Numbers 10:35

Summary

Numbers 10:35 records a formulaic saying spoken by Moses each time the ark set out on the march. The verse consists of a narrative introduction followed by Moses' direct speech, which calls on Yehovah to rise and cause his enemies to scatter and flee.

Key words

• va-y.Hi ("and it was", H1961) — qal narrative form, the classic Hebrew formula that opens a narrated event ("and it came to pass").
• bi-n.So.a' ("when setting out", H5265) — infinitive construct with prefixed preposition bi ("when"/"in"), marking a temporal clause: "when the ark set out."
• ku.Ma-h ("rise up!", H6965B + H9012) — qal imperative with paragogic he, an emphatic command form directed at Yehovah.
• ya.Fu.tzu ("let them be scattered", H6327A) — qal imperfect with conjunctive vav, expressing purpose or consequence following the imperative ("so that they may be scattered").
• 'o.ye.Vei-kha ("your enemies", H0341 + H9021) — qal participle in construct form ("the ones being hostile to") plus 2nd-person suffix, literally "the ones-hating-you," paired later with me.san.'Ei-kha ("those hating you", H8130), a piel participle with the same construct-plus-suffix structure.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative sequence va-y.Hi... bi-n.So.a' ha-'a.Ron ("and it was, when the ark set out"), an infinitive construct clause that frames the recurring circumstance under which the following speech occurs — the setting-out of the ark is the trigger for Moses' words, not a one-time event. The second narrative verb, va-i.Yo.mer ("and he said"), introduces Moses' direct speech in quoted form.

The speech itself is built on the imperative ku.Ma-h ("rise up"), addressed to Yehovah by name, followed by two parallel clauses each opening with the conjunction ve attached to a qal imperfect verb: ve-ya.Fu.tzu ("and let them be scattered") and ve-ya.Nu.su ("and let them flee"). This vav-plus-imperfect construction following an imperative typically signals purpose or intended result — the scattering and fleeing are presented as what should follow from Yehovah's rising. The two objects of these verbs are grammatically parallel participles in construct form: 'o.ye.Vei-kha ("your enemies," qal participle, literally "those hating you") and me.san.'Ei-kha ("those who hate you," piel participle, an intensive form of "to hate"). The piel form of the second participle carries a more intensive nuance of hatred than the qal participle used for "enemies," though both are rendered as near-synonyms in translation. The final phrase, mi-pa.Nei-kha ("from before you," literally "from your face"), uses the construct noun pa.Nei ("face") with a pronominal suffix, a common idiom for presence.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ku.Ma-h ("rise up") as Ἐξεγέρθητι ("be aroused/awakened"), a passive imperative differing from the Hebrew's active qal imperative form. The LXX also adds πάντες ("all") before "those who hate you," a quantifier not present in the Hebrew text. The Vulgate's Surge ("arise") more closely parallels the Hebrew imperative than the LXX's passive construction.