Leviticus 7:31

Summary

The verse describes the disposal of two parts of a sacrificial animal: the priest burns the fat on the altar, while the breast is designated as a portion belonging to Aaron and his sons.

Key words

• hik.Tir ("he will make smoke", H6999A) — hiphil (causative) sequential perfect: the priest causes the fat to go up in smoke, continuing the narrative sequence of ritual actions.
• ko.Hen ("priest", H3548) — masculine singular noun, the subject who performs the burning action.
• Che.lev ("fat", H2459) — masculine singular noun with definite article, marked as direct object by 'et- (H0853), the specific substance placed on the altar.
• ha.Yah ("it will belong", H1961) — qal sequential perfect, a stative/existential verb indicating a resulting state of belonging rather than an action.
• cha.Zeh ("breast", H2373) — masculine singular noun with definite article, the body part assigned as a portion for the priests.

What the text says

The verse is built as two parallel clauses joined by the narrative vav (H9001), each following the sequential perfect pattern typical of ritual instruction in this chapter. The first clause places the verb hik.Tir ("he will make smoke", H6999A) before its subject ha.Kohen ("the priest", H3548), a common Hebrew verb-subject order in sequential narration. The object is marked explicitly with 'et- (H0853) before ha.Chelev ("the fat", H2459), and the phrase ends with a directional he suffix on miz.Be.cha ("altar", H4196), producing "toward the altar" or "altar-ward," indicating the fat's destination rather than mere location.

The second clause shifts from an action verb to the stative verb ha.Yah ("it will belong", H1961), which in this context does not describe an event but establishes an ongoing legal or ritual state: the breast ha.Chazeh (H2373) is assigned le- ("to", H9005) Aaron and, through the conjunction u- ("and", H9002) plus another le-, to his sons (va.Nav, H1121A construct with 3ms suffix "his"). The construct form of va.Nav ("sons", H1121A) with the possessive suffix ties the sons specifically to Aaron, marking them as a defined group receiving the portion. The structural parallel—burning verb for the fat, belonging verb for the breast—distinguishes an action performed at the altar from a status assigned to specific persons.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (VULCLEM) renders the clause with qui adolebit, a relative construction ("who will burn"), differing stylistically from the Hebrew's direct sequential verb form, though the sense of priestly action is preserved. The Vulgate also omits explicit repetition of "the priest" as a separate noun subject in the second clause, relying on the relative pronoun structure instead. The Hebrew's directional he on "altar" (H9011), suggesting movement "toward" the altar, is not distinctly marked in the Vulgate's super altare ("upon the altar") or in the English/Spanish translations, which render it simply as location "on the altar."