Numbers 28:18

Summary

The verse establishes that the first day (of an already-mentioned feast period) requires a miqra' qodesh ("convocation of holiness", H4744/H6944G), during which no melakhet 'avodah ("work of servitude", H4399/H5656I) may be performed.

Key words

• ba.Yom ("in the day", H9003+H3117G) — preposition ba prefixed to "day," marking the temporal setting; combined with the article ha on ri.Shon ("first", H7223G), it specifies a particular ordinal day within a sequence, not "a" first day but "the" first day of the festival period already introduced.
• mikra' ("convocation of", H4744) — masculine singular noun in construct state, meaning it must be joined to what follows (qodesh) to form a single expression "convocation of holiness"; it does not stand alone grammatically.
• qodesh ("holiness", H6944G) — the absolute noun completing the construct chain, giving the convocation its qualifying attribute; the phrase functions adjectivally even though both words are nouns.
• melakhet ("work of", H4399) — construct form of "work," here paired with 'avodah to form a compound expression; construct nouns in Hebrew always depend on the following noun for full meaning.
• ta'aSu ("you will do", H6213A) — qal imperfect, second person masculine plural, expressing an ongoing or future prohibition when combined with the negation lo' ("not", H3808); the imperfect aspect allows for durative or repeated non-action across the described day.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence has no explicit main verb of being ("will be" or "is") in this fragment — the clause structure is nominal for its first half: "in the day, the first, convocation of holiness" states a status rather than an action. Only the second half introduces a finite verb, ta'aSu ("you will do", H6213A), negated by lo' ("not", H3808), producing the prohibition "you [plural] will not do." This construction is typical of Hebrew legal/ritual instruction: describe the day's designation nominally, then attach the restriction verbally.

The double construct chains are notable: mikra'-qodesh ("convocation of holiness") and kol-melakhet 'avodah ("any work of servitude") both link two nouns without a supplied verb "to be," so translations must insert one ("there shall be," "there is to be") that is not present in the Hebrew itself. Similarly, kol ("any", H3605) governs the whole phrase "work of servitude" as a totalizing construct, meaning the prohibition covers the complete category rather than isolated instances.

Differences between versions

The LXX supplies an explicit future verb, ἔσται ("will be"), rendering the nominal Hebrew clause as "the day... will be a holy convocation," making explicit what Hebrew leaves implicit. The Vulgate similarly adds "erit" ("will be") and further specifies "in ea" ("in it/on it"), a locational clarification absent from the Hebrew. The Hebrew melakhet 'avodah ("work of servitude") is rendered by the LXX as ἔργον λατρευτόν ("work pertaining to service/cult"), and by the Vulgate as "opus servile" ("servile work"), both interpretive choices for the compound construct not identically structured in Hebrew.