Leviticus 17:7

Summary

Leviticus 17:7 prohibits Israel from continuing to offer sacrifices to se'irim ("goat idols", H8163C), entities described as objects of a kind of unfaithfulness. The verse closes by establishing this prohibition as a permanent statute for all future generations.

Key words

• yizbechu ("they will sacrifice", H2076) — qal imperfect, third person masculine plural: an ongoing or future action, here negated by lo ("not", H3808) to form a prohibition.
• se'irim ("goat idols", H8163C) — masculine plural noun, the object of the forbidden sacrifices, preceded by the preposition-article la ("to the", H9005).
• zonim ("prostituting themselves", H2181) — qal participle, masculine plural: describes an ongoing state or habitual action, here linked to the relative particle asher ("which/who", H0834A) referring back to those who follow the se'irim.
• chukat ("statute of", H2708) — feminine singular construct noun, joined to olam ("perpetuity", H5769G) to form the phrase "statute of perpetuity."
• doroтам (dorotam, "their generations", H1755 + H9028) — feminine plural construct noun with pronominal suffix, marking the temporal scope of the statute.

What the text says

The verse opens with a negated imperfect verb, ve-lo yizbechu ("and they will not sacrifice"), which in Biblical Hebrew grammar expresses a durative prohibition rather than a single forbidden act — the construction implies an ongoing practice that is to cease. The object of this verb is marked by the direct object particle et (H0853, untranslated) followed by zivchei-hem ("their sacrifices", H2077), a construct form meaning "sacrifices of them." This object is then directed la-se'irim ("to the goat idols"), using the preposition-article la (H9005).

The relative clause introduced by asher ("which", H0834A) modifies the se'irim: asher hem zonim acharei-hem ("which they are prostituting themselves after them"). The participle zonim (H2181) is in its qal form, denoting an habitual or characteristic action rather than a single event — grammatically this frames the practice as continuous behavior, not an isolated incident.

The closing formula, chukat olam tihyeh zot lahem le-dorotam ("a statute of perpetuity this will be for them for their generations"), uses the construct chain chukat olam (H2708 + H5769G), literally "statute of perpetuity," to mark the ruling's permanence. The final noun dorotam (H1755 + H9028) is a construct plural with a possessive suffix, meaning "their generations," extending the statute's force across time.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew se'irim (H8163C, "goat idols") is rendered in the LXX as tois mataiois ("to the vain/futile things"), a more abstract term that does not specify "goat" imagery. The Vulgate translates it as daemonibus ("to demons"), introducing a different conceptual category not explicit in the Hebrew noun itself. The BSB and SBLIBRE modern translations follow the Hebrew more closely with "goat demons" and "idols in form of chivo (goat)" respectively, while RV1909 follows the LXX/Vulgate tradition with "demonios."