Exodus 3:5

Summary

The text reports a command given to Moses: he must not approach further and must remove his sandals, because the ground on which he stands is described as "holy ground." The verse gives both the prohibition and its stated reason, introduced by the particle ki ("for", H3588A).

Key words

• tik.Rav ("you draw near", H7126G) — qal jussive form, expressing a negative command ("may you not draw near") rather than a simple future statement.
• shal- ("take off", H5394) — qal imperative, a direct command form, contrasting with the jussive of the previous verb.
• 'ad.mat- ("[is] ground of", H0127G) — feminine singular construct noun, linking directly to Ko.desh ("holiness", H6944G) to form the construct phrase "ground of holiness."
• o.Med ("[are] standing", H5975G) — qal participle, masculine singular, describing Moses' ongoing position ("the one standing") rather than a completed action.
• Hu' ("it", H1931) — personal pronoun placed at the end of the clause, functioning as the copula in a nominal sentence ("...is").

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative va ("and", H9001) attached to i.Yo.mer ("he said", H0559), continuing the story sequence. The first command uses a jussive form, tik.Rav ("you draw near", H7126G), negated by 'al- ("may not", H0408) — a grammatical construction distinct from a flat prohibition, closer to "let him not draw near." The second command, shal- ("take off", H5394), is a true imperative, marking a shift from restraining Moses' movement to directing a specific action regarding ne.'a.Lei.kha ("your sandals", H5275 + H9021), which are further located me.'Al ("from on", H9006+H5921A) rag.Lei.kha ("your feet", H7272+H9021).

The causal clause begins with ki ("for", H3588A), introducing the reason for both commands. Within this clause, ha.Ma.kom ("the place", H9009+H4725) is the subject, modified by a relative clause built on 'a.Sher ("which", H0834A) plus the pronoun 'a.Tah ("you", H0859A) and the participle o.Med ("standing", H5975G). The participle indicates a state in progress — "the place on which you are standing" — rather than a punctual past action. The final clause, 'ad.mat-Ko.desh Hu' ("ground of holiness, it [is]", H0127G+H6944G+H1931), is a nominal sentence without a copular verb in Hebrew; the pronoun Hu' ("it", H1931) serves to link subject and predicate, a structure common in Biblical Hebrew nominal clauses.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders shal- ("take off", H5394, imperative singular referring to ne.'a.Lei.kha, plural "sandals") with λῦσαι τὸ ὑπόδημα, an infinitive construction and singular ὑπόδημα ("sandal"), where the Hebrew has a plural noun ne.'a.Lei.kha ("your sandals", H5275). The Vulgate similarly uses the singular calceamentum ("footwear") for the Hebrew plural. The Hebrew nominal clause 'ad.mat-Ko.desh Hu' (literally "ground of holiness, it") is rendered by the LXX as γῆ ἁγία ἐστίν and by the Vulgate as terra sancta est, both supplying an explicit verb "is" that the Hebrew construction does not use.