Exodus 29:15

Summary

The verse instructs that "the one ram" is to be taken, and that Aaron together with his sons are to place their hands upon its head. The action shifts from a second-person command (taking the ram) to a third-person plural action (laying hands), performed by Aaron and his sons.

Key words

• tiqqach ("you will take", H3947G) — qal imperfect, second person masculine singular, expressing a future/ongoing instruction directed at a single addressee (Moses, per the wider context of the chapter).
• samekhu ("they will lay", H5564) — qal sequential perfect, third person plural, continuing the narrative sequence after the initial command; marks a shift in subject from "you" to "Aaron and his sons."
• yedeihem ("their hands", H3027G) — dual construct noun with third-person plural suffix, specifying that both hands (dual form) belong to the group performing the action.
• rosh ("head of", H7218A) — masculine singular construct noun, linking directly to ha'ayil ("the ram", H0352A) to specify the exact location of the hand-laying.
• ha'ayil ha'echad ("the one ram", H0352A + H0259) — the noun "ram" followed by the numeral "one" with definite article, singling out a specific ram from a set (implied by context, likely from a group of two rams mentioned elsewhere in the chapter).

What the text says

The verse opens with the direct object marker 'et (H0853) attached to ha'ayil ha'echad ("the one ram"), marking it as the object of the verb tiqqach ("you will take", H3947G). The construction ha'ayil ha'echad — noun plus article, followed by the cardinal number "one" also with the article — has the effect of specifying a particular ram, distinguishing it from another or others in the surrounding narrative.

The clause then shifts with the narrative vav prefixed to samekhu ("they will lay", H5564), a qal sequential perfect verb. This grammatical form continues the sequence of actions begun with the imperative-like tiqqach, but changes the subject to Aharon ("Aaron", H0175) u-vanav ("and his sons", H1121A with pronominal suffix). The object of this second action is 'et-yedeihem ("their hands", H3027G), a dual noun (reflecting the two hands as a natural pair) with a third-person plural suffix agreeing with "Aaron and his sons."

The final phrase, 'al-rosh ha'ayil ("on the head of the ram", H5921A + H7218A + H0352A), uses the construct form rosh ("head of") to link directly to "the ram," locating precisely where the hands are placed. The repetition of ha'ayil ("the ram") at the end of the verse, without the numeral "one" this time, refers back to the previously specified ram from the opening clause.