Exodus 40:11

Summary

Exodus 40:11 instructs the anointing of the laver (kiyor) and its base (kan), followed by their consecration. The verse uses two sequential perfect verbs describing consecutive ritual actions performed by the addressee (Moses).

Key words

• ma.shach.Ta ("you will anoint", H4886) — Qal sequential perfect, second person masculine singular; continues a chain of prior instructions, indicating "and then you shall anoint."
• ki.Yor ("laver", H3595) — masculine singular noun with definite article, naming the object of anointing.
• ka.N ("base", H3653) — construct form ("base of"), joined to the pronominal suffix -o ("its"), producing "its base," referring back to the laver.
• ki.dash.Ta ("you will consecrate", H6942G) — Piel sequential perfect, second person masculine singular; the Piel stem marks an intensive or factitive action, "to make holy" rather than a simple state of holiness.
• 'et (H0853) — the direct object marker, appearing twice (before hakkiyor and before kanno), marking both the laver and its base as grammatical objects of the anointing.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built from two coordinated clauses joined by the narrative vav (H9001/H9002), each containing a sequential perfect verb. The first clause, u-mashachta et-hakkiyor ve-et-kanno ("and you will anoint the laver and its base"), places both the laver and its base under a single verb of anointing, joined by ve- ("and") and both marked with the object particle 'et. The second clause, ve-qiddashta oto ("and you will consecrate it"), uses a singular pronominal suffix -o ("it") on the object marker 'oto, referring back to the laver-and-base unit treated as one item to be consecrated. The shift from Qal (mashachta) to Piel (qiddashta) marks a shift from the physical act of anointing to the intensive act of setting apart or making holy, though both remain part of the same sequential chain of ritual instructions.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate compresses the two Hebrew verbs into one: "omnia unctionis oleo consecrabis" ("you will consecrate all things with the oil of anointing"), merging the acts of anointing and consecrating into a single action performed by means of oil, and adds the clause "ut sint Sancta sanctorum" ("that they may be Holy of Holies"), which has no corresponding wording in the Hebrew text given.

The LXX text provided (Swete) diverges substantially in content: rather than referring to the laver and its base, it speaks of clothing "him" in "holy garments" (τὰς στολὰς τὰς ἀγίας) and anointing and sanctifying "him... to me" (αὐτὸν... μοι), using third-person singular pronouns for a person rather than the laver, and adding "to me" (μοι), an element absent in the Hebrew of this verse.