18
Then Moses presented the ram for the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
way·yaq·rêḇ ’êṯ ’êl hā·‘ō·lāh ’a·hă·rōn ū·ḇā·nāw ’eṯ- way·yis·mə·ḵū yə·ḏê·hem ‘al- rōš hā·’ā·yil
Word by word12 · parsed
√ qârab — to approach (causatively, bring near) for whatever purposeConjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular
way·yaq·rêḇ — Hifil of qârab, "to bring near." The causative stem matters: Moses does not merely fetch the ram, he makes it approach God on the priests' behalf. Several voices (Keil & Delitzsch, Cambridge) note this is the second of the consecration sacrifices: sin offering first, now the burnt offering.
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
√ ʼayil — properly, strengthNounmasculine singular construct
’êl (H352), "ram," built on a root (ʼayil) meaning "strength" — the same consonantal root that yields words for "mighty one" and the great trees (’ēlîm) and even stands near ’ēl as a name for God. The ram is the strong, leading male of the flock: what is offered here is not a token but the herd's vigor. Lexically the burnt offering of consecration is strength itself surrendered to the fire.
√ ʻôlâh — a step or (collectively, stairs, as ascending)ArticleNounfeminine singular
hā·‘ō·lāh, the "ascending offering," the one sacrifice consumed entirely on the altar (vv. 20–21). Where the sin offering dealt with guilt, the ‘ōlāh expresses total self-surrender — the whole creature given up.
√ ʼAhărôwn — Aharon, the brother of MosesNounpropermasculine singular
’a·hă·rōn (H175) is named first and alone before his sons — the high-priest-designate around whom the whole consecration turns. The thread to Lev 16:21 runs through this name: it is the same Aaron whose hands, once ordained, will press on the scapegoat's head on the Day of Atonement. The rite that makes him a priest rehearses the gesture his priesthood will require.
√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcConjunctive wawNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine singular
ū·ḇā·nāw, "and his sons" — the priestly house acts as one body. Gill, citing the Targum of Jonathan, records the rabbinic detail that all of them laid on their hands together, with their right hands, not in sequence.
√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker
√ çâmak — to prop (literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural
way·yis·mə·ḵū — the laying-on of hands (sᵉmîḵāh). The pressing of hands transfers identity, not sin (this is a burnt offering, not the scapegoat): the priests declare the victim their substitute and themselves wholly given to God.
√ yâd — a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etcNounfeminine dual constructthird person masculine plural
yə·ḏê·hem, "their hands," a dual construct — both hands of each man, the fullest gesture of self-involvement.
√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition
√ rôʼsh — the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itcNounmasculine singular construct
rōš (H7218), "head" — the point of contact. Identity passes through the head of the victim, the place where the worshipper's own hands rest.
√ ʼayil — properly, strengthArticleNounmasculine singular
The ram is named again with the article (hā·’ā·yil) to close the verse — an envelope: the ram opens and the ram closes, framing the act of identification.