Numbers 9:8

Summary

Moses responds to a question from the people (context not shown in this verse alone) by telling them to wait while he inquires of Yehovah about what instruction will be given concerning them. The verse consists of a narrative introduction followed by Moses' short reported speech.

Key words

• va-yomer ("and he said", H0559) — qal narrative verb, marking the next event in the story sequence.
• 'imdu ("stand", H5975G) — qal imperative, plural masculine; a direct command addressed to the group.
• 'esh.me'ah ("let me hear", H8085G) — qal verb form, first person, expressing Moses' own intended action following the command to the people; the ah-ending gives it a resolve/purpose nuance ("so that I may hear").
• yetzavveh ("will he command", H6680) — piel imperfect, third person; the piel stem intensifies the verb "to command," and the imperfect aspect points to an action not yet completed, i.e. a future or pending instruction.
• lakhem ("to/for you", H9036 with H9005) — preposition plus second-person plural suffix, marking the people as the recipients of whatever Yehovah will command.

What the text says

The verse opens with the standard narrative formula va-yomer 'alehem Mosheh ("and Moses said to them"), which frames the following words as direct speech. The speech itself contains two commands in sequence: first 'imdu ("stand"), addressed to the group in the imperative, and then ve-'esh.me'ah ("and let me hear"), a first-person form describing Moses' own subsequent action. The structure is thus: "you (plural) — stand; and I — will hear."

The content of what Moses will hear is introduced by the interrogative mah ("what") followed by yetzavveh Yehovah lakhem ("Yehovah will command for/to you"). The piel stem of yetzavveh gives the verb an intensive or directive force appropriate to divine command, and the imperfect aspect indicates that the command is anticipated rather than already given — Moses does not yet know the content, only that an instruction from Yehovah is pending. The final phrase lakhem ties this future command specifically to the addressees, using a preposition (la-) with a pronominal suffix rather than a verb of concern or topic.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the command as Στῆτε αὐτοῦ ("stand there"), adding a locative element (αὐτοῦ, "there") not present in the Hebrew 'imdu, which gives no locative specifier. Where the Hebrew closes with lakhem ("to/for you"), both the LXX (περὶ ὑμῶν, "concerning you") and the Vulgate (de vobis, "concerning you") use a preposition of topic/concern rather than the Hebrew's dative-like "to you."