Exodus 4:17

Summary

This verse instructs that the staff (referred to with a demonstrative "this") is to be taken in hand, and identifies its purpose: it is the instrument by which the signs will be performed.

Key words

• ha-matteh ("the staff", H4294G) — definite noun marked with the article, identifying a specific staff already known from context (the fronted object marker 'et signals it is the object of the coming verb).
• ti.qqach ("you will take", H3947G) — qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular; imperfect aspect indicates an action pending/future relative to the speech moment.
• be-yadekha ("in your hand", H3027G + H9021) — noun in construct form with a possessive suffix, specifying the location where the staff is to be held.
• 'asher ("which", H0834A) — relative particle introducing a subordinate clause that further defines the staff's function.
• ta'aseh-bo ("you will do with it", H6213A + H9033) — qal imperfect verb with attached prepositional pronoun ("in it/with it"), describing the future action performed by means of the staff.
• ha-'otot ("the signs", H0226G) — definite plural noun, the direct object of ta'aseh, marked again with 'et.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built in two parts joined by the relative particle 'asher ("which", H0834A). The first part, "ve-'et ha-matteh ha-zeh tiqqach be-yadekha," places the object (the staff) before the verb, a common construction for emphasis on the object rather than the action itself: "and this staff, you will take in your hand." The double definite marking — the article ha on matteh ("staff", H4294G) and the demonstrative zeh ("this", H2088) — makes clear that a specific, previously mentioned staff is meant, not just any staff.

The second clause, introduced by 'asher ("which", H0834A), functions as a relative clause modifying "staff": "which you will do with it the signs." The construction ta'aseh-bo uses the preposition be ("in/with", H9003) attached to a 3rd person suffix (o, H9033) referring back to the staff, literally "you will do in it/by means of it." This creates a slightly redundant-sounding but grammatically standard Hebrew relative structure, where the antecedent (staff) is picked up again by the pronominal suffix within the clause. The direct object of this second verb is ha-'otot ("the signs", H0226G), marked with the object marker 'et and made definite, indicating specific signs already referred to in the surrounding narrative rather than signs in general.

Differences between versions

The LXX inserts a descriptive phrase not present in the Hebrew text given: "τὴν στραφεῖσαν εἰς ὄφιν" ("the one turned into a serpent"), modifying "this staff." The Hebrew of this verse itself contains no such qualifier. The Vulgate's "Virgam quoque hanc sume" adds the particle "quoque" ("also"), which has no direct equivalent among the Hebrew words listed, though it may reflect the sense of continuation carried by the initial ve ("and", H9002).