Numbers 3:6

Summary

The verse instructs that the tribe of Levi be brought near and made to stand before Aaron the priest, so that they may serve him. It uses a sequence of causative verbs describing an action initiated by an unnamed addressee (Moses, per context) toward the Levites.

Key words

• hak.Rev ("bring near", H7126) — hiphil (causative) imperative: a command to cause the tribe to approach, not simply to "take" it.
• ha.'a.mad.Ta ("you will make stand", H5975) — hiphil sequential perfect, continuing the imperative's force: causing the tribe to be positioned, standing before Aaron.
• li.f.Nei ("before", H6440 with preposition) — construct plural noun functioning as "in the presence of," placing the tribe spatially/relationally in front of Aaron.
• she.re.Tu ("they will serve", H8334) — piel (intensive) sequential perfect, third person plural: the tribe's collective future action of serving.
• 'o.T + o ("him/it", H0853 + H9033) — the pronominal suffix attached to the object marker; its singular form matches the singular noun ma.Teh ("tribe"), treating the tribe as one collective entity rather than as individual members.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built as a chain of three verbs linked by the narrative vav (H9001): an initial hiphil imperative (hak.Rev), followed by a hiphil sequential perfect (ha.'a.mad.Ta), followed by a piel sequential perfect (she.re.Tu). This chain expresses a single continuous action with three stages: bringing near, positioning, and serving. The object suffix on 'o.T + o (H9033) is grammatically singular, agreeing with ma.Teh ("tribe", H4294) as a collective noun — the tribe is treated as one unit being brought and positioned, even though the final verb she.re.Tu ("they will serve") shifts to plural, reflecting the individuals who compose that tribe once they act.

The phrase li.f.Nei ("before", H6440) uses a plural construct noun literally meaning "faces of," a common Hebrew idiom for physical or official presence, here indicating that the Levites are to stand in Aaron's presence rather than merely nearby.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders hak.Rev ("bring near", H7126) with Λάβε ("take"), a different semantic emphasis than the Hebrew's causative "bring near." The LXX also uses αὐτούς ("them", plural) where the Hebrew object suffix on 'o.T + o is singular, agreeing with the collective noun "tribe." The Vulgate's "Applica" corresponds more closely to the Hebrew's causative sense of bringing near, and "fac stare" mirrors ha.'a.mad.Ta ("you will make stand"). The Vulgate adds "et excubent" ("and let them keep watch"), a phrase with no corresponding word in the Hebrew text provided, which ends after she.re.Tu ("they will serve", H8334).