Leviticus 14:50

Summary

The verse instructs that one of the two birds used in a purification rite is to have its throat cut over an earthenware vessel containing fresh (literally "living") water. This continues a ritual sequence describing the preparation of materials for a cleansing procedure.

Key words

• sha.Chat ("he will cut [the] throat of", H7819A) — qal sequential perfect, third person masculine; this verb form links the action to the preceding steps in the ritual sequence, indicating "and then he shall slaughter."
• tzi.Por ("bird", H6833) — common gender singular noun, marked definite by the article ha (H9009) and specified further by ha-'eChat, "the one," distinguishing this bird from a second bird mentioned elsewhere in the passage.
• keli-Cheres ("vessel of earthenware", H3627 + H2789) — a construct chain, literally "vessel of clay," meaning the material (earthenware) qualifies the vessel; this is not a free-standing noun but the head of a genitive-type phrase.
• maYim ("water", H4325G) — masculine plural noun; in Hebrew, "water" is grammatically plural even when referring to a single body of water.
• chaiYim ("living", H2416A) — masculine plural adjective, agreeing with maYim; the combination mayim chayyim denotes water that is flowing or fresh, as opposed to stagnant.

What the text says

The clause opens with the narrative vav (ve, H9001) attached to the verb shaChat, marking this as the next event in a continuous sequence of ritual actions. The direct object marker 'et (H0853) introduces ha-tzipPor ha-'eChat, "the one bird" — the definite article plus the numeral "one" functioning adjectivally singles out a specific bird from a pair mentioned earlier in the chapter's ritual instructions.

The location of the action is given through two prepositional phrases. 'El-keli-Cheres ("into a vessel of earthenware") uses the construct noun keli ("vessel of") bound to Cheres ("earthenware"), forming a single phrase meaning "clay vessel." The second phrase, 'al-mayim chayyim ("over living water"), places the water inside or under the vessel as the medium into which the blood will fall. The adjective chayyim ("living") modifying the plural noun mayim ("water") describes water that flows or springs, a distinction in Hebrew between running water and standing water.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders tzi.Por ("bird") with ὀρνίθιον ("little bird"), a diminutive form not distinguished in the Hebrew noun itself. The Vulgate's aquas vivas ("living waters," plural) mirrors the Hebrew plural mayim, while the LXX uses the singular dative ὕδατι ("water"), reducing the grammatical number found in the Hebrew source text.