Exodus 29:28
וְהָיָה לְאַהֲרֹן וּלְבָנָיו לְחָק־עוֹלָם מֵאֵת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי תְרוּמָה הוּא וּתְרוּמָה יִהְיֶה מֵאֵת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִזִּבְחֵי שַׁלְמֵיהֶם תְּרוּמָתָם לַיהוָֽה׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
Tap a word to see its entry
✦ The same verse in five languages
וְהָיָה֩ לְאַהֲרֹ֨ן וּלְבָנָ֜יו לְחָק־עוֹלָ֗ם מֵאֵת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל כִּ֥י תְרוּמָ֖ה ה֑וּא וּתְרוּמָ֞ה יִהְיֶ֨ה מֵאֵ֤ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מִזִּבְחֵ֣י שַׁלְמֵיהֶ֔ם תְּרוּמָתָ֖ם לַיהוָֽה׃
καὶ ἔσται Ἀαρὼν καὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ νόμιμον αἰώνιον παρὰ τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ· ἔστιν γὰρ ἀφόρισμα τοῦτο, καὶ ἀφαίρεμα ἔσται ἀπὸ τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ ἀπὸ τῶν θυμάτων τῶν σωτηρίων τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ, ἀφαίρεμα κυρίῳ.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
quo initiatus est Aaron et filii ejus, cedentque in partem Aaron et filiorum ejus jure perpetuo a filiis Israël: quia primitiva sunt et initia de victimis eorum pacificis quæ offerunt Domino.
Estas porciones serán siempre para Aarón y para sus hijos. Es una regla permanente para los israelitas, porque se trata de una ofrenda apartada. Será la porción que los israelitas siempre le darán a Yehová de sus sacrificios de paz.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y será para Aarón y para sus hijos por estatuto perpetuo de los hijos de Israel, porque es porción elevada; y será tomada de los hijos de Israel de sus sacrificios pacíficos, porción de ellos elevada en ofrenda á Jehová.
This will belong to Aaron and his sons as a regular portion from the Israelites, for it is the heave offering the Israelites will make to the LORD from their peace offerings.
✦ What the text says
Summary
The verse establishes that a specific portion from the Israelites' offerings belongs permanently to Aaron and his sons. This portion is identified as a terumah ("contribution"), specifically drawn from the peace offerings (shalmim) that the Israelites bring to Yehovah.
Key words
- ha.Yah ("it will belong", H1961) — qal sequential perfect, continuing the narrative chain from prior verses; establishes an ongoing state rather than a single event.
- chok ("a prescribed portion of", H2706H) — construct noun paired with o.Lam ("perpetuity", H5769G), forming the phrase "a portion of perpetuity," i.e., a permanent legal allotment.
- te.ru.Mah ("a contribution", H8641) — feminine singular noun appearing three times (lines 17, 20, 30); denotes a portion set aside/lifted from a larger offering.
- ziv.Chei ("sacrifices of", H2077) — masculine plural construct, linked to shal.mei.Hem ("their peace offerings", H8002 + H9028), specifying the source category of the terumah.
- la.Yah.weh ("to Yehovah", H9005 + H3068G) — prepositional phrase closing the verse, marking the offering's ultimate recipient before it is redirected to Aaron's line.
What the text says
The Hebrew sentence is built on two parallel clauses using the verb ha.Yah (H1961) and yih.Yeh (H1961, imperfect form), both from the same root but in different aspects — the first sequential perfect continuing prior legislation, the second imperfect projecting ongoing future practice. The double occurrence of te.ru.Mah (H8641) in lines 17 and 20, followed by a third instance with a possessive suffix in line 30 (te.ru.ma.Tam, "their contribution"), creates a layered emphasis: the text first declares the general principle (this thing is a terumah), then specifies its recurring nature ("a terumah it will be"), then names it again as "their contribution" belonging to Aaron's line.
The phrase mi.ziv.chei shal.mei.hem (H2077 + H8002 + H9028) narrows the source: not all offerings, but specifically the peace offerings (shelamim) of the Israelites. The construct chain chok-o.lam (H2706H + H5769G) grammatically binds "prescribed portion" to "perpetuity," producing a fixed legal formula rather than a temporary arrangement. The direct object marker 'Et (H0854) appears twice (lines 13, 23) without independent translation, marking be.nei Yis.ra.'El ("sons/people of Israel", H1121G + H3478) as the syntactic source ("from with the sons of Israel") in both clauses.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders chok-o.lam (H2706H + H5769G) as νόμιμον αἰώνιον ("eternal ordinance/law"), a legal term that parallels but slightly recasts the Hebrew's construct "portion of perpetuity." The Vulgate introduces primitiva ("first-things") and initia ("beginnings/firstfruits") for the two occurrences of te.ru.Mah (H8641), terms not present in the Hebrew's repeated "contribution/lifted-portion" vocabulary. Both LXX and Vulgate use different words for the two Hebrew occurrences of te.ru.Mah, whereas the Hebrew repeats the same root three times, producing a verbal echo that the Greek and Latin do not reproduce identically.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.