Numbers 14:21

Summary

Yehovah declares an oath formula introduced by 'ulam ("but", H0199) and chai 'ani ("[by] the life... of me" = "as I live", H2416A + H0589), followed by a statement that his kavod ("glory", H3519) will fill the whole earth. The verb describing this filling, yimmale' (H4390), is grammatically passive/reflexive and connected to the oath by a conjunction.

Key words

• 'ulam ("but", H0199) — adverb marking a contrast with what precedes, introducing the oath that follows.
• chai ("[by] [the] life", H2416A) — masculine singular adjective functioning in the fixed oath formula "as I live," paired with the pronoun 'ani.
• yimmale' ("[it] may be filled", H4390) — Niphal (passive/reflexive) imperfect, third person masculine singular, joined by a vav that expresses purpose or continuation ("and so it will be filled").
• khevod ("glory of", H3519) — masculine singular noun in construct state, requiring a following noun to complete its meaning ("glory of X").
• 'et (direct object marker, H0853) — marks "all the earth" as the object despite the verb yimmale' being passive in form.

What the text says

The verse opens with the adverb 'ulam ("but", H0199), signaling a contrast with the preceding context, followed immediately by the oath formula chai 'ani — literally "[by the] life... of me," an adjective plus a personal pronoun that together function as a fixed idiom of swearing ("as I live"). This oath stands independently, without a verb "to be," relying on Hebrew's capacity to form complete clauses through juxtaposition.

The second half is joined by a vav on yimmale' ("and let it be filled" / "so it will be filled," H4390), a Niphal imperfect form. The Niphal stem typically marks passive or reflexive action, so the grammatical subject "the glory of Yehovah" (khevod Yehovah, construct chain H3519 + H3068G) is presented as the one being filled into, or filling, "all the earth" (kol ha'aretz, H3605 + H9009 + H0776G). Notably, the object "all the earth" is marked by the direct object marker 'et (H0853), which is grammatically unusual with a passive verb, since passive constructions normally take a subject rather than a direct object — this marks the earth as the space into which the glory extends, rather than a straightforward passive subject-verb relationship.

Differences between versions

The LXX adds a phrase absent from the Hebrew: καὶ ζῶν τὸ ὄνομά μου ("and my name living"), inserting a second oath element ("my name") alongside "I live," which has no counterpart in the Hebrew chai 'ani. The Vulgate ("Vivo ego: et implebitur gloria Domini universa terra") and the Hebrew both present a single oath ("I live") followed by the filling of the earth with glory, without the additional "name" clause found in the LXX.