Numbers 9:16

Summary

The verse describes the recurring pattern of the cloud over the tabernacle: it covered the structure continuously, appearing as fire during the night. The Hebrew states this as a standing habitual pattern rather than a single event.

Key words

• ken ("thus", H3651C) — adverb opening the verse, pointing back to the pattern just described and framing what follows as its ongoing continuation.
• yihyeh ("it was", H1961) — qal imperfect of the verb "to be"; the imperfect aspect conveys a repeated or ongoing state rather than a completed single event.
• tamid ("continually", H8548) — a noun used adverbially, reinforcing that this was a constant, unbroken condition, not an occasional occurrence.
• yekhassenu ("it covered it", H3680) — piel imperfect with a 3rd person suffix; the piel stem intensifies the covering action, and the suffix ties it directly to the tabernacle (referred to as "it").
• mar'eh ("appearance of", H4758) — construct noun linking directly to 'esh ("fire", H0784); the construct chain produces "appearance of fire," describing how the cloud presented itself rather than stating it became literal fire.

What the text says

The sentence opens with ken yihyeh tamid ("thus it was continually"), a compact clause establishing habitual repetition before naming the subject. The subject, he'anan ("the cloud", H6051), follows, and the verb yekhassenu uses the piel stem, which in Biblical Hebrew often carries an intensive or thorough sense of the action — the cloud did not merely rest near the tabernacle but enveloped it.

The second half of the verse, joined by u- ("and", H9002), shifts to a noun clause: mar'eh-'esh laylah ("appearance of fire, night"). There is no verb here — the Hebrew simply juxtaposes the construct phrase "appearance of fire" with laylah ("night", H3915), implying that at night the same cloud took on a fiery appearance. The construct form mar'eh ("appearance of") signals that this is about how the cloud looked, not a claim that it turned into literal flame.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text does not contain an explicit word for "day" in this verse — the contrast between day and night is implied only through the placement of "night" (laylah) after the fire description. The LXX inserts hēmeras ("by day") explicitly before describing the cloud's covering, and the Vulgate similarly adds per diem ("by day") and per noctem ("by night"), making the day/night contrast explicit where the Hebrew leaves it implicit.