Leviticus 8:31
וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל־אַהֲרֹן וְאֶל־בָּנָיו בַּשְּׁלוּ אֶת־הַבָּשָׂר פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וְשָׁם תֹּאכְלוּ אֹתוֹ וְאֶת־הַלֶּחֶם אֲשֶׁר בְּסַל הַמִּלֻּאִים כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוֵּיתִי לֵאמֹר אַהֲרֹן וּבָנָיו יֹאכְלֻֽהוּ׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶל־אַהֲרֹ֣ן וְאֶל־בָּנָ֗יו בַּשְּׁל֣וּ אֶת־הַבָּשָׂר֮ פֶּ֣תַח אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵד֒ וְשָׁם֙ תֹּאכְל֣וּ אֹת֔וֹ וְאֶ֨ת־הַלֶּ֔חֶם אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּסַ֣ל הַמִּלֻּאִ֑ים כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר צִוֵּ֙יתִי֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר אַהֲרֹ֥ן וּבָנָ֖יו יֹאכְלֻֽהוּ׃
καὶ εἶπεν Μωυσῆς πρὸς Ἀαρὼν καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ Ἑψήσατε τὰ κρέα ἐν τῆ αὐλῇ τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ, καὶ ἐκεῖ φάγεσθε αὐτὰ καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους ἐν τῷ κανῷ τῆς τελειώσεως, ὃν τρόπον συντέτακταί μοι λέγων Ἀαρὼν καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ φάγονται ταῦτα·
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Cumque sanctificasset eos in vestitu suo, præcepit eis, dicens: Coquite carnes ante fores tabernaculi, et ibi comedite eas; panes quoque consecrationis edite, qui positi sunt in canistro, sicut præcepit mihi Dominus, dicens: Aaron et filii ejus comedent eos:
Moisés les dijo a Aarón y a sus hijos: “Hiervan la carne a la entrada de la Tienda del Encuentro y cómanla allí, junto con el pan que está en la canasta de la consagración, tal como lo ordené cuando dije: ‘Aarón y sus hijos la comerán’.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y dijo Moisés á Aarón y á sus hijos: Comed la carne á la puerta del tabernáculo del testimonio; y comedla allí con el pan que está en el canastillo de las consagraciones, según yo he mandado, diciendo: Aarón y sus hijos la comerán.
And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “ Boil the meat at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons are to eat it.’
✦ What the text says
Summary
Moses instructs Aaron and his sons to boil the sacrificial meat at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and eat it there, together with the bread from the basket of ordination offerings, in accordance with a prior command that specified Aaron and his sons as the ones who would eat it.
Key words
- bashelu ("boil", H1310) — piel imperative, plural "you," a direct command addressed to Aaron and his sons together.
- petach 'ohel mo'ed (H6607, H0168G, H4150I) — a construct chain, "entrance of the tent of meeting," specifying the exact location for the eating, not just a general area.
- tzivveiti ("I commanded", H6680) — piel perfect, first person, marking a completed prior act of command that this verse now recalls and reapplies.
- milu'im ("installation offerings", H4394) — masculine plural noun, referring to the offerings tied to the ordination/installation of the priests.
- yo'kheluhu ("they will eat it", H0398 + suffix H9033) — qal imperfect plural with object suffix, closing the verse by restating who is authorized to eat the meat.
What the text says
The verse is built as reported speech: Moses (Moshe, H4872) speaks 'el-Aharon ve'el-banav ("to Aaron and to his sons," H0175, H1121A), and the content of his speech contains two imperative-based instructions followed by a citation of an earlier command. The first instruction, bashelu 'et-habasar ("boil the meat," H1310, H1320), is a piel imperative plural verb, indicating an intensive or specific mode of cooking directed at both Aaron and his sons as a collective addressee. The location is fixed by the construct chain petach 'ohel mo'ed, "the entrance of the tent of meeting."
The second clause, vesham to'khelu 'oto ("and there you will eat it," H8033G, H0398), uses a qal imperfect that functions here as a continued command tied to the preceding imperative — the adverb sham ("there," H8033G) anchors the eating to the same location just named. The object velechem ("and the bread," H3899H) is qualified by a relative clause, 'asher besal hamilu'im ("which is in the basket of the installation offerings," H0834A, H5536, H4394), identifying the bread as part of the ordination ritual materials.
The final segment shifts to citation: ka'asher tzivveiti le'mor ("just as I commanded, saying," H0834D, H6680, H0559) introduces a quoted command in which Aharon uvanav yo'kheluhu ("Aaron and his sons shall eat it," H0175, H1121A, H0398) restates, in qal imperfect, who is designated to consume the offering. The perfect-tense verb tzivveiti marks this as a report of something already commanded, distinguishing the present instruction from the earlier one being recalled.
Differences between versions
The LXX adds ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ ("in a holy place"), a phrase not present among the Hebrew words listed for this verse. The Vulgate frames the earlier command as sicut praecepit mihi Dominus ("as the Lord commanded me"), making the source of the command explicit as "the Lord," where the Hebrew text as given here states only tzivveiti ("I commanded"), with no explicit subject named beyond the first-person form.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.