Numbers 6:23

Summary

Numbers 6:23 is a divine instruction to Moses, commanding him to speak to Aaron and his sons about the formula they are to use when blessing the Israelites. The verse frames the blessing itself (which follows in vv. 24–26) with two occurrences of the verb "to say," one at the start and one at the end.

Key words

• daBer ("speak", H1696) — Piel imperative, masculine singular; an intensive command form directing Moses to speak.
• leMor ("saying", H0559) — Qal infinitive construct of the same root as amor below; introduces reported speech, standard usage before a quotation.
• koh ("thus", H3541) — adverb pointing forward to the specific wording that follows, marking it as a fixed formula rather than a general instruction.
• tevarakhu ("you will bless", H1288) — Piel imperfect, second person masculine plural; the intensive stem indicates a formal, ritual act of blessing performed by Aaron and his sons together.
• amor ("say", H0559) — Qal infinitive absolute, same root as leMor; here it reinforces the instruction rather than introducing new speech, closing the frame opened by leMor.

What the text says

The verse opens with daBer ("speak", H1696), a Piel imperative addressed to Moses, followed by the recipients: 'el-'ahaRon ("to Aaron", H0175) and ve'el-baNav ("and to his sons", H1121A with pronominal suffix). The infinitive leMor (H0559) then introduces the content of what Moses is to say. The adverb koh (H3541), "thus," signals that a precise formula follows: tevarakhu et-beNei Yisra'El ("you will bless the people of Israel", H1288 + H1121G + H3478), using the Piel imperfect second-person plural, addressed to Aaron and his sons jointly as the ones who will pronounce the blessing.

The verse closes with amor lahem ("say to them", H0559 infinitive absolute + H9038 suffix "them"). Because H0559 appears twice — first as leMor (infinitive construct) and then as amor (infinitive absolute) — the verse is grammatically framed by the same root at its beginning and end, opening and closing the instruction about how the blessing is to be delivered. The infinitive absolute amor does not introduce new content but reinforces or restates the directive already given, closing the instructional frame around the central command tevarakhu.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders daBer 'el-'ahaRon ("speak to Aaron") as Λάλησον Ἀαρὼν using the dative case for "Aaron" without a separate preposition, while the Vulgate similarly uses Loquere Aaron with the dative form directly. The Hebrew instead uses the explicit preposition 'el ("to", H0413) before both "Aaron" and "his sons." The LXX also renders the final infinitive absolute amor ("say") as a participle, λέγοντες ("saying"), differing grammatically from the Hebrew infinitive form, while the Vulgate renders it as a finite future verb, dicetis ("you will say").