Numbers 26:52

Summary

This verse is a short introductory formula stating that Yehovah spoke to Moses. It contains no independent content of its own but serves as the narrative frame introducing the divine speech that follows in the subsequent verses.

Key words

• va-y'daBer ("and he spoke", H1696G) — piel verb with narrative vav, marking a new sequential event in the story; the piel stem here carries the sense of authoritative or intensive speech rather than casual talk.
• Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) — the proper name of the deity, functioning as the grammatical subject of the verb y'daBer ("he spoke").
• 'el- ("to", H0413) — preposition indicating the addressee, directing the speech toward Mosheh ("Moses", H4872).
• Mosheh ("Moses", H4872) — proper noun, the recipient of the divine speech, grammatically the object of the preposition 'el-.
• leMor ("saying", H0559) — qal infinitive construct, introducing direct or reported speech; it functions as a formulaic marker meaning roughly "as follows" or "saying."

What the text says

The verse follows the standard Hebrew narrative formula found throughout the Pentateuch for introducing divine communication: vav-consecutive verb + subject + prepositional phrase + infinitive of speech. The initial va-y'daBer ("and he spoke", H1696G) uses the narrative vav construction, which in Biblical Hebrew signals sequential action moving the story forward — this is a new, distinct speech-event following whatever preceded it in the text. The verb stem is piel, which in this idiom does not necessarily imply special intensity in translation but is the standard stem used for the verb "to speak" in these introductory formulas.

The subject Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) is placed immediately after the verb, following typical verb-subject word order in Hebrew narrative. The prepositional phrase 'el-Mosheh ("to Moses", H0413 + H4872) identifies the recipient of the speech. Finally, the infinitive leMor ("saying", H0559) formally opens the quotation that follows this verse, functioning grammatically like a colon in English — it does not add semantic content beyond marking the transition into direct discourse.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew, LXX (Καὶ ἐλάλησεν κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων), and Vulgate (Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens) all preserve the same basic structure and sequence: verb of speaking, subject, prepositional phrase naming Moses, and a participial or infinitival marker introducing speech. No substantive divergence in meaning or word order appears among the versions for this verse.