Exodus 34:18

Summary

The verse commands the observance of chag ha-matzot ("the festival of unleavened bread," H2282/H4682), specifying a seven-day period of eating unleavened bread at the appointed time in the month of Aviv ("Abib," H0024). It grounds this timing in the historical statement that the addressee came out of Egypt in that same month.

Key words

• chag ("festival of", H2282) — masculine singular construct noun, linking directly to ha-matzot to form the phrase "the festival of the unleavened breads."
• tishmor ("you will keep", H8104G) — qal imperfect, second person masculine singular, expressing an ongoing or future obligation to observe the festival.
• tzivviti ("I commanded", H6680) — piel perfect, first person singular; the piel stem gives an intensive/causative nuance to the act of commanding, distinct from a simple qal statement.
• mo'ed ("appointed time of", H4150G) — masculine singular construct noun, indicating a fixed or designated time rather than a general period.
• yatzata ("you came out", H3318G) — qal perfect, second person masculine singular, marking the completed past action of departure from Egypt.

What the text says

The sentence opens with the direct object marker 'et (H0853) preceding chag ha-matzot, signaling that this phrase is the direct object of the verb tishmor ("you will keep"). The construct chain chag + ha-matzot ("festival of the unleavened breads") ties the noun for "festival" tightly to the plural noun for "unleavened breads," producing a fixed technical name for the observance.

The second clause uses shiv'at yamim ("seven of days") as a construct numeral phrase functioning adverbially with tokhal ("you will eat"), both imperfect verbs paralleling tishmor in aspect. The relative clause 'asher tzivvitikha ("which I commanded you") uses the piel perfect tzivviti with a second-person suffix -kha ("you," H9031) attached directly to the verb, compressing subject-object into one word, a common feature of Hebrew verbal morphology not directly visible in English translations that separate "I commanded" from "you."

The final clause begins with ki (H3588A), a particle that can function as "for" or "because," introducing the causal or explanatory link between the command and the historical event: departure from Egypt (yatzata mi-Mitzrayim) occurred be-chodesh ha-Aviv ("in the month of the Abib"), using the preposition be- (H9003) with the construct chodesh (H2320G).

Differences between versions

The LXX renders chodesh ha-Aviv as "μηνὶ τῶν νέων" ("month of new things/new produce"), interpreting or translating the term Aviv (H0024) descriptively rather than transliterating it as a proper name, unlike the Hebrew and the Vulgate's "mensis novorum" / "verni temporis," which similarly interpret Aviv as related to newness or spring rather than preserving it as a title.