Leviticus 23:26

Summary

Leviticus 23:26 is a short narrative formula that introduces a new divine speech. It states that Yehovah spoke to Moses, with the following words presented as direct instruction (the content itself follows in the next verses).

Key words

• va ("and", H9001) — narrative vav prefixed to the verb, linking this speech to the preceding text as the next event in sequence.
• y.da.Ber ("he spoke", H1696G) — piel stem of the verb, third person masculine singular; the piel here carries an intensive nuance of speaking, and the form marks the main narrative action.
• Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) — the divine name, functioning as the subject of the verb y.da.Ber.
• mo.Sheh ("Moses", H4872) — proper name, object of the preposition 'el- ("to", H0413), marking the recipient of the speech.
• Mor ("saying", H0559) — qal infinitive construct, introducing the direct discourse that follows; it functions like an opening quotation marker rather than a finite verb.

What the text says

The verse follows a fixed formulaic structure common in the legal sections of Leviticus: subject + verb of speech + recipient + infinitive introducing direct speech. The sentence opens with the narrative vav on y.da.Ber, which signals a new segment in the unfolding sequence of divine communications to Moses rather than a standalone statement. The piel stem of y.da.Ber is the standard stem used for this verb throughout the Hebrew Bible when referring to authoritative speech; grammatically it does not by itself indicate content or tone, only that this is the verb's regular conjugation for "speak."

The prepositional phrase 'el- mo.Sheh ("to Moses") identifies the addressee, and the infinitive Mor ("saying") functions syntactically to open direct discourse, essentially serving as the Hebrew equivalent of a colon before a quotation. The verse itself contains no legal or thematic content — it is purely an introductory frame, structurally identical to other instances of this formula elsewhere in Leviticus, preparing the reader for the instructions that follow in the subsequent verses.

Differences between versions

The Septuagint (ἐλάλησεν Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων) and the Vulgate (Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens) both render the formula with equivalent structures: finite verb of speech, subject "Lord," prepositional phrase with "Moses," and a participle ("saying") corresponding to the Hebrew infinitive Mor. No substantive divergence in meaning appears among the Hebrew, LXX, and Vulgate for this verse; differences are limited to normal grammatical adaptation between languages (e.g., infinitive vs. participle for "saying").