Numbers 1:54

Summary

The verse states that the Israelites carried out everything that Yehovah had commanded Moses. It closes a section of instructions with a formulaic statement of complete compliance, expressed twice through repetition of the same verb.

Key words

• va-ya'aSu ("and they did", H6213A) — qal verb with narrative vav, marking the sequential action that moves the story forward: "and they did/made."
• khol ("all", H3605) — combined with the preposition ke ("according to", H9004) forms kekhol, "according to all/everything," setting the scope of compliance.
• 'asher ("that/which", H0834A) — relative particle introducing the clause specifying what was commanded.
• tzivvah ("he had commanded", H6680) — piel perfect, an intensive verbal form denoting a formal, authoritative command, completed prior to the main narrative action.
• ken ("so", H3651C) — adverb that resumes and confirms the preceding comparison, introducing the second occurrence of "they did."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence has a symmetrical structure built around the repetition of the verb 'asah ("to do/make," H6213A): it appears first as va-ya'aSu (narrative form, "and they did") at the start of the verse, and again as 'aSu (perfect, "they did") at the end. Between these two occurrences lies the comparative clause kekhol 'asher tzivvah Yehovah 'et-Mosheh — "according to all that Yehovah commanded Moses." This bracketing structure (verb — comparison — verb) creates emphasis through repetition: the action stated at the outset is confirmed at the close, framing the intervening command as fully executed.

The direct object marker 'et (H0853) before Mosheh signals that Moses is the recipient of the command, not its subject — the piel verb tzivvah has Yehovah as its subject and Moses as its indirect target of the instruction (mediated by the object marker + name construction typical of Hebrew prose). The construct phrase benei Yisra'el ("children/people of Israel," H1121G + H3478) functions as the subject of both verbs, meaning the same collective entity is credited with initiating and completing the action.

Differences between versions

The LXX adds καὶ Ἀαρών ("and Aaron") after "Moses," a name absent from the Hebrew text (which reads only 'et-Mosheh, "Moses"). The Vulgate (VULCLEM) renders the verse more concisely, omitting the final repeated clause "so they did" (ken 'aSu) found in the Hebrew and reflected in the LXX's οὕτως ἐποίησαν; the Vulgate's Latin ends after "Moysi," without a corresponding closing phrase.