1
וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
The standard Levitical heading opens a fresh block of instruction. Chapters 1-3 dealt with offerings brought voluntarily; this speech turns to the obligatory purification offering. The formula stamps the whole chapter as direct divine legislation mediated through Moses.
Word-by-word analysis· 5 words
וַיְדַבֵּ֥רand he spokeconj +וַ + Piel wayyiqtol 3ms · דָּבַר (H1696)Wayyiqtol of narrative sequence (main clause)→ Wayyiqtol: foregrounded advance — a new divine speech beginsדָּבַר (H1696) 'to speak'; the Piel is the ordinary stem for articulate, purposeful speech, and וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה is the fixed heading marking off each unit of priestly torah.
יְהוָ֖הthe LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Subject of וַיְדַבֵּריְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name of Israel's God, read traditionally as אֲדֹנָי; in Leviticus he is the speaking source of every sacrificial prescription.
אֶלtoprep · אֶל (H413)Preposition governing the addressee of the speechאֶל (H413) 'to, toward'; with verbs of speaking it marks the person addressed — here Moses as the sole mediator of priestly torah.
מֹשֶׁ֥הMosesproper noun · מֹשֶׁה (H4872)Object of the preposition אֶל (addressee)מֹשֶׁה (H4872), Moses; in Leviticus he is never the author of the law but its recipient and relay — the LORD speaks, Moses transmits.
לֵּאמֹֽרsayingprep לְ + Qal inf constr · אָמַר (H559)Infinitive of complementation introducing direct speech→ Infinitive: quotative — opens the quoted words that followאָמַר (H559) 'to say'; the frozen לֵאמֹר functions as a quotation mark, handing the reader straight into the LORD's own words.
2
דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֘ל לֵאמֹר֒ נֶ֗פֶשׁ כִּֽי תֶחֱטָ֤א בִשְׁגָגָה֙ מִכֹּל֙ מִצְוֺ֣ת יְהוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר לֹ֣א תֵעָשֶׂ֑ינָה וְעָשָׂ֕ה מֵאַחַ֖ת מֵהֵֽנָּה
Speak to the sons of Israel, saying: When a person sins unintentionally against any of the commandments of the LORD that ought not to be done, and does any one of them—
The chapter's controlling condition. כִּי introduces the primary case in casuistic law ('when…'), and the four sub-cases that follow are marked by אִם. Two qualifications do all the work: the sin is בִּשְׁגָגָה (inadvertent) and it is a violation of a prohibition, something 'that ought not to be done'. Note that inadvertence does not make the act harmless — it still defiles and still requires blood.
Word-by-word analysis· 18 words
דַּבֵּ֞רSpeakPiel impv 2ms · דָּבַר (H1696)Predicate verb (imperative, main clause of the divine charge)→ Volitional: direct command to Moses to promulgate the torahדָּבַר (H1696) 'to speak'; the imperative addressed to Moses makes him the mouthpiece — what follows is not his ruling but the LORD's, to be delivered verbatim to Israel.
אֶלtoprep · אֶל (H413)Preposition governing the addressee of the commandאֶל (H413) 'to, toward'; marks the recipients of the proclamation — the whole community, not the priesthood alone.
בְּנֵ֣יthe sons ofN m pl constr · בֵּן (H1121)Object of אֶל; construct chain (genitival) with יִשְׂרָאֵלבֵּן (H1121) 'son'; in the construct phrase בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל it denotes not literal offspring but membership — the Israelites as a covenant people addressed collectively.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֘לIsraelproper noun · יִשְׂרָאֵל (H3478)Genitive (nomen rectum) of the construct chain בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵליִשְׂרָאֵל (H3478), the name given to Jacob (Gen 32:29) and borne by his descendants; here the covenant nation as the addressee of this torah.
לֵאמֹר֒sayingprep לְ + Qal inf constr · אָמַר (H559)Infinitive of complementation introducing the quoted torah→ Infinitive: quotative — the casuistic law that follows is the content of the speechאָמַר (H559) 'to say'; the second לֵאמֹר nests a second layer of quotation — the LORD's words to Moses now become Moses' words to Israel.
נֶ֗פֶשׁa personN (c) sg abs · נֶפֶשׁ (H5315)Casus pendens fronted before כִּי; logical subject of תֶחֱטָאנֶפֶשׁ (H5315) 'throat, breath, life, self'; here in its legal sense 'any individual person'. Fronting it before כִּי stresses that the law reaches every single member of the community, whatever the rank the following sub-cases assign.
כִּֽיwhenconj · כִּי (H3588)Conjunction introducing the protasis (primary casuistic condition)כִּי (H3588) 'that, when, because'; in casuistic law it introduces the principal case ('when/if someone…'), while the subordinate variations are marked by אִם — exactly the pattern of vv. 3, 13, 22, 27.
תֶחֱטָ֤אsinsQal impf 3fs · חָטָא (H2398)Predicate verb of the protasis (conditional clause)→ Yiqtol: hypothetical/eventual — 'should ever sin', the case envisaged in lawחָטָא (H2398) 'to miss the mark, sin'; the feminine form agrees with נֶפֶשׁ. This is the root behind חַטָּאת: the same word-family names both the offence and the offering that removes it.
בִשְׁגָגָה֙inadvertentlyprep בְּ + N f sg abs · שְׁגָגָה (H7684)Prepositional phrase functioning as adverbial accusative of mannerשְׁגָגָה (H7684) 'inadvertence, error', from שָׁגַג 'to go astray, err'; the בְּ of manner yields 'unwittingly'. This single word delimits the whole chapter: the חַטָּאת covers sin done in error, not the defiant בְּיָד רָמָה sin of Num 15:30-31, for which no sacrifice is provided.
מִכֹּל֙against any ofprep מִן + N m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Prepositional phrase (partitive) specifying the sphere of the offenceכֹּל (H3605) 'all, any, the whole'; with partitive מִן, 'from any one of'. The idiom makes the law exhaustive — no prohibition of the LORD falls outside it.
מִצְוֺ֣תthe commandments ofN f pl constr · מִצְוָה (H4687)Construct chain (genitival) with יְהוָה; head of the partitive phraseמִצְוָה (H4687) 'commandment', from צִוָּה 'to command'; in this verse specifically the LORD's prohibitions — the relative clause 'which ought not to be done' narrows מִצְוֺת to negative commands, so that the חַטָּאת addresses acts committed, not duties omitted.
יְהוָ֔הof the LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Genitive (nomen rectum) — the commandments belong to the LORDיְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name; the genitive is possessive and authoritative — sin here is not a breach of custom but an offence against the person who gave the command.
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhichrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing an attributive clause modifying מִצְוֺתאֲשֶׁר (H834), the indeclinable relative; it attaches the qualifying clause 'that ought not to be done', which defines the מִצְוֺת in view as prohibitions.
לֹ֣אnotnegative particle · לֹא (H3808)Negative particle modifying תֵעָשֶׂינָהלֹא (H3808), the objective negative; with the imperfect it expresses absolute prohibition ('shall not'), the very form of the Decalogue's negative commands.
תֵעָשֶׂ֑ינָהare to be doneNiphal impf 3fp · עָשָׂה (H6213)Predicate verb of the relative clause (subject: מִצְוֺת)→ Yiqtol (Niphal): passive-prohibitive — 'which shall not be done'עָשָׂה (H6213) 'to do, make'; the Niphal is passive, and the 3fp agrees with the feminine plural מִצְוֺת. The clause is a standing formula for prohibitions: things which, by the LORD's command, are simply not to be done.
וְעָשָׂ֕הand doesconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · עָשָׂה (H6213)Second predicate of the protasis (continues the condition)→ Weqatal: continues the condition — 'and actually commits' one of themעָשָׂה (H6213) 'to do'; the same verb that was passive in the prohibition now returns in the active — what must not be done has in fact been done. The weqatal specifies that the sin is not mere intent but a completed act.
מֵאַחַ֖תany oneprep מִן + numeral f sg abs · אֶחָד (H259)Prepositional phrase serving as the object of וְעָשָׂה (partitive)אֶחָד (H259) 'one'; the feminine אַחַת agrees with מִצְוֺת, and with partitive מִן means 'any single one of them'. Breaking one prohibition suffices to incur the guilt — the law is not graded by how many were broken.
מֵהֵֽנָּהof themprep מִן + independent pron 3fp · הֵנָּה (H2007)Partitive prepositional phrase resuming מִצְוֺתהֵנָּה (H2007), the 3rd feminine plural pronoun 'they, them'; the feminine plural points back to מִצְוֺת. The doubled partitive (מֵאַחַת מֵהֵנָּה, 'any one of them') is deliberately redundant, closing every loophole in the definition of the offence.
3
אִ֣ם הַכֹּהֵ֧ן הַמָּשִׁ֛יחַ יֶחֱטָ֖א לְאַשְׁמַ֣ת הָעָ֑ם וְהִקְרִ֡יב עַ֣ל חַטָּאתוֹ֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר חָטָ֜א פַּ֣ר בֶּן בָּקָ֥ר תָּמִ֛ים לַיהוָ֖ה לְחַטָּֽאת
if it is the anointed priest who sins, bringing guilt on the people, then he shall bring for his sin that he has committed a bull of the herd, without blemish, to the LORD as a purification offering.
The first and gravest of the four graded cases. לְאַשְׁמַת הָעָם is the theological key: the anointed priest is not a private individual, and his inadvertence contaminates the sanctuary on behalf of the whole people. Hence the costliest victim (a bull) and, as vv. 5-7 will show, the deepest penetration of blood.
Word-by-word analysis· 17 words
אִ֣םifconj · אִם (H518)Conjunction introducing the first sub-case (subordinate protasis)אִם (H518) 'if'; in casuistic law אִם marks the sub-cases nested under the primary כִּי of v. 2 — here the first and gravest of the four ranks of sinner.
הַכֹּהֵ֧ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of יֶחֱטָא (fronted before the verb)כֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; with the article and the qualifier הַמָּשִׁיחַ it designates the high priest. His office is precisely to remove impurity from the sanctuary, which is why his own inadvertence is the most dangerous case imaginable.
הַמָּשִׁ֛יחַthe anointedart + N m sg abs · מָשִׁיחַ (H4899)Attributive appositive qualifying הַכֹּהֵןמָשִׁיחַ (H4899) 'anointed one', from מָשַׁח 'to smear, anoint'; the anointing oil (Lev 8:12) consecrated the high priest and set him apart. The word later becomes 'Messiah'; here it identifies the one man whose sin implicates the whole nation.
יֶחֱטָ֖אsinsQal impf 3ms · חָטָא (H2398)Predicate verb of the אִם protasis→ Yiqtol: hypothetical — the case supposed, 'should he sin'חָטָא (H2398) 'to miss the mark, sin'; the same verb as v. 2, now with the high priest as subject. Its noun חַטָּאת names both the sin and the offering that purges it — the offence and its remedy share one root.
לְאַשְׁמַ֣תbringing guilt onprep לְ + N f sg constr · אַשְׁמָה (H819)Prepositional phrase of result; construct chain with הָעָםאַשְׁמָה (H819) 'guilt, guiltiness', from אָשַׁם 'to be guilty, incur liability'; the לְ here is one of result — 'so as to bring guilt upon the people'. This is the theological hinge of the case: the anointed priest never sins privately, and his error contaminates the sanctuary on the nation's behalf.
הָעָ֑םthe peopleart + N m sg abs · עַם (H5971)Genitive (nomen rectum) of לְאַשְׁמַת — those on whom the guilt fallsעַם (H5971) 'people, kinsfolk'; the collective covenant community. The genitive is objective — the guilt is not the people's doing but is incurred by them through their representative.
וְהִקְרִ֡יבthen he shall bring nearconj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3ms · קָרַב (H7126)Predicate verb opening the apodosis (main line of the prescription)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the first mandated step of the riteקָרַב (H7126) 'to draw near'; the Hiphil הִקְרִיב 'to bring near, present' is the technical verb of sacrificial presentation, and shares the root of קָרְבָּן 'offering'. The weqatal after the אִם-protasis swings the sentence into its apodosis: this is what must then be done.
עַ֣לforprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition of cause/behalf governing חַטָּאתוֹעַל (H5921) 'upon, over, concerning'; in cultic contexts it regularly means 'on account of, for' — the offering is presented with reference to the specific sin committed.
חַטָּאתוֹ֩his sinN f sg constr + 3ms suffix · חַטָּאת (H2403)Object of the preposition עַלחַטָּאת (H2403), from חָטָא (H2398) 'to sin'; the noun means both 'sin' and 'purification offering'. Here, with the suffix and the עַל, it is the offence itself; at the end of the verse the very same word names the sacrifice that removes it.
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhichrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing an attributive clause modifying חַטָּאתוֹאֲשֶׁר (H834), the relative particle; it ties the offering to one particular, actual transgression — the rite is never generic but always addresses a specific sin already committed.
חָטָ֜אhe has committedQal perf 3ms · חָטָא (H2398)Predicate verb of the relative clause→ Perfective: the sin already committed — a settled fact the rite must now addressחָטָא (H2398) 'to sin'; the perfect (against the imperfects of the protasis) presents the sin as an accomplished deed. The cognate accusative construction חַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא ('his sin which he sinned') binds offence and offering into one word-family.
פַּ֣רa bullN m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Direct object of וְהִקְרִיבפַּר (H6499) 'young bull, bullock'; the costliest of the sacrificial animals. That the anointed priest must bring a bull — the same victim as the whole congregation (v. 14) — measures how much his single inadvertence weighs.
בֶּןa son ofN m sg constr · בֵּן (H1121)Construct chain (genitival) with בָּקָר, in apposition to פַּרבֵּן (H1121) 'son'; the idiom בֶּן בָּקָר, 'a son of the herd', is the standard designation for a young bull of the cattle — an animal from the domestic herd, not taken from the wild.
בָּקָ֥רthe herdN (c) sg abs · בָּקָר (H1241)Genitive (nomen rectum) of בֶּן — source of the victimבָּקָר (H1241), collective 'cattle, herd', from a root meaning to plough; the herd was a man's working capital, so the animal offered is a real economic loss, not a token.
תָּמִ֛יםwithout blemishadj m sg abs · תָּמִים (H8549)Attributive adjective modifying פַּרתָּמִים (H8549) 'complete, whole, unblemished', from תָּמַם 'to be finished, sound'; of animals it means physically flawless. The word is also used of moral integrity (Gen 6:9), so the requirement carries a quiet analogy: what removes defect must itself be without defect.
לַיהוָ֖הto the LORDprep לְ + proper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Prepositional phrase (indirect object — the recipient of the offering)יְהוָה (H3068) with the לְ of dedication; the offering is not a transaction with the priesthood but a presentation to the LORD himself, the one whose commandment was broken.
לְחַטָּֽאתas a purification offeringprep לְ + N f sg abs · חַטָּאת (H2403)Prepositional phrase of purpose/classification ('as a חַטָּאת')חַטָּאת (H2403), from חָטָא (H2398) 'to sin'; the same noun that meant 'his sin' earlier in this verse here names the sacrifice — the 'sin offering' or, more precisely, 'purification offering', since its function is to decontaminate the sanctuary. Hebrew lets the offence and its remedy be spoken with one word.
4
וְהֵבִ֣יא אֶת הַפָּ֗ר אֶל פֶּ֛תַח אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה וְסָמַ֤ךְ אֶת יָדוֹ֙ עַל רֹ֣אשׁ הַפָּ֔ר וְשָׁחַ֥ט אֶת הַפָּ֖ר לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָֽה
And he shall bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before the LORD, and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and slaughter the bull before the LORD.
A chain of weqatal verbs (וְהֵבִיא … וְסָמַךְ … וְשָׁחַט) lays out the prescribed steps in order: presentation, hand-laying, slaughter. The hand-laying (סָמַךְ) identifies the offerer with the victim; the threefold לִפְנֵי יְהוָה insists that every step happens in the LORD's presence, not merely in a courtyard.
Word-by-word analysis· 20 words
וְהֵבִ֣יאand he shall bringconj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3ms · בּוֹא (H935)Predicate verb (main line of the weqatal prescriptive chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteבּוֹא (H935) 'to come, go in'; the Hiphil הֵבִיא 'to bring in, cause to enter'. The verb governs the movement of the whole rite — the bull is brought to the entrance here, and in v. 5 the same verb carries its blood inside.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker (definite object of וְהֵבִיא)אֵת (H853), the nota accusativi marking a definite direct object; untranslated in English.
הַפָּ֗רthe bullart + N m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Direct object of וְהֵבִיאפַּר (H6499) 'young bull'; the article is anaphoric, pointing back to the bull just prescribed in v. 3 — now a definite, particular animal.
אֶלtoprep · אֶל (H413)Preposition of direction governing פֶּתַח (locative goal)אֶל (H413) 'to, toward'; here directional — it names the terminus of the animal's journey, the threshold of the sacred tent, which is as far into the sanctuary as a beast may come.
פֶּ֛תַחthe entrance ofN m sg constr · פֶּתַח (H6607)Object of אֶל; head of the construct chain with אֹהֶל מוֹעֵדפֶּתַח (H6607) 'opening, doorway, entrance', from פָּתַח 'to open'; the threshold of the tent is the fixed place of presentation for every offering (Lev 1:3). It is the boundary between the camp and the holy — sacrifice happens exactly at the door.
אֹ֥הֶלthe tent ofN m sg constr · אֹהֶל (H168)Construct chain (genitival) with מוֹעֵדאֹהֶל (H168) 'tent'; in the phrase אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד it is the portable sanctuary of the wilderness — God's dwelling pitched in the middle of the camp, so that his holiness and Israel's sin are never at a safe distance from one another.
מוֹעֵ֖דmeetingN m sg abs · מוֹעֵד (H4150)Genitive (nomen rectum) — the tent's purpose: the place of meetingמוֹעֵד (H4150) 'appointed time or place, meeting', from יָעַד 'to appoint, meet by arrangement'; the genitive is one of purpose — the tent exists so that God and Israel may meet at a place and time God himself has fixed.
לִפְנֵ֣יbeforeprep לְ + N (c) pl constr · פָּנִים (H6440)Compound preposition heading a locative phrase ('in the presence of')פָּנִים (H6440) 'face'; the frozen compound לִפְנֵי, literally 'to the face of', means 'before, in the presence of'. Repeated three times in this verse, it insists that presentation, hand-laying and slaughter all take place under the LORD's own gaze.
יְהוָ֑הthe LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Object of the compound preposition לִפְנֵייְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name; לִפְנֵי יְהוָה is the technical formula for the sanctuary precinct — the space where the LORD is present to receive what is offered.
וְסָמַ֤ךְand he shall layconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · סָמַךְ (H5564)Predicate verb (next link in the weqatal prescriptive chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteסָמַךְ (H5564) 'to lean, lay, support'; the verb implies real pressure, not a light touch. Laying the hand on the victim's head identifies the offerer with the animal, so that what is about to happen to the bull is reckoned as happening in his stead.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker (definite object of וְסָמַךְ)אֵת (H853), the nota accusativi marking a definite direct object; untranslated in English.
יָדוֹ֙his handN (c) sg constr + 3ms suffix · יָד (H3027)Direct object of וְסָמַךְיָד (H3027) 'hand'; the singular is significant — one hand, the gesture of identification and transfer, as against the two-handed confession of Lev 16:21. The suffix keeps the act personal: the sinner's own hand, on his own victim.
עַלonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition (locative) governing רֹאשׁ הַפָּרעַל (H5921) 'upon, on'; strictly locative here — the point of contact between sinner and substitute is the animal's head.
רֹ֣אשׁthe head ofN m sg constr · רֹאשׁ (H7218)Object of עַל; head of the construct chain with הַפָּררֹאשׁ (H7218) 'head'; the head stands for the whole living creature, so the hand laid there claims the whole animal. The gesture is the visible pivot of the rite, joining the offerer's guilt to the victim's life.
הַפָּ֔רthe bullart + N m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Genitive (nomen rectum) of רֹאשׁפַּר (H6499) 'young bull'; the definite article continues to point to the one animal already presented, which the chapter now tracks step by step to its slaughter.
וְשָׁחַ֥טand he shall slaughterconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · שָׁחַט (H7819)Predicate verb (third link in the weqatal prescriptive chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteשָׁחַט (H7819) 'to slaughter (ritually)'; the technical verb for cutting the animal's throat so that the blood may be collected. Strikingly, the offerer himself — not a priest — does the killing; the priest's ministry begins only with the blood.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker (definite object of וְשָׁחַט)אֵת (H853), the nota accusativi marking a definite direct object; untranslated in English.
הַפָּ֖רthe bullart + N m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Direct object of וְשָׁחַטפַּר (H6499) 'young bull'; the third mention of the same definite animal in this verse — brought, touched, and now killed. The repetition slows the rite down, refusing to let the death become an abstraction.
לִפְנֵ֥יbeforeprep לְ + N (c) pl constr · פָּנִים (H6440)Compound preposition heading a locative phrase ('in the presence of')פָּנִים (H6440) 'face'; the second לִפְנֵי יְהוָה of the verse frames the slaughter as an act done in God's presence — a cultic death, not a butcher's.
יְהוָֽהthe LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Object of the compound preposition לִפְנֵייְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name; the verse ends where it began, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה — the whole sequence of presentation, hand-laying and slaughter is bracketed by the LORD's presence.
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וְלָקַ֛ח הַכֹּהֵ֥ן הַמָּשִׁ֖יחַ מִדַּ֣ם הַפָּ֑ר וְהֵבִ֥יא אֹת֖וֹ אֶל אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד
And the anointed priest shall take some of the blood of the bull and bring it into the tent of meeting.
The decisive move that distinguishes this rite from the ruler's and the commoner's: the blood does not stay in the courtyard but is carried into the tent itself. Only the anointed priest's sin (and the congregation's, vv. 16-18) requires blood to cross that threshold.
Word-by-word analysis· 10 words
וְלָקַ֛חand he shall takeconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · לָקַח (H3947)Predicate verb (main clause; next link in the prescriptive chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteלָקַח (H3947) 'to take, receive'; the ordinary verb of taking, but here it marks the transfer of the rite from the offerer's hands to the priest's — the moment the blood becomes priestly business.
הַכֹּהֵ֥ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְלָקַחכֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; named explicitly as subject here because the rite has crossed a line — only he may handle the blood, and only he may carry it inside. The pathos of the case is that the priest is officiating for his own sin.
הַמָּשִׁ֖יחַthe anointedart + N m sg abs · מָשִׁיחַ (H4899)Attributive appositive qualifying הַכֹּהֵןמָשִׁיחַ (H4899) 'anointed one', from מָשַׁח 'to anoint'; the full title is repeated from v. 3 to make the point unmistakable — the man who carries the blood in is the very man whose sin required it.
מִדַּ֣םsome of the blood ofprep מִן + N m sg constr · דָּם (H1818)Partitive prepositional phrase serving as object of וְלָקַחדָּם (H1818) 'blood'; the partitive מִן ('some of') matters — only a portion is carried in, the rest is poured out at the altar's base (v. 7). Blood is the carrier of life (Lev 17:11), and therefore the only agent that can purge the sanctuary of what sin has deposited there.
הַפָּ֑רthe bullart + N m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Genitive (nomen rectum) of דַּםפַּר (H6499) 'young bull'; the blood is emphatically this bull's — the animal the priest identified himself with by the hand-laying of v. 4.
וְהֵבִ֥יאand he shall bringconj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3ms · בּוֹא (H935)Predicate verb (main clause; continues the prescriptive chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the decisive step, blood carried inside the tentבּוֹא (H935), Hiphil הֵבִיא 'to bring in'; the same verb that brought the bull to the entrance in v. 4 now brings its blood across the threshold. This crossing is what marks the anointed priest's case (and the congregation's) off from all the rest: for the ruler and the commoner the blood never enters the tent.
אֹת֖וֹitobj marker + 3ms suffix · אֵת (H853)Direct object of וְהֵבִיא (pronominal, resuming the blood)אֵת (H853) with the 3ms suffix, אֹתוֹ 'it'; the object marker takes a suffix when the object is pronominal. The referent is the blood just taken.
אֶלintoprep · אֶל (H413)Preposition of direction governing אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד (locative goal)אֶל (H413) 'to, into'; the contrast with v. 4 is exact and deliberate — there the bull came only אֶל פֶּתַח, to the entrance; here the blood goes אֶל אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, into the tent itself.
אֹ֥הֶלthe tent ofN m sg constr · אֹהֶל (H168)Object of אֶל; construct chain (genitival) with מוֹעֵדאֹהֶל (H168) 'tent'; the sanctuary proper. That blood must be brought inside says something stark about the priest's sin: it has defiled not merely the courtyard but the holy place itself.
מוֹעֵֽדmeetingN m sg abs · מוֹעֵד (H4150)Genitive (nomen rectum) — the tent's purpose: the place of meetingמוֹעֵד (H4150) 'appointed meeting', from יָעַד 'to appoint'; the place where God meets Israel is the very place that sin has contaminated, and so the very place to which the blood must be carried.
