Leviticus 22:19

Summary

The verse states the condition for an offering to be acceptable: it must be a tamim ("unblemished", H8549) zakhar ("male", H2145) taken from the cattle, the young rams, or the goats. The text specifies the categories of animals from which such an offering may be drawn.

Key words

• li-r'tzonekhem — the preposition li ("for", H9005) attached to r'tzon ("acceptance", H7522) in construct with the suffix khem ("your", H9026, masculine plural) — literally "for your acceptance/favor," establishing the purpose clause that governs the rest of the verse.
• tamim ("unblemished", H8549) — masculine singular adjective describing the physical completeness or soundness required of the animal.
• zakhar ("a male", H2145) — masculine singular adjective/noun specifying the sex of the required animal.
• ba-bakar ("among the cattle", H1241 with H9003) — the preposition ba ("in the") prefixed to bakar ("cattle"), a common-gender singular noun used collectively.
• u-va-'izzim ("and among the goats", H5795 with H9002 and H9003) — the conjunction u ("and") plus the preposition ba attached to the plural noun 'izzim ("goats"), closing the list of three animal categories.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the purpose phrase li-r'tzonekhem ("for your acceptance"), placing the goal of the statement — acceptability — before the description of the animal itself. This word order foregrounds the outcome (acceptance) rather than the action of offering, which is not explicitly stated by a verb in this verse; the verse consists of a nominal/adjectival chain rather than a finite verbal clause.

The required animal is described by two adjectives in sequence, tamim ("unblemished") and zakhar ("a male"), both masculine singular, agreeing with an implied singular animal. These are followed by three prepositional phrases using ba ("in the") attached to bakar ("cattle"), kesavim ("young rams", H3775), and 'izzim ("goats"), each specifying a herd category from which the animal may be drawn. The repetition of the preposition ba before each noun, joined by the conjunction u ("and") only before the final term, creates a list structure in which the three categories are presented as parallel options rather than a single combined group.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders r'tzon ("acceptance", H7522) with dekta ("acceptable things"), an adjective agreeing with the offerings rather than a noun tied to a purpose clause with a pronominal suffix as in the Hebrew li-r'tzonekhem. The Vulgate uses ut offeratur ("that it may be offered"), introducing an explicit verb of offering that is not present as a finite verb in the Hebrew text, where the sentence is built from adjectives and prepositional phrases alone. The Vulgate also supplies "erit" ("it shall be"), making explicit a verbal sense that the Hebrew leaves implicit.