Numbers 28:17

Summary

The verse establishes that on the fifteenth day of the same month there is to be a festival, during which unleavened bread is to be eaten for seven days.

Key words

• cha.mi.Shah 'a.Sar ("fifteen", H2568 + H6240) — the cardinal numbers combine to specify the exact day of the month, with the standard Hebrew word order for compound numbers (units before "ten").
• Cho.desh ("month", H2320G) — masculine singular noun, here made definite by the article on the following demonstrative, anchoring the date to "this month" mentioned in the surrounding context.
• Chag ("a festival", H2282) — masculine singular noun standing without a verb in this clause, functioning as a nominal predicate that announces the occasion.
• shiv.'At yamim ("seven days", H7651 + H3117G) — the numeral is in construct state ("seven of days"), a common Hebrew pattern for expressing durations.
• ye.'a.Khel ("it will be eaten", H0398) — Niphal imperfect, third person masculine singular; the Niphal stem marks the verb as passive, so the grammatical subject is matzot ("unleavened bread", H4682), not a stated human agent.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence divides into two parts. The first part, introduced by the conjunction u ("and", H9002) and the preposition va ("on", H9003), sets the date: "on the fifteenth day of this month." This temporal phrase is followed simply by the noun chag ("a festival", H2282) with no verb — a verbless clause typical of Hebrew legal/ritual style, which asserts the existence of the occasion rather than describing an action.

The second part shifts to describe what happens during the festival's duration. shiv.'At yamim ("seven days", H7651+H3117G) functions adverbially, indicating the extent of the eating. The verb ye.'a.Khel ("it will be eaten", H0398) is Niphal imperfect singular, agreeing with its singular subject matzot ("unleavened bread", H4682) even though matzot is grammatically plural in form — this is consistent with collective/mass-noun usage in Hebrew, where a plural noun referring to a single foodstuff can take a singular verb. The passive voice removes any explicit agent: the text states that the bread "will be eaten" without naming who eats it.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the Hebrew verbless clause chag ("a festival") with the noun ἑορτή ("festival"), matching the nominal structure. However, for ye.'a.Khel ("it will be eaten", Niphal passive), the LXX shifts to ἔδεσθε, a second-person plural active/middle form ("you shall eat"), introducing an explicit addressee not present in the Hebrew passive construction. The Vulgate's vescentur ("they will eat/feed on") similarly uses an active third-person plural form rather than preserving the passive voice of the Hebrew ye.'a.Khel.