Menu

Leviticus 6:19 — Word Study

Depth

WLCוַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־ מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃

BSApriestkôhên to sinchâṭâʼ Obj.ʼêth to eatʼâkal placemâqôwm holyqâdôwsh to eatʼâkal courtchâtsêr tentʼôhel meetingmôwʻêd

Word
Listen & take awayLeviticus 6
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 19 is in this chapter.
Hebrew ↓ Download MP3 The Masoretic text of this chapter, read aloud. Read by Abraham Shmuelof, courtesy of Audio Scriptures International. Chapter divisions by the Academy of Ancient Languages..
Say the word Each Hebrew word carries its transliteration (le.Mor) — no per-word recordings of the Hebrew exist to link to.
Take it away
Leviticus 6:19quick helps
In a sentenceThe LORD speaks to Moses, giving him commands and instructions.
Who is speakingThe LORD, known as Yahweh, the self-existent God.
Where we areThis verse is part of the instructions regarding offerings and the priesthood.
The hard wordיְהוָ֖ה
Take awayGod communicates directly with His chosen leader.
5 commentators on this verse Gill, Jamieson, Ellicott, Cambridge & more — read them › clause subjectהַ verbכֹּהֵן The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the Old Testament

Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.

Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.

Deep Study — Leviticus 6:19

Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.

Context — God's Instructions to Mosesgenerated

18Any male among the sons of Aaron may eat it. This is a permanent portion from the offerings made by fire to the LORD for the generations to come. Anything that touches them will become holy.”
19Then the LORD said to Moses,
20“This is the offering that Aaron and his sons must present to the LORD on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening.
21It shall be prepared with oil on a griddle; you are to bring it well-kneaded and present it as a grain offering broken in pieces, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

Leviticus 6:19 is part of a section where the LORD is giving specific instructions to Moses regarding the offerings and the roles of the priests. This passage emphasizes the importance of divine communication in establishing the practices of worship and sacrifice within the Israelite community.


Cross References


The Key Word יְהוָ֖ה, Yah.wehgenerated

The name יְהוָ֖ה (Yahweh) signifies the self-existent God and is a central name for God in the Hebrew Bible. It is often rendered as 'the LORD' in English translations and is associated with God's eternal nature and covenant with Israel.

This name appears frequently throughout the Old Testament, particularly in contexts where God reveals Himself to His people, such as in Exodus. It reflects not only His authority but also His relational aspect with humanity.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The main verb of the verse is וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר (vay.daber), meaning 'and He spoke'. This verb is followed by the subject יְהוָ֖ה (Yahweh), indicating who is speaking, and concludes with the infinitive phrase לֵּאמֹֽר (le.Mor), which means 'saying'. This structure emphasizes the direct speech of God.

The word order places the speaker, Yahweh, at the forefront, highlighting His authority in delivering commands to Moses.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

In the Septuagint, the Hebrew word יְהוָ֖ה is rendered as (ho), a definite article indicating 'the' or 'the one'. This choice reflects a more formal approach to naming God, emphasizing His unique status.

The translation of the verb וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר corresponds to ἱερεὺς (hiereus), which means 'priest', suggesting a focus on the priestly role in the communication of divine instructions.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Leviticus 6:19 shows the LORD speaking directly to Moses, giving him commands regarding the offerings. This interaction highlights the importance of God's guidance in the practices of worship.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

What does it mean that the LORD spoke to Moses?

This indicates a direct communication from God to His chosen leader, Moses, who is responsible for conveying God's instructions to the people.

Why is the name Yahweh significant?

Yahweh signifies God's self-existence and covenant relationship with Israel, marking Him as the one true God.

How does this verse fit into the larger context of Leviticus?

This verse is part of God's detailed instructions for the Israelites regarding their offerings and the roles of the priests, establishing the framework for worship.

What role does Moses play in this communication?

Moses acts as the mediator between God and the people, receiving divine commands to relay to the Israelites.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. How does God communicate with His people today, and how can I be attentive to His voice?
  2. What does it mean for me to follow God's instructions as Moses did?
  3. In what ways can I recognize God's authority in my life?
  4. How can I better understand the significance of God's names in the Bible?

