ויאמרו לאמור — "They Said, Saying" in the Torah

Excellent question! This is a fascinating grammatical construction. Let me provide you with the occurrences of this phrase in the Torah (the Five Books of Moses specifically), and then address related appearances in the broader Tanakh.

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The Phrase in the Torah (Chamisha Chumshei Torah)

Here are the occurrences of ויאמרו לאמור in the Torah:

1. 📖 Exodus 15:1 — The Song of the Sea

ויאמרו לאמור אשירה לה' "They said, saying: I will sing to Hashem..."

This is perhaps the most famous occurrence. Moses and the Children of Israel sang after the splitting of the Sea. Multiple commentators address this specific verse in our sources above.

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2. 📖 Numbers 20:3 — The People Quarrel with Moses

וַיָּרֶב הָעָם עִם מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֵאמֹר "The people quarreled with Moses, they said, saying: Now would that we had expired when our brothers expired before the presence of Hashem!"

[Source 1, Numbers 20:3]

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Other Occurrences in the Broader Tanakh (for Completeness)

While you asked specifically about the Torah, it is worth noting that the phrase also appears in:

• Judges 15:13 — The men of Judah speaking to Samson [Source 4]
• II Samuel 5:1 — The tribes coming to David at Hebron [Source 2]
• II Samuel 5:6 — The Jebusites warning David [Source 3]

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What Makes This Construction Unusual?

The phrase ויאמרו לאמור is considered grammatically redundant — it essentially says "they said to say" or "they said, saying." The commentators offer several explanations:

🔹 Chizkuni (Exodus 15:1)

"ויאמרו לאמור — literally 'they said to say;' a somewhat unusual construction, meaning that the Israelites singing this song meant for future generations to recite it on appropriate occasions."

[Chizkuni, Exodus 15:1] — The double language indicates transmission to future generations — they were not just singing for themselves but establishing a song for posterity, as we indeed recite the Shirat HaYam in our morning prayers to this day.

🔹 Or HaChaim (Exodus 15:1)

"This means that the Israelites said this to one another. The idea was that they wanted to coordinate their song; they did not want each one to use his own formulation. The fact that they succeeded is reflected in the singular 'I will sing!'"

[Or HaChaim, Exodus 15:1:3] — The doubling reflects communal unity and coordination — the entire nation agreeing to sing with one voice.

🔹 Rabbeinu Bachya (Exodus 15:1)

"The reason the word אמירה is repeated here is to make it parallel the previous duplication of the word שירה... repeating words is the salient feature of the syntax of this entire song."

[Rabbeinu Bachya, Shemot 15:1:3] — The repetition is a literary/stylistic device consistent with the poetic nature of the entire Shirat HaYam.

🔹 Kedushat Levi (Exodus 15:1)

"Joy in one's heart, unless formulated in word and song, is bound to subside and cease altogether in short order. By giving verbal expression to one's joy and composing a song..."

[Kedushat Levi, Exodus, Beshalach 17] — From a Chassidic perspective, the act of "saying" transforms inner spiritual joy into something lasting and expressible.

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Summary Table

| Location | Context | Speaker | |---|---|---| | Exodus 15:1 | Song of the Sea | Moses & Israel | | Numbers 20:3 | Quarrel at Mei Merivah | The People |

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An Important Note on Methodology

A complete search of every instance of ויאמרו לאמור in the Torah would ideally be done through a full concordance such as the Even-Shoshan Concordance (אוצר לשון המקרא) or a database like Sefaria or Bar-Ilan Responsa Project. I have provided the instances found in the retrieved sources above. If you want to be absolutely certain you have every occurrence, I would recommend verifying through such a concordance.

Would you like to explore any of these passages more deeply? 📚