Numbers 18:7

Summary

The verse addresses Aaron (and his sons), commanding them to guard their priesthood over all matters of the altar and the space behind the curtain, and to perform that service. YHWH states he gives the priesthood as a gift, while any outsider who approaches will be put to death.

Key words

• tishmeRu ("you will keep", H8104) — qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural: an ongoing/future obligation laid on Aaron and his sons together to guard the priesthood.
• kehunatChem ("your priesthood", H3550) — feminine singular construct with 2nd plural suffix, marked by the object marker 'et (H0853); appears twice (positions 10 and 29), framing the verse's central concern.
• parOchet ("curtain", H6532) — feminine singular noun, here preceded by mi ("from", H9006) and la ("to the", H9005), forming the phrase "from inside to the curtain," i.e., the space behind the veil.
• 'avoDat mattaNah ("a service of a gift", H5656 + H4979) — two nouns in construct-like sequence; mattanah is not marked as construct but stands appositionally, indicating the priesthood is characterized as a granted service.
• yuMat ("he will be put to death", H4191) — hophal (causative passive) imperfect, 3rd masculine singular: the outsider is the one acted upon, not the subject performing an action.

What the text says

The verse opens with ve'atTah ("and you", H0859A) plus uvaNeicha ("and your sons", H1121A) joined by 'itTecha ("with you", H0854), establishing Aaron and his sons as a single grammatical unit governed by the plural verb tishmeRu. The object is 'et-kehunatChem ("your priesthood," H3550), extended by lechol-deVar hammizBeach ("for every matter of the altar," H1697I + H4196) and ulemibBeit laparOchet ("and from inside to the curtain," H1004O + H6532), a construct chain specifying the physical and ritual scope of their guarding duty — the altar area and the space behind the veil.

The narrative vav on va'avadTem ("and you will serve," H5647H, sequential perfect) continues the instruction begun by the imperfect tishmeRu, linking "guarding" and "serving" as sequential actions. The following clause shifts speaker perspective to first person: 'etTen ("I give," H5414G, qal imperfect) has YHWH as subject, giving 'et-kehunatChem — the priesthood repeated — described as 'avoDat mattaNah ("a service of a gift"). The final clause names hazZar hakkaRev ("the stranger, the approaching one," H2114A + H7131), two adjectives functioning substantively, as the subject of the hophal verb yuMat, a passive causative form indicating the action is imposed upon this figure rather than performed by him.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate renders the priestly duties impersonally ("per sacerdotes administrabuntur," "will be administered by the priests") where the Hebrew uses direct second-person imperative-like imperfects (tishmeRu, va'avadTem) addressed to Aaron and sons. The LXX's ὁ ἀλλογενής ("the foreigner/of another race") for hazZar (H2114A) carries an ethnic connotation not necessarily present in the Hebrew adjective "stranger," which in context marks non-priestly status rather than foreign origin.