Numbers 8:21

Summary

The verse narrates four sequential actions: the Levites purified themselves, washed their clothes, Aaron waved them as an offering before Yehovah, and Aaron made atonement over them to purify them. The sentence closes the ritual sequence describing the consecration of the Levites.

Key words

• yit.cha.te.'u ("they purified themselves", H2398) — hithpael stem, reflexive: the Levites act on themselves, not receiving the action from another.
• y.kha.be.Su ("they washed", H3526H) — piel stem, intensive/thorough washing, distinct from a simple qal "to wash."
• i.Ya.nef ("he waved", H5130B) — hiphil stem, causative: Aaron causes the wave-motion; the subject (Aaron) makes the object (the Levites) undergo the tenufah action.
• te.nu.Fah ("a wave-offering", H8573) — feminine singular noun, functioning adverbially/appositionally to describe the manner in which Aaron presents them.
• y.kha.Per ("he made atonement", H3722A) — piel stem, intensive; paired with the infinitive ta.ha.Ra ("to purify", H2891) which states the purpose of the atoning act.

What the text says

The verse is built as a chain of four narrative (vav-consecutive) clauses, each advancing the storyline: va-yit.cha.te.'u ("and they purified themselves"), va-y.kha.be.Su ("and they washed"), va-i.Ya.nef ("and he waved"), va-y.kha.Per ("and he made atonement"). The first two verbs have the Levites (ha.l.vi.Yim, H3881, "the Levites") as subject and are in reflexive/intensive stems, marking self-directed purification and thorough washing of big.dei.Hem ("their clothes", H0899B + suffix). The subject then shifts to 'a.ha.Ron ("Aaron", H0175), who performs a causative action (hiphil i.Ya.nef) upon the Levites, marked by the direct object marker 'o.Tam (H0853+suffix), producing the effect described by the noun te.nu.Fah ("a wave-offering", H8573) — grammatically an accusative of manner rather than a separate object, indicating that the waving itself constitutes the presentation.

The phrase li.f.Nei Yehovah ("before Yehovah", H6440G + H3068G) locates this action in the divine presence, using the construct noun f.Nei ("face of") governed by the preposition li ("to/before", H9005). The final clause repeats Aaron as subject with the piel verb y.kha.Per ("he made atonement", H3722A) governing the prepositional phrase 'a.lei.Hem ("over/upon them", H5921A+suffix) and closing with the infinitive construct le.ta.ha.Ram ("to purify them", H2891+suffix), which states the purpose of the atonement rather than a further independent action. Grammatically, the infinitive with le ("to", H9005) subordinates purification as the goal of Aaron's atoning act, a nuance not always visible in translations that render both verbs as coordinate main clauses.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders te.nu.Fah with ἀπόδομα ("gift/offering"), pairing it with the verb ἀπέδωκεν ("he gave/rendered"), which shifts the imagery from a waving gesture toward a general act of giving or rendering. The Vulgate uses elevavit ("he lifted up"), preserving something closer to the physical motion implied by i.Ya.nef ("he waved", H5130B), though "lifted" is not identical to "waved." The LXX also adds the phrase ἀφαγνίσασθαι αὐτούς ("to purify them further/completely"), which expands slightly on the Hebrew infinitive le.ta.ha.Ram ("to purify them") without altering its basic purpose sense.