Commentators on this verse — 5 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Leviticus 6:19 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... At the same time the above laws were delivered: saying; as follows.

Read John Gill on Leviticus 6 →
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

It shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering. No JFB commentary on these verses.

Read Robert Jamieson on Leviticus 6 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(19) And the Lord spake unto Moses.—The new law, which is here introduced with this special formula (see Leviticus 6:8), gives directions about the meat offering which the high priest is to bring on his consecration to the pontifical office (Leviticus 6:19-23). It naturally follows the sacrificial instructions given for the priests in the preceding section.

Read Charles John Ellicott on Leviticus 6 →
CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

(3) The Meal-Offering of the high priest (19–23) 1[48] [48] This section is omitted by the Alexandrine MS. of the LXX. The omission is probably accidental, and caused by the fact that sections 19–23 and 24–30 begin with the same words.These verses differ from the other precepts with reference to sacrifice in Leviticus 6:7 to Leviticus 7:21. They are not introduced by the words ‘This is the law of …,’ and addressed through Moses to Aaron and his sons, but are spoken directly to Moses (note the verbs in the 2nd person in Leviticus 6:21). The command to present the Meal-Offering implies that Moses was officiating as priest, and he is represented as discharging this function during the seven…

Read Cambridge on Leviticus 6 →
Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

TO THE PRIESTS, Leviticus 6:8-30.We now come to what might be appropriately styled the priest’s rubric of sacrifice, or altar-book, in which his duties are minutely specified, in order that the

Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Leviticus 6 →

The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company

Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

Then the LORD said to Moses,

WEBWorld English Bible2000

Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

Then the LORD said to Moses,

NETBNew English Translation2006

Then the Lord spoke to Moses:

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

RVARevised Version, American1894

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

NWBWebster's Bible1833

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

GNVGeneva Bible1599

Agayne the Lord spake vnto Moses, saying,

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,

ILTInterlinear Literal Translation2000

(6:12) And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

So Yahweh spoke to Moses again, saying,

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

The Lord told Moses,

BBEBible in Basic English1949

And the Lord said to Moses,

Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.


The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank

This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.

וַandclauseverbיְדַבֵּ֥רhe.spokesubjectיְהוָ֖הYahwehprepositional phrase · prepositionalאֶלtoמֹשֶׁ֥הMosesprepositional phrase · prepositionalלֵּ(cmp)clauseverbאמֹֽרsaying

Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.


The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran

The Masoretic Text of Leviticus 6:19 reads, 'וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־ מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃' which translates to 'Then the LORD said to Moses.' The Septuagint closely aligns with this text, matching four out of five words, although its word order and articles differ due to its Greek syntax. The Samaritan Pentateuch presents a different reading, as it includes the word 'קדוש' (holy), indicating a variation in wording from the Masoretic Text. Overall, while the Septuagint agrees closely with the Masoretic Text, the Samaritan Pentateuch diverges by introducing a different term.

Masoretic TextLeningrad Codex, c. AD 1008 — the text this page is built on

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־ מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃

Septuagintthe Greek the translators chose, word by word
וַיְדַבֵּ֥רἱερεὺςיְהוָ֖האֶל־ἀναφέρωνלֵּאמֹֽר׃ἔδεται

4 of the 5 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.

Samaritan Pentateuchthe Torah as the Samaritan community kept it

הכהן המחטא אתה יאכלנה במקום קדושׁ תאכל בחצר אהל מועד

1 word differs from the Masoretic Text: קדושׁ (holy)

Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.


The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with

This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.

Leviticus 6:19דָבַרand he spokand he spokeדָבַריהוהYahwehYahwehיהוהאֶלtotoאֶלמֹשֶׁהMosesMosesמֹשֶׁהאָמַרsayingsayingאָמַרהָיָהto beto beהָיָהמָשָׁהto drawto drawמָשָׁהמֹשֶׁהMosesMosesמֹשֶׁהלָשׁוֹןtonguetongueלָשׁוֹןנְאֻםutteranceutteranceנְאֻםצָבָאarmyarmyצָבָאפָּלַלto prayto prayפָּלַליִרְמְיָ֫הJeremiahJeremiahיִרְמְיָ֫האַהֲרֹןAaronAaronאַהֲרֹןצָוָהto commandto commandצָוָהכֹּהthusthusכֹּהיהוהYHWH/GodYHWH/Godיהוה
meets it a little oftener than chancemeets it far oftener than chancebuilt from the same roottwo words of the verse share ita word of this versea related word

Lexicons — every word in Leviticus 6:19

One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.

Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.

and he spoke Yahweh to Moses saying
וַיְדַבֵּ֥רvay.da.Ber and he spoke H1696 Verb · Piel · sequential imperfect third person masculine singular
1,142× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
To speak or communicate, like God speaking to Moses in Exodus or a king commanding his people. It can also mean to promise or warn someone.
Tyndale gloss
to speak: speak
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

דָבַר (dabar) is a Hebrew verb primarily meaning 'to speak.' It encompasses a range of actions including declaring, commanding, and conversing. The root suggests a figurative use of words, with some entries noting a rare destructive sense of subduing. Various forms of the verb indicate different nuances, such as speaking with one another or making promises.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

[דָבַר] 1142 vb. speak (original mng. dub.)

Qal speak

Niph. reciprocal sense, speak with one another, talk

Pi. speak

Pu. in the day when she may be spoken for

Hithp. speaking this word

Hiph. either leads subject, or puts to flight, fig. for subdues

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H1696 דָבַר speak (original mng. dub.)

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

1696 dabar daw-bar'

a primitive root; perhaps properly, to arrange; but used

figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive

sense) to subdue:--answer, appoint, bid, command, commune,

declare, destroy, give, name, promise, pronounce, rehearse,

say, speak, be spokesman, subdue, talk, teach, tell, think,

use (entreaties), utter, X well, X work.

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

דָבַר (da.var) — to speak: speak.

: speak/tell/command

1) to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing

1a) (Qal) to speak

1b) (Niphal) to speak with one another, talk

1c) (Piel)

1c1) to speak

1c2) to promise

1d) (Pual) to be spoken

1e) (Hithpael) to speak

1f) (Hiphil) to lead away, put to flight

דָבַר (da.var) — to speak: subdue.

: subdue

1) to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing

1a) (Qal) to speak

1b) (Niphal) to speak with one another, talk

1c) (Piel)

1c1) to speak

1c2) to promise

1d) (Pual) to be spoken

1e) (Hithpael) to speak

1f) (Hiphil) to lead away, put to flight

דָבַר (da.var) — to speak: promise.

: promise/declare

1) to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing

1a) (Qal) to speak

1b) (Niphal) to speak with one another, talk

1c) (Piel)

1c1) to speak

1c2) to promise

1d) (Pual) to be spoken

1e) (Hithpael) to speak

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
Hc/Vpw3ms — Verb · Piel · sequential imperfect third person masculine singular
Hc/Vpw3ms
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

spok (1Ki 7:33).

See SEA, THE MOLTEN.

and he spoke Yahweh to Moses saying
יְהוָ֖הYah.weh Yahweh H3068 Noun proper
6,528× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
Yehovah is another name for God, often translated as 'the Lord'. It is a national name for God in the Jewish faith. This name is used throughout the Old Testament.
Tyndale gloss
The Lord
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

יְהֹוָה (ye.ho.vah) is the proper name of the God of Israel, often rendered as Jehovah or the Lord. It signifies the self-existent or eternal nature of God. The name is closely associated with the revelation to Moses in Exodus 3:12-15 and is used in conjunction with other terms to denote sacred places. Some scholars suggest it derives from a root meaning 'to bring into being.'

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

יהוה c. 6823 i.e. יַהְוֶה n.pr.dei Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel—(1. MT יְהֹוָה 6518 (Qr אֲדֹנָי), or יֱהֹוִה 305 (Qr אֱלֹהִים) 2. Many recent scholars explain יַהְוֶה as Hiph. of הוה (= היה) the one bringing into being, life-giver)

יהוה is not used by E in Gn, but is given Ex 3:12-15 as the name of the God who revealed Himself to Moses at Horeb

יהוה is used with אלהים and suffixes, especially in D

the phrase † אֲנִי יהוה is noteworthy

יהוה is also used with several predicates, to form sacred names of holy places of Yahweh

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H3068 יהוה i.e. יַהְוֶה n. pr. dei Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

3068 Yhovah yeh-ho-vaw'

from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish

national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord. Compare 3050, 3069.

see HEBREW for 01961

see HEBREW for 03050

see HEBREW for 03069

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

יְהֹוָה (ye.ho.vah) — LORD.

