Exodus 6:26

Summary

The verse identifies Aaron and Moses as the pair to whom Yehovah gave the command to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. It closes with a phrase describing the manner of their departure, "according to their hosts/divisions."

Key words

• hu' ("that/he", H1931) — demonstrative/personal pronoun opening the verse, pointing back to Aaron and Moses as the referents just named in the preceding context.
• 'asher ("whom", H0834A) — relative particle introducing the clause that specifies what Yehovah said to them, linking the identification of the two men to the command itself.
• 'amar ("he said", H0559) — qal perfect, marking a completed speech-act; grammatically singular subject (YHWH) even though the recipients (lahem, "to them") are plural.
• hotzi'u ("bring out", H3318H) — hiphil (causative) imperative, plural ("you all"), the actual content of Yehovah's command: causing the people to go out.
• tziv'otam ("their hosts", H6635A) — feminine plural noun in construct with the pronominal suffix -am ("their", H9028), describing the organized manner of the exodus.

What the text says

The sentence opens with the pronoun hu' ("that", H1931) followed immediately by the two proper names, 'Aharon ("Aaron", H0175) and Mosheh ("Moses", H4872), joined by the conjunction u- ("and", H9002). This construction functions as an identifying statement: the pronoun points to these two named individuals as "the" Aaron and Moses in question, distinguishing them from others possibly bearing the same names elsewhere in the text's context.

The relative clause beginning with 'asher ("whom", H0834A) attaches to this identification, stating what Yehovah commanded them. The verb 'amar ("he said", H0559) is qal perfect, third person masculine singular, agreeing with YHWH as subject, while lahem ("to them", H9038 with H9005) marks Aaron and Moses as the recipients of the speech.

The content of the command is given directly as an imperative: hotzi'u ("bring out", H3318H), a hiphil plural imperative addressed to both men jointly, instructing them to cause bene Yisra'el ("sons of Israel", H1121G construct + H3478) to leave me-'eretz Mitzrayim ("from the land of Egypt", H0776G construct + H4714G). The final phrase, 'al-tziv'otam ("according to their hosts", H5921A + H6635A + H9028), uses the preposition 'al ("on/according to") with the construct noun tziv'ot ("hosts") and the suffix -am ("their"), describing the organized grouping of the Israelites in their departure.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew names both Aharon and Mosheh as recipients of Yehovah's word, and 'amar ("he said", H0559) is singular, agreeing with YHWH alone. The LXX renders the divine name as ho theos ("God") rather than a form of the tetragrammaton, and uses the plural dative hois... autois ("to whom... to them") for the recipients, but omits an explicit second proper name in the extract given, listing only "Aaron and [those] to whom." The Vulgate reads Dominus ("the Lord") for the divine name and preserves both proper names, Aaron et Moyses. The Hebrew phrase 'al-tziv'otam ("according to their hosts") is rendered in the Vulgate as per turmas suas ("by their troops/companies") and in the LXX as syn dynamei autōn ("with their force/power"), both conveying an organized grouping but with different lexical choices than the Hebrew "hosts" (H6635A).