Exodus 9:8

Summary

Yehovah instructs Moses and Aaron to take soot from a furnace, filling their hands with it, so that Moses may throw it toward the sky in front of Pharaoh. The verse sets up an action to be performed publicly, before Pharaoh's eyes.

Key words

• me.Lo' ("[the] fullness of", H4393) — construct noun indicating "a full measure of," linked to the following word to express "a handful."
• chof.nei ("hands", H2651) — dual construct form, marking that two hollowed hands (a double handful) are meant, not a generic word for hand.
• Pi.ach ("soot of", H6368) — construct noun specifying the substance to be taken, bound to kiv.Shan ("a furnace", H3536).
• ze.ra.K ("he will sprinkle", H2236) — sequential (waw-consecutive) perfect verb, continuing the narrative chain from the imperative qe.Chu ("take", H3947G); it projects the action into the sequence of events that follows the command.
• 'ei.Nei ("[the] eyes of", H5869H) — feminine dual construct, part of the idiom "to the eyes of," meaning "in the sight of" or "in front of" Pharaoh.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the narrative formula va-i.Yo.mer ("and he said", H9001+H0559), introducing direct speech from Yah.weh (H3068G) addressed 'el- mo.Sheh ve-'el- 'a.ha.Ron ("to Moses and to Aaron", H0413/H4872/H0175). The command itself begins with the plural imperative qe.Chu ("take", H3947G), directed at both men, followed by the construct chain me.Lo' chof.nei.Khem ("the fullness of your hands", H4393+H2651+H9036), a dual construct indicating two cupped hands full of material — the object specified further by Pi.ach kiv.Shan ("soot of a furnace", H6368+H3536).

The verb shifts from plural command to singular narration with u-ze.ra.K-o mo.Sheh ("and Moses will sprinkle it", H9001+H2236+H9033+H4872): although both Moses and Aaron are told to take the soot, only Moses is named as the one who will scatter it. The sequential perfect form ze.ra.K continues the chain of action begun by the imperative, functioning as a further instruction rather than a separate statement. The direction of the throw is marked by the directional suffix on ha-sha.May.ma-h ("the heavens-ward", H9009+H8064+H9011), literally "toward the heavens," and the scene is located le-'ei.Nei far.'Oh ("to the eyes of Pharaoh", H9005+H5869H+H6547J), an idiomatic expression for "in Pharaoh's presence" or "in his sight."

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the plural imperative as Λάβετε ὑμεῖς ("take, you"), matching the Hebrew plural, but shifts the object description: "πλήρεις τὰς χεῖρας αἰθάλης καμιναίας" ("full [of] hands of soot of the furnace") differs slightly in syntax from the Hebrew construct chain, though the sense of "handfuls of furnace soot" is preserved. The LXX also adds "καὶ ἐναντίον τῶν θεραπόντων αὐτοῦ" ("and before his servants"), a phrase not present in the Hebrew text given here, which mentions only le-'ei.Nei far.'Oh ("in the sight of Pharaoh"). The Vulgate's "Tollite plenas manus cineris" ("take full hands of ash") uses cineris ("of ash") rather than a term specifically for furnace soot, and does not include the additional phrase about Pharaoh's servants found in the LXX.