Jehovah = "the existing One"

1) the proper name of the one true God

1a) unpronounced except with the vowel pointings of a.do.na (אֲדֹנָי "Lord" H0136)

יְהֹוָה (ye.ho.vah) — The Lord.

Another name of ye.ru.sha.laim (יְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵם "Jerusalem" H3389)

יְהֹוָה (ye.ho.vah) — (Jerusalem of) the Lord.

Combined with ye.ru.sha.laim (יְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵם "Jerusalem" H3389)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HNpt — Noun proper
HNpt
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
and he spoke Yahweh to Moses saying
אֶל־'el- to H413 Preposition
5,518× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This Hebrew word means 'to' or 'toward', showing direction or movement. It appears in many books, including Genesis and Exodus, to indicate where someone is going. The KJV translates it in various ways, like 'about', 'according to', or 'against'.
Tyndale gloss
to(wards)
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

The Hebrew word אֶל (el) is primarily a preposition indicating motion towards or direction to a person or place. It can also imply entering a limit, presence at a location, or a hostile direction (against). Additionally, it may express concepts such as concerning, in addition to, or according to. The entries highlight its versatility in both physical and metaphorical contexts.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

אֶל (nearly always followed by Makkeph),

prep. denoting motion to or direction towards (whether physical or mental).of motion to or unto a person or place

Where the limit is actually entered, into

Of direction towards anything

Where the motion or direction implied appears from the context to be of a hostile character, אֶל = against

Unto sometimes acquires from the context the sense of in addition to

Metaph. in regard to, concerning, on account of

Of rule or standard according to (rare)

Expressing presence at a spot, against, at, by, not merely after verbs implying motion

Prefixed to other preps. it combines with them the idea of motion or direction to

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H413 אֶל (nearly always followed by Makkeph), . of motion to or unto a person or place

. Where the limit is actually entered, into

. Of direction towards anything

. Where the motion or direction implied appears from the context to be of a hostile character, אֶל = against

. Unto sometimes acquires from the context the sense of in addition to

. Metaph. in regard to, concerning, on account of

. Of rule or standard according to (rare)

. Expressing presence at a spot, against, at, by, not merely after verbs implying motion

. Prefixed to other preps. it combines with them the idea of motion or direction to

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

413 'el ale

(but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el});

a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but

occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or

among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after,

against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and,

by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of,

over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether,

with(-in).

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

אֶל (el) — to(wards).

1) to, toward, unto (of motion)

2) into (limit is actually entered)

2a) in among

3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion)

4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character)

5) in addition to, to

6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of

7) according to (rule or standard)

8) at, by, against (of one's presence)

9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HR — Preposition
HR
and he spoke Yahweh to Moses saying
מֹשֶׁ֥הmo.Sheh Moses H4872 Noun proper masculine
766× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
Moses, the Israelite leader, was born to Amram and Jochebed and led the Exodus from Egypt. He received the law from God and is considered a key figure in the Bible. Moses means 'drawn' in Hebrew.
Tyndale gloss
Moses
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

מֹשֶׁה (Mosheh) refers to Moses, the prominent Hebrew leader, prophet, and lawgiver. The name is derived from the root meaning 'drawing out,' indicating his rescue from water. He is a key figure in the Old Testament, first mentioned in Exodus 2:10, and is known for leading the Israelites during the Exodus.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

מֹשֶׁה 767 n.pr.m. Moses, the great Hebrew leader, prophet and lawgiver

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H4872 מֹשֶׁה Moses, the great Hebrew leader, prophet and lawgiver

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

4872 Mosheh mo-sheh'

from 4871; drawing out (of the water), i.e. rescued; Mosheh,

the Israelite lawgiver:--Moses.

see HEBREW for 04871

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

מֹשֶׁה (mo.sheh) — Moses.

