Leviticus 21:19

Summary

Leviticus 21:19 continues a list of physical conditions that disqualify a man from priestly service, specifying the case of someone who has a broken foot or a broken hand. The verse names the man affected and the specific bodily fracture using construct phrases.

Key words

• 'ish ("a man", H0376G) — singular masculine noun introducing the subject of this clause, continuing the enumeration of disqualifying persons begun in prior verses.
• yihyeh ("it will be", H1961) — qal imperfect of the verb "to be," expressing a general or potential condition ("in whom there will be/is"), not a single past event.
• shever ("a fracture of", H7667) — masculine singular noun in the construct state, meaning it must be followed by another noun to complete its meaning ("fracture of X"); it appears twice, each time governing a different body part.
• regel ("a foot", H7272) — feminine singular noun, the first body part named as the object of the fracture.
• yad ("a hand", H3027G) — common gender singular noun, the second body part named as the object of the fracture.

What the text says

The Hebrew clause is built around the relative construction 'ish 'asher yihyeh bo ("a man in whom there will be..."), a formula used elsewhere in this chapter to introduce bodily defects. The verb yihyeh (H1961) is imperfect, giving the sentence a generalizing sense — describing any man who has such a condition, rather than one particular incident. The preposition bo ("in him") ties the condition directly to the man's body.

The two occurrences of shever (H7667) are both in the construct state, meaning each must be paired with the following noun to form a complete phrase: shever regel ("fracture of a foot") and shever yad ("fracture of a hand"). The construct chain does not use a separate word for "of" — the grammatical relationship is shown by the construct form of shever itself. The two body parts, regel (H7272, feminine) and yad (H3027G, common gender), are joined by the conjunction 'o ("or", H0176A), presenting the two fractures as alternative, not simultaneous, conditions.

Differences between versions

The Septuagint (LXXSWETE) reverses the order of the body parts compared to the Hebrew, naming χειρὸς ("hand") before ποδός ("foot"), whereas the Hebrew text names regel ("foot") before yad ("hand"). The Vulgate (VULCLEM) follows the Hebrew order, listing pede ("foot") before manu ("hand"). This is a difference in sequence only; both fractures are still presented as alternatives in all versions.