Exodus 30:7

Summary

Exodus 30:7 instructs that Aaron will burn fragrant incense on the altar, specifying the timing: every morning, at the moment he tends the lamps. The Hebrew frames this instruction with two occurrences of the verb "to burn incense," one at the beginning and one at the end of the verse.

Key words

• hiqTir ("he will make smoke", H6999A) — hiphil (causative) sequential perfect, opening the instruction: Aaron "causes to smoke," i.e., burns incense.
• qeToret ("incense of", H7004) — feminine singular construct noun, linked to sammim to form the phrase "incense of spices."
• baBoqer baBoqer ("in the morning, in the morning", H1242 repeated) — the doubling of the same noun with the article expresses distribution, "morning by morning" / "every morning."
• heitiV ("makes good", H3190) — hiphil infinitive with pronominal suffix ("in his making-good it"), used here for the technical action of tending/dressing the lamps.
• yaktiRenah ("he will make smoke it", H6999A) — hiphil imperfect with a feminine singular suffix ("it," referring back to qetoret, itself feminine), closing the sentence by resuming the object stated earlier.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence has an unusual shape: the verb hiqtir appears first, followed by the subject Aharon and the object qetoret sammim ("incense of spices"), then two temporal expressions (baboqer baboqer, "morning by morning," and the clause with heitivo, "when he tends the lamps"), and finally a second occurrence of the same verb, yaktirenah, now carrying a pronominal suffix that grammatically points back to qetoret ("incense," feminine). This creates a frame: the action of burning incense is named at the start and picked up again at the end by a suffixed verb, with the timing details placed in between. The repetition baboqer baboqer is a common Hebrew way of expressing recurring distribution without a separate word for "every"; it literally repeats "morning" twice. The infinitive construct behetivo ("in his making-good it") is used idiomatically for lamp maintenance — trimming or preparing the lamps — rather than a general sense of "improving."

Differences between versions

The LXX uses two distinct verbs, θύσει ("he will sacrifice/offer") for the first occurrence and θυμιάσει ("he will burn incense") for the second, where the Hebrew uses the same verbal root hiqtir both times. The LXX also renders qetoret sammim as θυμίαμα σύνθετον λεπτόν ("compound, fine incense"), adding a qualifier ("fine") not present in the Hebrew wording. The Vulgate preserves a similar frame with adolebit incensum ("he will burn incense") and incendet illud ("he will kindle it"), keeping the resumptive pronoun illud corresponding to the Hebrew suffixed yaqtirenah.