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וְטָבַ֧ל הַכֹּהֵ֛ן אֶת אֶצְבָּע֖וֹ בַּדָּ֑ם וְהִזָּ֨ה מִן הַדָּ֜ם שֶׁ֤בַע פְּעָמִים֙ לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה אֶת פְּנֵ֖י פָּרֹ֥כֶת הַקֹּֽדֶשׁ
And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary.
The sevenfold sprinkling אֶת פְּנֵי פָּרֹכֶת הַקֹּדֶשׁ is the high-water mark of the rite short of the Day of Atonement, when blood actually passes behind the veil (ch. 16). Seven marks completeness; the veil marks the limit. The blood is aimed at the barrier between the holy and the most holy, because that is what the priest's sin has jeopardised.
Word-by-word analysis· 16 words
וְטָבַ֧לand he shall dipconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · טָבַל (H2881)Predicate verb (next link in the weqatal prescriptive chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteטָבַל (H2881) 'to dip, immerse'; the same verb used of dipping hyssop in blood at the Passover (Ex 12:22) and of Naaman in the Jordan (2 Kgs 5:14). The gesture is small and deliberate — a fingertip, not a vessel — because what follows is aimed, not poured.
הַכֹּהֵ֛ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְטָבַלכֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; the subject is named again although unchanged from v. 5, keeping the officiant in view. Only priestly hands may touch this blood, and here they are the hands of the man whose sin occasioned it.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker (definite object of וְטָבַל)אֵת (H853), the nota accusativi marking a definite direct object; untranslated in English.
אֶצְבָּע֖וֹhis fingerN f sg constr + 3ms suffix · אֶצְבַּע (H676)Direct object of וְטָבַלאֶצְבַּע (H676) 'finger'; the priest's own finger is the instrument, so the blood is applied by the most personal and precise means available. The same finger-rite recurs at the horns of the altar (v. 25) and on the Day of Atonement (16:14).
בַּדָּ֑םin the bloodprep בְּ + art + N m sg abs · דָּם (H1818)Prepositional phrase (locative — the medium into which the finger is dipped)דָּם (H1818) 'blood'; the article points back to the blood the priest carried in (v. 5). Because 'the life of the flesh is in the blood' (17:11), it alone can be the detergent of the sanctuary.
וְהִזָּ֨הand he shall sprinkleconj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3ms · נָזָה (H5137)Predicate verb (next link in the weqatal prescriptive chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteנָזָה (H5137) 'to spatter'; the Hiphil הִזָּה is the technical cultic verb 'to sprinkle' blood, oil or water. Unlike זָרַק (dashing blood against the altar's sides), הִזָּה is a fine, aimed flicking — the rite of purification rather than of dedication.
מִןsome ofprep · מִן (H4480)Partitive preposition governing הַדָּםמִן (H4480) 'from, out of'; here partitive, 'some of'. Only a portion of the blood is sprinkled; the rest still has work to do at the incense altar and the outer altar's base (v. 7).
הַדָּ֜םthe bloodart + N m sg abs · דָּם (H1818)Object of the partitive מִןדָּם (H1818) 'blood'; the definite article keeps the referent fixed on the bull's blood carried into the tent. Blood is the one substance in the cult that moves inward toward God rather than upward in smoke.
שֶׁ֤בַעsevencardinal number f sg abs · שֶׁבַע (H7651)Numeral in construct with פְּעָמִים (adverbial accusative of frequency)שֶׁבַע (H7651) 'seven'; in the cult the number of completeness and of a finished act. Sevenfold sprinkling means the purification is total, not partial — nothing of the defilement is left unaddressed.
פְּעָמִים֙timesN f pl abs · פַּעַם (H6471)Adverbial accusative (frequency) — 'seven times'פַּעַם (H6471) 'beat, step, stroke, occurrence'; the word originally means a footfall, hence a single 'time' of a repeated action. With שֶׁבַע it forms the fixed cultic idiom for a complete, ritually exhaustive repetition.
לִפְנֵ֣יbeforeprep לְ + N (c) pl constr · פָּנִים (H6440)Compound preposition heading a locative phrase ('in the presence of')פָּנִים (H6440) 'face'; the compound לִפְנֵי, 'to the face of', marks the sprinkling as done under the LORD's direct gaze — inside the tent, not merely in the courtyard.
יְהוָ֔הthe LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Object of the compound preposition לִפְנֵייְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name; לִפְנֵי יְהוָה here denotes the holy place itself, the inner chamber before the veil — a location no ruler's or commoner's blood ever reaches.
אֶתin front ofprep · אֵת (H854)Preposition governing פְּנֵי פָּרֹכֶת (locative — the target of the sprinkling)אֵת (H854) 'with, beside' — a preposition homographic with the object marker but distinct from it. In the idiom אֶת פְּנֵי it means 'in front of, facing'; the blood is aimed at the veil, marking the boundary the priest's sin has threatened.
פְּנֵ֖יthe face ofN (c) pl constr · פָּנִים (H6440)Object of אֶת; head of the construct chain with פָּרֹכֶתפָּנִים (H6440) 'face, front'; here of an object rather than a person — the front surface of the curtain. The second occurrence of the word in one verse quietly links the LORD's face and the veil's face: the barrier stands exactly where his presence begins.
פָּרֹ֥כֶתthe veil ofN f sg constr · פָּרֹכֶת (H6532)Genitive (nomen rectum) of פְּנֵי; head of the construct chain with הַקֹּדֶשׁפָּרֹכֶת (H6532) 'curtain, veil'; the embroidered screen dividing the holy place from the most holy (Ex 26:31-33). Blood may be flung at it seven times but not carried past it — except once a year, by this same priest, on the Day of Atonement.
הַקֹּֽדֶשׁthe sanctuaryart + N m sg abs · קֹדֶשׁ (H6944)Genitive (nomen rectum) of פָּרֹכֶת — the veil belonging to the holy placeקֹדֶשׁ (H6944) 'holiness, holy thing, sanctuary', from קָדַשׁ 'to be set apart'. The genitive names what the curtain guards: the sprinkling is directed at the very seam between the holy and the common, which inadvertent sin has strained.
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וְנָתַן֩ הַכֹּהֵ֨ן מִן הַדָּ֜ם עַל קַ֠רְנוֹת מִזְבַּ֨ח קְטֹ֤רֶת הַסַּמִּים֙ לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וְאֵ֣ת כָּל דַּ֣ם הַפָּ֗ר יִשְׁפֹּךְ֙ אֶל יְסוֹד֙ מִזְבַּ֣ח הָעֹלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר פֶּ֖תַח אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד
And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before the LORD, which is in the tent of meeting; and all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
Two contrasting blood acts. The daubing (נָתַן) on the horns of the inner incense altar is the purgative act proper; the pouring out (יִשְׁפֹּךְ) of the remainder at the base of the outer altar disposes of the rest. Note the word order: וְאֵת כָּל דַּם הַפָּר is fronted before its verb, marking the shift from the precise ritual gesture to the bulk disposal.
Word-by-word analysis· 27 words
וְנָתַן֩and he shall putconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · נָתַן (H5414)Predicate verb (next link in the weqatal prescriptive chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteנָתַן (H5414) 'to give, set, place'; with blood and עַל it is the technical idiom for daubing — smearing blood onto a surface. This deliberate placing on the horns, not a splash, is the purgative act proper.
הַכֹּהֵ֨ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְנָתַןכֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; explicitly re-named as subject at each new blood act. The one who alone may approach the inner altar is the one whose approach has been compromised — the tension the whole rite exists to resolve.
מִןsome ofprep · מִן (H4480)Partitive preposition governing הַדָּםמִן (H4480) 'from'; partitive again — the daubing takes only what a finger can carry. The careful economy of the blood is itself part of the instruction: each portion has an appointed destination.
הַדָּ֜םthe bloodart + N m sg abs · דָּם (H1818)Object of the partitive מִןדָּם (H1818) 'blood'; still the same bull's blood, now applied at the innermost altar the priest may touch. The blood moves through the sanctuary in stages — veil, incense altar, outer altar — tracing the whole path his sin has defiled.
עַלonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition of contact governing קַרְנוֹת (locative)עַל (H5921) 'upon, on'; with נָתַן and blood it specifies the precise surface touched. The blood is not thrown at the altar but set upon it, at its highest and most sacred points.
קַ֠רְנוֹתthe horns ofN (c) pl constr · קֶרֶן (H7161)Object of עַל; head of the construct chain with מִזְבַּחקֶרֶן (H7161) 'horn'; the four projections at the altar's corners, the concentrated point of its holiness — the place a fugitive grasped for asylum (1 Kgs 1:50). To daub blood there is to purge the altar at its most potent extremity.
מִזְבַּ֨חthe altar ofN m sg constr · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Genitive (nomen rectum) of קַרְנוֹת; head of the chain with קְטֹרֶת הַסַּמִּיםמִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar', from זָבַח 'to slaughter, sacrifice'; the noun of place — 'the slaughtering-site'. Here, uniquely, it names the golden incense altar inside the tent, an altar on which no animal is ever killed.
קְטֹ֤רֶתincense ofN f sg constr · קְטֹרֶת (H7004)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מִזְבַּח — the altar's functionקְטֹרֶת (H7004) 'incense, smoke of sacrifice', from קָטַר 'to send up in smoke'. The genitive is one of purpose: this is the altar whose whole business is fragrant smoke rising before the veil — and its horns now carry blood.
הַסַּמִּים֙the fragrant spicesart + N m pl abs · סַם (H5561)Genitive (nomen rectum) of קְטֹרֶת — the incense's compositionסַם (H5561) 'sweet spice, aromatic'; in the plural it denotes the holy compound of stacte, onycha, galbanum and frankincense (Ex 30:34), reserved for the LORD alone. The full title מִזְבַּח קְטֹרֶת הַסַּמִּים leaves no doubt which altar is meant: the inner one, not the bronze altar outside.
לִפְנֵ֣יbeforeprep לְ + N (c) pl constr · פָּנִים (H6440)Compound preposition heading a locative phrase modifying the altarפָּנִים (H6440) 'face'; לִפְנֵי יְהוָה here locates the incense altar itself — it stands immediately before the veil, and so before the LORD enthroned behind it.
יְהוָ֔הthe LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Object of the compound preposition לִפְנֵייְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name; the phrase לִפְנֵי יְהוָה recurs at every stage of this rite, hammering home that none of it is a private transaction — every gesture is performed in the presence of the offended party.
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich isrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a verbless attributive clause modifying מִזְבַּחאֲשֶׁר (H834), the relative particle; it heads a verbless clause ('which is in the tent of meeting') that fixes the altar's location beyond dispute. The specification matters because everything in this rite turns on which side of the tent's doorway an act occurs.
בְּאֹ֣הֶלin the tent ofprep בְּ + N m sg constr · אֹהֶל (H168)Prepositional phrase (locative) forming the predicate of the verbless relative clauseאֹהֶל (H168) 'tent'; the בְּ is locative, 'inside'. The incense altar stands within the sanctuary, so this daubing is an act performed where only priests may stand — the contrast with the outer altar in the next clause is exact.
מוֹעֵ֑דmeetingN m sg abs · מוֹעֵד (H4150)Genitive (nomen rectum) — the tent's purpose: the place of meetingמוֹעֵד (H4150) 'appointed meeting', from יָעַד 'to appoint'; the tent is defined by the encounter it hosts. That the meeting-place itself needs purging is the sober premise of the whole chapter.
וְאֵ֣תand [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker heading the fronted object of יִשְׁפֹּךְוְ joins a new clause; אֵת marks כָּל דַּם הַפָּר as its definite object. The object stands before its verb — an emphatic topicalisation that turns the sentence from the precise finger-work at the horns to the disposal of everything that is left.
כָּלallN m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Quantifier in construct with דַּם — part of the fronted direct objectכֹּל (H3605) 'all, the whole of'; in construct it quantifies what follows. The totality is the point: no blood may be kept back, carried off, or put to any other use — all of it belongs at the altar's base.
דַּ֣םthe blood ofN m sg constr · דָּם (H1818)Fronted direct object (topicalised) of יִשְׁפֹּךְ; in construct with הַפָּרדָּם (H1818) 'blood'; here the remainder, the bulk of it, after the sprinkling and the daubing have taken their small portions. Even the surplus is holy and must be disposed of at the altar, never spilled on common ground.
הַפָּ֗רthe bullart + N m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Genitive (nomen rectum) of דַּםפַּר (H6499) 'young bull'; the definite article still tracks the one animal of vv. 3-5. Its blood has now been divided three ways — the veil, the horns, the base — and the chapter accounts for every drop.
יִשְׁפֹּךְ֙he shall pour outQal impf 3ms · שָׁפַךְ (H8210)Predicate verb of the clause with fronted object (object–verb order)→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneשָׁפַךְ (H8210) 'to pour out, spill'; used both of blood shed in murder (Gen 9:6) and, as here, of blood ritually poured at the altar. The yiqtol rather than a weqatal is forced by the fronted object, and the inversion itself marks the shift of subject matter.
אֶלatprep · אֶל (H413)Preposition of direction governing יְסוֹד (locative goal)אֶל (H413) 'to, toward'; here the terminus of the pouring. The blood ends its journey at the lowest point of the outer altar, having begun at the highest and innermost — a descent from the veil to the ground.
יְסוֹד֙the base ofN m sg constr · יְסוֹד (H3247)Object of אֶל; head of the construct chain with מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָהיְסוֹד (H3247) 'foundation, base', from יָסַד 'to found, establish'; the ledge or footing at the bottom of the altar. Blood poured there soaks into the altar's own ground — returned to God, not to the earth at large.
מִזְבַּ֣חthe altar ofN m sg constr · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Genitive (nomen rectum) of יְסוֹד; head of the chain with הָעֹלָהמִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar'; the second altar of the verse, and a different one — the bronze altar in the courtyard. The rite spans both, from the golden altar inside to the burnt-offering altar at the door.
הָעֹלָ֔הthe burnt offeringart + N f sg abs · עֹלָה (H5930)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מִזְבַּח — the altar named by its principal offeringעֹלָה (H5930) 'burnt offering', literally 'that which goes up', from עָלָה 'to ascend' — the whole animal ascends in smoke. The altar takes its name from the offering that most defines it, and the daily עֹלָה burns on it continually.
אֲשֶׁרwhich is atrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a verbless attributive clause modifying מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָהאֲשֶׁר (H834), the relative particle; the second such clause in the verse, and it does the same work as the first — pinning the altar to its exact location. The two clauses together map the rite: one altar inside the tent, one at its door.
פֶּ֖תַחthe entrance ofN m sg constr · פֶּתַח (H6607)Adverbial accusative of place, predicate of the verbless relative clauseפֶּתַח (H6607) 'opening, doorway', from פָּתַח 'to open'; used here without a preposition, an accusative of place ('at the entrance'). The outer altar stands on the threshold — exactly where the bull was first presented in v. 4, so the rite ends where it began.
אֹ֥הֶלthe tent ofN m sg constr · אֹהֶל (H168)Genitive (nomen rectum) of פֶּתַח; in construct with מוֹעֵדאֹהֶל (H168) 'tent'; the sanctuary. Naming it a third time in one verse keeps the geography of the rite before the reader's eye: everything is measured by its distance from this tent.
מוֹעֵֽדmeetingN m sg abs · מוֹעֵד (H4150)Genitive (nomen rectum) — the tent's purpose: the place of meetingמוֹעֵד (H4150) 'appointed meeting'; the verse closes on the same phrase with which it located the inner altar, binding the two blood acts into a single movement from the heart of the sanctuary out to its door.
8
וְאֶת כָּל חֵ֛לֶב פַּ֥ר הַֽחַטָּ֖את יָרִ֣ים מִמֶּ֑נּוּ אֶת הַחֵ֨לֶב֙ הַֽמְכַסֶּ֣ה עַל הַקֶּ֔רֶב וְאֵת֙ כָּל הַחֵ֔לֶב אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל הַקֶּֽרֶב
And all the fat of the bull of the purification offering he shall lift from it: the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails,
The fronted object וְאֶת כָּל חֵלֶב shifts the topic from blood to fat. The list that follows (vv. 8-9) matches the fat portions of the well-being offering in ch. 3 almost word for word: even in a purification offering, the חֵלֶב belongs to the LORD alone.
Word-by-word analysis· 18 words
וְאֶתand [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker heading the fronted object of יָרִיםוְ opens a new clause; אֵת marks its definite object. As in v. 7 the object precedes the verb, and the fronting signals a change of subject matter — from blood to fat.
כָּלallN m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Quantifier in construct with חֵלֶב — part of the fronted direct objectכֹּל (H3605) 'all, the whole of'; the totality is legally binding. No part of the fat may be withheld, since 'all fat is the LORD's' (3:16) and Israel is forbidden to eat any of it.
חֵ֛לֶבthe fat ofN m sg constr · חֵלֶב (H2459)Fronted direct object (topicalised) of יָרִים; in construct with פַּרחֵלֶב (H2459) 'fat, suet'; the hard fat around the organs, not the fat marbled through the meat. As the richest part of the animal it stands for the best, and the best is God's by right — a perpetual statute (3:17).
פַּ֥רthe bull ofN m sg constr · פַּר (H6499)Genitive (nomen rectum) of חֵלֶב; head of the construct chain with הַחַטָּאתפַּר (H6499) 'young bull'; here in construct with הַחַטָּאת, 'the bull of the purification offering' — the animal designated by the rite it serves. The full title marks the transition from blood rite to fat rite.
הַֽחַטָּ֖אתthe purification offeringart + N f sg abs · חַטָּאת (H2403)Genitive (nomen rectum) of פַּר — the offering the bull constitutesחַטָּאת (H2403), from חָטָא (H2398) 'to sin'; the noun names both the sin and the sacrifice that purges it. 'Purification offering' renders it better than 'sin offering', since its function is to decontaminate the sanctuary rather than to punish the sinner.
יָרִ֣יםhe shall liftHiphil impf 3ms · רוּם (H7311)Predicate verb of the clause with fronted object (object–verb order)→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneרוּם (H7311) 'to be high'; the Hiphil הֵרִים 'to lift up, raise, set apart' is the technical verb for removing a portion from a sacrifice and reserving it for God (cf. תְּרוּמָה, 'contribution'). The fat is not merely cut out but elevated — separated upward, to the LORD.
מִמֶּ֑נּוּfrom itprep מִן + 3ms suffix · מִן (H4480)Prepositional phrase (ablative — the source from which the fat is lifted)מִן (H4480) 'from', with the 3ms suffix, מִמֶּנּוּ 'from it' — the bull. (The imported morphology tags the suffix 1cp; the form is in fact 3ms.) The ablative marks the fat as taken out of the carcass, whose remainder will be burned outside the camp.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker introducing the appositional itemisation of the fatאֵת (H853), the nota accusativi; it reopens the object, beginning the itemised list that spells out exactly what 'all the fat' comprises.
הַחֵ֨לֶב֙the fatart + N m sg abs · חֵלֶב (H2459)Direct object of יָרִים (first item of the itemised list)חֵלֶב (H2459) 'fat'; the first named portion — the caul or omentum, the fatty membrane draped over the viscera. The list that follows is identical to the well-being offering of 3:3-4, word for word.
הַֽמְכַסֶּ֣הwhich coversart + Piel ptc m sg abs · כָּסָה (H3680)Attributive participle (articular) modifying הַחֵלֶב→ Participle: attributive, describing an ongoing stateכָּסָה (H3680) 'to cover, conceal'; the Piel participle with the article functions as a relative clause, 'the (fat) that covers'. The word describes the omentum lying over the viscera like a veil — a quiet echo of the פָּרֹכֶת that covers the holiest place.
עַלoverprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition of position governing הַקֶּרֶב (locative)עַל (H5921) 'upon, over'; with כָּסָה it renders the spatial relation exactly — the fat lies over the entrails, not merely near them. The anatomical precision leaves the butcher no room for interpretation.
הַקֶּ֔רֶבthe entrailsart + N m sg abs · קֶרֶב (H7130)Object of the preposition עַלקֶרֶב (H7130) 'inward part, midst', from קָרַב 'to draw near'; of an animal it is the viscera, of a person the inmost self ('my heart within me'). The same root gives קָרְבָּן, 'offering' — what is brought near.
וְאֵת֙and [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker (second item of the list)וְ coordinates the next item; אֵת marks it as a further definite object of יָרִים. The repeated וְאֵת through vv. 8-9 gives the inventory its slow, exhaustive rhythm.
כָּלallN m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Quantifier in construct with הַחֵלֶבכֹּל (H3605) 'all'; the second כָּל חֵלֶב of the verse. Not only the covering membrane but every remaining scrap of suet on the viscera is claimed — the legislator anticipates and forecloses any partial compliance.
הַחֵ֔לֶבthe fatart + N m sg abs · חֵלֶב (H2459)Direct object of יָרִים (second item of the itemised list)חֵלֶב (H2459) 'fat'; the adhering suet, distinguished from the covering membrane just named. Israel may eat no חֵלֶב at all (7:23-25), so its removal here is not only a rite but a boundary.
אֲשֶׁ֖רthat isrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a verbless attributive clause modifying הַחֵלֶבאֲשֶׁר (H834), the relative particle heading a verbless clause, 'which is on the entrails'. It defines the fat by its location, matching 3:3 exactly — the purification offering yields to God precisely what a fellowship offering does.
עַלonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition of position; predicate of the verbless relative clauseעַל (H5921) 'upon, on'; a verbless clause needs no copula — the preposition alone carries the predication, 'which [is] on the entrails'.
הַקֶּֽרֶבthe entrailsart + N m sg abs · קֶרֶב (H7130)Object of the preposition עַלקֶרֶב (H7130) 'inward parts'; repeated to close the verse where it opened the itemisation. The innermost part of the animal yields the portion that goes up to God — the outward carcass is what will be carried away and destroyed.
9
וְאֵת֙ שְׁתֵּ֣י הַכְּלָיֹ֔ת וְאֶת הַחֵ֨לֶב֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עֲלֵיהֶ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל הַכְּסָלִ֑ים וְאֶת הַיֹּתֶ֨רֶת֙ עַל הַכָּבֵ֔ד עַל הַכְּלָי֖וֹת יְסִירֶֽנָּה
and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe on the liver — with the kidneys he shall remove it,
The inventory is continued by simple coordination and closed with the verb יְסִירֶנָּה. The precision is deliberate: the officiant is given no discretion over which parts are burned to God and which are destroyed, and the same list recurs at vv. 19, 26, 31 and 35.
Word-by-word analysis· 17 words
וְאֵת֙and [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker (next item of the list)וְ coordinates; אֵת marks the kidneys as a further definite object of יָרִים, whose governing force carries across the verse boundary from v. 8.
שְׁתֵּ֣יthe two ofcardinal number f dual constr · שְׁנַיִם (H8147)Numeral in construct with הַכְּלָיֹתשְׁנַיִם (H8147) 'two'; the feminine construct שְׁתֵּי agrees with כְּלָיוֹת. The count is specified because both kidneys are required — the pair, not one of them.
הַכְּלָיֹ֔תthe kidneysart + N f pl abs · כִּלְיָה (H3629)Direct object of יָרִים (genitive after שְׁתֵּי)כִּלְיָה (H3629) 'kidney'; in Hebrew idiom the kidneys are the seat of the deepest emotions and conscience — 'the LORD tests the heart and the kidneys' (Jer 11:20). The organ that Israel thought of as the hidden self is precisely what is given to God.
וְאֶתand [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker (next item of the list)וְ coordinates the next portion; אֵת marks it as definite object. The chain of coordinated objects is still governed by the single verb יְסִירֶנָּה, which will not arrive until the end of the verse.
הַחֵ֨לֶב֙the fatart + N m sg abs · חֵלֶב (H2459)Direct object (next item of the itemised list)חֵלֶב (H2459) 'fat'; the third distinct deposit named — the perirenal suet adhering to the kidneys. Its inclusion completes the standard triad of covering fat, kidney fat, and liver lobe.
אֲשֶׁ֣רthat isrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a verbless attributive clause modifying הַחֵלֶבאֲשֶׁר (H834), the relative particle; it heads the verbless clause 'which is on them', tying the fat to the kidneys just named.
עֲלֵיהֶ֔ןon themprep עַל + 3fp suffix · עַל (H5921)Prepositional phrase (locative); predicate of the verbless relative clauseעַל (H5921) 'upon', with the 3fp suffix, עֲלֵיהֶן 'on them' — the feminine plural agreeing with כְּלָיוֹת. The suffix keeps the reference unambiguous: this is the fat adhering to the kidneys themselves.
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich isrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a second, further-defining verbless clauseאֲשֶׁר (H834); a second relative stacked on the first, narrowing the description again — the fat on the kidneys, which is by the loins. The doubling is not clumsiness but legal precision, ruling out any neighbouring deposit.
עַלbyprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition of position; predicate of the verbless relative clauseעַל (H5921) 'upon, beside'; the sense here shades toward 'at, by, alongside' — the fat lies against the sinews of the loins rather than resting on top of them.
