Exodus 8:1

Summary

Yehovah instructs Moses to go before Pharaoh and deliver a specific message: Pharaoh must release "my people" so that they may serve Yehovah. The verse is structured as a divine command followed by the exact words Moses is to speak.

Key words

• bo' ("go", H0935G) — qal imperative, a direct command to Moses to move toward Pharaoh.
• shalach ("let go", H7971H) — piel imperative; the piel (intensive) stem here conveys a forceful sending away, stronger than a simple qal "send."
• 'ami ("my people", H5971A + suffix) — noun in construct form with the first-person suffix -i ("my"), marking the people as belonging to Yehovah.
• ya'avduni ("they may serve me", H5647H + suffix) — qal imperfect with prefixed ve-, expressing purpose ("so that"), with the object suffix -ni ("me") attached directly to the verb.
• 'amarta ("you will say", H0559) — qal sequential perfect, continuing the narrative chain begun by the vav on va-yo'mer, indicating the next required action after "go."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence uses a chain of verb forms typical of narrative sequence: the vav-prefixed va-yo'mer ("and he said") opens the report, followed by two imperatives (bo', "go"; and later shalach, "let go") that mark direct commands. Between them, ve-'amarta ("and you will say") is a sequential perfect that functions as a continuation of the imperative chain — Moses is told first to go, then to speak. The message itself begins with koh 'amar Yehovah ("thus says Yehovah"), a formula introducing a quoted divine speech.

The final clause, ve-ya'avduni ("so that they may serve me"), uses an imperfect verb with prefixed ve-, which here expresses purpose or result rather than simple future action — the release of the people is tied grammatically to the goal of their service. The object suffix -ni ("me") attached to the verb makes Yehovah the direct recipient of this service, paralleling the possessive suffix -i ("my") on 'ammi ("my people"), which frames the people as belonging specifically to Yehovah.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew ya'avduni ("they may serve me") is rendered in the LXX as λατρεύσωσιν ("they may worship/render service"), and in the Vulgate as sacrificet mihi ("that he may sacrifice to me"), narrowing the sense toward sacrificial worship. The English BSB follows the LXX's semantic range with "worship," while the Spanish RV1909 and SBLIBRE use "sirvan" / "adore," corresponding respectively to "serve" and "worship." The Hebrew verb 'avad (root of ya'avduni) covers a broader range of "serve" without specifying sacrifice, a narrowing found distinctly in the Vulgate's wording.