Numbers 7:16

Summary

This short clause lists one item among the tribal leader's offerings: a single male goat designated as a chatta't ("sin offering", H2403H). The phrase specifies both the animal's identity and its cultic purpose.

Key words

• se'ir- ("a male goat of", H8163B) — construct form, meaning it cannot stand alone but must be followed by a noun that completes its meaning; here it links to 'izzim.
• 'izzim ("goats", H5795) — masculine plural noun, the second term of the construct chain, together with se'ir- forming the compound expression "a male goat of the goats," i.e., a goat from the goat-herd.
• 'echad ("one", H0259) — cardinal number, here modifying the preceding construct phrase to specify the quantity as a single animal.
• le- ("to", H9005) — preposition prefixed directly to the following noun, indicating purpose or destination ("for/toward").
• chatta't ("a sin offering", H2403H) — feminine singular noun naming the category of sacrifice for which the animal is designated.

What the text says

The Hebrew clause is built as a construct chain, se'ir-'izzim ("a male goat of goats"), followed by the numeral 'echad ("one") and the prepositional phrase le-chatta't ("for a sin offering"). The construct chain itself is a common way in Biblical Hebrew to specify a particular animal type from within a general category — here, singling out a male goat from the broader class of goats. The numeral 'echad attaches to this whole construct phrase to indicate that exactly one such goat is meant, not the herd or type in general. The preposition le- attached to chatta't marks the function or destination of the offering, effectively saying "the goat is for/toward a sin offering," rather than stating the goat is intrinsically identical to the sacrifice-category term.

Differences between versions

The LXX (Swete) renders the construct chain as ἕνα χίμαρον ἐξ αἰγῶν ("one young goat from goats"), placing the numeral before the noun and using a prepositional phrase (ἐξ αἰγῶν, "from goats") where the Hebrew uses a construct relationship (se'ir-'izzim). The LXX also prefixes καὶ ("and"), connecting this item explicitly to the previous one, which is not represented in the Hebrew list format itself. The Vulgate's hircumque pro peccato ("and a he-goat for sin") uses the enclitic -que for "and" and does not render 'echad ("one") as an explicit numeral, relying instead on the singular noun form to convey singularity.