הַכְּסָלִ֑יםthe loinsart + N m pl abs · כֶּסֶל (H3689)Object of the preposition עַלכֶּסֶל (H3689) 'loin, flank'; the muscular hollow of the lower back where the kidneys sit. The word's homonym means 'confidence' — the loins being the seat of a man's strength — but here the sense is strictly anatomical.
וְאֶתand [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker (final item of the list)וְ coordinates the last portion; אֵת marks it definite. This is the object that the coming verb יְסִירֶנָּה will resume with its feminine singular suffix.
הַיֹּתֶ֨רֶת֙the lobeart + N f sg abs · יֹתֶרֶת (H3508)Direct object of יְסִירֶנָּה (resumed by its 3fs suffix)יֹתֶרֶת (H3508) 'appendage, lobe', from יָתַר 'to remain over, be superfluous'; the caudate lobe of the liver. Its name means 'the extra part' — and precisely that surplus is what belongs to God.
עַלonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition of position governing הַכָּבֵד (locative)עַל (H5921) 'upon, on'; it locates the lobe against the liver. Some render the phrase 'the lobe of the liver', but the preposition keeps the two organs distinct: an appendage lying upon the greater one.
הַכָּבֵ֔דthe liverart + N f sg abs · כָּבֵד (H3516)Object of the preposition עַלכָּבֵד (H3516) 'liver', from כָּבֵד 'to be heavy' — the heavy organ. Among Israel's neighbours the liver was the chief instrument of divination (Ezek 21:21); here it is simply butchered and burned, its oracular pretensions silently refused.
עַלwithprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition of accompaniment governing הַכְּלָיוֹת ('together with')עַל (H5921); here the preposition carries the sense 'along with, together with' rather than 'upon'. The liver lobe is to be detached in one piece with the kidneys, so that the whole God-portion comes away together.
הַכְּלָי֖וֹתthe kidneysart + N f pl abs · כִּלְיָה (H3629)Object of the preposition עַל (accompaniment)כִּלְיָה (H3629) 'kidney'; named a second time to bind the liver lobe to them in a single removal. The inventory closes as it opened, on the organs the Hebrew imagination held to be the hidden seat of the self.
יְסִירֶֽנָּהhe shall remove itHiphil impf 3ms + 3fs suffix · סוּר (H5493)Predicate verb closing the clause; the 3fs suffix resumes הַיֹּתֶרֶת→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneסוּר (H5493) 'to turn aside'; the Hiphil הֵסִיר 'to remove, take away'. The verb arrives only at the very end, after the whole inventory — the long list is held in suspense until this single word disposes of it. The feminine suffix agrees with יֹתֶרֶת.
10
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר יוּרַ֔ם מִשּׁ֖וֹר זֶ֣בַח הַשְּׁלָמִ֑ים וְהִקְטִירָם֙ הַכֹּהֵ֔ן עַ֖ל מִזְבַּ֥ח הָעֹלָֽה
just as it is lifted from the ox of the sacrifice of well-being; and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering.
An explicit cross-reference to ch. 3 saves the legislator from repeating the whole procedure. The comparison also makes a point: the fat of a sin offering ascends to God exactly as the fat of a joyful fellowship meal does. The sin has not made the offering repellent.
Word-by-word analysis· 10 words
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣רjust asprep כְּ + relative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Compound conjunction introducing a comparative clauseכַּאֲשֶׁר, the preposition כְּ 'like' fused with the relative אֲשֶׁר (H834), yielding 'just as, according as'. It is the legislator's shorthand: rather than repeat the procedure of ch. 3, he simply points to it.
יוּרַ֔םit is liftedHophal impf 3ms · רוּם (H7311)Predicate verb of the comparative clause (passive, subject unexpressed)→ Yiqtol (Hophal): passive — 'as it is lifted'רוּם (H7311) 'to be high'; the Hophal יוּרַם is the passive of the Hiphil הֵרִים used in v. 8 — 'it is caused to be lifted off'. The passive leaves the officiant unnamed because the point is not who does it but that it is done exactly so.
מִשּׁ֖וֹרfrom the ox ofprep מִן + N m sg constr · שׁוֹר (H7794)Prepositional phrase (ablative — the source of the lifted portions)שׁוֹר (H7794) 'ox, bull, head of cattle'; a different word from פַּר, chosen because ch. 3 uses it of the well-being victim. The מִן is ablative: the fat is lifted off the animal exactly as it is there.
זֶ֣בַחthe sacrifice ofN m sg constr · זֶבַח (H2077)Genitive (nomen rectum) of שׁוֹר; head of the construct chain with הַשְּׁלָמִיםזֶבַח (H2077) 'sacrifice, slaughtered offering', from זָבַח 'to slaughter'; specifically an offering of which the worshipper eats. זֶבַח הַשְּׁלָמִים is the standing title of the fellowship meal in ch. 3.
הַשְּׁלָמִ֑יםthe well-being offeringart + N m pl abs · שֶׁלֶם (H8002)Genitive (nomen rectum) of זֶבַח — the offering's classificationשֶׁלֶם (H8002), from שָׁלֵם / שָׁלוֹם 'to be whole, at peace'; the שְׁלָמִים is the offering of communion, eaten in joy before God. That the fat of a sin offering ascends exactly as this one's does is the verse's quiet consolation: sin has not made the gift repellent.
וְהִקְטִירָם֙and he shall burn themconj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3ms + 3mp suffix · קָטַר (H6999)Predicate verb (resuming the weqatal prescriptive chain); the 3mp suffix resumes the fat portions→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteקָטַר (H6999); the Hiphil הִקְטִיר means not 'to burn up' (that is שָׂרַף, used of the carcass in v. 12) but 'to turn into smoke, send up in fragrance'. The distinction is the whole theology of the verse: the fat ascends to God, the carcass is destroyed outside the camp.
הַכֹּהֵ֔ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְהִקְטִירָםכֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; the subject named once more as the rite reaches the altar. He has sprinkled, daubed, poured and lifted; now he sends the best of the animal up in smoke — still officiating, still the sinner.
עַ֖לonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition of position governing מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָה (locative)עַל (H5921) 'upon'; the fat is placed on the altar's fire. The preposition marks the last stage of the fat's journey — lifted off the animal, carried out, and set on the burning hearth.
מִזְבַּ֥חthe altar ofN m sg constr · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Object of עַל; head of the construct chain with הָעֹלָהמִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar'; the bronze altar in the courtyard, where the fire burns perpetually. The fat of the priest's own sin offering goes up on the same hearth as Israel's daily worship.
הָעֹלָֽהthe burnt offeringart + N f sg abs · עֹלָה (H5930)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מִזְבַּח — the altar named by its principal offeringעֹלָה (H5930) 'burnt offering', from עָלָה 'to go up'; the offering that wholly ascends. The section on the fat ends on this word, and the direction is the point — everything named in vv. 8-10 rises, while everything in vv. 11-12 is carried away and burned to ash.
11
וְאֶת ע֤וֹר הַפָּר֙ וְאֶת כָּל בְּשָׂר֔וֹ עַל רֹאשׁ֖וֹ וְעַל כְּרָעָ֑יו וְקִרְבּ֖וֹ וּפִרְשֽׁוֹ
But the hide of the bull and all its flesh, along with its head and its legs, and its entrails and its dung—
A long fronted object with no verb until v. 12: the suspense is rhetorical. Everything the priest might have eaten or used — hide, flesh, head, legs — is listed, and then removed from him. In the ordinary purification offering the priest eats the flesh (6:26); here he may not, because he is the sinner.
Word-by-word analysis· 12 words
וְאֶתbut [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker introducing the long fronted object listוְ here is adversative rather than merely additive — over against the fat that ascends (vv. 8-10), everything now listed goes the other way. אֵת (H853) marks the whole catalogue as the definite object of a verb that will not arrive until v. 12.
ע֤וֹרthe hide ofN m sg constr · עוֹר (H5785)Fronted direct object (topicalised); head of the construct chain with הַפָּרעוֹר (H5785) 'skin, hide'; in the ordinary purification offering the officiating priest keeps the hide (7:8). Here the list begins with the one perquisite he must forfeit — he cannot be paid for a sacrifice made for his own sin.
הַפָּר֙the bullart + N m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Genitive (nomen rectum) of עוֹר — whose hide it isפַּר (H6499) 'young bull'; the definite article points back to the animal of v. 3, now dismembered and inventoried. The same beast whose fat rose in smoke is here reduced to a heap of parts.
וְאֶתand [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker (second fronted object)The second אֵת opens the next item of the fronted catalogue. The repetition of the marker item by item slows the verse deliberately: each part of the animal is named and set aside.
כָּלall ofN m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Quantifier in construct with בְּשָׂרוֹ; fronted direct objectכֹּל (H3605) 'all, the whole of'; in construct it totalises what follows. Not a portion of the flesh but the whole of it is withheld — the priest who sinned eats none of his own purification offering (contrast 6:26).
בְּשָׂר֔וֹits fleshN m sg constr + 3ms suffix · בָּשָׂר (H1320)Genitive (nomen rectum) of כָּל — the totalised objectבָּשָׂר (H1320) 'flesh, meat'; the edible substance of the animal and normally the priests' food. Its inclusion in the burn-pile is the sharpest loss in the list: the meal that would have been eaten in the holy place is turned to ash outside the camp.
עַלalong withprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition of accompaniment ('together with') extending the object listעַל (H5921) 'upon' shades here into 'together with, in addition to' (as in Ex 12:8-9) — the head and legs are appended to the flesh already named rather than placed on top of it.
רֹאשׁ֖וֹits headN m sg constr + 3ms suffix · רֹאשׁ (H7218)Object of עַל; continuing the fronted object listרֹאשׁ (H7218) 'head'; the very head on which the priest laid his hand in v. 4, transferring his sin to the animal. That it is now carried out and burned is not incidental — what he touched, he cannot keep.
וְעַלand along withconj וְ + prep · עַל (H5921)Conjunction + preposition of accompaniment (second member of the pair)The repeated עַל pairs head and legs — the extremities that Ex 12:9 likewise couples. The doubling keeps the inventory concrete: nothing is summarised, everything is named.
כְּרָעָ֑יוits legsN (c) dual constr + 3ms suffix · כְּרָע (H3767)Object of וְעַל; continuing the fronted object listכְּרָעַיִם (H3767), the dual of כְּרָע 'lower leg, shank' (from כָּרַע 'to bend, kneel'); the joints on which the beast knelt. Washed and burned on the altar in the עֹלָה (1:9), they are here carried out and destroyed instead.
וְקִרְבּ֖וֹand its entrailsconj וְ + N m sg constr + 3ms suffix · קֶרֶב (H7130)Continuing the fronted object list (coordinate)קֶרֶב (H7130) 'inward part, midst'; of an animal, the viscera. The fat that lay upon them went up in smoke (v. 8); the entrails themselves go out to the ash heap — the same body divided between two utterly different destinations.
וּפִרְשֽׁוֹand its dungconj וְ + N m sg constr + 3ms suffix · פֶּרֶשׁ (H6569)Final item of the fronted object list (coordinate)פֶּרֶשׁ (H6569) 'contents of the stomach, dung'; the crudest thing in the animal, and the last word of the list. The catalogue runs from the valuable hide down to the offal, and the verse ends without a verb — everything named is left suspended until v. 12 says what becomes of it.
12
וְהוֹצִ֣יא אֶת כָּל הַ֠פָּר אֶל מִח֨וּץ לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֜ה אֶל מָק֤וֹם טָהוֹר֙ אֶל שֶׁ֣פֶךְ הַדֶּ֔שֶׁן וְשָׂרַ֥ף אֹת֛וֹ עַל עֵצִ֖ים בָּאֵ֑שׁ עַל שֶׁ֥פֶךְ הַדֶּ֖שֶׁן יִשָּׂרֵֽף
the whole bull he shall bring out to a place outside the camp, to a clean place, to the ash heap, and he shall burn it on wood with fire; on the ash heap it shall be burned.
The verb finally arrives: וְהוֹצִיא. Three אֶל phrases narrow the destination — outside the camp, a clean place, the ash heap — and the closing Niphal יִשָּׂרֵף restates the command as an impersonal passive, sealing it. The carcass is not unclean (the place is 'clean'); it is simply too charged with the priest's guilt to be consumed. Hebrews 13:11-13 reads Jesus' death 'outside the gate' against precisely this verse.
Word-by-word analysis· 22 words
וְהוֹצִ֣יאand he shall bring outconj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3ms · יָצָא (H3318)Predicate verb — the long-delayed verb governing the fronted object list of v. 11→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteיָצָא (H3318) 'to go out'; the Hiphil הוֹצִיא is causative — 'to bring/carry out'. The verb the whole of v. 11 has been waiting for, and it points outward: the direction of this offering's remains is away from the sanctuary, the exact opposite of the fat's ascent.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker resuming the fronted list of v. 11אֵת (H853), nota accusativi; here it re-marks the object after the long dislocated list, gathering hide, flesh, head, legs, entrails and dung under the single summary 'the whole bull'.
כָּלthe whole ofN m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Quantifier in construct with הַפָּר; direct object of וְהוֹצִיאכֹּל (H3605) 'all, the whole'; the summarising word that closes the inventory. Every item of v. 11 is folded back into one phrase — 'the whole bull' — and carried out together.
הַ֠פָּרthe bullart + N m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Genitive (nomen rectum) of כָּל — the totalised direct objectפַּר (H6499) 'young bull'; called 'the whole bull' though its fat and blood have already been taken — the phrase means the carcass entire, with nothing salvaged from it.
אֶלtoprep · אֶל (H413)Preposition of direction governing מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה (first of three אֶל phrases)אֶל (H413) 'to, toward'; the first of three אֶל phrases that narrow the destination step by step — outside the camp, a clean place, the ash heap. The repetition makes the disposal site precise rather than casual.
מִח֨וּץoutsideprep מִן + N m sg abs · חוּץ (H2351)Object of אֶל; head of the locative phrase 'outside the camp'חוּץ (H2351) 'outside, street'; with מִן it forms the standing idiom מִחוּץ לְ 'outside of'. מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה is the place of what Israel must put away from itself — and Heb 13:11-13 fastens on exactly this phrase to locate Jesus' death 'outside the gate'.
לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֜הthe campprep לְ + art + N (c) sg abs · מַחֲנֶה (H4264)Object of מִחוּץ לְ — the reference point of the locative phraseמַחֲנֶה (H4264) 'camp, encampment', from חָנָה 'to encamp'; Israel's ordered dwelling around the tabernacle. To be taken outside it is to be removed from the sphere of the holy people, even when — as here — the destination itself is 'clean'.
אֶלtoprep · אֶל (H413)Preposition of direction governing מָקוֹם טָהוֹר (second of three אֶל phrases)אֶל (H413) 'to, toward'; the second phrase narrows the first. Outside the camp is not enough — the site must also be qualified, and the next word supplies the qualification.
מָק֤וֹםa placeN m sg abs · מָקוֹם (H4725)Object of אֶל (locative); modified by the adjective טָהוֹרמָקוֹם (H4725) 'place, site', from קוּם 'to stand, arise'; a designated spot rather than a random one. The carcass is not dumped — it is taken to an appointed place.
טָהוֹר֙cleanadj m sg abs · טָהוֹר (H2889)Attributive adjective modifying מָקוֹםטָהוֹר (H2889) 'clean, pure', from טָהֵר; the technical term for ritual cleanness. The single most important word in the verse: the carcass is removed not because it is defiled but because it is too charged with the priest's sin to be eaten. The place that receives it is clean.
אֶלtoprep · אֶל (H413)Preposition of direction governing שֶׁפֶךְ הַדֶּשֶׁן (third of three אֶל phrases)אֶל (H413) 'to, toward'; the third and final narrowing. The clean place outside the camp is identified exactly: the ash heap where the altar's own residue is poured out.
שֶׁ֣פֶךְthe pouring-place ofN m sg constr · שֶׁפֶךְ (H8211)Object of אֶל; head of the construct chain with הַדֶּשֶׁןשֶׁפֶךְ (H8211) 'a pouring-out, dumping place', from שָׁפַךְ 'to pour' — the same verb used of pouring the blood at the altar's base in v. 7. The word occurs only here and in v. 12b: the heap where the altar's ashes are poured out.
הַדֶּ֔שֶׁןthe fatty ashesart + N m sg abs · דֶּשֶׁן (H1880)Genitive (nomen rectum) of שֶׁפֶךְ — what is poured out thereדֶּשֶׁן (H1880) 'fat ashes, greasy residue'; not ordinary ash (אֵפֶר) but the rich remains of what has been offered to God, elsewhere a word for abundance and satisfaction. The carcass is burned where the holy leavings lie — destroyed, but in company with what God has accepted.
וְשָׂרַ֥ףand he shall burnconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · שָׂרַף (H8313)Predicate verb (continuing the weqatal prescriptive chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteשָׂרַף (H8313) 'to burn, consume with fire'; deliberately not הִקְטִיר ('turn into smoke', v. 10). This is destruction, not offering — the same distinction that separates the fat that ascends from the carcass that is reduced to ash.
אֹת֛וֹitobj marker + 3ms suffix · אֵת (H853)Direct object of וְשָׂרַף (pronominal, resuming 'the whole bull')אֹתוֹ, the object marker אֵת (H853) with a 3ms suffix; the whole inventory of v. 11 has shrunk to a single pronoun. What took a verse to name takes one word to destroy.
עַלonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition of position governing עֵצִים (locative)עַל (H5921) 'upon'; the carcass is laid on wood, as on the altar's own hearth. The burning outside the camp is done with care, in the manner of a sacrifice, though it is not one.
עֵצִ֖יםwoodN m pl abs · עֵץ (H6086)Object of עַל (locative — the fuel bed)עֵץ (H6086) 'tree, wood'; in the plural, logs or firewood. The same word describes the wood the priest arranges on the altar (1:7) — the fire outside the camp is built exactly as the holy fire is built.
בָּאֵ֑שׁwith fireprep בְּ + art + N (c) sg abs · אֵשׁ (H784)Prepositional phrase (instrumental — the means of burning)אֵשׁ (H784) 'fire'; the בְּ is instrumental, 'by means of fire'. Fire is the medium both of acceptance on the altar and of destruction outside the camp; the same element does two opposite things in this chapter, and only the place tells you which.
עַלonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition heading a fronted locative phrase (topicalised before the verb)עַל (H5921) 'upon'; this second עַל phrase is fronted before its verb, throwing the weight of the closing clause onto the place. Where it is burned matters as much as that it is burned.
שֶׁ֥פֶךְthe pouring-place ofN m sg constr · שֶׁפֶךְ (H8211)Object of עַל; head of the fronted construct chain with הַדֶּשֶׁןשֶׁפֶךְ (H8211) 'dumping place', repeated from earlier in the verse. The exact repetition is legal emphasis: there and nowhere else.
הַדֶּ֖שֶׁןthe fatty ashesart + N m sg abs · דֶּשֶׁן (H1880)Genitive (nomen rectum) of שֶׁפֶךְ — the fronted locativeדֶּשֶׁן (H1880) 'fat ashes'; the last noun of the section, and the animal's final state. The bull that began as the priest's costliest possession ends as דֶּשֶׁן on a heap outside the camp.
יִשָּׂרֵֽףit shall be burnedNiphal impf 3ms · שָׂרַף (H8313)Predicate verb of the closing clause (passive, subject unexpressed)→ Yiqtol (Niphal): passive — the command restated impersonally, 'it shall be burned'שָׂרַף (H8313) 'to burn'; the Niphal יִשָּׂרֵף is the passive of the active וְשָׂרַף earlier in the verse. The section ends by dropping the officiant altogether: no one is named, the thing simply must be burned. The impersonal restatement seals the law.
13
וְאִ֨ם כָּל עֲדַ֤ת יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ יִשְׁגּ֔וּ וְנֶעְלַ֣ם דָּבָ֔ר מֵעֵינֵ֖י הַקָּהָ֑ל וְ֠עָשׂוּ אַחַ֨ת מִכָּל מִצְוֺ֧ת יְהוָ֛ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא תֵעָשֶׂ֖ינָה וְאָשֵֽׁמוּ
And if the whole congregation of Israel errs, and the matter is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they do any one of the commandments of the LORD that ought not to be done, and they incur guilt—
The second case is introduced by וְאִם, parallel to v. 3. Its distinctive feature is corporate blindness: וְנֶעְלַם דָּבָר מֵעֵינֵי הַקָּהָל, 'the matter is hidden from the eyes of the assembly'. Guilt (וְאָשֵׁמוּ) is incurred whether or not anyone noticed — corporate ignorance is not corporate innocence.
Word-by-word analysis· 18 words
וְאִ֨םand ifconj וְ + conj · אִם (H518)Protasis marker (conditional) opening the second case-lawאִם (H518) 'if'; the casuistic protasis marker. וְאִם opens the second of the chapter's four graded cases, exactly parallel to v. 3 — the law moves down the ranks from the anointed priest to the whole congregation.
כָּלthe whole ofN m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Quantifier in construct with עֲדַת; part of the subject of יִשְׁגּוּכֹּל (H3605) 'all, the whole'; the case is not one Israelite or a faction but the congregation entire. Corporate sin is a real category here — the body can err as a body.
עֲדַ֤תthe congregation ofN f sg constr · עֵדָה (H5712)Subject of יִשְׁגּוּ; head of the construct chain with יִשְׂרָאֵלעֵדָה (H5712) 'congregation, community', from יָעַד 'to appoint, meet'; Israel as a constituted body, the covenant people in their corporate identity. Grammatically singular, it takes the plural verb יִשְׁגּוּ — a body of many acting as one.
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israelproper noun · יִשְׂרָאֵל (H3478)Genitive (nomen rectum) of עֲדַת — whose congregation it isיִשְׂרָאֵל (H3478), the covenant name given to Jacob; here the whole people. The full title כָּל עֲדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל leaves no one outside the case — this is the nation itself in the dock.
יִשְׁגּ֔וּerrQal impf 3mp · שָׁגָה (H7686)Predicate verb of the protasis (conditional)→ Yiqtol: modal — the hypothetical case the law is legislating forשָׁגָה (H7686) 'to go astray, err inadvertently'; used of a drunkard's stagger and of a sheep wandering off. Cognate with שְׁגָגָה, the 'inadvertence' that defines this whole chapter: the congregation does not rebel, it strays without noticing.
וְנֶעְלַ֣םand is hiddenconj וְ + Niphal weqatal 3ms · עָלַם (H5956)Predicate verb continuing the protasis→ Weqatal (Niphal): passive — the matter 'is hidden', with no one hiding itעָלַם (H5956) 'to conceal'; the Niphal נֶעְלַם means 'be hidden, escape notice'. No agent conceals the matter — it simply lies outside the assembly's sight. This is the diagnostic feature of the congregational case: not deceit but corporate blindness.
דָּבָ֔רa matterN m sg abs · דָּבָר (H1697)Subject of וְנֶעְלַםדָּבָר (H1697) 'word, thing, matter'; deliberately vague and indefinite — some thing, unspecified, has slipped past them. The very indefiniteness is the point: they cannot name what they do not see.
מֵעֵינֵ֖יfrom the eyes ofprep מִן + N (c) dual constr · עַיִן (H5869)Prepositional phrase (ablative/separative) with וְנֶעְלַם; construct with הַקָּהָלעַיִן (H5869) 'eye'; in the dual construct, 'the eyes of'. The idiom נֶעְלַם מֵעֵינֵי pictures a thing lying outside the field of vision. The congregation is not lying about the sin — it genuinely cannot see it.
הַקָּהָ֑לthe assemblyart + N m sg abs · קָהָל (H6951)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מֵעֵינֵי — whose eyes are meantקָהָל (H6951) 'assembly, convocation', from קָהַל 'to gather'; the people gathered, the near-synonym of עֵדָה used with which it alternates through this section. The LXX renders it ἐκκλησία — the word the NT takes up for the church.
וְ֠עָשׂוּand they doconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3cp · עָשָׂה (H6213)Predicate verb continuing the protasis→ Weqatal: continuing the conditional protasis — 'and they go on to do'עָשָׂה (H6213) 'to do, make'; the plain verb of action. Ignorance does not stop the deed: they cannot see the matter, and they do it anyway. The same verb returns passively in תֵעָשֶׂינָה at the end of the verse — what ought not to be done, they have done.
אַחַ֨תany onenumeral f sg abs · אֶחָד (H259)Direct object of וְעָשׂוּ (substantival numeral)אֶחָד (H259) 'one'; feminine אַחַת agreeing with the feminine מִצְוֺת. 'Any single one' of the commandments — the law refuses to grade the offence by which commandment was broken. One is enough.
מִכָּלof allprep מִן + N m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Partitive prepositional phrase modifying אַחַתכֹּל (H3605) with partitive מִן: 'one out of all'. The whole body of divine commandment is in view, and any one of its prohibitions will do — the net is cast as wide as the law itself.
מִצְוֺ֧תthe commandments ofN f pl constr · מִצְוָה (H4687)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מִכָּל; head of the construct chain with יְהוָהמִצְוָה (H4687) 'commandment', from צָוָה 'to command'; the concrete injunctions of the covenant. That the commandments are יְהוָה's is what makes an unnoticed breach of them a matter for blood — the offence is against a person, not a code.
