Numbers 14:19

Summary

Numbers 14:19 records a petition asking for the forgiveness of "the iniquity of this people" ('avon ha'am hazeh, H5771G/H5971A) based on the magnitude of divine chesed (H2617A). The plea grounds this request in prior forgiving action, citing a continuous span "from Egypt until now" (mimitzrayim ve'ad henah).

Key words

• se.lach ("forgive", H5545) — qal imperative, a direct command form combined with na ("please", H4994), softening the imperative into an entreaty.
• 'a.Von ("iniquity of", H5771G) — construct form, meaning it must attach to what follows ("iniquity of the people"); it cannot stand alone grammatically.
• cheS.deka ("your covenant loyalty", H2617A + H9021) — construct noun with 2nd person suffix; chesed denotes a relational loyalty/faithfulness, here modified by godel ("greatness of", H1433), another construct noun.
• na.Sa.tah ("you have forgiven", H5375I) — qal perfect, marking a completed past action; the root H5375 literally means "to lift/carry," here used idiomatically for forgiveness (lifting away guilt).
• ve.'ad He.nah ("and until now", H5704 + H2008) — a temporal phrase closing the range that began "from Egypt" (mimitzrayim), marking a continuous timeline of prior forgiving acts.

What the text says

The verse opens with a double petition marker: the qal imperative se.lach ("forgive") paired with the particle na ("please"), which in Biblical Hebrew softens commands into requests. The object of the request is introduced by the preposition la ("to") governing the construct chain 'a.Von ha'Am ha.Zeh — literally "the iniquity of the people, this one" — where 'a.Von (construct state) cannot stand independently but binds tightly to "the people."

The basis for the request is expressed through two parallel comparative clauses, each introduced by a ke-preposition ("according to" / "just as"). The first, ke.godel chas.de.kha ("according to the greatness of your chesed"), stacks two construct nouns — godel ("greatness of") governing chesed ("covenant loyalty") — intensifying the quality being invoked. The second clause, vekha'asher nasatah ("and just as you have forgiven"), uses the qal perfect of nasa (H5375I, "to carry/lift"), a verb whose literal sense of "lifting" is applied idiomatically to the removal of guilt. This perfect-tense verb marks a completed, prior action, distinguishing it from the imperative request for present forgiveness.

The temporal phrase mimitzrayim ve'ad henah ("from Egypt and until now") uses two prepositions (min and 'ad) to frame a continuous duration, anchoring the precedent-forgiveness to the historical departure from Egypt through to the moment of speech.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders chesed (H2617A) as eleos ("mercy"), and nasa'ta ("you have forgiven") as hileōs...egenou ("you became propitious/gracious"), shifting the verbal imagery from "lifting/carrying" to a state of favorable disposition. The Vulgate's usque ad locum istum ("until this place") diverges from the Hebrew 'ad henah ("until now"), rendering the temporal marker as spatial rather than temporal.