Numbers 9:20

Summary

The verse describes a recurring situation: there were times when the cloud remained over the tabernacle only a certain number of days, and in that case too, the Israelites camped and set out according to Yehovah's directive. It emphasizes that even short stays of the cloud followed the same rule of divine command governing movement.

Key words

• Yesh ("there", H3426) — introduces an existential clause, here functioning idiomatically with the following relative to mean "there were times when" or "sometimes."
• 'a.Sher ("that/who", H0834A) — relative particle linking to Yesh, forming the construction "there was [a case] that..." describing an indefinite, recurring circumstance rather than a single event.
• yih.Yeh ("it was", H1961) — qal imperfect of the verb "to be"; the imperfect aspect indicates a repeated or habitual occurrence ("it would be/happen") rather than one fixed moment.
• mis.Par ("number", H4557) — noun in construct-like apposition to yamim ("days", H3117G), literally "days of number," meaning a specific but small/countable quantity of days, contrasted with longer indefinite stays.
• pi ("mouth of", H6310I) — construct noun meaning literally "mouth," used idiomatically with Yehovah (H3068G) to mean "by the command/utterance of Yehovah"; repeated twice, tying both encamping (ya.cha.Nu, H2583) and setting out (yi.Sa.'u, H5265) to the same source of instruction.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the idiom Yesh 'asher ("there is that/who"), a construction that in this context expresses an indefinite temporal case: "there were times when." This is followed by yihyeh, an imperfect verb form of "to be," reinforcing the habitual or repeated nature of the situation being described — the cloud (he-'anan, "the cloud", H6051) would sometimes remain only a "number of days" (yamim mispar) over the tabernacle, rather than for a longer period as described in the preceding verses of the passage.

The second half of the verse repeats the phrase 'al pi Yehovah ("on the mouth of Yehovah") twice, once for encamping (yachanu) and once for setting out (yissa'u). Both verbs are qal imperfect third-person plural, indicating ongoing or repeated communal action. The parallel structure — the same prepositional phrase governing both opposite actions (camping and departing) — grammatically underscores that both movements, regardless of the cloud's duration, followed the same directive, described literally as coming from the "mouth" of Yehovah, an idiom for spoken command.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders pi Yehovah ("mouth of Yehovah") as διὰ φωνῆς κυρίου ("through the voice of the Lord") in the first instance, but as διὰ προστάγματος Κυρίου ("through the command of the Lord") in the second, introducing lexical variation not present in the repeated Hebrew phrase. The Vulgate uses "ad imperium Domini" ("at the command of the Lord") for both instances, also departing from the literal "mouth" idiom found in the Hebrew source text.