יְהוָ֛הthe LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מִצְוֺת — whose commandments they areיְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name revealed at the bush. The commandments are his, and so is the tabernacle the sin defiles; the congregation's blindness does not alter whose house it is.
אֲשֶׁ֥רthatrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing an attributive clause modifying מִצְוֺתאֲשֶׁר (H834), the all-purpose relative; here it restricts the commandments in view to the prohibitions — 'the commandments that ought not to be done'. The chapter legislates only for breaches of negative commands.
לֹאnotnegative particle · לֹא (H3808)Negative particle negating תֵעָשֶׂינָהלֹא (H3808), the absolute negative used in the Decalogue's prohibitions. With the imperfect it expresses a standing ban: these are things that are simply not to be done, ever.
תֵעָשֶׂ֖ינָהare to be doneNiphal impf 3fp · עָשָׂה (H6213)Predicate verb of the relative clause (passive, agreeing with מִצְוֺת)→ Yiqtol (Niphal): passive/prohibitive — 'which must not be done'עָשָׂה (H6213) in the Niphal passive, 3fp agreeing with the feminine plural מִצְוֺת. The same root as וְעָשׂוּ above: what must not be done, they have done. The passive keeps the focus on the deed rather than the doer — the sin is objective, whoever committed it.
וְאָשֵֽׁמוּand they incur guiltconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3cp · אָשֵׁם (H816)Predicate verb closing the protasis — the legal consequence→ Weqatal: consequential — guilt follows the deed, seen or unseenאָשֵׁם (H816) 'to be guilty, incur liability'; not a feeling of guilt but an objective legal standing before God. The verse's whole argument turns on this word: the matter was hidden from their eyes, and they are guilty all the same. Corporate ignorance is not corporate innocence.
14
וְנֽוֹדְעָה֙ הַֽחַטָּ֔את אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָטְא֖וּ עָלֶ֑יהָ וְהִקְרִ֨יבוּ הַקָּהָ֜ל פַּ֤ר בֶּן בָּקָר֙ לְחַטָּ֔את וְהֵבִ֣יאוּ אֹת֔וֹ לִפְנֵ֖י אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד
when the sin that they have committed becomes known, the assembly shall bring a bull of the herd as a purification offering and bring it before the tent of meeting.
וְנוֹדְעָה is a Niphal: the sin 'becomes known', it is not discovered by clever investigation. The rite can only begin once the hidden thing has surfaced. The same Niphal-of-disclosure governs the ruler's case (v. 23) and the commoner's (v. 28), knitting the four cases together.
Word-by-word analysis· 16 words
וְנֽוֹדְעָה֙and when it becomes knownconj וְ + Niphal weqatal 3fs · יָדַע (H3045)Predicate verb of the temporal clause opening the apodosis→ Weqatal (Niphal): passive — the sin 'becomes known', not discoveredיָדַע (H3045) 'to know'; the Niphal נוֹדַע means 'to be made known, become known'. No investigator is named — the hidden thing surfaces. Precisely the reverse of נֶעְלַם in v. 13, and the hinge of the case: the rite cannot begin until the sin comes to light. The same Niphal governs the ruler's case (v. 23) and the commoner's (v. 28).
הַֽחַטָּ֔אתthe sinart + N f sg abs · חַטָּאת (H2403)Subject of וְנוֹדְעָהחַטָּאת (H2403), from חָטָא 'to miss the mark'; the word does double duty in this chapter for both the sin and the purification offering that answers it. Here it is the offence itself — later in the verse (לְחַטָּאת) the very same noun names the remedy.
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhichrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing an attributive clause modifying הַחַטָּאתאֲשֶׁר (H834), the relative; it ties the offering to the specific offence — not sin in general but 'the sin which they committed'. The rite is always addressed to an actual deed.
חָטְא֖וּthey committedQal perf 3cp · חָטָא (H2398)Predicate verb of the relative clause→ Perfective: the sin already committedחָטָא (H2398) 'to miss the mark, sin'; the root behind חַטָּאת. The perfect looks back on a deed already done and finished — the offence is in the past, whatever the congregation knew of it at the time.
עָלֶ֑יהָin regard to itprep + 3fs suffix · עַל (H5921)Resumptive prepositional phrase within the relative clause (referring back to הַחַטָּאת)עַל (H5921) with 3fs suffix, resuming the feminine הַחַטָּאת; Hebrew relative clauses regularly leave such a resumptive pronoun behind. Literally 'the sin which they sinned concerning it' — the idiom חָטָא עַל fixes the offence to its object.
וְהִקְרִ֨יבוּand they shall presentconj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3cp · קָרַב (H7126)Predicate verb of the apodosis (opening the prescriptive weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the first mandated step of the congregation's riteקָרַב (H7126) 'to draw near'; the Hiphil הִקְרִיב is the technical verb 'to bring near, present an offering' — the root of קָרְבָּן. The congregation's remedy for a sin it never saw is to draw near with what it can see.
הַקָּהָ֜לthe assemblyart + N m sg abs · קָהָל (H6951)Subject of וְהִקְרִיבוּ (singular noun with plural verb — a collective)קָהָל (H6951) 'assembly'; the same body from whose eyes the matter was hidden (v. 13) is now the body that acts. The singular noun takes a plural verb: many people, one agent.
פַּ֤רa bullN m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Direct object of וְהִקְרִיבוּפַּר (H6499) 'young bull'; the costliest victim in the sacrificial system, and exactly what the anointed priest had to bring (v. 3). The congregation's sin is priced the same as its high priest's — the parallel is deliberate and unflattering to no one.
בֶּןa young one ofN m sg constr · בֵּן (H1121)Apposition to פַּר; head of the construct chain with בָּקָרבֵּן (H1121) 'son'; in construct with an animal-collective it means simply 'a young one of' — בֶּן בָּקָר, a young head of cattle. The idiom specifies the age and quality of the victim: prime, not aged.
בָּקָר֙the herdN (c) sg abs · בָּקָר (H1241)Genitive (nomen rectum) of בֶּן — the stock the victim comes fromבָּקָר (H1241) 'cattle, herd'; a collective. The phrase פַּר בֶּן בָּקָר is the standing designation of the most valuable sacrificial animal, repeated verbatim from v. 3.
לְחַטָּ֔אתas a purification offeringprep לְ + N f sg abs · חַטָּאת (H2403)Prepositional phrase of purpose/classification (lamed of designation)חַטָּאת (H2403) with the lamed of designation: the bull is presented 'as a חַטָּאת'. The same noun that named the offence at the head of the verse now names the offering — the remedy is called by the name of the disease.
וְהֵבִ֣יאוּand they shall bringconj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3cp · בּוֹא (H935)Predicate verb (continuing the weqatal prescriptive chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteבּוֹא (H935) 'to come, go in'; the Hiphil הֵבִיא is causative, 'to bring'. The people bring the animal only as far as the door — v. 16 will use the very same verb of the anointed priest bringing the blood inside, where they may not go.
אֹת֔וֹitobj marker + 3ms suffix · אֵת (H853)Direct object of וְהֵבִיאוּ (pronominal, resuming the bull)אֹתוֹ, the object marker אֵת (H853) with 3ms suffix, referring back to the bull. The pronoun keeps the animal in view through the chain of verbs that will now be done to it.
לִפְנֵ֖יbeforeprep לְ + N (c) pl constr · פָּנִים (H6440)Compound preposition (locative) governing אֹהֶל מוֹעֵדפָּנִים (H6440) 'face', always plural; with לְ it forms the compound preposition לִפְנֵי 'before, in the presence of'. The bull is brought to the face of the tent — as far as the people may come, and no farther.
אֹ֥הֶלthe tent ofN m sg constr · אֹהֶל (H168)Object of לִפְנֵי; head of the construct chain with מוֹעֵדאֹהֶל (H168) 'tent'; the portable sanctuary at the centre of the camp. It is the same tent from which, in v. 12, the priest's carcass was carried far outside — the two directions of the chapter meet at its door.
מוֹעֵֽדmeetingN m sg abs · מוֹעֵד (H4150)Genitive (nomen rectum) of אֹהֶל — the tent named by its functionמוֹעֵד (H4150) 'appointed time or place, meeting', from יָעַד — the same root as עֵדָה, the congregation itself. The people who are 'the appointed body' bring their bull to 'the tent of appointment': the two words are cousins, and the meeting they name is the whole point of the rite.
15
וְ֠סָמְכוּ זִקְנֵ֨י הָעֵדָ֧ה אֶת יְדֵיהֶ֛ם עַל רֹ֥אשׁ הַפָּ֖ר לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה וְשָׁחַ֥ט אֶת הַפָּ֖ר לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָֽה
And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the LORD.
The single hand of v. 4 becomes the many hands of the elders (יְדֵיהֶם, plural). Representation is the point: the whole congregation cannot crowd the courtyard, so its elders act for it. The rite then reverts to the singular וְשָׁחַט, the officiant doing what he always does.
Word-by-word analysis· 15 words
וְ֠סָמְכוּand they shall layconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3cp · סָמַךְ (H5564)Predicate verb (continuing the weqatal prescriptive chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteסָמַךְ (H5564) 'to lean, lay (the hand) heavily upon'; not a light touch but a pressing down of the full weight. The gesture identifies the offerer with the victim. In v. 4 one hand, the priest's; here many hands, the elders' — the same act performed corporately.
זִקְנֵ֨יthe elders ofadj m pl constr (substantival) · זָקֵן (H2205)Subject of וְסָמְכוּ; head of the construct chain with הָעֵדָהזָקֵן (H2205) 'old', from זָקָן 'beard'; as a substantive, 'elder' — Israel's representative leadership. They act because the whole congregation cannot crowd the courtyard: representation is built into the rite from the start.
הָעֵדָ֧הthe congregationart + N f sg abs · עֵדָה (H5712)Genitive (nomen rectum) of זִקְנֵי — whose elders they areעֵדָה (H5712) 'congregation'; the body named in v. 13 as the sinner now reappears as the body whose elders act. The guilt was corporate and so is the remedy — the same word carries both.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker (definite object)אֵת (H853), nota accusativi marking יְדֵיהֶם as the definite direct object of וְסָמְכוּ.
יְדֵיהֶ֛םtheir handsN (c) dual constr + 3mp suffix · יָד (H3027)Direct object of וְסָמְכוּיָד (H3027) 'hand'; the 3mp suffix is the tell — in v. 4 the anointed priest laid his single hand, here the elders lay theirs, many hands on one head. The plurality is the whole difference between the two cases.
עַלonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition of position governing רֹאשׁ הַפָּר (locative)עַל (H5921) 'upon'; with סָמַךְ it carries the full literal force of pressure downward — the hands bear on the head, and the weight is the point of the gesture.
רֹ֥אשׁthe head ofN m sg constr · רֹאשׁ (H7218)Object of עַל; head of the construct chain with הַפָּררֹאשׁ (H7218) 'head'; the point of contact between the guilty and the victim. Every hand of every elder rests on this one place — a whole nation's inadvertence gathered onto a single skull.
הַפָּ֖רthe bullart + N m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Genitive (nomen rectum) of רֹאשׁ — whose head it isפַּר (H6499) 'young bull'; now definite — the animal just presented in v. 14 and standing at the door of the tent. From this moment it bears the congregation's sin.
לִפְנֵ֣יbeforeprep לְ + N (c) pl constr · פָּנִים (H6440)Compound preposition (locative) governing יְהוָהפָּנִים (H6440) 'face'; לִפְנֵי יְהוָה, 'before the LORD', is the phrase that makes the gesture a transaction rather than a ritual motion. The hand-laying is done in God's sight and is registered there.
יְהוָ֑הthe LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Object of לִפְנֵי — the presence in which the act is doneיְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name. The one from whose sight nothing is hidden — the contrast with v. 13, where the matter was hidden from the eyes of the assembly, is exact and pointed.
וְשָׁחַ֥טand he shall slaughterconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · שָׁחַט (H7819)Predicate verb (weqatal chain); impersonal 3ms after the plural elders — 'and one shall slaughter'→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteשָׁחַט (H7819) 'to slaughter, cut the throat'; the technical verb for the killing of a sacrificial victim. The abrupt shift from plural (the elders' hands) to an unnamed singular is telling: the many identify themselves with the animal, but only one pair of hands does the killing.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker (definite object)אֵת (H853), nota accusativi marking הַפָּר as the definite direct object of וְשָׁחַט.
הַפָּ֖רthe bullart + N m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Direct object of וְשָׁחַטפַּר (H6499) 'young bull'; the animal is named a second time in the verse, immediately after the hands have been laid on it. The repetition marks the moment of transition: what was a bull is now the congregation's substitute.
לִפְנֵ֥יbeforeprep לְ + N (c) pl constr · פָּנִים (H6440)Compound preposition (locative) governing יְהוָהפָּנִים (H6440) 'face'; לִפְנֵי יְהוָה closes both halves of the verse. Hand-laying and slaughter alike are done in the divine presence — nothing here is a private transaction between men and an animal.
יְהוָֽהthe LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Object of לִפְנֵי — the presence in which the slaughter is doneיְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name; the last word of the verse, as it was the last word of its first half. The bull dies before the face of the God whose commandment was broken — the rite ends where the offence began.
16
וְהֵבִ֛יא הַכֹּהֵ֥ן הַמָּשִׁ֖יחַ מִדַּ֣ם הַפָּ֑ר אֶל אֹ֖הֶל מוֹעֵֽד
And the anointed priest shall bring some of the blood of the bull into the tent of meeting.
Verbatim repetition of v. 5, and the structural claim of the whole section: the congregation's inadvertent sin defiles the sanctuary exactly as deeply as the anointed priest's does. The people are not treated more leniently than their priest.
Word-by-word analysis· 8 words
וְהֵבִ֛יאand he shall bringconj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3ms · בּוֹא (H935)Predicate verb (continuing the weqatal prescriptive chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteבּוֹא (H935) 'to come'; the Hiphil הֵבִיא 'to bring in'. The people brought the bull as far as the door (v. 14, same verb); only the anointed priest carries the blood inside. The verb is repeated verbatim from v. 5 — the congregation's rite is the priest's rite, word for word.
הַכֹּהֵ֥ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְהֵבִיאכֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; the man who in vv. 3-12 offered for his own sin now officiates for the people's. His office is unaffected by his fault — the ministry does not depend on the minister's innocence.
הַמָּשִׁ֖יחַthe anointedart + N m sg abs · מָשִׁיחַ (H4899)Attributive apposition to הַכֹּהֵן — the priest identified by his anointingמָשִׁיחַ (H4899) 'anointed one', from מָשַׁח 'to smear with oil'; the word the Greek renders χριστός. Only he may take blood past the veil-curtain into the holy place, and only because of the oil poured on his head — the office, not the man, opens the door.
מִדַּ֣םsome of the blood ofprep מִן + N m sg constr · דָּם (H1818)Partitive prepositional phrase as direct object of וְהֵבִיאדָּם (H1818) 'blood'; the מִן is partitive — 'some of the blood', not all of it, since the rest is poured out at the altar's base. Blood is the life (17:11) and the sole agent of purgation; it is the one thing from the animal that goes inside.
הַפָּ֑רthe bullart + N m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מִדַּם — whose blood it isפַּר (H6499) 'young bull'; the animal the elders' hands rested on and the knife has now opened. Its blood carries into the sanctuary what its head received in the courtyard.
אֶלintoprep · אֶל (H413)Preposition of direction governing אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד (locative)אֶל (H413) 'to, into'; the direction is inward — the mirror image of the three אֶל phrases of v. 12, which drove the carcass outward. The chapter's two movements, in with the blood and out with the body, meet in this one preposition.
אֹ֖הֶלthe tent ofN m sg constr · אֹהֶל (H168)Object of אֶל; head of the construct chain with מוֹעֵדאֹהֶל (H168) 'tent'; in v. 14 the bull was brought only as far as its face (לִפְנֵי), here the blood goes אֶל — inside. The prepositions map the boundary the people cannot cross and their priest can.
מוֹעֵֽדmeetingN m sg abs · מוֹעֵד (H4150)Genitive (nomen rectum) of אֹהֶל — the tent named by its functionמוֹעֵד (H4150) 'appointed meeting', from יָעַד; the tent exists so that God and Israel may meet. The congregation's unnoticed sin had put that meeting in jeopardy, and the blood now carried in is what restores it.
17
וְטָבַ֧ל הַכֹּהֵ֛ן אֶצְבָּע֖וֹ מִן הַדָּ֑ם וְהִזָּ֞ה שֶׁ֤בַע פְּעָמִים֙ לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה אֵ֖ת פְּנֵ֥י הַפָּרֹֽכֶת
And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil.
Parallel to v. 6, with slight abbreviation: הַפָּרֹכֶת without the qualifier הַקֹּדֶשׁ, and the object of dipping left implicit. The condensation is the mark of a second telling; the ritual itself is unchanged.
Word-by-word analysis· 13 words
וְטָבַ֧לand he shall dipconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · טָבַל (H2881)Predicate verb (continuing the weqatal prescriptive chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteטָבַל (H2881) 'to dip, immerse'; the same verb as v. 6, and the only contact the priest's own body makes with the blood. There the finger was dipped בַּדָּם, 'in the blood'; here מִן הַדָּם, 'from the blood' — a partitive that keeps the quantity to what a fingertip can hold.
הַכֹּהֵ֛ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְטָבַלכֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; here simply הַכֹּהֵן, without the qualifier הַמָּשִׁיחַ that v. 16 supplied — the abbreviating habit of a second telling. The same anointed man is meant.
אֶצְבָּע֖וֹhis fingerN f sg constr + 3ms suffix · אֶצְבַּע (H676)Direct object of וְטָבַל (unmarked — no אֵת here, unlike v. 6)אֶצְבַּע (H676) 'finger'; the smallest instrument in the whole cult, and the only part of the priest that touches the blood. Elsewhere the finger of God writes the law (Exod 31:18); here a man's finger applies its remedy.
מִןfromprep · מִן (H4480)Partitive preposition governing הַדָּםמִן (H4480) 'from, some of'; partitive. Where v. 6 read בַּדָּם ('in the blood'), the substitution of מִן here stresses that only a portion is taken up — the rite is precise, not lavish.
הַדָּ֑םthe bloodart + N m sg abs · דָּם (H1818)Object of the preposition מִןדָּם (H1818) 'blood'; the blood just carried inside from the bull (v. 16). Because the life is in the blood (17:11), it alone may be flung toward the veil without profaning it.
וְהִזָּ֞הand he shall sprinkleconj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3ms · נָזָה (H5137)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteנָזָה (H5137) 'to spatter, spurt'; the Hiphil הִזָּה means 'to cause to spatter, sprinkle'. The gesture is a flick of the finger, not a pouring: the blood is thrown toward the veil but, so far as the text says, never onto it.
שֶׁ֤בַעsevencardinal f sg abs · שֶׁבַע (H7651)Adverbial accusative of number (with פְּעָמִים), modifying וְהִזָּהשֶׁבַע (H7651) 'seven'; the number of completeness in Israel's cult. Seven flicks make the purgation total rather than partial — the count is itself part of the ritual grammar, not a flourish.
פְּעָמִים֙timesN f pl abs · פַּעַם (H6471)Adverbial accusative of frequency ('seven times')פַּעַם (H6471) 'beat, stroke, time', originally 'footstep'; in the plural it counts repetitions. שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים is the fixed cultic formula for a complete sevenfold act (cf. 8:11; 14:7; 16:14).
לִפְנֵ֣יbeforeprep לְ + N (c) pl constr · פָּנִים (H6440)Compound preposition (locative) governing יְהוָהפָּנִים (H6440) 'face'; לִפְנֵי יְהוָה, 'before the face of the LORD'. The sprinkling is not aimed at a curtain as at an object; it is performed in a presence, and the veil merely marks where that presence is.
יְהוָ֔הthe LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Object of לִפְנֵייְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name. The blood is flung toward the LORD but not at him — seven times in his direction, stopping at the curtain. Reverence and remedy are held together in a single gesture.
אֵ֖תin front ofprep · אֵת (H854)Preposition of proximity governing פְּנֵי הַפָּרֹכֶת (locative)אֵת (H854) 'with, beside, in front of' — the preposition, not the homographic object-marker אֵת (H853). It locates the sprinkling in front of the curtain's face: the blood approaches the veil, and does not cross it.
פְּנֵ֥יthe face ofN (c) pl constr · פָּנִים (H6440)Object of אֵת; construct head governing הַפָּרֹכֶתפָּנִים (H6440) 'face, front'; the same noun that a moment ago named the LORD's presence (לִפְנֵי) now names the curtain's front. The veil has a face because it is the visible surface of the One behind it.
הַפָּרֹֽכֶתthe veilart + N f sg abs · פָּרֹכֶת (H6532)Genitive (nomen rectum) of פְּנֵי — whose face it isפָּרֹכֶת (H6532) 'veil, curtain', from a root meaning 'to separate'; the woven barrier hung before the ark. v. 6 called it פָּרֹכֶת הַקֹּדֶשׁ, 'the veil of the sanctuary'; here the qualifier is dropped, the second telling assuming the first.
18
וּמִן הַדָּ֞ם יִתֵּ֣ן עַל קַרְנֹ֣ת הַמִּזְבֵּ֗חַ אֲשֶׁר֙ לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וְאֵ֣ת כָּל הַדָּ֗ם יִשְׁפֹּךְ֙ אֶל יְסוֹד֙ מִזְבַּ֣ח הָעֹלָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר פֶּ֖תַח אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד
And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the LORD, which is in the tent of meeting; and all the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering, which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
Parallel to v. 7. Here the fronted prepositional phrase וּמִן הַדָּם precedes its verb יִתֵּן, and the incense altar is identified only as 'the altar which is before the LORD… in the tent of meeting' — the reader has already learned which altar is meant.
Word-by-word analysis· 24 words
וּמִןand fromconj וְ + prep · מִן (H4480)Conjunction + partitive preposition; the phrase is fronted before its verb יִתֵּןמִן (H4480), partitive 'some of'. The prepositional phrase stands before the verb rather than after it — Hebrew fronts a constituent to topicalise it: it is the blood, and only a part of it, that is at issue here.
הַדָּ֞םthe bloodart + N m sg abs · דָּם (H1818)Object of מִן; the fronted (topicalised) constituent of the clauseדָּם (H1818) 'blood'; the same blood, now applied rather than flung. Sprinkling (v. 17) purges the space before the veil; daubing on the horns purges the altar itself.
יִתֵּ֣ןhe shall putQal impf 3ms · נָתַן (H5414)Predicate verb (clause with fronted prepositional phrase)→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneנָתַן (H5414) 'to give, put, set'; with עַל it means simply 'apply, daub'. The most colourless verb in Hebrew carries the most charged act in the rite: blood placed on the horns of God's own altar.
עַלonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition of position governing קַרְנֹת (locative)עַל (H5921) 'upon'; the blood is placed on the horns, not thrown at them. The preposition marks the difference between the sprinkling of v. 17, which touches nothing, and this deliberate contact.
קַרְנֹ֣תthe horns ofN (c) pl constr · קֶרֶן (H7161)Object of עַל; construct head governing הַמִּזְבֵּחַקֶרֶן (H7161) 'horn'; the four projections at the altar's corners — its highest points, and in Israel's idiom the seat of strength and refuge (1 Kgs 1:50). Blood applied there reaches the altar at its most potent.
הַמִּזְבֵּ֗חַthe altarart + N m sg abs · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Genitive (nomen rectum) of קַרְנֹת — whose horns they areמִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar', from זָבַח 'to slaughter'. This is the golden incense altar inside the tent, which v. 7 named outright (מִזְבַּח קְטֹרֶת הַסַּמִּים); here it is identified only by the two relative clauses that follow — the reader is expected to know.
אֲשֶׁר֙which isrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a verbless clause modifying הַמִּזְבֵּחַאֲשֶׁר (H834), the relative particle; it heads the first of two stacked verbless clauses that together fix which altar is meant. Legal prose identifies by location what it will not name outright.
לִפְנֵ֣יbeforeprep לְ + N (c) pl constr · פָּנִים (H6440)Compound preposition (locative); predicate of the verbless relative clauseפָּנִים (H6440) 'face'; 'the altar which is before the LORD'. The incense altar stood immediately outside the veil, nearer the ark than any other furnishing of the holy place — proximity is its whole identification.
יְהוָ֔הthe LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Object of לִפְנֵייְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name; it is nearness to him, not size or metal, that ranks the two altars of this verse. One is 'before the LORD'; the other stands at the door.
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich isrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a second verbless clause, further specifying the altarאֲשֶׁר (H834); the second relative narrows again — before the LORD, and inside the tent. The doubling is not redundancy but the precision of a legal text that leaves nothing to inference.
בְּאֹ֣הֶלin the tent ofprep בְּ + N m sg constr · אֹהֶל (H168)Prepositional phrase (locative); predicate of the second verbless clauseאֹהֶל (H168) 'tent'; the בְּ places this altar inside the structure. That is precisely the boundary the ruler's rite (vv. 22-26) will never cross: his blood goes no further than the courtyard.
