Numbers 29:5

Summary

Numbers 29:5 specifies an additional sacrifice within the festival offerings list: one male goat, designated as a chattat ("sin offering"), whose purpose is stated with the infinitive kapper ("to make atonement") for the assembly.

Key words

se'ir-'izzim ("a male goat of goats", H8163B + H5795) — a construct chain (status constructus) where "male goat" governs "goats," a common Hebrew way of specifying the animal species; the construct form links the two nouns tightly, functioning almost as a single compound term for "goat" as a sacrificial category.

'echad ("one", H0259) — cardinal number specifying quantity; here it stands in apposition to the construct phrase, confirming a single animal is required, distinguishing this individual offering from plural offerings mentioned elsewhere in the chapter.

chattat ("sin offering", H2403H) — feminine singular noun naming the sacrificial category; despite the animal noun being masculine, chattat functions as a label for the type of offering rather than agreeing grammatically with the goat.

kapper ("to make atonement", H3722A) — Piel infinitive construct, introduced by the preposition le- ("to/for"). The Piel stem is intensive/factitive, indicating an action performed to bring about a state (atonement) rather than a simple action; the infinitive with le- expresses purpose ("in order to atone").

'aleikem ("on you", H5921A + H9036) — preposition 'al ("on/upon") with second-person masculine plural suffix, marking the beneficiaries of the atoning act.

What the text says

The verse is built as a short nominal clause followed by a purpose clause. The subject phrase u-se'ir-'izzim 'echad chattat stacks four elements: the conjunction u- ("and") linking this offering to the previous verses, the construct phrase se'ir-'izzim naming the animal, the numeral 'echad fixing the quantity at one, and the noun chattat classifying the sacrifice's function. Hebrew here uses apposition rather than a verb: there is no explicit "you shall offer" in this verse; the sacrificial list simply continues naming items, with the verb of offering understood from earlier in the chapter's sequence.

The second half, le-kapper 'aleikem, attaches purpose to the offering just named. The Piel infinitive kapper denotes the intended effect of the sacrifice, and the prepositional phrase 'aleikem specifies "on you" (plural), indicating the group for whom the atoning action is directed.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders se'ir-'izzim as χίμαρον ἐξ αἰγῶν ("a young goat from goats"), preserving the construct sense with a prepositional phrase (ἐξ, "from") rather than a Hebrew-style construct chain. The Vulgate compresses this into hircum ("he-goat"), omitting the doubled goat-terminology entirely. For le-kapper 'aleikem, the Vulgate shifts to a relative clause, qui offertur in expiationem populi ("which is offered for the expiation of the people"), introducing the noun populi ("of the people") where the Hebrew simply has the pronominal suffix -kem ("you," plural) with no separate word for "people."