Exodus 29:9
וְחָגַרְתָּ אֹתָם אַבְנֵט אַהֲרֹן וּבָנָיו וְחָבַשְׁתָּ לָהֶם מִגְבָּעֹת וְהָיְתָה לָהֶם כְּהֻנָּה לְחֻקַּת עוֹלָם וּמִלֵּאתָ יַֽד־אַהֲרֹן וְיַד־בָּנָֽיו׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
Tap a word to see its entry
✦ The same verse in five languages
וְחָגַרְתָּ֩ אֹתָ֨ם אַבְנֵ֜ט אַהֲרֹ֣ן וּבָנָ֗יו וְחָבַשְׁתָּ֤ לָהֶם֙ מִגְבָּעֹ֔ת וְהָיְתָ֥ה לָהֶ֛ם כְּהֻנָּ֖ה לְחֻקַּ֣ת עוֹלָ֑ם וּמִלֵּאתָ֥ יַֽד־אַהֲרֹ֖ן וְיַד־בָּנָֽיו׃
καὶ ζώσεις αὐτοὺς ταῖς ζώναις, καὶ περιθήσεις αὑτοῖς τὰς κιδάρεις· καὶ ἔσται αὐτοῖς ἱερατία μοι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα· καὶ τελειώσεις Ἀαρὼν τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς χεῖρας τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ,
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Aaron scilicet et liberos ejus, et impones eis mitras: eruntque sacerdotes mihi religione perpetua. Postquam initiaveris manus eorum,
Les pondrás los cinturones a Aarón y a sus hijos, y les atarás los gorros. Ellos y sus descendientes serán sacerdotes para siempre, como una ley permanente. De esta manera consagrarás a Aarón y a sus hijos.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y les ceñirás el cinto, á Aarón y á sus hijos, y les atarás los chapeos ( tiaras), y tendrán el sacerdocio por fuero perpetuo: y henchirás las manos de Aarón y de sus hijos.
Wrap the sashes around Aaron and his sons and tie headbands on them. The priesthood shall be theirs by a permanent statute. In this way you are to ordain Aaron and his sons. The Order of the Sacrifices (Leviticus 8:22–36)
✦ What the text says
Summary
Exodus 29:9 instructs Moses to place sashes on Aaron and his sons and bind headdresses on them, establishing that the priesthood belongs to them by a perpetual statute. The verse closes with the idiom "you shall fill the hand of Aaron and the hand of his sons," referring to their installation into priestly service.
Key words
- cha.gar.Ta ("you will gird", H2296) — qal sequential perfect, continuing the chain of instructions begun earlier in the passage; second person masculine singular addressed to Moses.
- chu.Kat ("a statute of", H2708) — feminine singular construct, linking to olam to form the phrase "statute of perpetuity/eternity."
- ke.hu.Nah ("priesthood", H3550) — feminine singular noun, the abstract office granted to Aaron and his sons.
- mi.le.Ta ("you will fill", H4390) — piel (intensive) sequential perfect; combined with yad ("hand", H3027R) forms the idiom for ordination/installation into office.
- yad ("[the] hand of", H3027R) — construct form, appearing twice (for Aaron and for his sons), each governing the following proper name.
What the text says
The verse is built entirely on a chain of sequential perfects (ve + qatal), a common Biblical Hebrew construction for sequences of commands or future actions: cha.gar.Ta ("you will gird"), cha.vash.Ta ("you will bind on"), ha.ye.Tah ("it will be[long]"), and mi.le.Ta ("you will fill"). Each verb picks up from the previous one, producing a continuous instructional flow rather than isolated commands.
The phrase le.chu.Kat o.Lam ("to a statute of perpetuity") uses a construct chain (chu.Kat + o.Lam) to qualify how the priesthood (ke.hu.Nah) is established — as a fixed, lasting ordinance rather than a temporary arrangement.
The closing clause, mi.le.Ta yad-'a.ha.Ron ve.yad-ba.Na[v] ("you will fill the hand of Aaron and the hand of his sons"), repeats the noun yad ("hand", H3027R) in construct form before each name rather than using a plural or shared reference. This repetition emphasizes each individual's hand being filled, a Hebrew idiom whose literal wording ("fill the hand") does not directly correspond to a single English or Latin verb.
Differences between versions
The Hebrew idiom mi.le.Ta yad ("you will fill the hand") is rendered differently in the ancient versions: the LXX uses τελειώσεις τὰς χεῖρας ("you will complete/perfect the hands"), while the Vulgate uses initiaveris manus ("you will initiate the hands"). Neither version translates "fill" literally, instead interpreting the idiom according to its functional meaning of installation into office.
The Hebrew mig.ba.'Ot ("headdresses", H4021) appears in the LXX as κιδάρεις ("tiaras") and in the Vulgate as mitras ("mitres"), both using headwear terms specific to their own cultural vocabulary rather than a direct equivalent of the Hebrew term.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.