מוֹעֵ֑דmeetingN m sg abs · מוֹעֵד (H4150)Genitive (nomen rectum) of אֹהֶלמוֹעֵד (H4150) 'appointed meeting', from יָעַד 'to appoint'; the tent is named for what happens in it. The incense altar stands where God and Israel meet, and it is that meeting-place the blood now cleans.
וְאֵ֣תand [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker heading the fronted object כָּל הַדָּםוְ turns the clause; אֵת marks the definite object — and both stand before the verb יִשְׁפֹּךְ. Hebrew rarely fronts a marked object without reason: the contrast is with the מִן of the first clause, some of the blood there, all the rest of it here.
כָּלall ofN m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Construct head of כָּל הַדָּם; part of the fronted direct objectכֹּל (H3605) 'all, the whole'; in construct it quantifies the noun that follows. Against the partitive מִן of the first clause, כָּל is emphatic — nothing of the blood is left over, and nothing is disposed of casually.
הַדָּ֗םthe bloodart + N m sg abs · דָּם (H1818)Genitive (nomen rectum) of כָּל; fronted direct object of יִשְׁפֹּךְדָּם (H1818) 'blood'; the remainder, after the sprinkling and the daubing. Even the surplus is not refuse — it is poured out at the altar's foot, still within the sacred precinct.
יִשְׁפֹּךְ֙he shall pour outQal impf 3ms · שָׁפַךְ (H8210)Predicate verb (clause with fronted direct object)→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneשָׁפַךְ (H8210) 'to pour out, spill'; the verb of shedding blood violently (Gen 9:6) and of pouring out the soul before God (1 Sam 1:15). Here the pouring is neither violence nor prayer but reverent disposal — the leftover life returned to the base of the altar.
אֶלatprep · אֶל (H413)Preposition of direction governing יְסוֹד (locative)אֶל (H413) 'to, toward'; the blood is directed downward to the altar's foot. In this chapter its motion is always toward something sacred — inward to the tent, or down to the altar — never simply away.
יְסוֹד֙the base ofN m sg constr · יְסוֹד (H3247)Object of אֶל; construct head governing מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָהיְסוֹד (H3247) 'foundation, base', from יָסַד 'to found'; the moulded plinth at the altar's foot. The blood's journey ends at the lowest point of the holiest structure — poured out, soaked away, seen by no one.
מִזְבַּ֣חthe altar ofN m sg constr · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Genitive of יְסוֹד; construct head governing הָעֹלָהמִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar'; the second altar of the verse — the bronze one in the courtyard. The rite touches both: the horns of the inner, the base of the outer, so that the whole sanctuary, from its innermost furniture to its public doorway, is purged.
הָעֹלָ֔הthe burnt offeringart + N f sg abs · עֹלָה (H5930)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מִזְבַּח — the altar named by its principal offeringעֹלָה (H5930) 'burnt offering', from עָלָה 'to go up' — the offering that ascends wholly in smoke (ch. 1). The courtyard altar takes its name from that daily gift, though the blood of the חַטָּאת is poured out there too.
אֲשֶׁרwhich isrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a verbless clause modifying מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָהאֲשֶׁר (H834); the third relative in the verse. Each altar is fixed by where it stands — the one before the LORD inside, the other at the entrance — and the two relatives are the verse's map of the sanctuary.
פֶּ֖תַחat the entrance ofN m sg constr · פֶּתַח (H6607)Adverbial accusative of place; predicate of the verbless relative clauseפֶּתַח (H6607) 'opening, doorway', from פָּתַח 'to open'; the threshold of the tent. The bronze altar stands in the open where all Israel can see it; the golden one is hidden within — and the blood of this rite reaches both.
אֹ֥הֶלthe tent ofN m sg constr · אֹהֶל (H168)Genitive (nomen rectum) of פֶּתַח; construct head governing מוֹעֵדאֹהֶל (H168) 'tent'; the same tent named at the verse's middle, but reached now from outside. The verse begins inside the tent and ends at its door — the blood's own path, retraced in reverse.
מוֹעֵֽדmeetingN m sg abs · מוֹעֵד (H4150)Genitive (nomen rectum) of אֹהֶלמוֹעֵד (H4150) 'appointed meeting'; the closing word of the verse, as it was of v. 16. The whole blood-rite is bracketed by the name of the place where God has agreed to be met.
19
וְאֵ֥ת כָּל חֶלְבּ֖וֹ יָרִ֣ים מִמֶּ֑נּוּ וְהִקְטִ֖יר הַמִּזְבֵּֽחָה
And all its fat he shall lift from it and burn it on the altar.
The long inventory of vv. 8-9 collapses into two words: כָּל חֶלְבּוֹ. Levitical style expands the first instance of a rite and abbreviates every repetition, trusting the reader to supply the detail.
Word-by-word analysis· 7 words
וְאֵ֥תand [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker heading the fronted object כָּל חֶלְבּוֹוְ advances the rite; אֵת marks the fat as the definite object — and again the object stands before its verb. The pattern of vv. 18-19 is consistent: what is handled is named first, and only then what is done with it.
כָּלall ofN m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Construct head of כָּל חֶלְבּוֹ; part of the fronted direct objectכֹּל (H3605) 'all, the whole'; two words here — כָּל חֶלְבּוֹ — replace the whole itemised inventory of vv. 8-9. The כָּל is legal shorthand: every deposit already listed, and none of them exempted.
חֶלְבּ֖וֹits fatN m sg constr + 3ms suffix · חֵלֶב (H2459)Genitive (nomen rectum) of כָּל; part of the fronted direct objectחֵלֶב (H2459) 'fat' — the hard suet around the organs, God's portion and permanently forbidden to Israel (3:17). The suffix refers to the bull: the fat is his, and for that reason not the people's.
יָרִ֣יםhe shall lift offHiphil impf 3ms · רוּם (H7311)Predicate verb (clause with fronted direct object)→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneרוּם (H7311) 'to be high'; the Hiphil הֵרִים 'to raise, lift off, set apart'. Its technical cultic sense is to remove a portion as a contribution — the noun תְּרוּמָה comes from this root — so the fat is not merely cut away but elevated, made over to God.
מִמֶּ֑נּוּfrom itprep מִן + 3ms suffix · מִן (H4480)Prepositional phrase of separation (source) — from the carcass of the bullמִן (H4480) 'from'; with the suffix, מִמֶּנּוּ 'from it' — the bull. (The OSHB tag reads 1cp, but the form is ambiguous and the context is plainly 3ms.) Fat and body are parted here, and from this point they travel in opposite directions: one up in smoke, one out to the ash heap.
וְהִקְטִ֖ירand he shall turn it into smokeconj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3ms · קָטַר (H6999)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteקָטַר (H6999), Hiphil הִקְטִיר 'to turn into smoke, send up in smoke' — not the ordinary word for burning (שָׂרַף, v. 21) but the cultic term. What is הִקְטִיר ascends to God; what is שָׂרַף is destroyed outside the camp. The same fire, two opposite meanings.
הַמִּזְבֵּֽחָהon the altarart + N m sg abs + directional ה · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Accusative of direction (he locale) — 'altarward'מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar', here with the directional ending -ָה, 'to the altar'. The he locale keeps the movement in view: the fat is carried up and laid on the fire, not merely left somewhere near it.
20
וְעָשָׂ֣ה לַפָּ֔ר כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשָׂה֙ לְפַ֣ר הַֽחַטָּ֔את כֵּ֖ן יַעֲשֶׂה לּ֑וֹ וְכִפֶּ֧ר עֲלֵהֶ֛ם הַכֹּהֵ֖ן וְנִסְלַ֥ח לָהֶֽם
And he shall do with the bull as he did with the bull of the purification offering; so shall he do with it. Thus the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven.
The chapter reaches its purpose here for the first time. וְכִפֶּר עֲלֵהֶם הַכֹּהֵן — the priest acts; וְנִסְלַח לָהֶם — a Niphal with no agent named, the divine passive. Atonement is something a man performs; forgiveness is something only God gives, and the grammar refuses to blur the two.
Word-by-word analysis· 14 words
וְעָשָׂ֣הand he shall doconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · עָשָׂה (H6213)Predicate verb (weqatal chain) summarising the whole rite→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteעָשָׂה (H6213) 'to do, make'; the verb sounds three times in this verse — weqatal, perfect, yiqtol — binding the congregation's rite to the priest's. What was once done is what shall now be done.
לַפָּ֔רwith the bullprep לְ + art + N m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Prepositional phrase — the object with respect to which the rite is performedפַּר (H6499) 'young bull'; the לְ here is the לְ of respect, 'in the case of, with regard to'. The congregation's bull is handled exactly as the anointed priest's was — the many receive no discount, and no surcharge.
כַּאֲשֶׁ֤רjust asprep כְּ + relative · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Comparative conjunction introducing the standard of comparison (כַּאֲשֶׁר … כֵּן)כַּאֲשֶׁר, 'according to that which'; the compound conjunction that governs the verse. It makes the earlier rite (vv. 3-12) normative: the congregation's case is not legislated afresh but measured against the priest's, point for point.
עָשָׂה֙he didQal perf 3ms · עָשָׂה (H6213)Predicate verb of the comparative clause (כַּאֲשֶׁר)→ Perfective: a completed act (the rite already prescribed and performed)עָשָׂה (H6213); the perfect looks back to the rite of vv. 3-12, described there in full. The law can abbreviate here because it can point: it has already said all this once.
לְפַ֣רwith the bull ofprep לְ + N m sg constr · פַּר (H6499)Prepositional phrase; construct head governing הַחַטָּאתפַּר (H6499) 'bull', in construct with הַחַטָּאת — 'the bull of the purification offering', the animal of vv. 3-12. Naming it again is precisely what licenses the abbreviation of vv. 17-19.
הַֽחַטָּ֔אתthe purification offeringart + N f sg abs · חַטָּאת (H2403)Genitive (nomen rectum) of לְפַר — the bull identified by its offering-classחַטָּאת (H2403), from חָטָא 'to miss, sin'; the one noun names both the offence and the offering that removes it. Its function is less 'sin offering' than purification offering: it purges the sanctuary of the pollution the sin generated there.
כֵּ֖ןsoadverb · כֵּן (H3651)Correlative adverb answering כַּאֲשֶׁר ('just as … so')כֵּן (H3651) 'thus, so'; it closes the כַּאֲשֶׁר … כֵּן correlation. The construction is the legislator's equals-sign: two very different sinners, one identical rite.
יַעֲשֶׂהshall he doQal impf 3ms · עָשָׂה (H6213)Predicate verb of the correlative main clause (כֵּן …)→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneעָשָׂה (H6213); the third occurrence in the verse, and the binding one. Past performance (עָשָׂה) becomes present obligation (יַעֲשֶׂה) by nothing more than the small word כֵּן standing between them.
לּ֑וֹwith itprep לְ + 3ms suffix · לְPrepositional phrase — with the bull just describedלְ with the 3ms suffix, 'to it, with it'; the referent is the congregation's bull. It is the last and most economical abbreviation in a verse built entirely on abbreviation — a whole rite compressed into a pronoun.
וְכִפֶּ֧רand he shall make atonementconj וְ + Piel weqatal 3ms · כָּפַר (H3722)Predicate verb (weqatal) — the goal-clause toward which the whole rite has moved→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteכָּפַר (H3722), Piel 'to make atonement, purge, wipe clean' (the cognates pull two ways, 'to cover' and 'to wipe away'); with עַל plus a person it means 'to make atonement for' someone. This is the chapter's goal-formula in its first appearance, and everything since v. 13 has been moving toward it. Note the subject: the priest. Atonement is a work performed by a man — and the very next verb will show that forgiveness is not.
עֲלֵהֶ֛םfor themprep עַל + 3mp suffix · עַל (H5921)Prepositional phrase — the beneficiaries on whose behalf atonement is madeעַל (H5921) 'upon, on behalf of'; with the 3mp suffix, 'for them' — the whole congregation of v. 13. Atonement is made on their behalf but never by them: they are the object of a preposition here, and they will not be the subject of a verb in the rest of the formula either.
הַכֹּהֵ֖ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְכִפֶּרכֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; he stands as the named subject of כִּפֶּר — and he is conspicuously absent from the clause that follows. The one thing this priest cannot do, for all his blood and fire, is forgive.
וְנִסְלַ֥חand it shall be forgivenconj וְ + Niphal weqatal 3ms · סָלַח (H5545)Predicate verb (weqatal, Niphal) — impersonal passive: 'and it shall be forgiven them'→ Weqatal (Niphal): the divine passive — forgiveness is granted, not achievedסָלַח (H5545) 'to forgive'; in the whole Hebrew Bible God is its only subject — no human being is ever said to סָלַח. Here the Niphal is impersonal and agentless: no forgiver is named, because naming him is unnecessary and, in a priestly manual, would risk suggesting that the cult manufactures pardon. The syntax draws the line the theology needs: the priest atones, God forgives.
לָהֶֽםthemprep לְ + 3mp suffix · לְPrepositional phrase — the recipients of the forgiveness (dative of advantage)לְ with the 3mp suffix, 'to them'; the congregation receive forgiveness as something handed over to them. In the entire formula — כִּפֶּר … נִסְלַח — they are the agents of not one verb. It is a grammar of grace.
21
וְהוֹצִ֣יא אֶת הַפָּ֗ר אֶל מִחוּץ֙ לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔ה וְשָׂרַ֣ף אֹת֔וֹ כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר שָׂרַ֔ף אֵ֖ת הַפָּ֣ר הָרִאשׁ֑וֹן חַטַּ֥את הַקָּהָ֖ל הֽוּא
And he shall bring the bull outside the camp and burn it as he burned the first bull; it is the purification offering of the assembly.
The section ends as the first did, with the carcass burned outside the camp, and closes with a nominal clause of identification: חַטַּאת הַקָּהָל הוּא, 'it is the purification offering of the assembly'. Such labelling clauses (cf. v. 24) function as rubrics, naming what has just been described.
Word-by-word analysis· 16 words
וְהוֹצִ֣יאand he shall bring outconj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3ms · יָצָא (H3318)Predicate verb (weqatal chain) — the disposal of the carcass→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteיָצָא (H3318) 'to go out'; the Hiphil הוֹצִיא means 'to bring out, carry out'. It is the exact counter-movement to הֵבִיא in v. 16: the blood was carried in, and now the body must be carried out. The chapter's two directions are its two theologies — purgation inward, pollution outward.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker (definite object)
הַפָּ֗רthe bullart + N m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Direct object of וְהוֹצִיאפַּר (H6499) 'bull'; what is left of it — hide, flesh, head, legs, entrails, dung (v. 11). The blood has gone inside and the fat has gone up; the remainder must go out.
אֶלtoprep · אֶל (H413)Preposition of direction governing מִחוּץ (locative)אֶל (H413) 'to, toward'; joined to מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה it drives the motion outward. The very same preposition carried the blood inward in v. 16 — direction is the whole difference between what is sanctified and what is expelled.
מִחוּץ֙outsideprep מִן + N m sg abs · חוּץ (H2351)Compound preposition (locative) governing לַמַּחֲנֶהחוּץ (H2351) 'outside, street'; with מִן, 'from without' — the idiom מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה is the geography of exclusion. It is where lepers dwell, where refuse is dumped, and where the sin-bearing carcass burns; the writer of Hebrews saw Golgotha there (Heb 13:11-13).
לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔הthe campprep לְ + art + N (c) sg abs · מַחֲנֶה (H4264)Object of the compound preposition מִחוּץ לְמַחֲנֶה (H4264) 'camp', from חָנָה 'to encamp'; Israel's ordered dwelling arranged around the tent. What may not remain inside the camp may not remain in Israel: the carcass is expelled from the holy people, not merely from the sanctuary.
וְשָׂרַ֣ףand he shall burnconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · שָׂרַף (H8313)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteשָׂרַף (H8313) 'to burn, incinerate'; the ordinary, profane word for burning, deliberately not הִקְטִיר of v. 19. The fat is turned to smoke for God; the carcass is simply destroyed. Both meet fire, but only one of them ascends.
אֹת֔וֹitobj marker + 3ms suffix · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker with pronominal suffix — object of וְשָׂרַףאֵת (H853) with the 3ms suffix, 'it' — the bull. The suffix keeps a single carcass in view across both verbs: what is carried out is precisely what is burned.
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣רjust asprep כְּ + relative · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Comparative clause (כַּאֲשֶׁר)כַּאֲשֶׁר, 'according as'; the second comparison of the section (cf. v. 20), and again the priest's rite is the standard. The congregation's bull is disposed of exactly as his was — the equality holds all the way to the ash heap.
שָׂרַ֔ףhe burnedQal perf 3ms · שָׂרַף (H8313)Predicate verb of the comparative clause (כַּאֲשֶׁר)→ Perfective: a completed act (the rite already performed)שָׂרַף (H8313); the perfect refers back to the burning of v. 12. Sounding the same root twice in two aspects — וְשָׂרַף … כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׂרַף — is the verse's economical way of saying 'identically'.
אֵ֖ת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker (definite object of שָׂרַף)
הַפָּ֣רthe bullart + N m sg abs · פַּר (H6499)Direct object of שָׂרַף within the comparative clauseפַּר (H6499) 'bull'; the anointed priest's bull of vv. 3-12, distinguished from the congregation's only by the adjective that follows.
הָרִאשׁ֑וֹןthe firstart + adj m sg abs · רִאשׁוֹן (H7223)Attributive adjective modifying הַפָּררִאשׁוֹן (H7223) 'first, former', from רֹאשׁ 'head'; it distinguishes the earlier bull from this one. The word quietly concedes that there have now been two — and therefore that a nation can defile the sanctuary as thoroughly as its high priest can.
חַטַּ֥אתthe purification offering ofN f sg constr · חַטָּאת (H2403)Predicate nominative (verbless clause); construct head governing הַקָּהָלחַטָּאת (H2403); the labelling clause that closes the case. Such rubrics (cf. v. 24) name what has just been described and file the whole procedure under its legal category — the priestly equivalent of a heading placed at the end.
הַקָּהָ֖לthe assemblyart + N m sg abs · קָהָל (H6951)Genitive (nomen rectum) of חַטַּאת — whose offering it isקָהָל (H6951) 'assembly, congregation', from קָהַל 'to gather'; Israel convoked as one body. The Greek renders it ἐκκλησία — the very word the church would later claim for itself — and this is the offering made for its corporate, unwitting sin.
הֽוּאit isindependent pronoun 3ms · הוּא (H1931)Subject of the verbless clause (predicate-nominative construction)הוּא (H1931) 'he, it'; the independent pronoun serving as subject of a verbless clause — 'it is the purification offering of the assembly'. Hebrew needs no copula: juxtaposition is predication, and the sentence closes the case with a bare act of naming.
22
אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָשִׂ֖יא יֶֽחֱטָ֑א וְעָשָׂ֡ה אַחַ֣ת מִכָּל מִצְוֺת֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהָ֜יו אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹא תֵעָשֶׂ֛ינָה בִּשְׁגָגָ֖ה וְאָשֵֽׁם
When a chief sins and does unintentionally any one of the commandments of the LORD his God that ought not to be done, and incurs guilt—
The protasis is introduced by אֲשֶׁר rather than אִם — an unusual conditional use ('in the case that…'), perhaps because a ruler's sin is treated as a matter of when rather than if. Note the warmer phrase יְהוָה אֱלֹהָיו, 'the LORD his God': the ruler's offence is personal, against his own God, not against the sanctuary as such.
Word-by-word analysis· 14 words
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhenrelative particle (here conditional) · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Conditional particle introducing the protasis of the third caseאֲשֶׁר (H834), normally the relative 'which'; here it introduces a condition — 'in the case that a chief sins' — where vv. 3, 13, 27 and 32 use אִם or a participial construction. The variation is unusual enough to be deliberate: a ruler's sin is treated as a matter of when, not if.
נָשִׂ֖יאa chiefN m sg abs · נָשִׂיא (H5387)Subject of יֶחֱטָאנָשִׂיא (H5387) 'chief, prince, ruler', from נָשָׂא 'to lift up' — literally 'the lifted one', the man raised above his tribe. In the wilderness he is a tribal head (Num 1:16); the office is civil, not cultic, and this is the first non-priestly rank the chapter addresses.
יֶֽחֱטָ֑אsinsQal impf 3ms · חָטָא (H2398)Predicate verb of the protasis→ Yiqtol: modal — the hypothetical case being legislatedחָטָא (H2398) 'to miss (a mark), to sin'; the root behind חַטָּאת. The imperfect in a conditional protasis is not prediction but supposition: 'should a chief sin…'. The law provides for the failure of the man at the top before it ever occurs.
וְעָשָׂ֡הand doesconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · עָשָׂה (H6213)Predicate verb continuing the protasis (weqatal after the yiqtol)→ Weqatal: continuing the protasis — the sin specified as a concrete actעָשָׂה (H6213) 'to do'; the weqatal spells out what the sinning consists in. Levitical sin is not a mood or a lapse of intention but a deed — something actually done that was forbidden.
אַחַ֣תonecardinal f sg abs · אֶחָד (H259)Direct object of וְעָשָׂה ('any one of…')אֶחָד (H259) 'one'; the feminine אַחַת agrees with מִצְוֺת. A single breach of a single commandment suffices — this torah does not grade sin by quantity, only by the rank of the sinner.
מִכָּלof any ofprep מִן + N m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Partitive prepositional phrase modifying אַחַתכֹּל (H3605) 'all', with the partitive מִן: 'one out of all of'. The formula is drafted to leave no commandment outside its reach — there is no prohibition a ruler may break without consequence.
מִצְוֺת֩the commandments ofN f pl constr · מִצְוָה (H4687)Genitive of מִכָּל; construct head governing יְהוָהמִצְוָה (H4687) 'commandment', from צִוָּה 'to command'; the prohibitions of the covenant. The offence is against commandments — a personal word from a personal God — never against an impersonal taboo.
יְהוָ֨הthe LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מִצְוֺת — whose commandments they areיְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name; the commandments belong to him — and, as the very next word insists, so does the man who broke them.
אֱלֹהָ֜יוhis GodN m pl constr + 3ms suffix · אֱלֹהִים (H430)Appositional to יְהוָה — 'the LORD his God'אֱלֹהִים (H430) with the 3ms suffix, 'his God'. The phrase is warmer than anything in vv. 2, 13 or 27, and it is not decorative: the chief's sin is against the God who is HIS, a personal breach of a personal bond. High rank does not put a man at a distance from God; it binds him closer.
אֲשֶׁ֧רwhichrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a clause modifying מִצְוֺתאֲשֶׁר (H834), here in its ordinary relative use — a deliberate contrast with the conditional אֲשֶׁר that opened the verse. The same particle does two different jobs within fourteen words.
לֹאnotnegative particle · לֹא (H3808)Negative adverb negating תֵעָשֶׂינָהלֹא (H3808), the absolute negative; with the imperfect it forms the categorical prohibition of the Decalogue ('thou shalt not'). The commandments in view are the negative ones — sins of commission, things done that ought never to be done.
תֵעָשֶׂ֛ינָהare to be doneNiphal impf 3fp · עָשָׂה (H6213)Predicate verb of the relative clause (passive)→ Yiqtol (Niphal): modal — 'which ought not to be done'עָשָׂה (H6213) in the Niphal, 'to be done'; the 3fp agrees with the feminine plural מִצְוֺת. The passive is pointedly impersonal — these are things that must not be done by anyone, and a chief has no exemption from a law that names no one.
בִּשְׁגָגָ֖הinadvertentlyprep בְּ + N f sg abs · שְׁגָגָה (H7684)Adverbial prepositional phrase of manner, modifying וְעָשָׂהשְׁגָגָה (H7684) 'inadvertence, error', from שָׁגַג 'to go astray, err'; the hinge-word of the whole chapter (v. 2). It denotes not ignorance of the law but action taken without realising that it breaks the law. High-handed sin (Num 15:30-31) lies outside this torah altogether — and outside its remedy.
וְאָשֵֽׁםand incurs guiltconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · אָשֵׁם (H816)Predicate verb closing the protasis — the consequence of the inadvertent act→ Weqatal: consequence within the protasis — guilt follows the act regardless of intentאָשֵׁם (H816) 'to be guilty, to incur guilt, to bear its consequences'; the verb states the chapter's hardest claim. Guilt is objective — it attaches to the deed whether or not the doer knew, and it attaches before he knows (v. 23). Ignorance mitigates the culpability; it never cancels the pollution.
23
אֽוֹ הוֹדַ֤ע אֵלָיו֙ חַטָּאת֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָטָ֖א בָּ֑הּ וְהֵבִ֧יא אֶת קָרְבָּנ֛וֹ שְׂעִ֥יר עִזִּ֖ים זָכָ֥ר תָּמִֽים
or if his sin that he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring as his offering a male goat, without blemish.
The Hophal הוֹדַע ('is made known to him') again makes disclosure something done TO the sinner rather than by him. The de-escalation is now visible: a שְׂעִיר עִזִּים, a male goat, in place of the bull — costly, but far below the bull of vv. 3 and 14.
