Numbers 14:13

Summary

Moses replies to Yehovah, arguing that Egypt will hear about what happens to Israel and will interpret it in light of the fact that Yehovah brought this people out of Egypt's own midst by his strength. The verse sets up the reasoning Moses develops in the following verses about Egypt's perception of Yehovah's actions.

Key words

• sha.me.'U ("they will hear", H8085G) — qal perfect used with sequential vav, so it continues the narrative chain from yomer and functions with future/consequential force ("and then they will hear").
• ki- ("that / if", H3588A) — a subordinating particle that here introduces the content of what Egypt will hear; the same particle can mark either a factual clause ("that") or a conditional one ("if"), and the grammar alone does not resolve which nuance is intended.
• he.'e.Li.ta ("you brought up", H5927H) — hiphil perfect, the causative stem of the root for "to go up," meaning Yehovah is the causer of Israel's ascent/exit, not merely an accompanying agent.
• kho.cha.Kha ("your strength", H3581B + H9021) — construct noun with 2ms suffix, attributing the cause of the people's departure directly to Yehovah's own power.
• kir.B-o ("its midst", H7130G + H9023) — construct noun with 3ms suffix; the suffix "its/his" grammatically points back to Mitzrayim ("Egypt", H4713), treated as a singular collective entity.

What the text says

The verse opens with the standard narrative formula va-yomer... Mosheh el-YHWH ("and Moses said to Yehovah"), introducing direct speech. The following clause, ve-shame'u Mitzrayim, uses a sequential perfect after the narrative vav, which in this construction carries the sense of a future or resulting event within Moses' argument — "and Egypt will hear." The particle ki then opens the content clause reporting what Egypt will hear: that Yehovah he'elita ("brought up") "this people" (ha-'am ha-zeh) be-khokhakha ("by your strength") mi-qirbo ("from its midst"). The hiphil form of he'elita marks Yehovah as the direct causal agent of the people's ascent out of Egypt, rather than describing the people simply leaving on their own. The final phrase mi-qirbo, with its singular suffix, grammatically refers back to Egypt as a single collective body ("from its midst"), rather than to the Egyptians as many individuals.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate renders the sequential clause as a purpose clause, "Ut audiant Ægyptii" ("so that the Egyptians may hear"), whereas the Hebrew ve-shame'u is a plain sequential statement without an expressed purpose marker. The LXX's ἐξ αὐτῶν ("from them," plural) and the Vulgate's de quorum medio ("from the midst of whom," relative plural) both render the Hebrew singular suffixed noun mi-qirbo ("from its midst," referring to Egypt as one collective) with plural forms referring to the Egyptians as multiple individuals.