: the first (ki 'eh.Yeh 'imakh, "that I will be with you") gives the reassurance itself; the second (ki 'anokhi shalachTikha, "that I have sent you") identifies what the 'ot confirms. Between them, zeh... ha'ot ("this... the sign") points forward to the event described in the following infinitive clause: behoTzi'akha ("in your bringing out", H3318H, hiphil infinitive), a causative construction indicating Moses' own action of leading the people out. The concluding verb ta'avDun is plural, shifting the addressee from Moses individually to the people collectively, marked additionally by the paragogic nun.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew verb ta'avDun ("you will serve", H5647H) is imperfect and grammatically unmarked as a command; the Vulgate renders it as immolabis ("you shall sacrifice"), a more specific cultic term, and singular in number, whereas the LXX gives λατρεύσατε ("serve/worship"), an imperative, plural. The Hebrew text as given contains no explicit "God" as subject of yo'mer, while the LXX inserts ὁ θεὸς Μωυσεῖ ("God to Moses") to specify the speaker and addressee.