Exodus 29:38

Summary

Exodus 29:38 specifies the daily animal offering to be made on the altar: two lambs, each one year old, offered every day without interruption. The verse introduces a standing regulation using a demonstrative-relative construction followed by the description of the offering.

Key words

• zeh ("this", H2088) — demonstrative particle that points forward to the content about to be specified, functioning as the subject of the clause "this is that which...".
• ta'aseh ("you will offer", H6213I) — qal imperfect, second person masculine singular; the imperfect aspect marks an action that is ongoing or repeated rather than a single completed act, fitting the regulatory/prescriptive sense of the verse.
• kevasim ("lambs", H3532) — masculine plural noun, the direct object implied by the preceding verb, identifying the animal type for the offering.
• benei-shanah ("sons of a year", H1121L + H8141) — construct chain literally "sons of a year," an idiomatic way of expressing age, here meaning "one year old," modifying kevasim.
• tamid ("continually", H8548) — noun used adverbially, indicating that the prescribed action recurs without cessation, reinforcing the daily repetition already signaled by la-yom ("to the day", H9005+H3117J).

What the text says

The verse opens with ve-zeh 'asher ("and this is that which," H9002+H2088+H0834A), a construction that sets up a definition: the zeh ("this") anticipates the specific items named later in the sentence, while 'asher introduces the relative clause containing the verb ta'aseh ("you will offer," H6213I). The imperfect form of the verb does not specify a single moment but describes a recurring, prescribed action to be performed 'al-ha-mizbeach ("on the altar," H5921A+H9009+H4196).

The object of this action—kevasim benei-shanah shenayim ("lambs, sons of a year, two," H3532+H1121L+H8141+H8147)—is placed after the verb and preposition, giving the sentence a pattern of general statement followed by specific enumeration: first the ongoing obligation is named, then the concrete items (two yearling lambs) are listed. The final phrase la-yom tamid ("to the day, continually," H9005+H3117J+H8548) closes the verse by anchoring the offering to a daily cycle and stressing its uninterrupted repetition through the separate word tamid, distinct from the day-marker itself.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the phrase with ἀμνοὺς ἐνιαυσίους ἀμώμους ("unblemished yearling lambs"), adding the qualifier "unblemished" (ἀμώμους) not present in the Hebrew text given here. The LXX also adds κάρπωμα ἐνδελεχισμοῦ ("a continual offering") as an appositional phrase not reflected in the Hebrew word list. The Vulgate's jugiter ("continually") corresponds to tamid (H8548), while its phrase per singulos dies ("through each single day") parallels la-yom (H9005+H3117J), splitting what the Hebrew expresses through two adjacent terms.