Leviticus 22:20

Summary

The verse prohibits presenting any animal that has a physical mum ("blemish", H3971B) as an offering, giving as the reason that such an offering will not achieve ratzon ("acceptance", H7522) on behalf of those who bring it.

Key words

• kol ("all", H3605) — opens the clause as a universal quantifier, combined with the relative 'asher ("that", H0834A) to mean "anything that."
• mum ("a blemish", H3971B) — masculine singular noun denoting a physical defect; the referent of the pronominal suffix in bo ("in it").
• taqrivu ("you will present", H7126H) — Hiphil (causative) imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural: the causative stem indicates the subjects cause an offering to draw near/be brought, not merely perform an action themselves.
• ratzon ("acceptance", H7522) — masculine singular abstract noun, the state or quality of being favorably received.
• yihyeh ("it will be", H1961) — Qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular of the verb "to be," projecting the outcome into future/ongoing time relative to the offering.

What the text says

The verse divides into two clauses joined by ki ("for", H3588A), a subordinating particle that introduces the reason for the preceding prohibition. The first clause, kol 'asher-bo mum lo' taqrivu, is built around the universal noun kol ("all", H3605) modified by the relative clause 'asher bo mum — literally "that in it [is] a blemish." The preposition be- ("in", H9003) plus the pronominal suffix -o ("it", H9033) attached to form bo creates the phrase "in it [is]," a common Hebrew construction for expressing possession or presence of a quality (here, the presence of mum, "a blemish", H3971B) without a separate verb "to have." The negated verb lo' taqrivu uses the Hiphil stem of qarav, rendered "you will present" (H7126H): the causative form implies the offerer causes the animal to be brought near the altar, distinguishing the act of presenting from simply approaching oneself.

The second clause, ki-lo' le-ratzon yihyeh lakem, restates the reason: "for it will not be for acceptance to you all." The abstract noun ratzon ("acceptance", H7522) is governed by the preposition le- ("for", H9005), forming a predicate of purpose or result attached to the verb yihyeh ("it will be", H1961), a Qal imperfect. The final preposition-plus-suffix lakem ("to you", H9005 + H9036) marks the beneficiaries — the plural addressees — for whom the offering fails to achieve the stated ratzon.

Differences between versions

The LXX adds kyriō ("to the Lord"), specifying the recipient of the offering, an element not present in the Hebrew text, which leaves the recipient unstated. The Vulgate's si maculam habuerit ("if it has a blemish") renders the 'asher bo construction with an explicit verb "to have," a grammatical choice absent from the Hebrew's stative "in it [a blemish]" phrasing.