Bible HebrewAt Sinai Exodus 20:2–3
The opening of the Ten Words (the Ten Commandments). Notice sentences without a verb “to be”, and a “you” that is singular.
Exodus 20:2
אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים
ʾĀnōkhī yəḥawwe ʾĕlōhekhā ʾăsher hōṣēthīkhā mēʾereṣ miṣrayim mibbēth ʿăvādhīm
“I am yəḥawwe your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves.”
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| אָנֹכִי | ʾānōkhī | I |
| יְהוָה | yəḥawwe | yəḥawwe |
| אֱלֹהֶיךָ | ʾĕlōhekhā | your God |
| אֲשֶׁר | ʾăsher | who |
| הוֹצֵאתִיךָ | hōṣēthīkhā | brought you out |
| מֵאֶרֶץ | mēʾereṣ | from the land of |
| מִצְרַיִם | miṣrayim | Egypt |
| מִבֵּית | mibbēth | from the house of |
| עֲבָדִים | ʿăvādhīm | slaves |
- אָנֹכִי: There is no word for “am”. Hebrew can set two nouns side by side without a verb: “I — yəḥawwe your God”. English has to add “am”.
- הוֹצֵאתִיךָ: Hiphil (causative) of יָצָא, “go out”: “I caused you to go out”, that is, “I brought you out”. Perfect, first person (־תִּי), with ־ךָ “you”.
- אֱלֹהֶיךָ: The “you” here (ךָ) is masculine singular, although the whole people is being addressed.
- מִבֵּית: A construct chain: בֵּית “house of” + עֲבָדִים “slaves”.
Exodus 20:3
לֹא יִהְיֶה־לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים עַל־פָּנָיַ
Lō yihye-ləkhā ʾĕlōhīm ʾăḥērīm ʿal-pānāya
“There shall not be for you other gods upon my face (that is, before me or besides me).”
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| לֹא | lō | not |
| יִהְיֶה | yihye | there shall be |
| לְךָ | ləkhā | for you |
| אֱלֹהִים | ʾĕlōhīm | gods |
| אֲחֵרִים | ʾăḥērīm | other |
| עַל | ʿal | upon |
| פָּנָיַ | pānāya | my face |
- אֱלֹהִים: The same word as in Genesis 1:1, אֱלֹהִים. Here the adjective אֲחֵרִים (“other”) is plural, so it means “other gods”. The agreement of the words around it decides whether it means “God” or “gods”.
- לְךָ: Hebrew has no verb “to have”. “There shall not be for you” is the Hebrew way of saying “you shall not have”.
- לֹא: לֹא with an imperfect verb gives a lasting prohibition: “there shall not be”. For a one-time “don't!” Hebrew uses אַל with a short verb form.
- פָּנָיַ: Literally “upon my face”. It can mean “before me”, “in my presence” or “besides me”, and translations vary.
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