What Does Leviticus 23:1 Mean?
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,THE KEY
The root behind “spake” also gives דָּבָר (davar), “word” and “matter,” joining the voice to the substance it is about to reveal.
THE MEANING
You stand at the threshold where address becomes instruction: the LORD speaks to Moses, and the message is about to unfold. The doubled wording, “spake ... saying,” holds open the moment between hearing a voice and hearing what it says.
THE ROOT
וַיְדַבֵּר
vayedabber
GROWS FROM
ד־ב־ר
d-b-r
To speak or declare; its related noun can mean a word, matter, or thing.
The root of “spake” also appears in דָּבָר (davar), meaning “word” or “matter.” Hebrew holds the act of speaking and the subject spoken within one word-family, so the voice already points toward the matter that follows.
ALSO GROWS
davar: Word, matter, or thing.
דָּבָר
This branch joins speech to its subject: what is spoken is also the matter being opened.
dibbur: Speech or utterance.
דִּבּוּר
This branch names the act of speaking itself, keeping the verse’s moment of address visible.
לֵאמֹר
le'mor
GROWS FROM
א־מ־ר
ʾ-m-r
To say or utter.
“saying” in this verse is le'mor. The verse uses two speech verbs: first the LORD speaks, then the wording introduces what is said. Together they hold the address and its unfolding message in view.
ALSO GROWS
amar: To say or utter.
אָמַר
This is the verb behind “saying,” opening the content of the message.
imrah: An utterance or saying.
אִמְרָה
This noun carries the spoken message as something that can be heard and held.
THE PATTERN
A spoken address becomes a message that can be heard, received, and carried onward.
And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him from the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here I am.And Moses called all Israel, and said to them, Hear and respond, O Israel, to the statutes and the judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that you may learn them, and guard them, and do them.My sheep hear and respond to my voice, and I perceive them, and they follow me.THE THREAD
And there I meet with you, and I speak with you from above the covering, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the witness, all that I command you to the children of Israel.“I will commune” translates דִּבַּרְתִּי (dibberti), from the same ד־ב־ר root as “spake.” Exodus places that speaking in a meeting; Leviticus opens with the same root as the appointed times are about to be given.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us