Numbers 23:19

Summary

Numbers 23:19 declares that God is not comparable to 'ish ("a human", H0376G) who might lie, nor to a ben-'adam ("son of humankind", H0120G/H1121A) who might change his mind. The verse continues with two rhetorical questions asking whether God fails to do what he says or fulfill what he speaks.

Key words

• 'ish ("[is] a human", H0376G) — generic singular noun for a human being, used as the first term of comparison.
• 'el ("God", H0410G) — the subject of the sentence, set in contrast with 'ish.
• vikhazzev ("he may lie", H3576) — piel (intensive) imperfect with prefixed vav, expressing a purpose/result clause: "...that he should lie."
• yitnecham ("he may change his mind", H5162H) — hithpael (reflexive) imperfect with vav, marking the action as done to/by oneself, paired structurally with vikhazzev.
• yekimennah ("will he fulfill it", H6965I) — hiphil (causative) imperfect carrying a feminine pronominal suffix -nah ("her/it", H9034), pointing to a feminine antecedent not spelled out among the words listed.

What the text says

The verse opens with two parallel negated comparisons. The first pairs 'ish ("a human", H0376G) with 'el ("God", H0410G) and attaches the piel imperfect vikhazzev ("he may lie", H3576) with a purpose-type vav — the syntax expresses "not a human is God, that he should lie." The second comparison repeats the pattern with the construct phrase ven-'adam ("son of humankind", H1121A + H0120G) and the hithpael imperfect yitnecham ("he may change his mind", H5162H); the reflexive stem frames the action as an internal change rather than an external transformation caused by someone else.

The second half shifts to a rhetorical-question structure. The interrogative particle ha (H9008) attached to hu' ("he", H1931) introduces the question, followed by the qal perfect 'amar ("has he said", H0559) — a completed action. This is followed by lo' ya'aseh ("will he not act?", H6213A, imperfect), then a sequential perfect diber ("has he spoken?", H1696G, piel), and finally lo' yekimennah ("will he not fulfill it?", H6965I, hiphil), where the causative stem conveys "cause to stand/establish" and the attached feminine suffix -nah grammatically points back to an implied feminine noun (such as a word or statement) not present among the transliterated forms given.

Differences between versions

The LXX (Swete) renders vikhazzev and yitnecham with passive infinitives (διαρτηθῆναι, "to be thwarted"; ἀπειληθῆναι, "to be threatened/constrained"), differing from the Hebrew's active verb forms for "lie" and "change his mind." The LXX also treats 'amar as a participle ("αὐτὸς εἴπας," "he having said") rather than preserving the interrogative-perfect construction marked by ha...hu'...'amar in the Hebrew. The Vulgate keeps the question format closer to the Hebrew ("Dixit ergo, et non faciet?"). For yekimennah, the LXX uses ἐμμενεῖ ("persist/abide by"), a different semantic emphasis than the Hebrew hiphil's causative "establish/fulfill" sense.