Leviticus 19:3

Summary

Leviticus 19:3 commands each individual to show reverence toward his mother and father, and instructs the community to observe the sabbatot ("sabbaths") of Yehovah, closing with the self-identification formula "I am Yehovah your God."

Key words

• 'ish ("anyone", H0376I) — singular noun functioning distributively, "each man/person," yet paired with a plural verb, producing a grammatical shift from individual to collective address.
• 'immo ("his mother", H0517) — feminine singular noun in construct with the pronominal suffix "his"; notably placed before "father" in the Hebrew sequence.
• tira'u ("you will fear", H3372H) — qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural, "you all shall fear/revere," despite the singular subject 'ish.
• shabtotai ("my sabbaths", H7676) — feminine plural noun in construct with the 1st person suffix "my," marked by the object particle 'et (H0853).
• tishmoru ("you will keep", H8104G) — qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural, parallel in form to tira'u, joining the two commands under the same grammatical pattern.

What the text says

The verse opens with the singular noun 'ish ("anyone", H0376I), which sets a distributive frame — the instruction applies to each person individually — but the verb that follows, tira'u ("you will fear", H3372H), is plural. This shift from singular subject to plural verb is a recognized Hebrew construction for expressing "each one of you," so the grammar itself encodes both the individual and communal dimensions of the command in a single clause.

The object of reverence is given as 'immo ("his mother", H0517) followed by ve'aviv ("and his father", H0001G with suffix), both nouns in construct form with a possessive suffix, literally "mother-of-him and father-of-him." The clause is followed by a second command using the same imperfect plural pattern: tishmoru ("you will keep", H8104G) governing shabbtotai ("my sabbaths", H7676), a plural noun with the divine 1st-person suffix "my," marked by the direct object particle 'et (H0853). The verse closes with the formula 'ani YHWH 'eloheikhem ("I [am] Yehovah your God"), using the independent pronoun 'ani ("I", H0589) followed by the divine name and 'elohei ("God", H0430G) in construct with the plural suffix "your."

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text lists 'immo ("his mother") before ve'aviv ("and his father"). The LXX reverses this order, giving πατέρα ("father") before μητέρα ("mother"), and the Vulgate follows the same sequence with patrem suum, et matrem suam. Additionally, the LXX and Vulgate render the reverence command with a singular verb (φοβείσθω, timeat), agreeing grammatically with the singular subject "each one" (ἕκαστος, unusquisque), whereas the Hebrew uses a plural verb (tira'u) despite the singular subject 'ish.