Leviticus 15:1

Summary

Leviticus 15:1 is an introductory formula stating that Yehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron. The verse contains no legal content itself; it functions as the narrative frame introducing the instructions that follow.

Key words

• va-y'daBer ("and he spoke", H1696G) — piel form of the verb, prefixed with the narrative vav (H9001). The piel stem here carries the sense of formal, authoritative speech, and the narrative vav links this verse to the sequence of divine speeches structuring the book of Leviticus.
• Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) — the divine name functions as the subject of the verb y'daBer.
• 'el- ("to", H0413) — preposition marking the recipient of the speech; it appears twice (before Mosheh and before 'Aharon), each time introducing an addressee.
• Mosheh ("Moses", H4872) — proper name, first addressee.
• 'Aharon ("Aaron", H0175) — proper name, second addressee, joined to Moses by the conjunction ve- (H9002).
• leMor ("saying", H0559) — qal infinitive construct with the prefixed preposition le- (H9005), functioning to introduce direct speech that will follow the formula (literally "to say").

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence follows a fixed pattern common in Leviticus: verb + subject + prepositional phrase(s) marking the recipients + infinitive construct leMor introducing the content of the speech. The verb y'daBer is in the piel stem, third person masculine singular, with Yehovah as its explicit grammatical subject placed immediately after the verb — a standard verb-subject word order in Biblical Hebrew narrative.

The preposition 'el- ("to", H0413) is repeated before each recipient — once before Mosheh and once before 'Aharon — rather than being used only once for a combined phrase. This repetition treats Moses and Aaron as two separately marked addressees within a single speech event, though they are joined together by the conjunction ve-.

The final word, leMor, is an infinitive construct that in Biblical Hebrew narrative regularly serves to open direct quotation; the material that follows in the chapter is presented as the content introduced by this infinitive.

Differences between versions

The Septuagint (LXX) places Ἀαρών ("Aaron") after the participle λέγων ("saying"), reversing the word order found in the Hebrew, where "and Aaron" precedes leMor ("saying"). The Hebrew structure lists both addressees before the introduction of speech; the LXX's syntax separates them across the verb λέγων. The Vulgate and other cited translations preserve the Hebrew order, naming both Moses and Aaron before introducing the speech with "dicens" / "saying".