Exodus 40:29

Summary

Exodus 40:29 states that Moses set up the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, in accordance with what Yehovah had commanded him.

Key words

• miz.Bach ("altar of", H4196) — masculine singular noun in construct state, linking it to ha-'olah ("the burnt offering"), forming "altar of the burnt offering."
• sam ("he set up", H7760A) — qal perfect, third person masculine singular, marking a completed action: the placing of the altar.
• i.Ya.'al ("he offered up", H5927I) — hiphil narrative form (vav-consecutive), causative stem, meaning literally "he caused to go up," describing the act of offering.
• tzi.Vah ("he had commanded", H6680) — piel perfect, third person masculine singular, an intensive stem indicating a formal, authoritative command.
• ka.'a.Sher ("just as", H9004 + H0834D) — preposition plus relative particle, introducing the clause of conformity to the prior command.

What the text says

The verse divides into two main clauses joined by the narrative vav (va, H9001). The first clause uses the qal perfect sam ("he set up") to report the completed placement of the altar, whose location is specified through a chain of construct nouns: Pe.tach ("entrance of") — mish.Kan ("tabernacle of") — 'o.hel-mo.'Ed ("tent of meeting"). This construct chain builds a single spatial designation without needing prepositions beyond the initial "entrance of."

The second clause shifts to the narrative form i.Ya.'al, a hiphil of the root 'alah ("to go up"), used causatively to mean "he caused [it] to go up," i.e., "he offered up." This form marks the next sequential action in the narrative chain after sam. The direct objects of this offering are marked twice with the object marker 'et (H0853): first ha-'olah ("the burnt offering") and then ha-min.Chah ("the grain offering"), both feminine singular nouns, showing that two distinct offerings were placed on the altar.

The final clause, introduced by ka.'a.Sher ("just as"), subordinates the whole action to a prior command using the piel perfect tzi.Vah ("he had commanded"), attributed to Yehovah (H3068G) and directed 'et-Mosheh ("to Moses"), marked by the object particle. The piel stem here conveys an emphatic, formal act of commanding rather than a simple statement.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text of this verse describes Moses setting up the altar and offering the burnt offering and grain offering. The Vulgate text supplied (VULCLEM) instead describes Moses, Aaron, and his sons washing their hands and feet — content that does not correspond to this Hebrew verse. Likewise, the LXX text supplied (LXXSWETE) describes Moses being unable to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud overshadowed it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle — content matching a different point in the chapter's narrative, not the altar-setting and offering described in the Hebrew of 40:29. The Spanish (RV1909, SBLIBRE) and English (BSB) renderings align closely with the Hebrew construct chain and verbal sequence, translating sam as "colocó/placed," i.Ya.'al as "ofreció/offered," and preserving the double object marking for the burnt offering and grain offering.