Leviticus 6:24

Summary

This verse is a short introductory formula stating that Yehovah spoke to Moses. It functions as a narrative marker that opens a new divine speech, without yet stating the content of what is said.

Key words

• va ("and", H9001) — narrative vav prefixed to the verb, marking sequential continuation of the story ("and then...").
• y.da.Ber ("he spoke", H1696G) — piel (intensive) verb form, third person masculine singular, narrative tense; the piel stem is the form regularly used for the act of speaking in this formula.
• Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) — proper name functioning as the grammatical subject of the verb.
• mo.Sheh ("Moses", H4872) — proper name, object of the preposition 'el- ("to", H0413), marking the recipient of the speech.
• Mor ("saying", H0559) — qal infinitive, introducing direct speech that follows; literally functions as "in saying" or "to say."

What the text says

The Hebrew clause follows the standard syntax for introducing divine speech in this corpus: verb + subject + prepositional phrase + infinitive of speech. The verb y.da.Ber ("he spoke", H1696G) opens the sentence, a common feature of Biblical Hebrew narrative where the finite verb precedes its subject. The subject Yehovah (H3068G) follows immediately, and the prepositional phrase 'el- mo.Sheh ("to Moses", H0413 + H4872) identifies the addressee. The clause closes with the infinitive Mor ("saying", H0559), which serves as a hinge opening the reported speech that follows in the subsequent verses.

The piel stem of y.da.Ber (H1696G) is notable grammatically: this verb consistently appears in piel rather than qal when meaning "to speak," a stem pattern fixed for this root regardless of intensity implied in other piel usages. The infinitive Mor (H0559) has no independent subject or tense; it grammatically depends on the main verb and introduces content rather than describing an action performed by Moses or Yehovah.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew places the verb y.da.Ber ("he spoke") before the subject Yehovah, a verb-subject order typical of Biblical Hebrew narrative. The LXX (Καὶ ἐλάλησεν κύριος) and the Vulgate (Locutus est autem Dominus) preserve this same verb-first order. The SBLIBRE Spanish translation reverses this, placing "Yehová" before the verb ("Yehová le habló"), and adds a second verb "le dijo" ("and said to him") not present as a separate lexical item in the Hebrew, where the sense of "saying" is carried only by the infinitive Mor (H0559).