Exodus 9:28

Summary

Pharaoh instructs Moses and Aaron to intercede with Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) to end the thunder and hail. He promises to release the Israelites and states that they will no longer need to remain in Egypt.

Key words

• ha'Tiru ("pray", H6279) — hiphil (causative) imperative, plural: a command directed at more than one person (Moses and Aaron), asking them to intercede.
• rav ("[is too] much", H7227A) — masculine singular adjective describing the intensity of the thunder and hail as excessive.
• qolot ("[the] thunder claps of", H6963I) — feminine plural noun in construct state, linked to 'Elohim ("God", H0430G) to form the phrase "thunders of God."
• 'ashallechah ("I will let go", H7971H) — piel (intensive) verbal form, first person, expressing Pharaoh's stated intention to release the people.
• tosifun ("you will increase", H3254G) with the paragogic nun (H9013) — hiphil imperfect plural with an added emphatic ending, intensifying the negated verb "you will not continue."

What the text says

The verse opens with a plural imperative, ha'Tiru ("pray", H6279), directed at more than one addressee, followed by the object of the plea, 'el-Yehovah ("to Yehovah", H3068G). The next clause uses the adjective rav ("too much", H7227A) with an infinitive construction, mihyot ("from being", H1961), to describe the thunder as excessive — literally something like "it is too much from the being of thunders of God and hail." The phrase qolot 'Elohim ("thunders of God", H6963I + H0430G) places a plural noun in construct with a grammatically plural but here singular-referent term for God.

The second half shifts to Pharaoh's own speech about consequence: 'ashallechah 'etkhem ("I will let you go", H7971H + H0853 + H9036) uses a piel verb form, indicating an intensified or decisive action of sending away. The final clause, lo' tosifun... la'amod ("you will not continue to stay", H3808 + H3254G + H9013 + H5975G), combines a negated hiphil imperfect with a paragogic nun, an emphatic verbal ending, followed by the infinitive la'amod ("to stay", H5975G), reinforcing that the Israelites will not remain any longer.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the request as εὔξασθε... περὶ ἐμοῦ ("pray... concerning me"), adding a reference to Pharaoh himself that is not present in the Hebrew, which reads simply ha'Tiru 'el-Yehovah ("pray to Yehovah"). The LXX also lists πῦρ ("fire") alongside "voices of god" and "hail," an element absent from the Hebrew, which mentions only qolot 'Elohim ("thunders of God") and barad ("hail", H1259). The Vulgate's "Orate Dominum" treats "the Lord" as a direct object rather than using a prepositional "to," differing slightly from the Hebrew's 'el-Yehovah ("to Yehovah") construction.