Exodus 31:13

Summary

Yehovah instructs Moses to speak to the Israelites, commanding them to observe his sabbaths, since this observance functions as a sign between Yehovah and the people across generations, so that they may know that Yehovah is the one who sanctifies them.

Key words

• Da.Ber ("speak", H1696G) — piel imperative directed at Moses ("you", m.), introducing the divine command that Moses must transmit to the people.
• 'akh ("surely", H0389) — adverb placed before the object clause, giving emphatic force to the instruction that follows.
• tish.Mo.ru ("you will observe", H8104G) — qal imperfect, plural masculine, expressing an ongoing or future obligation applied to "you all" (the people of Israel).
• 'ot ("sign", H0226H) — feminine singular construct noun, identifying the sabbaths as a "sign," grammatically linked to what follows (hi', "it").
• me.ka.dish.Khem ("the one setting apart you", H6942G) — piel participle in construct with the suffix "you" (pl.), describing Yehovah as continuously performing the action of setting apart/sanctifying the people.

What the text says

The verse opens with the emphatic pronoun 'a.Tah ("you", H0859A) followed by the piel imperative da.Ber ("speak", H1696G), singling out Moses as the one addressed to carry the message to be.Nei Yis.ra.'El ("the sons/people of Israel", H1121G/H3478). The message itself is introduced by the infinitive le.Mor ("saying", H0559), a common formula marking direct speech.

The core command uses the adverb 'akh ("surely", H0389) to intensify the following clause: 'et-sha.be.to.Tai tish.Mo.ru ("my sabbaths you will observe"), with the object marked by 'et (H0853) and the possessive suffix -i ("my", H9020) attached to sha.be.to.Ta ("sabbaths", H7676). The verb tish.Mo.ru is a qal imperfect, plural, which in Biblical Hebrew can carry either an ongoing durative sense or a future/command-like force depending on context; here it functions within an emphatic instruction.

The reason clause begins with ki ("for", H3588A) and states that the sabbaths are 'ot hi' ("it is a sign", H0226H/H1931), located bei.Ni u.vei.nei.Khem ("between me and between you", H0996G), a construct pattern repeated twice to mark the reciprocal relationship. This sign extends le.do.Ro.tei.Khem ("for your generations", H1755), using a construct plural noun with the second-person plural suffix. The purpose clause la.Da.'at ki 'a.Ni Yah.weh me.ka.dish.Khem ("to know that I am Yehovah, the one sanctifying you") closes the verse with a qal infinitive of knowing followed by the divine self-identification and the piel participle me.ka.dish.Khem ("the one who sets apart/sanctifies you", H6942G), a participle indicating a continuous or characteristic action attributed to Yehovah.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the Hebrew imperative da.Ber ("speak") with sýntaxon ("arrange/command") and adds horâte ("see/take heed"), an imperative not present in the Hebrew text as transmitted here. The Vulgate follows the Hebrew more closely with Loquere... et dices... Videte ut... custodiatis, though it likewise inserts "videte" ("see to it"), paralleling the LXX's addition rather than the Hebrew's single adverb 'akh ("surely"). The SBLIBRE Spanish translation adds "de mi pacto" ("of my covenant") after "señal" ("sign"), a phrase not present in the Hebrew 'ot ("sign") or in the other cited versions.