Numbers 27:6

Summary

The Hebrew text of Numbers 27:6 consists solely of the standard narrative formula introducing direct divine speech: "and Yehovah said to Moshe, saying." It sets up a following pronouncement, without yet stating its content in this verse.

Key words

• va-yomer ("and he said", H0559) — qal verb with narrative vav, marking the next event in sequence; the wayyiqtol form is the default way Biblical Hebrew narrates successive past actions.
• YHWH ("Yehovah", H3068G) — the divine name functioning as grammatical subject of va-yomer.
• el ("to", H0413) — preposition marking Moshe as the addressee/recipient of the speech.
• Moshe ("Moses", H4872) — proper noun, indirect object of the verb, the one being addressed.
• le-mor ("saying", H0559) — infinitive construct of the same root as va-yomer, preceded by the preposition le; this infinitive conventionally opens direct quotation in Biblical Hebrew narrative, functioning almost like an oral quotation mark.

What the text says

The Hebrew clause is short and entirely formulaic: subject (YHWH) + verb (va-yomer) + prepositional phrase indicating the addressee (el-Moshe) + infinitive marker (le-mor) that opens a quotation. This pattern — finite verb of speech followed by the same root as an infinitive with le — is common throughout the Pentateuch to introduce divine legal or narrative pronouncements. The verse itself does not yet contain the content of what Yehovah says; the words "saying" (le-mor) function purely as a grammatical hinge pointing forward to the following verse, where the actual message begins.

Because this verse is only the introductory formula, there is no additional descriptive or thematic content to extract from the Hebrew grammar beyond identifying speaker, addressee, and the shift into direct discourse.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew data for this verse contains only the introductory formula ("and Yehovah said to Moses, saying"). However, the LXX and Vulgate texts supplied here do not match that formula — they instead render content resembling Numbers 27:7 (concerning the daughters of Zelophehad speaking rightly and inheriting their father's portion). The Hebrew word-by-word given corresponds to the modern versions (RV1909, BSB, SBLIBRE), which all render only the short introductory clause ("and the LORD answered/spoke to Moses, saying"). This indicates that the LXX and Vulgate texts provided align with a different verse (27:7) rather than with 27:6 as attested in the Hebrew data.