Word-by-word analysis· 14 words
אֽוֹorconj · אוֹ (H176)Disjunctive conjunction introducing the alternative protasisאוֹ (H176) 'or'; it links the sinning of v. 22 to the discovering of v. 23. The rite cannot begin until the second condition is met: sin plus knowledge, never sin alone, is what triggers the offering.
הוֹדַ֤עis made knownHophal perf 3ms · יָדַע (H3045)Predicate verb of the alternative protasis (passive)→ Perfective (Hophal): passive — the sin 'is made known TO him'יָדַע (H3045) 'to know'; the Hophal הוֹדַע is the passive of the causative — 'to be caused to know', i.e. 'to be made known'. The chief does not discover his sin; his sin is disclosed to him. No agent is named — a prophet, a priest, a neighbour, or God himself — and the grammar keeps the man passive throughout: he is the one to whom the truth happens.
אֵלָיו֙to himprep אֶל + 3ms suffix · אֶל (H413)Prepositional phrase — the one to whom the sin is made knownאֶל (H413) with the 3ms suffix, 'to him'. The chief is the indirect object of the disclosure, never its subject: knowledge of his own sin arrives from outside himself.
חַטָּאת֔וֹhis sinN f sg constr + 3ms suffix · חַטָּאת (H2403)Subject of the passive הוֹדַעחַטָּאת (H2403); here the offence itself, not the offering — the same noun carries both senses, so that in Hebrew the sin and its remedy bear one name. The suffix makes it inalienably his, and it was his already, long before he knew of it.
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhichrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a clause modifying חַטָּאתוֹאֲשֶׁר (H834), the relative; it heads the clause 'which he committed', and the resumptive בָּהּ at the clause's end will pick the antecedent back up.
חָטָ֖אhe committedQal perf 3ms · חָטָא (H2398)Predicate verb of the relative clause→ Perfective: a completed act (the sin already committed)חָטָא (H2398) 'to sin, to miss the mark'; the perfect sets the act firmly in the past — done, finished, and only now discovered. The gap between this perfect and the Hophal before it is precisely the space this chapter legislates for: a man guilty for a while without knowing it.
בָּ֑הּby itprep בְּ + 3fs suffix · בְּResumptive prepositional phrase within the relative clause (referring back to חַטָּאתוֹ)בְּ with the 3fs suffix, agreeing with the feminine חַטָּאת: literally 'which he sinned by it'. Hebrew relative clauses regularly resume their antecedent with such a pronoun, since אֲשֶׁר itself is indeclinable and carries no case.
וְהֵבִ֧יאthen he shall bringconj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3ms · בּוֹא (H935)Predicate verb opening the apodosis (weqatal following the protasis)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the first mandated step of the rite (apodosis)בּוֹא (H935) 'to come'; the Hiphil הֵבִיא 'to bring'. The same verb opened the priest's rite (v. 3) and the congregation's (v. 14). With it the apodosis begins and the guilty man finally moves — out of his guilt and toward the remedy.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker (definite object)
קָרְבָּנ֛וֹhis offeringN m sg constr + 3ms suffix · קָרְבָּן (H7133)Direct object of וְהֵבִיאקָרְבָּן (H7133) 'offering, oblation', from קָרַב 'to draw near'; literally 'that which is brought near'. The noun says what the thing does — it is the means by which a man who has strayed comes close again.
שְׂעִ֥ירa male goat ofN m sg constr · שָׂעִיר (H8163)Apposition to קָרְבָּנוֹ; construct head governing עִזִּיםשָׂעִיר (H8163) 'he-goat', literally 'hairy one', from שֵׂעָר 'hair'. Here is where the rite de-escalates: priest and congregation each brought a bull, but the chief brings a goat — costly for one man, and far below a bull. Rank sets the price, and this man ranks below the sanctuary itself.
עִזִּ֖יםgoatsN f pl abs · עֵז (H5795)Genitive (nomen rectum) of שְׂעִיר — a genitive of speciesעֵז (H5795) 'goat'; the plural in construct after שְׂעִיר forms a genitive of kind — 'a male of the goats', i.e. a male goat. The idiom names a species, not a herd.
זָכָ֥רa maleadj m sg abs · זָכָר (H2145)Attributive adjective modifying שְׂעִירזָכָר (H2145) 'male'; strictly redundant after שְׂעִיר, which is already a masculine noun, but the law repeats itself for certainty. The commoner of v. 28 will bring a female — sex, like species, tracks the offerer's rank.
תָּמִֽיםwithout blemishadj m sg abs · תָּמִים (H8549)Attributive adjective modifying שְׂעִיר — the qualifying condition of the victimתָּמִים (H8549) 'whole, sound, unblemished', from תָּמַם 'to be complete'; the same word is used of moral integrity (Gen 6:9, Noah תָּמִים). The animal may be cheaper than a bull, but it may not be defective: the rite scales with rank, and perfection never does.
24
וְסָמַ֤ךְ יָדוֹ֙ עַל רֹ֣אשׁ הַשָּׂעִ֔יר וְשָׁחַ֣ט אֹת֔וֹ בִּמְק֛וֹם אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁחַ֥ט אֶת הָעֹלָ֖ה לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה חַטָּ֖את הֽוּא
And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat and slaughter it in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the LORD; it is a purification offering.
The rite is located by cross-reference to the burnt offering rather than described afresh. The closing rubric חַטָּאת הוּא names the act: for all the resemblance to an עֹלָה, what is happening here is purification, not ascent.
Word-by-word analysis· 16 words
וְסָמַ֤ךְand he shall layconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · סָמַךְ (H5564)Predicate verb (weqatal chain — the apodosis continues)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteסָמַךְ (H5564) 'to lean, press, support'; the hand is not laid lightly but pressed down with weight. The gesture identifies the offerer with the victim — this animal stands where he stands, and what is about to happen to it answers for him.
יָדוֹ֙his handN (c) sg constr + 3ms suffix · יָד (H3027)Direct object of וְסָמַךְיָד (H3027) 'hand'; the singular is exact — one hand, not two (contrast the Day of Atonement scapegoat, 16:21). The chief must do this himself; no proxy is permitted, and the priest does not lay hands for him.
עַלonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition heading a locative phrase (the point of contact)עַל (H5921) 'upon, over'; it locates the pressure of the hand precisely — on the head, the animal's representative part, where the transfer of identity is enacted.
רֹ֣אשׁthe head ofN m sg constr · רֹאשׁ (H7218)Object of עַל; construct head governing הַשָּׂעִיררֹאשׁ (H7218) 'head'; in the sacrificial rites the head stands for the whole living creature, so that a hand pressed there reaches the animal entire.
הַשָּׂעִ֔ירthe male goatart + N m sg abs · שָׂעִיר (H8163)Genitive (nomen rectum) of רֹאשׁשָׂעִיר (H8163) 'he-goat', literally 'shaggy one', from שֵׂעָר 'hair'. The article now points back to the goat just named in v. 23; the animal has been chosen, and the rite may begin.
וְשָׁחַ֣טand he shall slaughterconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · שָׁחַט (H7819)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteשָׁחַט (H7819) 'to slaughter', the technical verb for cutting the throat of a sacrificial victim. The subject is still the chief, not the priest: the layman kills his own offering, and only the blood is handed over.
אֹת֔וֹitobj marker + 3ms suffix · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker with pronominal suffix (resuming הַשָּׂעִיר)אֵת (H853) with the 3ms suffix, 'it' — the goat, referred to now only by a pronoun. Hebrew attaches the object pronoun to the accusative particle rather than to the verb here, keeping the victim grammatically distinct from the act done to it.
בִּמְק֛וֹםin the placeprep בְּ + N m sg constr · מָקוֹם (H4725)Prepositional phrase (locative); construct head anticipating the אֲשֶׁר clauseמָקוֹם (H4725) 'place, standing-place', from קוּם 'to rise, stand'. In construct before a relative clause it means 'the place where…' — the north side of the altar (1:11), the fixed spot the purification offering shares with the burnt offering.
אֲשֶׁרwhererelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a clause modifying מְקוֹם (locative relative)אֲשֶׁר (H834), the indeclinable relative; after מָקוֹם it functions as 'where'. The law does not describe the site afresh but points to it by cross-reference — the reader is expected to know the burnt-offering rite already.
יִשְׁחַ֥טone slaughtersQal impf 3ms · שָׁחַט (H7819)Predicate verb of the relative clause (impersonal subject)→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be done (customary, impersonal)שָׁחַט (H7819) 'to slaughter'; the 3ms yiqtol here has no named subject and is best read impersonally, 'where the burnt offering is slaughtered'. The customary force defines a standing location, not a single occasion.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker (definite object)
הָעֹלָ֖הthe burnt offeringart + N f sg abs · עֹלָה (H5930)Direct object of יִשְׁחַט (within the relative clause)עֹלָה (H5930) 'burnt offering', literally 'that which goes up', from עָלָה 'to ascend' — the whole animal rises in smoke. The חַטָּאת is slaughtered on the same spot as the עֹלָה, but its blood and its purpose go elsewhere.
לִפְנֵ֣יbeforeprep לְ + N (c) pl constr · פָּנִים (H6440)Compound preposition heading a locative phrase ('in the presence of')פָּנִים (H6440) 'face'; the compound לִפְנֵי, 'to the face of'. Here it denotes the courtyard before the tent, not the holy place within (contrast v. 6): the ruler's rite is still done in the LORD's presence, but at its outer edge.
יְהוָ֑הthe LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Object of the compound preposition לִפְנֵייְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name. Even the outer altar stands לִפְנֵי יְהוָה: the slaughter of a ruler's goat is not a private transaction but an act performed under God's eyes.
חַטָּ֖אתa purification offeringN f sg abs · חַטָּאת (H2403)Predicate nominative (verbless clause) — fronted for emphasisחַטָּאת (H2403), the noun that names both 'sin' and the offering that removes it. Fronted before the pronoun, it carries the weight of the rubric: whatever this looks like — the same place, the same knife as an עֹלָה — it is a purification offering.
הֽוּאit isindependent pronoun 3ms · הוּא (H1931)Subject of the verbless clause (copular use)הוּא (H1931) 'he, it'; in a verbless clause the independent pronoun does the work of a copula. The masculine agrees with the goat rather than with the feminine חַטָּאת — the rubric classifies the animal, not the abstraction.
25
וְלָקַ֨ח הַכֹּהֵ֜ן מִדַּ֤ם הַֽחַטָּאת֙ בְּאֶצְבָּע֔וֹ וְנָתַ֕ן עַל קַרְנֹ֖ת מִזְבַּ֣ח הָעֹלָ֑ה וְאֶת דָּמ֣וֹ יִשְׁפֹּ֔ךְ אֶל יְס֖וֹד מִזְבַּ֥ח הָעֹלָֽה
And the priest shall take some of the blood of the purification offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering.
The decisive de-escalation. There is no dipping toward the veil, no entry into the tent: the blood is daubed on the horns of the burnt-offering altar in the courtyard, and the rest poured at its base. A ruler's inadvertence does not reach as far into the sanctuary as a priest's.
Word-by-word analysis· 17 words
וְלָקַ֨חand he shall takeconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · לָקַח (H3947)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteלָקַח (H3947) 'to take, receive'; here the subject changes. The chief slaughtered (v. 24), but only the priest may take up the blood — the boundary between layman and sanctuary falls precisely at the blood.
הַכֹּהֵ֜ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְלָקַחכֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; here simply 'the priest', not הַכֹּהֵן הַמָּשִׁיחַ, 'the anointed priest', of vv. 3-16. An ordinary priest suffices for a ruler's sin, one more mark of the de-escalation.
מִדַּ֤םsome of the blood ofprep מִן + N m sg constr · דָּם (H1818)Partitive prepositional phrase — object of וְלָקַח; construct head governing הַחַטָּאתדָּם (H1818) 'blood', with partitive מִן: not all the blood, only some. Because the life is in the blood (17:11), it is the one substance that can purge the sanctuary — and here it will go no further than the courtyard altar.
הַֽחַטָּאת֙the purification offeringart + N f sg abs · חַטָּאת (H2403)Genitive (nomen rectum) of דַּם — 'the blood of the purification offering'חַטָּאת (H2403); the animal itself is now named by the offering-type, and by the very word for the sin it answers. 'The blood of the sin offering' is, in Hebrew, almost 'the blood of the sin' — the language will not let the two apart.
בְּאֶצְבָּע֔וֹwith his fingerprep בְּ + N f sg constr + 3ms suffix · אֶצְבַּע (H676)Prepositional phrase (instrumental)אֶצְבַּע (H676) 'finger'; the instrumental בְּ makes the priest's own finger the applicator. No vessel, no brush: the most exact and most personal of tools, the same finger-rite as at the veil (v. 6) and on the Day of Atonement (16:14).
וְנָתַ֕ןand he shall put itconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · נָתַן (H5414)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteנָתַן (H5414) 'to give, set, place'; of blood it means to daub or apply. This is the structural hinge of the ruler's rite: the blood is 'given' to the outer altar's horns and nowhere else — not sprinkled toward the veil, not carried inside the tent as in vv. 6-7 and 17-18.
עַלonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition heading the locative phrase (the target of the daubing)עַל (H5921) 'upon'; the blood is placed on the horns, the altar's highest and most conspicuous points. Where the blood stops is the whole point of the graded rite.
קַרְנֹ֖תthe horns ofN (c) pl constr · קֶרֶן (H7161)Object of עַל; construct head governing מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָהקֶרֶן (H7161) 'horn'; the four projections at the altar's corners (Ex 27:2), the point of asylum (1 Kgs 1:50) and of power. Blood on the horns purges the altar at its most sacred extremities — but these are the horns of the courtyard altar, not the incense altar within.
מִזְבַּ֣חthe altar ofN m sg constr · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Genitive (nomen rectum) of קַרְנֹת; construct head governing הָעֹלָהמִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar', from זָבַח 'to slaughter' — 'the place of slaughtering'. Which altar is meant is the crux of the verse: the following genitive names it as the burnt-offering altar of the courtyard, not the golden incense altar inside.
הָעֹלָ֑הthe burnt offeringart + N f sg abs · עֹלָה (H5930)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מִזְבַּח — the altar belonging to the burnt offeringעֹלָה (H5930) 'burnt offering'; מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָה is the bronze altar standing in the open courtyard. This genitive is the whole de-escalation in two words: the ruler's blood reaches the outer altar and stops there.
וְאֶתand [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker heading a fronted objectוְ joins the final clause, and אֵת marks דָּמוֹ as its definite object. The marker signals at once that the object has been moved forward before its verb — a deliberate fronting.
דָּמ֣וֹits bloodN m sg constr + 3ms suffix · דָּם (H1818)Fronted direct object (topicalised) of יִשְׁפֹּךְדָּם (H1818) 'blood' with the 3ms suffix, 'its blood' — the goat's. Fronted before its verb, it marks the remainder as a distinct topic: what is left after the daubing is not discarded but disposed of at the holy place.
יִשְׁפֹּ֔ךְhe shall pour outQal impf 3ms · שָׁפַךְ (H8210)Predicate verb of the object-fronted clause→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneשָׁפַךְ (H8210) 'to pour out, spill'; the yiqtol takes over from the weqatal chain because the object has been fronted before the verb. The remaining blood is poured, not thrown — an act of reverent disposal at the altar's foot, where no one may tread on it.
אֶלatprep · אֶל (H413)Preposition heading the locative phrase (goal of the pouring)אֶל (H413) 'to, toward'; with שָׁפַךְ it directs the stream to a precise destination. The blood is not spilled anywhere but aimed at the base of the altar.
יְס֖וֹדthe base ofN m sg constr · יְסוֹד (H3247)Object of אֶל; construct head governing מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָהיְסוֹד (H3247) 'foundation, base', from יָסַד 'to found'; the altar's plinth or footing. Horns and base bracket the altar top to bottom: the blood touches its highest point and its lowest, and the whole structure is claimed.
מִזְבַּ֥חthe altar ofN m sg constr · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Genitive (nomen rectum) of יְסוֹד; construct head governing הָעֹלָהמִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar'; the same altar named a clause earlier, repeated in full rather than pronominalised. Legal Hebrew prefers exactness to elegance where a rite's location is at stake.
הָעֹלָֽהthe burnt offeringart + N f sg abs · עֹלָה (H5930)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מִזְבַּח — the altar belonging to the burnt offeringעֹלָה (H5930) 'burnt offering'; the phrase closes the verse as it opened the blood rite. Everything the ruler's blood touches — horns and base alike — belongs to the courtyard altar. The tent is never entered.
26
וְאֶת כָּל חֶלְבּוֹ֙ יַקְטִ֣יר הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חָה כְּחֵ֖לֶב זֶ֣בַח הַשְּׁלָמִ֑ים וְכִפֶּ֨ר עָלָ֧יו הַכֹּהֵ֛ן מֵחַטָּאת֖וֹ וְנִסְלַ֥ח לֽוֹ
And all its fat he shall burn on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of well-being. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin, and he shall be forgiven.
The case closes with the formula, now in the singular: וְכִפֶּר עָלָיו … וְנִסְלַח לוֹ. There is no burning outside the camp — the carcass stays, and (by 6:26) the priest may eat it, because this time the priest is not the guilty party.
Word-by-word analysis· 14 words
וְאֶתand [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker heading a fronted objectוְ opens the new clause and אֵת marks כָּל חֶלְבּוֹ as its definite object, again fronted before the verb. Hebrew reaches for this construction whenever a fresh element of the rite is being singled out.
כָּלall ofN m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Construct head governing חֶלְבּוֹ — quantifier within the fronted objectכֹּל (H3605) 'all, the whole of'; in construct it quantifies what follows. The fat is not divided: every part of it goes up in smoke, and none of the choicest portion is left to the offerer or the priest.
חֶלְבּוֹ֙its fatN m sg constr + 3ms suffix · חֵלֶב (H2459)Genitive (nomen rectum) of כָּל; head of the fronted direct objectחֵלֶב (H2459) 'fat, suet'; the hard fat around the entrails and kidneys, reckoned the richest part of the animal and therefore the LORD's by right (3:16, 'all fat is the LORD's'). Israel may not eat it, and here it is burned entire.
יַקְטִ֣ירhe shall burnHiphil impf 3ms · קָטַר (H6999)Predicate verb of the object-fronted clause→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneקָטַר (H6999), Hiphil הִקְטִיר 'to send up in smoke, turn into incense-smoke'; it is never the ordinary word for burning up (שָׂרַף, used of the carcass outside the camp, v. 12). The fat does not merely burn — it ascends as a gift.
הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חָהon the altarart + N m sg abs + directional הָ · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Adverbial accusative of place (directional he) — 'altar-ward'מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar' with the directional (locative) הָ־ suffix, literally 'to the altar'. The old accusative of motion survives here as a fixed cultic idiom: the fat is not merely burned at the altar but carried up onto it.
כְּחֵ֖לֶבlike the fat ofprep כְּ + N m sg constr · חֵלֶב (H2459)Comparative prepositional phrase; construct head governing זֶבַח הַשְּׁלָמִיםחֵלֶב (H2459) 'fat' with comparative כְּ, 'like the fat of'. The comparison is startling: the fat of a sin offering is handled exactly like the fat of a fellowship meal (3:3-5). Even in a rite born of guilt, part of the animal is still pure gift.
זֶ֣בַחthe sacrifice ofN m sg constr · זֶבַח (H2077)Genitive (nomen rectum) of חֵלֶב; construct head governing הַשְּׁלָמִיםזֶבַח (H2077) 'sacrifice, slaughtered offering', cognate with מִזְבֵּחַ; specifically an offering of which the worshipper eats. Only the שְׁלָמִים is a זֶבַח in this sense — the one sacrifice that ends in a shared meal.
הַשְּׁלָמִ֑יםthe well-being offeringart + N m pl abs · שֶׁלֶם (H8002)Genitive (nomen rectum) of זֶבַח — the sacrifice belonging to the well-being classשְׁלָמִים (H8002), plural of שֶׁלֶם, from שָׁלוֹם / שָׁלֵם 'to be whole, at peace'; the offering of well-being, wholeness, communion (ch. 3). That this chapter's grim rite borrows its fat-ritual is a quiet promise: purification is on its way back to peace.
וְכִפֶּ֨רand he shall make atonementconj וְ + Piel weqatal 3ms · כִּפֶּר (H3722)Predicate verb (weqatal chain) — the goal-formula of the case→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteכָּפַר (H3722), Piel כִּפֶּר 'to make atonement, purge, ransom'; whether the root means 'cover' or 'wipe clean', the effect is the removal of what stood between God and the sinner. The priest is the subject — atonement is something done for the man, never by him.
עָלָ֧יוfor himprep עַל + 3ms suffix · עַל (H5921)Prepositional phrase — the beneficiary of the atonementעַל (H5921) with the 3ms suffix; with כִּפֶּר the idiom is 'to make atonement on behalf of'. The singular is the point: earlier it was עֲלֵהֶם, 'for them' (v. 20), the whole congregation; now one man's guilt, one man's covering.
הַכֹּהֵ֛ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְכִפֶּרכֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; the subject stands after the prepositional phrase, the normal Hebrew order. Here, unlike vv. 3-12, the priest is not the guilty party but the mediator — and so the carcass need not be burned outside the camp.
מֵחַטָּאת֖וֹfrom his sinprep מִן + N f sg constr + 3ms suffix · חַטָּאת (H2403)Prepositional phrase — that from which atonement separates himחַטָּאת (H2403) 'sin' with מִן, 'from': atonement is made for him from his sin, i.e. it removes the sin from him. The preposition is spatial, and deliberately so — the sin is a thing to be taken away, not a debt merely cancelled on a ledger.
וְנִסְלַ֥חand he shall be forgivenconj וְ + Niphal weqatal 3ms · סָלַח (H5545)Predicate verb (weqatal chain) — the terminal clause of the case→ Weqatal (Niphal): the divine passive — forgiveness is granted, not achievedסָלַח (H5545) 'to forgive'; in the Hebrew Bible God alone is ever its subject. The Niphal here is a divine passive with no agent named: the rite has run its course, the priest has done all he can do, and the last word of the case is something only God can say.
לֽוֹhimprep לְ + 3ms suffix · לְPrepositional phrase — the one to whom forgiveness is grantedלְ with the 3ms suffix; the idiom נִסְלַח לוֹ is impersonal, 'it shall be forgiven to him'. Even in the grammar the man is a dative, a recipient: the one thing he cannot do for himself is done to him.
27
וְאִם נֶ֧פֶשׁ אַחַ֛ת תֶּחֱטָ֥א בִשְׁגָגָ֖ה מֵעַ֣ם הָאָ֑רֶץ בַּ֠עֲשֹׂתָהּ אַחַ֨ת מִמִּצְוֺ֧ת יְהוָ֛ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא תֵעָשֶׂ֖ינָה וְאָשֵֽׁם
And if any one person of the common people sins unintentionally by doing any one of the commandments of the LORD that ought not to be done, and incurs guilt—
The final and lowest case. נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת מֵעַם הָאָרֶץ — 'one single person from the people of the land' — is as far from the anointed priest as the chapter goes. The same verb, the same בִּשְׁגָגָה, the same guilt: the law's categories of rank change the cost of the remedy, never the reality of the sin.
Word-by-word analysis· 15 words
וְאִםand ifconj וְ + conj · אִם (H518)Conjunction introducing the protasis of the fourth caseאִם (H518) 'if'; the conditional particle that opens each new class of sinner (vv. 3, 13, 22, 27, 32). With וְ it moves the torah down one final rank — from the chief to the ordinary Israelite, the last and lowest case the chapter knows.
נֶ֧פֶשׁa personN (c) sg constr · נֶפֶשׁ (H5315)Subject of תֶּחֱטָאנֶפֶשׁ (H5315) 'living being, person, life', originally 'throat, appetite'. It is the plainest word the chapter could use — not priest, not elder, not chief, but simply a breathing human being. The same noun opened the whole torah in v. 2: the law began with a נֶפֶשׁ and ends with one.
אַחַ֛תonecardinal number f sg abs · אֶחָד (H259)Attributive numeral modifying נֶפֶשׁאֶחָד (H259) 'one', here feminine אַחַת agreeing with נֶפֶשׁ. The numeral is not counting but individuating: 'one single person'. Against the congregation of v. 13 and the chief of v. 22 stands one anonymous individual — and the law bends to him just the same.
תֶּחֱטָ֥אsinsQal impf 3fs · חָטָא (H2398)Predicate verb of the protasis→ Yiqtol: modal — the hypothetical case ('should such a person sin')חָטָא (H2398) 'to sin, miss the mark'; the feminine agrees with נֶפֶשׁ, not with the person's sex. It is the same verb used of the anointed priest (v. 3) and of the whole congregation (v. 13): rank changes the cost of the remedy, never the name of the offence.
בִשְׁגָגָ֖הinadvertentlyprep בְּ + N f sg abs · שְׁגָגָה (H7684)Prepositional phrase functioning adverbially (manner)שְׁגָגָה (H7684) 'inadvertence, error', from שָׁגַג 'to go astray, stray'. The qualification that governs the whole chapter: the sin is unintended, and yet it is real, defiling, and requires blood. High-handed sin (Num 15:30-31) has no remedy in this torah at all.
