Leviticus 23:10
דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּֽי־תָבֹאוּ אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם וּקְצַרְתֶּם אֶת־קְצִירָהּ וַהֲבֵאתֶם אֶת־עֹמֶר רֵאשִׁית קְצִירְכֶם אֶל־הַכֹּהֵֽן׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם כִּֽי־תָבֹ֣אוּ אֶל־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֤ר אֲנִי֙ נֹתֵ֣ן לָכֶ֔ם וּקְצַרְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־קְצִירָ֑הּ וַהֲבֵאתֶ֥ם אֶת־עֹ֛מֶר רֵאשִׁ֥ית קְצִירְכֶ֖ם אֶל־הַכֹּהֵֽן׃
Εἰπὸν τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτούς ὅταν εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν ἐγὼ δίδωμι ὑμῖν καὶ θερίζητε τὸν θερισμὸν αὐτῆς, καὶ οἴσετε δράγμα ἀπαρχὴν τοῦ θερισμοῦ ὑμῶν πρὸς τὸν ἱερέα·
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Loquere filiis Israël, et dices ad eos: Cum ingressi fueritis terram, quam ego dabo vobis, et messueritis segetem, feretis manipulos spicarum, primitias messis vestræ, ad sacerdotem:
“Háblales a los israelitas y diles: ‘Cuando entren a la tierra que les voy a dar y cosechen los primeros frutos, le llevarán al sacerdote un manojo de las primeras espigas de su cosecha.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Habla á los hijos de Israel, y diles: Cuando hubiereis entrado en la tierra que yo os doy, y segareis su mies, traeréis al sacerdote un omer por primicia de los primeros frutos de vuestra siega;
“ Speak to the Israelites and say, ‘ When you enter the land that I am giving you and you reap its harvest, you are to bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest.
✦ What the text says
Summary
Leviticus 23:10 records a divine instruction to Moses to relay a command to the Israelites: once they enter the land God is giving them and harvest its crop, they must bring the first sheaf of their harvest to the priest. The verse establishes a conditional sequence tied to future entry into the land and the beginning of the agricultural cycle.
Key words
- ta.Vo.'u ("you will go/enter", H0935G) — qal imperfect, marking future/ongoing action; introduces the conditional scenario governed by ki ("if/when", H3588A).
- no.Ten ("giving", H5414G) — qal participle describing an ongoing action ("the one giving"), presenting the land-gift as a continuous or imminent divine act rather than a completed one.
- ke.tzar.Tem ("you will harvest", H7114B) — sequential perfect (vav-consecutive), continuing the narrative chain begun by the imperfect ta.Vo.'u.
- ha.ve.Tem ("you will bring", H0935P) — hiphil (causative) sequential perfect, from the same root as ta.Vo.'u (H0935) but causative: "cause to come" = "bring."
- 'O.mer ("sheaf of", H6016A) — masculine singular construct, forming a construct chain with re.Shit ("first [fruit] of", H7225G) and ke.tzi.re.Khem ("your harvest", H7105A): "sheaf of the first of your harvest."
What the text says
The Hebrew sentence opens with two imperatives directed at Moses: da.Ber ("speak", H1696G, piel imperative) and 'a.mar.Ta ("you will say", H0559, sequential perfect functioning as a continued command). This double instruction—"speak... and say"—frames the entire verse as reported speech to be delivered to be.nei Yis.ra.'El ("the people of Israel", H1121G + H3478).
The core content begins with ki ("if/that", H3588A) introducing a conditional clause using the imperfect ta.Vo.'u ("you will enter", H0935G). This is followed by three consecutive perfects (ve- prefixed verbs functioning as narrative continuations): ke.tzar.Tem ("you will harvest"), and ha.ve.Tem ("you will bring"). This chain of sequential perfects after an initial imperfect is a common Biblical Hebrew construction for expressing a sequence of future actions dependent on the initial condition.
The object of the bringing is expressed through a triple construct chain: 'O.mer ("sheaf of") + re.Shit ("first of") + ke.tzi.re.Khem ("your harvest") — literally "the sheaf of the first-part of your harvest." Each noun in construct state depends grammatically on the next, producing a layered genitive structure that Hebrew handles through juxtaposition rather than separate prepositions.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders 'O.mer ("sheaf", H6016A) as δράγμα ("handful/sheaf"), matching the Hebrew concretely. The Vulgate expands this into "manipulos spicarum" ("handfuls of ears of grain"), pluralizing what is singular in the Hebrew ('O.mer is masculine singular). The Vulgate also renders re.Shit qe.tzi.re.Khem as "primitias messis vestræ" ("firstfruits of your harvest"), structurally similar to the Hebrew construct chain but using a genitive rather than double construct.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.