Numbers 9:4

Summary

The verse reports that Moses spoke to the people of Israel, instructing them to observe the Passover. It is a brief narrative notice introducing the command that follows in the passage.

Key words

• va-yedaBer ("and he spoke", H1696G) — piel verb with narrative vav, marking a sequential action in the story: "and then he spoke." The piel stem gives the speaking an intensive or directed nuance, appropriate for formal instruction.
• Mosheh ("Moses", H4872) — proper noun, subject of the verb; identifies the one who transmits the instruction.
• bene ("[the] people of", H1121G) — masculine plural construct noun, grammatically bound to the following name "Israel," forming the phrase "sons/people of Israel."
• la'asot ("to observe", H6213A) — qal infinitive with prefixed preposition la- ("to/for"), expressing purpose: "in order to do/observe."
• ha-Pasach ("the Passover", H6453) — singular noun with definite article, naming the specific rite to be performed.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence follows a simple narrative sequence typical of biblical prose: the vav-consecutive verb va-yedaBer opens the clause, placing this action within the chain of events in the story. The subject Mosheh follows immediately, then the preposition 'el ("to") introduces the recipients of the speech, bene Yisra'El ("the people of Israel"), a construct phrase where bene ("people/sons of") depends grammatically on Yisra'El.

The purpose of Moses' speech is expressed through the infinitive construction la'asot ha-Pasach ("to observe the Passover"). The preposition la- attached to the qal infinitive 'asot ("to do/observe") indicates the goal or result of the speaking act — Moses did not merely speak, but spoke with the aim that the people would perform this action. The object of the infinitive, ha-Pasach, carries the definite article, marking it as a specific, already-known observance rather than a general or new institution, consistent with its being referenced back to earlier instructions on the Pasach.

The verse is structurally minimal: subject, verb, indirect object, and purpose clause. No further predicate details are given, leaving the following verses to elaborate on the enactment of the command.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate renders va-yedaBer ("and he spoke") as Præcepitque ("and he commanded/ordered"), a stronger term than the Hebrew verb dabar ("to speak") would strictly require, framing the utterance explicitly as a command rather than as speech. The LXX (ἐλάλησεν, "he spoke") and most Hebrew-based translations preserve the more neutral sense of speaking found in the Hebrew y'daBer.