A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness, first mentioned at Exo.2.10;

son of: Amram (H6019) and Jochebed (H3115);

brother of: Aaron (H0175) and Miriam (H4813); married to Zipporah (H6855);

father of: Gershom (H1647) and Eliezer (H0461H); also called Manasseh at Jdg.18.30(?)

§ Moses = "drawn"

the prophet and lawgiver, leader of the exodus

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HNpm — Noun proper masculine
HNpm
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

mo'-zez, mo'-ziz (mosheh; Egyptian mes, "drawn out," "born"; Septuagint Mouse(s)). The great Hebrew national hero, leader, author, law-giver and prophet.

I. LIFE

1. Son of Levi

2. Foundling Prince

3. Friend of the People

4. Refuge in Midian

5. Leader of Israel

II. WORK AND CHARACTER

1. The Author

2. The Lawgiver

3. The Prophet

LITERATURE

The traditional view of the Jewish church and of the Christian church, that Moses was a person and that the narrative with which his life-story is interwoven is real history, is in the main sustained by commentators and critics of all classes.

It is needless to mention the old writers among whom these questions were hardly under discussion. Among the advocates of the current radical criticism may be mentioned Stade and Renan, who minimize the historicity of the Bible narrative at this point. Renan thinks the narrative "may be very probable." Ewald, Wellhausen…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Moses

Drawn (or Egypt. mesu, “son;” hence Rameses, royal son). On the invitation of Pharaoh (Gen. 45:17-25), Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt. This immigration took place probably about 350 years before the birth of Moses. Some centuries before Joseph, Egypt had been conquered by a pastoral Semitic race from Asia, the Hyksos, who brought into cruel subjection the native Egyptians, who were an African race. Jacob and his retinue were accustomed to a shepherd’s life, and on their arrival in Egypt were received with favour by the king, who assigned them the “best of the land”, the land of Goshen, to dwell in. The Hyksos or “shepherd” king who thus showed favour to Joseph and his family was in all probability the Pharaoh Apopi (or Apopis).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(Heb. Mosheh , "drawn," i.e. from the water; in the Coptic it means "saved from the water"), the legislator of the Jewish people, and in a certain sense the founder of the Jewish religion. The immediate pedigree of Moses is as follows: Levi was the father of: Gershon -- Kohath -- Merari Kohath was the father of: Amram = Jochebed Amram = Jochebed was the father of: Hur = Miriam -- Aaron = Elisheba -- Moses = Zipporah Aaron = Elisheba was the father of: Nadab -- Abihu -- Eleazar -- Ithamar Eleazar was the father of: Phineas Moses = Zipporah was the father of: Gershom -- Eliezer Gershom was the father of: Jonathan The history of Moses naturally divides itself into three periods of 40 years each. Moses was born at Goshen, In Egypt, B.C. 1571. The story of his birth is thoroughly Egyptian in its scene. His mother made extraordinary efforts for his preservation from the general destruction of…

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The name of the illustrious prophet and legislator of the Hebrews, who led them from Egypt to the Promised Land. Having been originally imposed by a native Egyptian princess, the word is no doubt Egyptian in its origin, and Josephus gives its true derivation—from the two Egyptian words, MO, water, and USE, saved. With this accords the Septuagint form, MOUSES. The Hebrews by a slight change accommodated it to their own language, as they did also in the case of some other foreign words; calling it MOSHIE, from the verb MASHA, to draw. See Ex 2:10. Moses was born about 15.71 B. C., the son of Amram and Jochebed, of the tribe of Levi, and the younger brother of Miriam and Aaron. His history is too extensive to permit insertion here, and in general too well known to need it. It is enough simply to remark, that it is divided into three…

and he spoke Yahweh to Moses saying
לֵּאמֹֽר׃le.Mor saying H559 Preposition · verb qal infinitive construct common
5,309× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
This Hebrew word means to say or speak, and it's used in many different ways in the Bible. It can mean to command, promise, or think, and it's translated in the KJV as 'answer', 'appoint', or 'command'.
Tyndale gloss
to say
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

