Leviticus 4:30

Summary

The verse describes a ritual action performed by the priest with the blood of a sin offering: he applies some of the blood with his finger to the horns of the altar of burnt offering, then pours out the remainder of the blood at the base of the altar.

Key words

• ha-kohen ("the priest", H3548) — definite singular noun, the subject who performs both ritual actions.
• be-'etzba'o ("with his finger", H0676) — noun in construct with the 3ms suffix "his," specifying the instrument used to apply the blood.
• qarnot mizbach ha-'olah ("horns of the altar of the burnt offering", H7161A/H4196/H5930A) — a construct chain naming the exact location where the blood is placed: the horns, of the altar, which belongs to the burnt offering.
• kol dammah ("all its blood", H3605/H1818) — construct phrase with 3fs suffix ("its," referring back to the offering), marking that the entire remaining blood, not just a portion, is poured out.
• yesod ha-mizbeach ("base of the altar", H3247H/H4196) — construct noun phrase indicating the destination of the poured-out blood, at the foot of the altar structure.

What the text says

The verse is built on a chain of three verbs describing sequential priestly actions. The first two, laqach ("he will take", H3947G) and natan ("he will put", H5414H), are sequential perfects (vav + perfect), a common Biblical Hebrew construction for narrating consecutive steps in a procedure: first taking blood, then placing it. The third verb, yishpokh ("he will pour out", H8210G), shifts to an imperfect form, which the grammar notes marks ongoing or future action rather than simple narrative continuation — a subtle grammatical variation not visible in translation, where all three actions read as equally sequential.

The double occurrence of dammah ("its blood", H1818) with the 3fs pronominal suffix ties both blood applications back to the same feminine antecedent (the offering), while the phrase kol dammah ("all its blood") in the second instance grammatically emphasizes totality: after the partial application on the horns, everything remaining is disposed of at the base.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ha-'olah ("the burnt offering", singular) as τῶν ὁλοκαυτωμάτων ("of the burnt offerings", plural), differing from the Hebrew's singular construct. The Vulgate renders natan ("he will put", H5414H) as tangens ("touching"), a different verbal action than the Hebrew's "putting/placing." The Vulgate also renders kol dammah ("all its blood") as reliquum ("the remainder"), shifting the emphasis from totality of blood to what is left over.