Leviticus 23:1

Summary

This verse is a short introductory formula stating that Yehovah spoke to Moses. It marks the opening of a new divine communication, using the standard narrative pattern found throughout Leviticus to introduce legal or ritual instructions.

Key words

• va ("and", H9001) — narrative vav prefixed to the verb, linking this speech-event to the preceding narrative sequence in the book.
• y.daBer ("he spoke", H1696G) — piel form of the verb, an intensive stem often used for formal or authoritative speech, here in the narrative form indicating a single completed action ("and he spoke").
• Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) — the divine name, functioning as the subject of the verb.
• 'el- ("to", H0413) — preposition marking the recipient of the speech, directing the action toward Moses.
• Mor ("saying", H0559) — qal infinitive construct, introducing direct or reported speech that follows; syntactically it signals that what comes next is the content of what was spoken.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence follows a fixed syntactic pattern common in legal sections of the Torah: verb–subject–prepositional phrase–infinitive of speech. The verb y.daBer ("he spoke", H1696G) opens the clause, with the subject Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) immediately following — a verb-first word order typical of Biblical Hebrew narrative sequences. The prepositional phrase 'el- Mosheh ("to Moses", H0413 + H4872) identifies the addressee, and the clause closes with the infinitive Mor ("saying", H0559), which functions here as a formal marker introducing the words that Yehovah is about to communicate.

The piel stem of daBer ("to speak") contrasts with the simpler qal stem of Mor ("to say"): the piel form is often associated with formal, effectual, or repeated speech, while the qal infinitive Mor serves a purely grammatical function, framing the transition from narration into direct discourse. The initial narrative vav on va ("and", H9001) ties this verse into the ongoing sequence of divine speeches structuring the book of Leviticus, presenting each new set of instructions as a discrete but connected unit within a continuous narrative chain.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders y.daBer ("he spoke", H1696G) with εἶπεν ("he said"), a simple aorist verb of speech, rather than reflecting the intensive piel nuance directly. The Vulgate’s Locutusque est ("and he spoke") corresponds more closely to the Hebrew verb of speaking. Both LXX and Vulgate preserve the infinitive of speech (λέγων / dicens, "saying"), matching the Hebrew Mor ("saying", H0559) in function, though neither Greek nor Latin morphology distinguishes the piel intensive form present in the Hebrew.