אָמַר (amar) is a Hebrew verb meaning 'to say' or 'to utter,' with a broad range of uses including to promise, command, or even boast. It appears in various forms, such as in the Qal (to say), Niphal (to be told), and Hiphil (to avow). The entries highlight its versatility in both spoken and internal contexts, though no specific verse is noted.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

אָמַר 5287 vb. utter, say

Qal

Say

Say in the heart (= think)

Promise

Command (esp. late)

Niph. be said, told

Hiph. avow, avouch (lit. cause to declare)

Hithp. act proudly, boast

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H559 אָמַר utter, say .. Say

. Say in the heart (= think)

. Promise

. Command (esp. late)

. be said, told

. avow, avouch (lit. cause to declare)

. act proudly, boast

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

559 'amar aw-mar'

a primitive root; to say (used with great

latitude):--answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call,

certify, challenge, charge, + (at the, give) command(-ment),

commune, consider, declare, demand, X desire, determine, X

expressly, X indeed, X intend, name, X plainly, promise,

publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), X still, X

suppose, talk, tell, term, X that is, X think, use (speech),

utter, X verily, X yet.

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

אָמַר (a.mar) — to say.

1) to say, speak, utter

1a) (Qal) to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend

1b) (Niphal) to be told, to be said, to be called

1c) (Hithpael) to boast, to act proudly

1d) (Hiphil) to avow, to avouch

Aramaic equivalent: a.mar (אֲמַר "to say" H0560)

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
HR/Vqcc — Preposition · verb qal infinitive construct common
HR/Vqcc
The company it keepswords that stand beside it more often than chance
Sources on this page. Lexicons and dictionaries imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones, Robinson and Packard, Webster and Cawdrey. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Harper, 1889 — Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti, translated, revised and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer) is public domain and is set here from the Internet Archive page scan greekenglishlex00grim; it is uncorrected OCR, marked as such on the entry itself, and the Strong’s numbers — which Thayer’s own edition does not carry — were matched by lemma against the other modules on this page. Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament (Macmillan, 1880) and Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930, which entered the United States public domain on 1 January 2026) are set from Internet Archive page scans synonymsofnewtes00treniala and vocabularyofgree00mouluoft, and are likewise uncorrected OCR matched to Strong’s numbers by lemma. Trench treats a group of words at once, so the same essay stands on the page of each word it compares. The Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary is © 1993 and is used here by permission for non-commercial use, www.teknia.com/greek-dictionary. The full Liddell-Scott-Jones and the Hebrew word data (TAHOT) come from STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0. Brown-Driver-Briggs is the OpenScriptures digitisation, public domain. Syntax analysis is the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (biblicalhumanities.org); the concordance and morphology are built from the tagged Nestle 1904 text. Septuagint occurrences use the Open Scriptures Septuagint lemma index, derived from CCAT (University of Pennsylvania) and the Rahlfs 1935 dataset by Eliran Wong, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — used here on a non-commercial ministry site. Greek of Josephus and Barnabas from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0. Commentaries and the Ante-Nicene Fathers are public-domain texts hosted on this site. Everyday Greek from the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, CC BY 3.0, with dates and provenance from the Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis. Philo and the Apostolic Fathers from Open Greek and Latin (First1KGreek), CC BY-SA 4.0. The apparatus and the fifth Greek column are the SBL Greek New Testament, © 2010 SBL and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0. The Latin is the Clementine Vulgate (public domain); the Syriac New Testament is the ETCBC edition (MIT licence). The Hebrew behind the Greek is computed here from the Septuagint index and TAHOT, not taken from any aligned edition. The translation spread and the per-word edition marks come from the Translators Amalgamated Greek NT (STEPBible, CC BY 4.0); clause roles from the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (CC BY-SA 4.0); place identifications and their confidence from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding (CC BY 4.0), with map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Gospel parallels are computed here from shared uncommon vocabulary, not taken from any printed harmony. Cross references are the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and the subject headings are Nave’s Topical Bible, both public domain. Works under Creative Commons licences are used unchanged apart from markup removal.

Everything we make is available for free because of a generous community of supporters.

Donate