Leviticus 8:22

Summary

The text narrates the presentation of the second ram — designated as the ram of millu'im ("installation offerings", H4394) — after which Aaron and his sons place their hands on its head. The verse marks a transition to a distinct ritual act, separate from the first ram's offering.

Key words

• va-yakrev ("and he presented", H7126H) — hiphil narrative form; the causative stem indicates the subject brings/causes the ram to be brought near, continuing the narrative chain begun by the preceding vav.
• ha-'ayil ha-sheni ("the second ram", H0352A + H8145) — the ordinal sheni ("second") distinguishes this ram from a first one mentioned earlier in the chapter, marking sequence in the ritual.
• millu'im ("installation offering(s)", H4394) — masculine plural noun in construct relation with 'eil ("ram of", H0352A), forming the phrase "ram of the millu'im," a technical designation for this particular offering.
• va-yismekhu ("and they leaned/pressed", H5564) — qal narrative verb, plural, with Aaron and his sons as compound subject; describes the physical act of pressing hands onto the animal's head.
• yedei-hem ("their hands", H3027G) — dual construct noun with third-person plural suffix, referring to the combined hands of Aaron and his sons together, though grammatically dual reflects each individual's pair of hands.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with a narrative vav on va-yakrev, continuing the sequence of the ritual account. The subject of the hiphil verb is not stated within this verse's word list but is implied from the ongoing narrative (compare LXX and Vulgate, which explicitly name Moses as the one who presents the ram). The direct object marker 'et introduces ha-'ayil ha-sheni ("the second ram"), which is then further specified by an appositional construct phrase, 'eil ha-millu'im ("ram of the installation offerings"), clarifying the ritual category to which this second ram belongs.

The second clause shifts subject to Aaron and his sons (Aharon u-vanav), joined by the conjunction u- ("and"). The verb va-yismekhu ("and they leaned/pressed") is plural, matching this compound subject. The object is 'et-yedei-hem ("their hands"), a dual construct noun with a plural suffix — grammatically reflecting that each participant contributes a pair of hands, though the referent is treated collectively. The prepositional phrase 'al-rosh ha-'ayil ("on the head of the ram") specifies the location of the gesture, using rosh ("head of") in construct form.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text of this verse does not explicitly name the subject of va-yakrev ("he presented"); the LXX supplies Mōusēs ("Moses") and the Vulgate implies the same subject through context in "Obtulit" ("he offered"). The LXX renders millu'im as teleiōsis ("completion/consummation"), a term emphasizing the concept of fulfillment or perfecting, where the Hebrew millu'im more specifically denotes "installation" or "filling" offerings associated with priestly consecration.