Numbers 25:16

Summary

Numbers 25:16 is a short narrative formula introducing divine speech: it states that Yehovah spoke to Moses. The verse itself contains no content of the speech, only the introductory clause that prepares the reader for what follows.

Key words

• va ("and", H9001) — narrative vav prefixed to the verb, marking this clause as the next event in the story sequence.
• y.da.Ber ("he spoke", H1696G) — piel (intensive) verb form of the root for "speak," used in narrative to report an act of speaking; the piel stem here carries the standard sense of formal, direct speech rather than a heightened intensity.
• Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) — the divine name, subject of the verb.
• mo.Sheh ("Moses", H4872) — proper name, object of the preposition 'el- ("to", H0413), marking the recipient of the speech.
• Mor ("say", H0559) — qal infinitive construct, functioning adverbially with the preceding preposition le. ("to", H9005) to form the standard formula "saying," which opens direct discourse.

What the text says

The clause follows the fixed narrative pattern found throughout the Torah for introducing divine communication: narrative vav + verb y.da.Ber ("he spoke", H1696G) + subject Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) + preposition 'el- ("to", H0413) + recipient mo.Sheh ("Moses", H4872) + infinitive formula le'mor ("saying", H9005 + H0559). The infinitive construct Mor ("say", H0559) with the prefixed preposition le. does not carry independent tense; it functions to introduce the quoted speech that follows, a construction common in Biblical Hebrew narrative to shift from third-person report into direct discourse. In this single verse, no quoted content appears — the formula stands alone, meaning the verse's grammatical role is purely transitional, linking the preceding narrative material to the divine instruction that begins in the following verse.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text of this verse ends with the infinitive formula Mor ("say", H0559), containing no further words. The Septuagint (LXXSWETE), however, continues beyond this point with "Λάλησον τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ λέγων" ("Speak to the sons of Israel, saying"), material that in the Hebrew numbering belongs to the following verse. The Vulgate (VULCLEM), like the Hebrew, ends the verse with "dicens" ("saying"), matching the shorter Hebrew unit rather than the longer Greek one.