Numbers 20:10

Summary

Moses and Aaron assemble the congregation in front of the rock. Moses addresses the people with an imperative to listen, calling them "the rebels," and poses a rhetorical question marked by the interrogative particle, asking whether he and Aaron will bring them water from this rock.

Key words

• va-yyaqhilu ("they made assemble", H6950) — hiphil narrative form: Moses and Aaron are the causative agents who bring the assembly together, not merely gathering themselves.
• ha-qqahal ("the assembly", H6951) — definite noun marked by the direct object marker 'et (H0853), identifying the specific group being assembled.
• shim'u ("listen", H8085) — qal imperative plural, a direct command addressed to the people.
• ha-morim ("the rebels", H4784) — qal participle plural with definite article, functioning as a vocative label ("the ones who rebel") rather than a finite verb.
• ha- + min ("¿ from", H9008 + H4480) — the interrogative particle ha prefixed to the preposition min opens a yes/no question, governing the clause through notzi' ("we will bring out").

What the text says

The verse divides into two narrative actions joined by vav-consecutive verbs: va-yyaqhilu ("and they assembled," hiphil) and va-yyomer ("and he said," qal). The first verb is causative — Moses and Aaron do not simply appear before the assembly but actively cause it to gather, with the object marked by 'et-ha-qqahal. The location is specified by the construct phrase pnei ha-sela' ("the face of the rock"), a construct noun (H6440G) plus definite noun (H5553H) indicating a spatial position "in front of" the rock.

The second clause introduces direct speech. Shim'u is a plural qal imperative directed lahem ("to them"), followed by the particle na' (H4994), a politeness/urgency marker attached to commands. The vocative ha-morim uses a participial form (from the root meaning "to rebel," H4784) with the definite article, functioning here as a form of address ("you rebels") rather than describing a completed or ongoing action grammatically separate from the imperative.

The final clause is a question introduced by the interrogative ha- prefixed to min ("from"), producing ha-min-ha-sela' ha-zeh ("is it from this rock..."). The verb notzi' (H3318L) is a hiphil imperfect, first person plural — "will we bring out" — governed by this interrogative construction, with lakhem mayim ("for you, water") completing the clause. The imperfect aspect leaves the action open as future/potential rather than asserting it as accomplished.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ha-morim ("the rebels," a participle used as vocative) as οἱ ἀπειθεῖς ("the disobedient/unpersuadable ones"), a different semantic nuance than "rebel." The Vulgate expands this vocative into two terms, rebelles et increduli ("rebels and unbelieving"), adding a second descriptor not present in the Hebrew's single participial form. The LXX also inserts ἀκούσατέ μου ("listen to me"), adding a first-person pronoun object not explicit in the Hebrew shim'u-na' ("listen, please"), which lacks an object suffix.