מֵעַ֣םfrom the people ofprep מִן + N m sg constr · עַם (H5971)Partitive prepositional phrase modifying נֶפֶשׁ; construct head governing הָאָרֶץעַם (H5971) 'people, kinsfolk'; with partitive מִן, 'one of the people'. The phrase reaches back over the whole verse to qualify the נֶפֶשׁ — this is a person drawn out of the common mass, with no office to distinguish him.
הָאָ֑רֶץthe landart + N (c) sg abs · אֶרֶץ (H776)Genitive (nomen rectum) of עַם — 'the people of the land'אֶרֶץ (H776) 'land, earth'; the fixed phrase עַם הָאָרֶץ, 'the people of the land', denotes the ordinary landholding citizenry — not yet the pejorative it became in later Judaism. This is as far from the anointed priest as the chapter travels, and the rite still runs.
בַּ֠עֲשֹׂתָהּby doingprep בְּ + Qal inf constr + 3fs suffix · עָשָׂה (H6213)Infinitive construct of means/circumstance ('in/by his doing')→ Infinitive construct: circumstantial — 'by doing / when she does'עָשָׂה (H6213) 'to do, make'; the infinitive construct with בְּ and a subject-suffix (3fs, agreeing with נֶפֶשׁ) forms the standard Hebrew temporal-circumstantial clause. It specifies exactly how the sin was committed: not by intending evil, but simply by doing a forbidden thing.
אַחַ֨תonecardinal number f sg abs · אֶחָד (H259)Direct object of the infinitive בַּעֲשֹׂתָהּ (substantival numeral)אֶחָד (H259) 'one', feminine אַחַת agreeing with the feminine plural מִצְוֺת. A single breach of a single commandment is enough — the law does not require a pattern of sin before it requires a sacrifice.
מִמִּצְוֺ֧תof the commandments ofprep מִן + N f pl constr · מִצְוָה (H4687)Partitive prepositional phrase governed by אַחַת; construct head governing יְהוָהמִצְוָה (H4687) 'commandment', from צִוָּה 'to command'; with partitive מִן, 'one of the commandments'. The clause is deliberately open-ended — the torah does not enumerate which prohibitions are in view, because any of them will do.
יְהוָ֛הthe LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מִצְוֺת — the commandments belonging to the LORDיְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name. The commandments are his, and so the offence — however small, however unintended — is against him and not merely against a code. That is why it takes blood, and not merely regret, to undo.
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhichrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a clause modifying מִצְוֺתאֲשֶׁר (H834), the relative; it heads the standing qualification of the whole chapter — 'which ought not to be done'. The sins in view are breaches of prohibition, sins of commission: the man did what he should not have done.
לֹאnotnegative particle · לֹא (H3808)Negative particle modifying תֵעָשֶׂינָהלֹא (H3808), the absolute negative; with the imperfect it expresses a permanent prohibition, as in the Decalogue's לֹא תִרְצָח. Here it defines the class of sin the chapter treats: things that must never be done, and were.
תֵעָשֶׂ֖ינָהare to be doneNiphal impf 3fp · עָשָׂה (H6213)Predicate verb of the relative clause (passive)→ Yiqtol (Niphal): modal/prohibitive — 'which must not be done'עָשָׂה (H6213) 'to do' in the Niphal passive, 3fp agreeing with מִצְוֺת. The passive is telling: the law does not say 'which you must not do' but 'which are not to be done' — the prohibition stands whether or not anyone is watching, and whether or not the doer knew.
וְאָשֵֽׁםand he incurs guiltconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · אָשֵׁם (H816)Predicate verb completing the protasis (weqatal)→ Weqatal: the consequence that follows from the act — guilt is incurredאָשֵׁם (H816) 'to be guilty, bear guilt, become liable'; not a feeling of guilt but a status before God. The verb closes the protasis with the chapter's hard doctrine: ignorance does not exempt. He did not know, and he is guilty all the same.
28
א֚וֹ הוֹדַ֣ע אֵלָ֔יו חַטָּאת֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָטָ֑א וְהֵבִ֨יא קָרְבָּנ֜וֹ שְׂעִירַ֤ת עִזִּים֙ תְּמִימָ֣ה נְקֵבָ֔ה עַל חַטָּאת֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָטָֽא
or if his sin that he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring as his offering a female goat, without blemish, for his sin that he has committed.
Parallel to v. 23, with the victim now a שְׂעִירַת עִזִּים — a female goat, the least costly animal so far. The doubled relative clause אֲשֶׁר חָטָא, framing the verse at both ends, keeps the offerer's own act in view: the offering is not generic piety but the answer to a specific sin.
Word-by-word analysis· 16 words
א֚וֹorconj · אוֹ (H176)Disjunctive conjunction introducing the alternative protasisאוֹ (H176) 'or'; as in v. 23, it adds the second condition to the first. Sin alone does not start the rite; sin plus knowledge does. Until the man is told, he is guilty but not yet an offerer.
הוֹדַ֣עis made knownHophal perf 3ms · יָדַע (H3045)Predicate verb of the alternative protasis (passive)→ Perfective (Hophal): passive — the sin 'is made known TO him'יָדַע (H3045) 'to know'; the Hophal הוֹדַע is the passive of the causative — 'to be caused to know', hence 'to be made known'. No agent is named. The commoner, like the chief before him (v. 23), does not discover his sin; it is disclosed to him, and the grammar keeps him passive throughout.
אֵלָ֔יוto himprep אֶל + 3ms suffix · אֶל (H413)Prepositional phrase — the one to whom the sin is made knownאֶל (H413) with the 3ms suffix, 'to him'. The man is the indirect object of the disclosure, never its subject: knowledge of his own sin arrives from outside himself.
חַטָּאת֖וֹhis sinN f sg constr + 3ms suffix · חַטָּאת (H2403)Subject of the passive הוֹדַעחַטָּאת (H2403); here the offence itself, though the same noun will name the animal in v. 29. The suffix makes it inalienably his — and it was his already, long before he knew of it.
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhichrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a clause modifying חַטָּאתוֹאֲשֶׁר (H834), the relative; the first of the verse's two identical relative clauses. The doubling frames the verse at both ends and keeps the man's own act in view — this is not generic piety but the answer to one specific sin.
חָטָ֑אhe committedQal perf 3ms · חָטָא (H2398)Predicate verb of the relative clause→ Perfective: the sin already committedחָטָא (H2398) 'to sin, miss the mark'; the perfect fixes the act firmly in the past — done, finished, and only now disclosed. The gap between this perfect and the Hophal before it is precisely the space this torah legislates for.
וְהֵבִ֨יאthen he shall bringconj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3ms · בּוֹא (H935)Predicate verb opening the apodosis (weqatal following the protasis)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the first mandated step of the rite (apodosis)בּוֹא (H935) 'to come'; the Hiphil הֵבִיא 'to bring'. The same verb has opened every case in the chapter (vv. 3, 14, 23). With it the apodosis begins and the guilty man finally moves — out of his guilt and toward the remedy.
קָרְבָּנ֜וֹhis offeringN m sg constr + 3ms suffix · קָרְבָּן (H7133)Direct object of וְהֵבִיא (unmarked — no אֵת here, unlike v. 23)קָרְבָּן (H7133) 'offering, oblation', from קָרַב 'to draw near'; literally 'that which is brought near'. The noun says what the thing does — it is the means by which a man who has strayed comes close again.
שְׂעִירַ֤תa female goat ofN f sg constr · שְׂעִירָה (H8166)Apposition to קָרְבָּנוֹ; construct head governing עִזִּיםשְׂעִירָה (H8166) 'she-goat', the feminine of שָׂעִיר, 'hairy one'. The descent is now complete: a bull for the priest and the congregation, a male goat for the chief, a female goat for the commoner — the least costly victim the chapter has yet named.
עִזִּים֙goatsN f pl abs · עֵז (H5795)Genitive (nomen rectum) of שְׂעִירַת — a genitive of speciesעֵז (H5795) 'goat'; the plural in construct forms a genitive of kind — 'a female of the goats', i.e. a she-goat. The idiom names a species, not a herd.
תְּמִימָ֣הwithout blemishadj f sg abs · תָּמִים (H8549)Attributive adjective modifying שְׂעִירַת — the qualifying condition of the victimתָּמִים (H8549) 'whole, sound, unblemished', from תָּמַם 'to be complete'; the same word describes Noah's moral integrity (Gen 6:9). The victim may be the cheapest in the chapter, but it may not be defective: the price scales with rank, and perfection never does.
נְקֵבָ֔הa femaleN f sg abs · נְקֵבָה (H5347)Apposition to שְׂעִירַת — specifying the sex of the victimנְקֵבָה (H5347) 'female', from נָקַב 'to pierce, bore'. Strictly redundant after שְׂעִירַת, which is already feminine, but the law states it outright, exactly as it stated זָכָר 'male' for the chief (v. 23). Sex, like species, tracks the offerer's rank.
עַלforprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition of cause/reference ('on account of')עַל (H5921) 'upon', here in its causal sense, 'on account of, for'. The offering is not brought in general devotion but is answerable to a particular sin — the preposition ties the animal to the offence.
חַטָּאת֖וֹhis sinN f sg constr + 3ms suffix · חַטָּאת (H2403)Object of עַל — the sin the offering answersחַטָּאת (H2403) 'sin'; the second occurrence in the verse, and the fourth time in two verses the man's own act is named. The repetition is not clumsiness but insistence: the rite is calibrated to a real offence, and the offerer is never allowed to forget which.
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhichrelative particle · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a clause modifying חַטָּאתוֹאֲשֶׁר (H834), the relative; the second of the verse's two identical relative clauses, closing the frame the first one opened. The verse begins and ends on the same three words: 'his sin which he committed'.
חָטָֽאhe committedQal perf 3ms · חָטָא (H2398)Predicate verb of the second relative clause→ Perfective: the sin already committedחָטָא (H2398) 'to sin'; the perfect again, closing the verse as it opened. Every step of the rite that follows — hand, knife, blood, fat — hangs on this one completed act, and the Hebrew will not let it out of sight.
29
וְסָמַךְ֙ אֶת יָד֔וֹ עַ֖ל רֹ֣אשׁ הַֽחַטָּ֑את וְשָׁחַט֙ אֶת הַ֣חַטָּ֔את בִּמְק֖וֹם הָעֹלָֽה
And he shall lay his hand on the head of the purification offering and slaughter the purification offering in the place of the burnt offering.
Note the metonymy: the animal is now simply called הַחַטָּאת, 'the sin/purification offering'. The one Hebrew noun carries both the offence and its remedy, and the text lets them merge — the sinner lays his hand on his own sin, and it is killed.
Word-by-word analysis· 11 words
וְסָמַךְ֙and he shall layconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · סָמַךְ (H5564)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteסָמַךְ (H5564) 'to lean, press'; the hand is pressed down with weight, not laid lightly. What he presses his hand upon is called, in the next words, simply 'the sin' — the gesture identifies him with the animal and the animal with his offence.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker (definite object)
יָד֔וֹhis handN (c) sg constr + 3ms suffix · יָד (H3027)Direct object of וְסָמַךְיָד (H3027) 'hand'; one hand, singular. Here the object is marked with אֵת (unlike v. 24), a small variation of style, not of substance. The commoner performs the identical gesture the chief performed: the rite of identification does not scale down.
עַ֖לonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition heading a locative phrase (the point of contact)עַל (H5921) 'upon'; it locates the pressure of the hand on the head, the animal's representative part, where the transfer of identity is enacted.
רֹ֣אשׁthe head ofN m sg constr · רֹאשׁ (H7218)Object of עַל; construct head governing הַחַטָּאתרֹאשׁ (H7218) 'head'; in the sacrificial rites the head stands for the whole living creature. Read with what follows, the construct chain is stark: 'the head of the sin'.
הַֽחַטָּ֑אתthe purification offeringart + N f sg abs · חַטָּאת (H2403)Genitive (nomen rectum) of רֹאשׁחַטָּאת (H2403); the animal is now named by no other word than the one that names the offence. One Hebrew noun carries both the sin and its remedy, and here the text lets them merge — the man lays his hand on the head of his own sin, and in the next clause it is killed.
וְשָׁחַט֙and he shall slaughterconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · שָׁחַט (H7819)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteשָׁחַט (H7819) 'to slaughter', the technical verb for cutting a victim's throat. The commoner, like the chief, kills his own offering; the priest's hands take over only at the blood.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker (definite object)
הַ֣חַטָּ֔אתthe purification offeringart + N f sg abs · חַטָּאת (H2403)Direct object of וְשָׁחַטחַטָּאת (H2403); the second occurrence in one verse, and the object of the knife. Rendered woodenly, the clause reads 'and he shall slaughter the sin' — the metonymy is exact, and it is the whole logic of the chapter in three words.
בִּמְק֖וֹםin the place ofprep בְּ + N m sg constr · מָקוֹם (H4725)Prepositional phrase (locative); construct head governing הָעֹלָהמָקוֹם (H4725) 'place', from קוּם 'to stand'. Where v. 24 spelled the site out in a relative clause ('the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered'), here it is compressed to a bare construct — the reader now knows the spot.
הָעֹלָֽהthe burnt offeringart + N f sg abs · עֹלָה (H5930)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מְקוֹם — 'the place of the burnt offering'עֹלָה (H5930) 'burnt offering', 'that which goes up'. The commoner's goat dies on the very ground where whole burnt offerings are killed: the poorest sinner's victim is given the same holy place as the costliest.
30
וְלָקַ֨ח הַכֹּהֵ֤ן מִדָּמָהּ֙ בְּאֶצְבָּע֔וֹ וְנָתַ֕ן עַל קַרְנֹ֖ת מִזְבַּ֣ח הָעֹלָ֑ה וְאֶת כָּל דָּמָ֣הּ יִשְׁפֹּ֔ךְ אֶל יְס֖וֹד הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ
And the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.
Identical in substance to the ruler's rite (v. 25): the commoner's blood goes exactly where the ruler's goes. Rank determines the price of the animal, not the quality of the access.
Word-by-word analysis· 16 words
וְלָקַ֨חand he shall takeconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · לָקַח (H3947)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteלָקַח (H3947) 'to take, fetch'; the priest takes the blood only after the offerer has killed the animal. From here on the rite is out of the sinner's hands entirely.
הַכֹּהֵ֤ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְלָקַחכֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; the same officiant, the same hands, whether the blood is a bull's or a goat's. The commoner's offering is handled by the priesthood exactly as the ruler's was.
מִדָּמָהּ֙some of its bloodprep מִן + N m sg constr + 3fs suffix · דָּם (H1818)Prepositional phrase (partitive) — object of וְלָקַחדָּם (H1818) 'blood'; the מִן is partitive — only 'some of' the blood is daubed, the rest is poured out. The 3fs suffix looks back to the she-goat: it is her life that is now handled by the priest.
בְּאֶצְבָּע֔וֹwith his fingerprep בְּ + N f sg constr + 3ms suffix · אֶצְבַּע (H676)Prepositional phrase (instrumental)אֶצְבַּע (H676) 'finger'; the instrumental בְּ. At the outer altar there is no sprinkling seven times before the veil (vv. 6, 17) — one finger, one touch. The gesture is smaller than the high priest's; it is not less effective.
וְנָתַ֕ןand he shall put itconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · נָתַן (H5414)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteנָתַן (H5414) 'to give, put, set'; here 'daub, apply'. The blood is not thrown but placed — a deliberate, located act of contact between the life of the victim and the horns of the altar.
עַלonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition heading a locative phraseעַל (H5921) 'upon'; it fixes the destination of the blood — not the incense altar within, but the horns of the altar in the court.
קַרְנֹ֖תthe horns ofN (c) pl constr · קֶרֶן (H7161)Object of עַל; construct head governing מִזְבַּחקֶרֶן (H7161) 'horn'; the four projections at the altar's corners, the point of highest sanctity on it and the place a fugitive grasps for asylum (1 Kgs 1:50). The commoner's blood reaches them just as the ruler's did.
מִזְבַּ֣חthe altar ofN m sg constr · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Genitive (nomen rectum) of קַרְנֹת; construct head governing הָעֹלָהמִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar', literally 'place of slaughter', from זָבַח. The bronze altar in the court — not the golden altar inside the tent, which only the priest's and the congregation's blood reached (vv. 7, 18).
הָעֹלָ֑הthe burnt offeringart + N f sg abs · עֹלָה (H5930)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מִזְבַּח — 'the altar of burnt offering'עֹלָה (H5930) 'burnt offering', 'that which goes up'. The altar is named after the offering that stands on it perpetually; the commoner's purification blood is placed on the horns of that everyday altar in the open court.
וְאֶתand [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker (fronted object)וְ joins the final clause; אֵת marks 'all its blood' as the definite object, thrown forward before the verb for contrast — the daubed blood, and then all the rest.
כָּלallN m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Construct head governing דָּמָהּ — quantifier over the fronted objectכֹּל (H3605) 'all, the whole of'; in construct it quantifies what follows. Nothing of the blood is kept back or put to common use: what is not daubed is poured out at the altar's base.
דָּמָ֣הּits bloodN m sg constr + 3fs suffix · דָּם (H1818)Fronted direct object (topicalised) of יִשְׁפֹּךְדָּם (H1818) 'blood'; the life of the creature (17:11). Because it is life, it may not be spilled anywhere — it is returned at the foot of the altar, poured out to God.
יִשְׁפֹּ֔ךְhe shall pour outQal impf 3ms · שָׁפַךְ (H8210)Predicate verb (clause with fronted object)→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneשָׁפַךְ (H8210) 'to pour out, spill'; used of shedding blood in violence and, as here, of the ritual return of blood to God. The weqatal chain breaks for a yiqtol because the object stands first.
אֶלatprep · אֶל (H413)Preposition heading a locative phrase (goal)אֶל (H413) 'to, toward'; a preposition of direction, here the goal of the pouring — the blood runs down to the altar's foot and no further.
יְס֖וֹדthe base ofN m sg constr · יְסוֹד (H3247)Object of אֶל; construct head governing הַמִּזְבֵּחַיְסוֹד (H3247) 'foundation, base', from יָסַד 'to found'; the ledge at the altar's foot. Horns above, base below: the blood touches the altar at its highest and lowest point, and the whole structure stands between.
הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַthe altarart + N m sg abs · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Genitive (nomen rectum) of יְסוֹד — 'the base of the altar'מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar'; the definite article points back to the altar of burnt offering just named. The commoner's blood ends exactly where the ruler's ended (v. 25) — the rite is identical, only the animal is cheaper.
31
וְאֶת כָּל חֶלְבָּ֣הּ יָסִ֗יר כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר הוּסַ֣ר חֵלֶב֮ מֵעַ֣ל זֶ֣בַח הַשְּׁלָמִים֒ וְהִקְטִ֤יר הַכֹּהֵן֙ הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חָה לְרֵ֥יחַ נִיחֹ֖חַ לַיהוָ֑ה וְכִפֶּ֥ר עָלָ֛יו הַכֹּהֵ֖ן וְנִסְלַ֥ח לֽוֹ
And all its fat he shall remove, just as the fat is removed from the sacrifice of well-being, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.
The theological high point of the chapter. Only here, in the case of the poorest and lowliest sinner, does the purification offering receive the phrase לְרֵיחַ נִיחֹחַ לַיהוָה — the language of the freewill offerings of chs. 1-3. The commoner's goat is as fragrant to God as the priest's bull, and the chapter's formula וְנִסְלַח לוֹ follows at once.
Word-by-word analysis· 21 words
וְאֶתand [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker (fronted object)וְ opens the verse; אֵת marks 'all its fat' as the definite object, placed before its verb — the fat is the topic of everything that follows.
כָּלallN m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Construct head governing חֶלְבָּהּ — quantifier over the fronted objectכֹּל (H3605) 'all, the whole of'; every part of the fat, none held back. The fat is God's portion by standing law (3:16-17), and the commoner keeps none of it.
חֶלְבָּ֣הּits fatN m sg constr + 3fs suffix · חֵלֶב (H2459)Fronted direct object (topicalised) of יָסִירחֵלֶב (H2459) 'fat', the suet around the entrails and organs — the richest part, and by law never eaten (3:17). Metaphorically Hebrew uses חֵלֶב for 'the best' of anything; what is offered to God is the choicest of the beast.
יָסִ֗ירhe shall removeHiphil impf 3ms · סוּר (H5493)Predicate verb (clause with fronted object)→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneסוּר (H5493) in Hiphil 'to take away, remove'; the Qal is 'turn aside'. The same verb will recur at once as a Hophal passive (הוּסַר) — what the offerer does here is precisely what 'is done' to the well-being offering.
כַּאֲשֶׁ֨רjust asprep כְּ + relative · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Comparative clause (כַּאֲשֶׁר)כַּאֲשֶׁר, the preposition כְּ 'like' fused with the relative אֲשֶׁר: 'just as, exactly as'. It is the hinge of the verse — the handling of the sinner's fat is measured against the handling of the freewill offering of well-being.
הוּסַ֣רis removedHophal perf 3ms · סוּר (H5493)Predicate verb of the comparative clause→ Passive: 'just as the fat IS removed' — cross-reference to the well-being offeringסוּר (H5493), Hophal (passive of Hiphil): 'it is taken away'. The agentless passive states the practice as settled custom, and by it the sinner's rite is joined to the joyful שְׁלָמִים of ch. 3 — the fat of a guilty man's goat is handled exactly like the fat of a glad man's peace offering.
חֵלֶב֮fatN m sg abs · חֵלֶב (H2459)Subject of הוּסַר (passive)חֵלֶב (H2459) 'fat'; absolute and undetermined — 'fat' as a class, whatever fat is removed in that rite. The comparison is with a practice, not a particular carcass.
מֵעַ֣לfrom uponprep מִן + prep עַל · מֵעַל (H5921)Compound preposition heading a separative phraseמֵעַל, מִן 'from' compounded with עַל 'upon' — 'off, away from atop'. It pictures the fat being lifted clear off the body of the sacrifice.
זֶ֣בַחthe sacrifice ofN m sg constr · זֶבַח (H2077)Object of מֵעַל; construct head governing הַשְּׁלָמִיםזֶבַח (H2077) 'sacrifice, slaughtered victim', from זָבַח — the noun behind מִזְבֵּחַ 'altar'. It is the offering whose meat is eaten in a shared meal; here it names the standard against which the sinner's rite is measured.
הַשְּׁלָמִים֒the well-being offeringart + N m pl abs · שְׁלָמִים (H8002)Genitive (nomen rectum) of זֶבַח — 'the sacrifice of well-being'שְׁלָמִים (H8002), plural of intensity from the root שׁלם 'to be whole, at peace'; the offering of ch. 3, brought in gladness and eaten in company. To invoke it here is to say that the guilty man's goat is treated at the altar like an offering of thanksgiving.
וְהִקְטִ֤ירand he shall burn (into smoke)conj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3ms · קָטַר (H6999)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteקָטַר (H6999) in Hiphil 'to turn into smoke, send up in smoke' — not שָׂרַף 'to burn up, incinerate' (used of the refuse outside the camp, v. 12). This is not destruction but transformation: the fat rises as fragrance.
הַכֹּהֵן֙the priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְהִקְטִירכֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; the offerer removes the fat, the priest sends it up. The two hands together make the one rite, and neither can do the other's part.
הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חָהon the altarart + N m sg abs + directional ה · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Adverbial accusative of place (directional he)מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar' with the directional ending ־ָה ('altar-ward'), a locative rather than a strict preposition. The fat is carried up onto the altar and left there to smoke.
לְרֵ֥יחַas an aroma ofprep לְ + N m sg constr · רֵיחַ (H7381)Purpose/result prepositional phrase; construct head governing נִיחֹחַרֵיחַ (H7381) 'smell, scent', from רוּחַ 'breath, wind' — what rises and is breathed in. The לְ is one of purpose or result: the smoke goes up in order to be smelled. This whole phrase belongs to the freewill offerings of chs. 1-3, and in the entire torah of the חַטָּאת it appears ONLY here — in the case of the poorest and lowliest sinner. The commoner's goat is as fragrant to God as the priest's bull.
נִיחֹ֖חַpleasingN m sg abs · נִיחֹחַ (H5207)Genitive (nomen rectum) of רֵיחַ — 'a pleasing aroma'נִיחֹחַ (H5207) 'soothing, restful, pleasing', from נוּחַ 'to rest, settle' — the aroma at which God's anger settles and is at rest (cf. Gen 8:21, the first use, after the flood). That the word is spoken over a sinner's she-goat is the point of the chapter: the offering brought for guilt does not merely satisfy a requirement, it delights God.
לַיהוָ֑הto the LORDprep לְ + proper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Prepositional phrase (indirect object — the one for whom the aroma is pleasing)יְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name. The last word of the phrase names the one who smells: the smoke of a poor man's goat rises and is pleasing to the LORD himself, not to the priest, not to the altar.
