Numbers 20:2

Summary

The verse states that water was lacking for the congregation, and as a result the people assembled against Moses and Aaron. The Hebrew presents two connected clauses: a statement of absence followed by a narrative action triggered by that absence.

Key words

• Ha.yah ("it belonged/was", H1961) — qal perfect, third person masculine singular; describes a completed state of being, here negated to express non-existence ("there was not").
• Ma.yim ("water", H4325G) — masculine plural noun; the grammatical subject of the negated verb, though functioning as the item lacking rather than an active agent.
• 'e.Dah ("congregation", H5712) — feminine singular noun with prefixed preposition la- ("to/for"); marks the group for whom the water was absent.
• i.yi.Ka.ha.Lu ("they assembled", H6950) — niphal (passive/reflexive) verb with narrative vav; indicates the people gathered themselves, continuing the story sequence introduced by the previous clause.
• 'al- ("on/against", H5921A) — preposition repeated before both mo.Sheh ("Moses", H4872) and 'a.ha.Ron ("Aaron", H0175), showing the assembly was directed toward both leaders equally.

What the text says

The verse opens with a negated perfect verb, ve-lo' Ha.yah ("and it was not"), followed by its subject Ma.yim ("water"). Although Ma.yim is grammatically plural, it functions here as a mass noun referring to a general water supply, and the singular verb form Ha.yah agrees with it in a common Hebrew pattern for such nouns. The phrase la-'e.Dah ("to/for the congregation") specifies for whom this lack existed, framing the community as the affected party rather than the grammatical subject.

The second clause begins with the narrative vav attached to yi.Ka.ha.Lu ("they assembled"), a niphal form that carries a reflexive or passive sense — the people gathered themselves, rather than being gathered by another. This verb form connects logically to the prior clause of lack, presenting the assembly as a direct narrative consequence within the same sentence flow. The repeated preposition 'al before both mo.Sheh and 'a.ha.Ron structurally places the two leaders as equal targets of the people's action, without distinguishing one as primary.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders la-'e.Dah ("to the congregation") with a shorter phrase, "τῇ ᾖ" (fragmentary in the provided text, likely representing "the congregation" or a similar noun), showing a comparable but not identical structure of place/recipient marking. The Vulgate uses indigeret aqua populus ("the people were lacking water"), converting the Hebrew's noun-based negation ("there was not water") into a verbal construction with populus ("people") as subject, differing from the Hebrew's 'e.Dah ("congregation") as an indirect object. The Vulgate also renders yi.Ka.ha.Lu as convenerunt ("they came together"), a neutral verb, whereas the Hebrew niphal form and the following 'al ("against") together convey assembly with hostile direction toward Moses and Aaron.