Leviticus 23:11

Summary

The verse instructs that the priest will wave the omer ("sheaf", H6016A) before Yehovah so that the offering is accepted, specifying that this waving must occur on the day following the shabbat ("sabbath", H7676). The Hebrew verb for "wave" appears twice, marking the completion of the ritual through structural repetition.

Key words

• heniph ("he will wave", H5130B) — hiphil (causative) stem in sequential perfect form; the causative stem indicates the priest performs the waving action, continuing the narrative sequence begun in prior verses.
• ha-omer ("the sheaf", H6016A) — definite noun, masculine singular, marked as direct object with 'et (H0853); the definite article specifies a particular sheaf already introduced in the passage.
• retsonekhem ("your acceptance", H7522 + H9026) — construct noun with 2nd person masculine plural suffix; the construct form links "acceptance" directly to "you (plural)," expressing the purpose of the waving.
• mimochorat ha-shabbat ("from the day after the sabbath", H4283 + H7676) — construct noun phrase; mochorat is feminine singular construct, meaning "next day of," governing "the sabbath" as its complement.
• yenifennu ("he will wave it", H5130B) — same hiphil root as heniph, but in imperfect form with a 3rd masculine singular pronominal suffix (-nu, H9033) attached, referring back to the sheaf.

What the text says

The sentence is built around two occurrences of the same hiphil root (H5130B): heniph at the start (sequential perfect, continuing prior narration) and yenifennu near the end (imperfect, with the object suffix "it" attached directly to the verb). This repetition creates a bracket structure — the action is named, its purpose and timing are inserted in the middle, and then the same action is restated with the sheaf now expressed as a pronominal suffix rather than a separate noun. Between these two verb forms, the text specifies the goal (li-fnei Yehovah, "before Yehovah," H6440G construct + H3068G) and the intended effect (li-retsonekhem, "for your acceptance," H7522 construct + H9026 suffix), followed by the temporal clause mimochorat ha-shabbat ("from the day after the sabbath").

The construct chains here (retson-khem, mochorat ha-shabbat) are grammatically economical: Hebrew links nouns directly without a separate word for "of," producing tightly bound phrases whose components cannot be separated. The final clause repeats the subject ha-kohen ("the priest", H3548) after the verb, a common Hebrew word order for emphasis or clarity on who performs the second waving.

Differences between versions

The Septuagint reads τῆς πρώτης ("of the first") where the Hebrew has ha-shabbat ("the sabbath", H7676) — the Greek text does not use a term corresponding to "sabbath" at this point, differing from the Hebrew noun.

The Vulgate renders the second occurrence of the wave-verb as sanctificabit ("he will sanctify") rather than repeating "elevabit" ("he will lift/wave"), whereas the Hebrew text repeats the same root (H5130B) in both instances (heniph / yenifennu).