Numbers 3:5

Summary

This verse is a short formulaic introduction, stating that Yehovah spoke to Moses. It functions as an introductory clause opening a new divine communication, without yet giving the content of the speech.

Key words

• va-y'daBer ("and he spoke", H1696G) — piel verb with narrative vav, marking the sequential opening of a new speech-act in the narrative chain.
• Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) — proper name, subject of the verb, identifying the speaker.
• el ("to", H0413) — preposition indicating the addressee toward whom the speech is directed.
• Mosheh ("Moses", H4872) — proper name, object of the preposition, the recipient of the speech.
• leMor ("saying", H0559) — qal infinitive construct with prefixed le, introducing the forthcoming direct discourse.

What the text says

The verse follows the standard Hebrew narrative pattern for introducing divine speech: narrative vav + finite verb (va-y'daBer) + subject (Yehovah) + prepositional phrase indicating the addressee (el-Mosheh) + infinitive of manner (leMor). The piel stem of daBer ("to speak", H1696G) is the standard intensive-stem verb used for formal or authoritative speech, distinct from the simpler qal stem used elsewhere for ordinary speaking. The infinitive leMor ("saying") does not carry independent tense; it functions syntactically to introduce the direct quotation that follows in the subsequent verses, a common construction in Hebrew narrative to shift from narration into reported speech.

The sentence contains no additional grammatical complexity: there is a single subject, a single addressee, and no embedded clauses. Its brevity and formulaic structure are typical of introductory speech markers found throughout the book of Numbers, serving purely to frame what follows rather than to convey semantic content itself.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text places the verb first (va-y'daBer, "and he spoke"), preserving the narrative vav that syntactically links this verse to the preceding context. The LXX (Καὶ ἐλάλησεν κύριος, "And the Lord spoke") mirrors this structure closely, retaining the conjunction "and." The Vulgate (Locutusque est Dominus, "And the Lord spoke") also preserves the connective sense through the enclitic -que. Some modern translations, such as the BSB ("Then the LORD said to Moses"), replace the narrative connector with "Then," which conveys sequence but not the specific verbal chaining function carried by the Hebrew vav-consecutive construction.