Leviticus 7:36

Summary

This verse states that Yehovah (יְהוָה, H3068G) commanded that certain portions be given to the priests, from the Israelites, on the day of their anointing. It closes the section on priestly portions by designating this arrangement as a perpetual statute for all future generations.

Key words

• tzivvah ("he commanded", H6680) — piel perfect, third person masculine singular; the intensive stem here conveys a formal, authoritative command by Yehovah, completed as an action.
• latet ("to give", H5414G) — qal infinitive construct with prefixed preposition la ("to"); expresses the purpose of the command — the act of giving.
• mashcho ("his anointing", H4886) — qal infinitive construct with pronominal suffix "his"; forms the temporal clause "on the day of his anointing," referring to the priest being anointed.
• chuqqat ("a prescribed portion of", H2708) — feminine singular construct; links to olam ("perpetuity", H5769G) to form the phrase "a perpetual statute."
• dorotam ("their generations", H1755) — feminine plural construct with suffix "their"; specifies the scope of the perpetual statute across successive generations.

What the text says

The verse is built around the relative clause introduced by 'asher ("which", H0834A), which links back to the priestly portions described earlier in the chapter. The main verb tzivvah ("he commanded") has Yehovah as its subject, followed by the infinitive latet ("to give") indicating what was commanded — the giving of portions lahem ("to them", via H9005 + H9038), referring to the priests.

The temporal phrase be-yom mashcho otam ("on the day of his anointing them") uses the infinitive construct mashcho with a pronominal suffix, meaning "his anointing," combined with the direct object marker 'otam ("them", H0853) to specify who was anointed — the priests, marked by the object suffix "them" (H9038). This portion is described as coming me'et bene Yisra'el ("from the sons of Israel", H1121G + H3478), indicating the source of the offering.

The verse concludes with chuqqat 'olam le-dorotam ("a perpetual statute for their generations"), a construct chain where chuqqat ("prescribed portion of") governs 'olam ("perpetuity"), and the final phrase le-dorotam extends the statute's duration across "their generations," using the plural construct noun with a possessive suffix.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (VULCLEM) renders the phrase as "a filiis Israël religione perpetua," using religione ("religious observance") where the Hebrew chuqqat ("prescribed portion of") more narrowly denotes a statute or fixed portion rather than a general religious practice. The BSB and SBLIBRE both render chuqqat 'olam as "permanent portion" or "perpetual statute," staying closer to the Hebrew's legal/customary sense than the Vulgate's broader term.