וְכִפֶּ֥רand he shall make atonementconj וְ + Piel weqatal 3ms · כִּפֶּר (H3722)Predicate verb (weqatal chain) — the result of the rite→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteכִּפֶּר (H3722), Piel, 'to make atonement, purge, ransom'; cognate with Akkadian kuppuru 'to wipe clean' and related to כֹּפֶר 'ransom price'. The priest is the subject and the rite is his work — but the verb stops short of forgiveness, which the next word will hand to God alone.
עָלָ֛יוfor himprep עַל + 3ms suffix · עַל (H5921)Prepositional phrase (beneficiary of the atonement)עַל (H5921) with the 3ms suffix: 'on his behalf, on account of him'. The atonement is not made in the abstract but for one named man — the anonymous commoner of v. 27.
הַכֹּהֵ֖ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְכִפֶּר (postposed)כֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; named again as the subject of the atoning act, and named for the last time before the verb that has no human subject at all.
וְנִסְלַ֥חand he shall be forgivenconj וְ + Niphal weqatal 3ms · סָלַח (H5545)Predicate verb (weqatal) — the divine passive that closes the case→ Weqatal (Niphal): the divine passive — forgiveness is granted, not achievedסָלַח (H5545) 'to forgive, pardon' — a verb whose subject in the Qal is never anyone but God. Here it is Niphal and agentless: the priest 'makes atonement', but no one is said to forgive. The rite is fully human; the forgiveness is entirely God's.
לֽוֹhimprep לְ + 3ms suffix · לְ (H3807a)Prepositional phrase (dative of advantage) — 'it shall be forgiven to him'לְ with the 3ms suffix; the Niphal of סָלַח is construed impersonally, 'and it shall be forgiven to him'. The last word of the case is the sinner, and what he receives he does nothing to obtain.
32
וְאִם כֶּ֛בֶשׂ יָבִ֥יא קָרְבָּנ֖וֹ לְחַטָּ֑את נְקֵבָ֥ה תְמִימָ֖ה יְבִיאֶֽנָּה
And if he brings a lamb as his offering for a purification offering, he shall bring a female without blemish.
A final וְאִם opens not a fifth rank of sinner but an alternative animal for the same commoner: a כֶּבֶשׂ, a lamb, instead of the goat. The requirement is unchanged — נְקֵבָה תְמִימָה, a female without blemish. Provision is made for what a man actually has.
Word-by-word analysis· 8 words
וְאִםand ifconj וְ + conj · אִם (H518)Protasis marker (conditional)אִם (H518) 'if'; the particle that has opened each new case in this chapter. Here it introduces not a fifth rank of sinner but an alternative victim for the same commoner — provision is made for what a man actually owns.
כֶּ֛בֶשׂa lambN m sg abs · כֶּבֶשׂ (H3532)Fronted direct object (topicalised) of יָבִיאכֶּבֶשׂ (H3532) 'lamb, young ram'; in v. 35 the same animal appears as כֶּשֶׂב (H3775), the identical consonants by metathesis — Hebrew keeps both forms. Fronted here because the lamb is the whole novelty of the sub-case.
יָבִ֥יאhe bringsHiphil impf 3ms · בּוֹא (H935)Predicate verb of the protasis→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneבּוֹא (H935) 'to come, go'; Hiphil 'to bring, cause to come'. The offerer brings the animal in — the first movement of every sacrifice is a man walking toward God with something in his hands.
קָרְבָּנ֖וֹas his offeringN m sg constr + 3ms suffix · קָרְבָּן (H7133)Adverbial accusative (predicative — 'as his offering')קָרְבָּן (H7133) 'offering', from קָרַב 'to draw near' — literally 'that which is brought near'. The noun names the sacrifice by what it accomplishes: it is the thing by which a man approaches.
לְחַטָּ֑אתfor a purification offeringprep לְ + N f sg abs · חַטָּאת (H2403)Purpose prepositional phraseחַטָּאת (H2403), the one noun that names both the offence and its remedy. The לְ is of purpose: the lamb is brought 'for sin' — that is, to deal with it.
נְקֵבָ֥הa femaleN f sg abs · נְקֵבָה (H5347)Fronted direct object (topicalised) of יְבִיאֶנָּהנְקֵבָה (H5347) 'female'; the commoner's victim is female whether goat (v. 28) or lamb — lower in value than the male of the ruler's offering, but the requirement of a female is unchanged when the species changes.
תְמִימָ֖הwithout blemishadj f sg abs · תָּמִים (H8549)Attributive adjective modifying נְקֵבָהתָּמִים (H8549) 'whole, sound, unblemished', from תָּמַם 'to be complete'; used of moral integrity as well as of animals (Noah was תָּמִים, Gen 6:9). The price may fall with the offerer's means, but the quality never does: nothing defective is ever offered for sin.
יְבִיאֶֽנָּהhe shall bring itHiphil impf 3ms + 3fs suffix · בּוֹא (H935)Predicate verb of the apodosis (clause with fronted object)→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneבּוֹא (H935) Hiphil 'to bring', with the 3fs object suffix resuming נְקֵבָה. The verb of the protasis is repeated in the apodosis — 'if he brings … he shall bring her' — a Hebrew idiom of specification: whatever he brings, this is what it must be.
33
וְסָמַךְ֙ אֶת יָד֔וֹ עַ֖ל רֹ֣אשׁ הַֽחַטָּ֑את וְשָׁחַ֤ט אֹתָהּ֙ לְחַטָּ֔את בִּמְק֕וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִשְׁחַ֖ט אֶת הָעֹלָֽה
And he shall lay his hand on the head of the purification offering and slaughter it as a purification offering in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered.
The rite of v. 29 repeated for the lamb, with the added לְחַטָּאת making the purpose explicit. The near-verbatim repetition is the point: changing the animal changes nothing about how the sin is dealt with.
Word-by-word analysis· 14 words
וְסָמַךְ֙and he shall layconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · סָמַךְ (H5564)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteסָמַךְ (H5564) 'to lean, press with weight'. The gesture of v. 29 repeated word for word for the lamb: changing the animal changes nothing about how the sinner must identify himself with it.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker (definite object)
יָד֔וֹhis handN (c) sg constr + 3ms suffix · יָד (H3027)Direct object of וְסָמַךְיָד (H3027) 'hand'; singular — one hand, pressed down. The offerer's own hand, not the priest's: no one can make this identification on another man's behalf.
עַ֖לonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition heading a locative phrase (the point of contact)עַל (H5921) 'upon'; it locates the hand's pressure on the head — the place where the transfer of identity between man and victim is enacted.
רֹ֣אשׁthe head ofN m sg constr · רֹאשׁ (H7218)Object of עַל; construct head governing הַחַטָּאתרֹאשׁ (H7218) 'head'; the representative part standing for the whole living creature. Woodenly the construct chain reads again 'the head of the sin'.
הַֽחַטָּ֑אתthe purification offeringart + N f sg abs · חַטָּאת (H2403)Genitive (nomen rectum) of רֹאשׁחַטָּאת (H2403); as in v. 29 the animal is called by no name but the name of the offence. Whether goat or lamb, once the hand is on its head it is simply 'the sin'.
וְשָׁחַ֤טand he shall slaughterconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · שָׁחַט (H7819)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteשָׁחַט (H7819) 'to slaughter', the technical verb for cutting a victim's throat. The offerer kills what he has just laid his hand on: he does not delegate the death of his own sin.
אֹתָהּ֙itobj marker + 3fs suffix · אֵת (H853)Direct object of וְשָׁחַט (obj-marker with pronominal suffix)אֵת (H853) with the 3fs suffix, 'her' — the object marker carries the pronoun itself. The feminine resumes נְקֵבָה: the female lamb of v. 32.
לְחַטָּ֔אתas a purification offeringprep לְ + N f sg abs · חַטָּאת (H2403)Purpose prepositional phrase (predicative — 'as a purification offering')חַטָּאת (H2403) with לְ of purpose. The addition (absent in v. 29) makes the intent explicit: this lamb dies not as any sacrifice but specifically 'for sin'. The identity of the offering is fixed by intention, not by species.
בִּמְק֕וֹםin the placeprep בְּ + N m sg constr · מָקוֹם (H4725)Prepositional phrase (locative); head of the following relative clauseמָקוֹם (H4725) 'place', from קוּם 'to stand'. Where v. 29 compressed the site to a bare construct, here the fuller relative clause of v. 24 returns — 'the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered', north of the altar.
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhererelative · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a locative relative clauseאֲשֶׁר (H834), the all-purpose relative; with a place-word antecedent it is rendered 'where'. It ties the lamb's death to a fixed spot in the court — the sinner's victim falls on holy ground.
יִשְׁחַ֖טone slaughtersQal impf 3ms · שָׁחַט (H7819)Predicate verb of the relative clause (impersonal)→ Yiqtol: modal/habitual — the customary practice of the sanctuaryשָׁחַט (H7819); the 3ms is impersonal, 'where one slaughters / where the burnt offering is slaughtered'. The yiqtol describes settled custom, not a single act — the site is defined by what is habitually done there.
אֶת[obj]obj marker · אֵת (H853)Direct-object marker (definite object)
הָעֹלָֽהthe burnt offeringart + N f sg abs · עֹלָה (H5930)Direct object of יִשְׁחַטעֹלָה (H5930) 'burnt offering', 'that which goes up'. The lamb of the poorest sinner is killed on the very ground where whole burnt offerings are killed — the ordinary man's victim is given the same holy place as the costliest.
34
וְלָקַ֨ח הַכֹּהֵ֜ן מִדַּ֤ם הַֽחַטָּאת֙ בְּאֶצְבָּע֔וֹ וְנָתַ֕ן עַל קַרְנֹ֖ת מִזְבַּ֣ח הָעֹלָ֑ה וְאֶת כָּל דָּמָ֣הּ יִשְׁפֹּ֔ךְ אֶל יְס֖וֹד הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ
And the priest shall take some of the blood of the purification offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.
Word for word the rite of v. 30. Leviticus does not economise here, because the liturgy is meant to be performed, not merely read: the officiant needs the whole sequence spelled out for each victim.
Word-by-word analysis· 17 words
וְלָקַ֨חand he shall takeconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · לָקַח (H3947)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteלָקַח (H3947) 'to take'; the blood passes from the offerer's knife to the priest's finger. Leviticus repeats the sequence in full for the lamb rather than abbreviating it, because the liturgy is meant to be performed, not merely read.
הַכֹּהֵ֜ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְלָקַחכֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; the mediator, whose hands take over at the blood. His office does not change with the value of the animal placed in them.
מִדַּ֤םsome of the blood ofprep מִן + N m sg constr · דָּם (H1818)Prepositional phrase (partitive); construct head governing הַחַטָּאתדָּם (H1818) 'blood', with partitive מִן — only a portion is daubed. Here the construct names the source, 'the blood of the purification offering', where v. 30 had the plain suffix 'its blood'.
הַֽחַטָּאת֙the purification offeringart + N f sg abs · חַטָּאת (H2403)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מִדַּם — 'the blood of the purification offering'חַטָּאת (H2403); read woodenly, the priest takes 'some of the blood of the sin' — the one noun again holding together the offence and the offering that answers it.
בְּאֶצְבָּע֔וֹwith his fingerprep בְּ + N f sg constr + 3ms suffix · אֶצְבַּע (H676)Prepositional phrase (instrumental)אֶצְבַּע (H676) 'finger', with instrumental בְּ. One finger, one touch — the smallest of the chapter's gestures, and the one repeated for every rank alike.
וְנָתַ֕ןand he shall put itconj וְ + Qal weqatal 3ms · נָתַן (H5414)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteנָתַן (H5414) 'to give, put, place'; here 'daub'. The blood is placed, not flung — a deliberate act of contact between the victim's life and the horns of the altar.
עַלonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition heading a locative phraseעַל (H5921) 'upon'; the destination of the blood — the horns of the altar in the open court, not the altar within the tent.
קַרְנֹ֖תthe horns ofN (c) pl constr · קֶרֶן (H7161)Object of עַל; construct head governing מִזְבַּחקֶרֶן (H7161) 'horn'; the four projections at the altar's corners, its holiest points. The lamb's blood reaches them exactly as the goat's did — the species of the victim buys no more and no less access.
מִזְבַּ֣חthe altar ofN m sg constr · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Genitive (nomen rectum) of קַרְנֹת; construct head governing הָעֹלָהמִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar', literally 'place of slaughter', from זָבַח. The bronze altar in the court, where the blood of the two lower ranks is applied.
הָעֹלָ֑הthe burnt offeringart + N f sg abs · עֹלָה (H5930)Genitive (nomen rectum) of מִזְבַּח — 'the altar of burnt offering'עֹלָה (H5930) 'burnt offering'; the altar takes its name from the offering that burns on it continually. The purification blood is applied to that everyday altar, in the court where any Israelite may stand.
וְאֶתand [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker (fronted object)וְ opens the closing clause; אֵת marks 'all its blood' as the definite object, set before its verb — the daubed blood, and now all the rest.
כָּלallN m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Construct head governing דָּמָהּ — quantifier over the fronted objectכֹּל (H3605) 'all, the whole of'; nothing of the blood is withheld or put to common use. What is not daubed on the horns is poured out at the base.
דָּמָ֣הּits bloodN m sg constr + 3fs suffix · דָּם (H1818)Fronted direct object (topicalised) of יִשְׁפֹּךְדָּם (H1818) 'blood', the life of the creature (17:11). Because it is life it cannot be spilled anywhere at all: it goes back to God at the foot of his altar.
יִשְׁפֹּ֔ךְhe shall pour outQal impf 3ms · שָׁפַךְ (H8210)Predicate verb (clause with fronted object)→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneשָׁפַךְ (H8210) 'to pour out, spill'; the verb of bloodshed, turned here into an act of worship. The weqatal chain gives way to a yiqtol because the object stands first in the clause.
אֶלatprep · אֶל (H413)Preposition heading a locative phrase (goal)אֶל (H413) 'to, toward'; the goal of the pouring. The blood runs down to the altar's foot and no further — even the remainder has a consecrated destination.
יְס֖וֹדthe base ofN m sg constr · יְסוֹד (H3247)Object of אֶל; construct head governing הַמִּזְבֵּחַיְסוֹד (H3247) 'foundation, base', from יָסַד 'to found'; the ledge at the altar's foot. Horns above and base below: the blood touches the altar at its highest point and its lowest.
הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַthe altarart + N m sg abs · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Genitive (nomen rectum) of יְסוֹד — 'the base of the altar'מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar'; the article points back to the altar of burnt offering just named. The lamb's blood ends where the goat's ended (v. 30), the rite unaltered by the change of victim.
35
וְאֶת כָּל חֶלְבָּ֣ה יָסִ֗יר כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר יוּסַ֥ר חֵֽלֶב הַכֶּשֶׂב֮ מִזֶּ֣בַח הַשְּׁלָמִים֒ וְהִקְטִ֨יר הַכֹּהֵ֤ן אֹתָם֙ הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חָה עַ֖ל אִשֵּׁ֣י יְהוָ֑ה וְכִפֶּ֨ר עָלָ֧יו הַכֹּהֵ֛ן עַל חַטָּאת֥וֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָ֖א וְנִסְלַ֥ח לֽוֹ
And all its fat he shall remove, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of well-being, and the priest shall burn them on the altar, on the fire offerings of the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven.
The chapter ends where every case has ended: וְכִפֶּר … וְנִסְלַח לוֹ. The last word of the torah of the חַטָּאת is not a demand but a gift, and it is passive — no one, priest or offerer, forgives. The rite is fully human; the forgiveness is entirely God's.
Word-by-word analysis· 26 words
וְאֶתand [obj]conj וְ + obj marker · אֵת (H853)Conjunction + direct-object marker (fronted object)וְ opens the chapter's last verse; אֵת marks 'all its fat' as the definite object, placed before its verb — the fat is the topic of everything that remains.
כָּלallN m sg constr · כֹּל (H3605)Construct head governing חֶלְבָּה — quantifier over the fronted objectכֹּל (H3605) 'all, the whole of'; every part of the fat, none of it kept. The fat is God's portion by perpetual statute (3:16-17), and the poorest offerer keeps back no more of it than the richest.
חֶלְבָּ֣הits fatN m sg constr + 3fs suffix · חֵלֶב (H2459)Fronted direct object (topicalised) of יָסִירחֵלֶב (H2459) 'fat', the suet of the entrails — the richest part of the animal, never eaten. Hebrew uses חֵלֶב figuratively for 'the best' of anything: what goes up in smoke is the choicest of the beast, and it is given away.
יָסִ֗ירhe shall removeHiphil impf 3ms · סוּר (H5493)Predicate verb (clause with fronted object)→ Yiqtol: modal/prescriptive — what shall be doneסוּר (H5493) in Hiphil 'to take away, remove'. The active verb here is answered at once by its passive (יוּסַר) in the comparative clause — what the offerer does to the lamb is what 'is done' to the well-being offering.
כַּאֲשֶׁ֨רjust asprep כְּ + relative · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Comparative clause (כַּאֲשֶׁר)כַּאֲשֶׁר, כְּ 'like' fused with the relative אֲשֶׁר: 'just as, exactly as'. As in v. 31 it measures the sinner's rite against the freewill offering of well-being — the standard of comparison is always the glad offering, never a lesser one.
יוּסַ֥רis removedHophal impf 3ms · סוּר (H5493)Predicate verb of the comparative clause→ Passive: 'just as the fat IS removed' — cross-reference to the well-being offeringסוּר (H5493), Hophal (passive of Hiphil): 'it is taken away'. Where v. 31 used the perfect (הוּסַר), here the imperfect states the practice as standing custom. Agentless, it quietly binds the guilty man's lamb to the joyful שְׁלָמִים: his fat is handled precisely as a thanksgiving offering's is.
חֵֽלֶבthe fat ofN m sg constr · חֵלֶב (H2459)Subject of יוּסַר (passive); construct head governing הַכֶּשֶׂבחֵלֶב (H2459) 'fat'; in construct here, 'the fat of the lamb' — where v. 31 had the bare absolute. The comparison is drawn tighter: not fat in general, but a lamb's fat, matched against a lamb's fat.
הַכֶּשֶׂב֮the lambart + N m sg abs · כֶּשֶׂב (H3775)Genitive (nomen rectum) of חֵלֶב — 'the fat of the lamb'כֶּשֶׂב (H3775) 'lamb' — the same animal as כֶּבֶשׂ (H3532) in v. 32, the identical consonants transposed by metathesis; Hebrew keeps both forms and Leviticus uses both within four verses. The variation is orthographic, not substantive.
מִזֶּ֣בַחfrom the sacrifice ofprep מִן + N m sg constr · זֶבַח (H2077)Prepositional phrase (separative); construct head governing הַשְּׁלָמִיםזֶבַח (H2077) 'sacrifice, slaughtered victim', from זָבַח — the noun behind מִזְבֵּחַ 'altar'. Here plain מִן, where v. 31 had the compound מֵעַל: the same idea of removal, told more briefly the second time.
הַשְּׁלָמִים֒the well-being offeringart + N m pl abs · שְׁלָמִים (H8002)Genitive (nomen rectum) of זֶבַח — 'the sacrifice of well-being'שְׁלָמִים (H8002), a plural of intensity from שׁלם 'to be whole, at peace'; the offering of ch. 3, brought freely and eaten in company. Named a second time in five verses, it keeps the sinner's rite anchored to the offering of gladness.
וְהִקְטִ֨ירand he shall burn (into smoke)conj וְ + Hiphil weqatal 3ms · קָטַר (H6999)Predicate verb (weqatal chain)→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteקָטַר (H6999) Hiphil 'to turn into smoke, send up in smoke' — deliberately not שָׂרַף 'to incinerate', the verb used of the refuse burned outside the camp (v. 12). This is not disposal but ascent: the fat is transformed into fragrance and given to God.
הַכֹּהֵ֤ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְהִקְטִירכֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; the offerer removes the fat, the priest sends it up in smoke. The division of labour is unvarying through all four cases of the chapter.
אֹתָם֙themobj marker + 3mp suffix · אֵת (H853)Direct object of וְהִקְטִיר (obj-marker with pronominal suffix)אֵת (H853) with the 3mp suffix, 'them' — the object marker carrying the pronoun itself. The plural gathers up the several portions of fat named in the pattern of ch. 3: the suet, the kidneys, the lobe of the liver.
הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חָהon the altarart + N m sg abs + directional ה · מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196)Adverbial accusative of place (directional he)מִזְבֵּחַ (H4196) 'altar' with the directional ending ־ָה, 'altar-ward'. The portions are carried up onto the altar and laid there to smoke.
עַ֖לonprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition heading a locative phraseעַל (H5921) 'upon, atop'; it places the fat physically on top of what is already burning on the altar — the sinner's portion is laid onto the LORD's ongoing fires.
אִשֵּׁ֣יthe fire offerings ofN m pl constr · אִשֶּׁה (H801)Object of עַל; construct head governing יְהוָהאִשֶּׁה (H801) 'fire offering, offering made by fire', related to אֵשׁ 'fire'. The plural construct is striking: the commoner's fat is burned atop the LORD's own standing fires, laid among all the other gifts already going up. His lamb joins the whole worship of Israel.
יְהוָ֑הthe LORDproper noun · יְהוָה (H3068)Genitive (nomen rectum) of אִשֵּׁי — 'the fire offerings of the LORD'יְהוָה (H3068), the covenant name. The fires belong to him: they are not the altar's, nor the priesthood's. Everything burned there is already his, and the commoner's fat is added to what is his.
וְכִפֶּ֨רand he shall make atonementconj וְ + Piel weqatal 3ms · כִּפֶּר (H3722)Predicate verb (weqatal chain) — the result of the rite→ Weqatal: prescriptive — the next mandated step of the riteכִּפֶּר (H3722), Piel, 'to make atonement, purge, wipe clean, ransom'; cognate with Akkadian kuppuru 'to wipe' and akin to כֹּפֶר 'ransom'. For the last time in the chapter the priest is the subject — and for the last time the verb stops short of forgiveness, which belongs to another.
עָלָ֧יוfor himprep עַל + 3ms suffix · עַל (H5921)Prepositional phrase (beneficiary of the atonement)עַל (H5921) with 3ms suffix: 'on his behalf, on account of him'. Atonement is never made in the abstract — always for a man, and here for the last and lowliest of the four, the ordinary Israelite who did not even know he had sinned.
הַכֹּהֵ֛ןthe priestart + N m sg abs · כֹּהֵן (H3548)Subject of וְכִפֶּר (postposed)כֹּהֵן (H3548) 'priest'; the last human agent named in the chapter. After him the only verb left is one with no subject at all.
עַלforprep · עַל (H5921)Preposition heading a causal phrase (the ground of the atonement)עַל (H5921) 'on account of, concerning'; it names not the person now but the offence — atonement is made 'for his sin'. The rite is directed at something real and specific, never at a vague unease.
חַטָּאת֥וֹhis sinN f sg constr + 3ms suffix · חַטָּאת (H2403)Object of עַל (the offence atoned for)חַטָּאת (H2403); the same noun that has named the animal throughout now names the offence again, and with a possessive suffix — 'his sin', owned, not disowned. Root חטא, 'to miss the mark'. The offering and the offence bear one name to the very end.
אֲשֶׁרthatrelative · אֲשֶׁר (H834)Relative particle introducing a relative clause modifying חַטָּאתוֹאֲשֶׁר (H834), the relative particle. It attaches the deed to the man: not sin in the abstract, but 'the sin that HE committed'. Leviticus will not let the offence float free of the offender even in the sentence that forgives him.
חָטָ֖אhe committedQal perf 3ms · חָטָא (H2398)Predicate verb of the relative clause→ Perfective: the sin already committedחָטָא (H2398) 'to sin', literally 'to miss the mark' (of a slinger who does not miss, Judg 20:16). The perfect looks back on a deed already done and beyond recall — the rite does not undo the past, it deals with it.
וְנִסְלַ֥חand he shall be forgivenconj וְ + Niphal weqatal 3ms · סָלַח (H5545)Predicate verb (weqatal) — the divine passive that closes the chapter→ Weqatal (Niphal): the divine passive — forgiveness is granted, not achievedסָלַח (H5545) 'to forgive, pardon' — a verb the Hebrew Bible never once puts in the Qal with a human subject: only God forgives. And here it is not even active. The Niphal is agentless: the priest slaughters, daubs, burns, makes atonement — and then the sentence simply says the man 'is forgiven', naming no one who does it. The rite is fully human and it is not the rite that forgives. Every case in the chapter has ended on this word, and it is the last word of the torah of the חַטָּאת: what the sinner cannot do for himself is done, and it is God who does it.
לֽוֹhimprep לְ + 3ms suffix · לְ (H3807a)Prepositional phrase (dative of advantage) — 'it shall be forgiven to him'לְ with the 3ms suffix; the Niphal of סָלַח is construed impersonally, 'and it shall be forgiven to him'. The chapter's very last word is the sinner — not the priest, not the altar, not the blood. Everything the torah of the חַטָּאת has built is finally handed to one man, and he receives it with empty hands.