Exodus 29:8 — Word Study
WLCוְאֶת־ בָּנָ֖יו תַּקְרִ֑יב וְהִלְבַּשְׁתָּ֖ם כֻּתֳּנֹֽת׃
BSAPresentqârab▸ [bring near, approach] his sonsbên [descendants, offspring] as wellʼêth and clothe themlâbash [put on, wrap with] with tunicskᵉthôneth [in, long garments, robes]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | and the object marker | Conjunction, particle |
| בָּנָ֖יו | sons his | Noun common masculine plural construct, suffix |
| תַּקְרִ֑יב | you will bring near | Verb, Hiphil, imperfect second person masculine singular |
| וְהִלְבַּשְׁתָּ֖ם | and you will clothe them | Verb hiphil sequential perfect second person masculine singular, suffix |
| כֻּתֳּנֹֽת׃ | tunics | Noun common, feminine plural absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Present his sons as well and clothe them with tunics. |
| KJV | And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. |
| ASV | And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. |
| YLT | 'And his sons thou dost bring near, and hast clothed them [with] coats, |
| WEB | You shall bring his sons, and put tunics on them. |
| BBE | And take his sons and put their robes on them; |
Where they part company is תַּקְרִ֑יב — see How Translations Differ.
The main action focuses on presenting, with two supporting actions detailing what is to be done with the sons.
4 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Trapp, Cambridge & more — read them ›
clause
verbקָרַב
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Exodus 29:8
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — Instructions for the Priestly Ordinationgenerated
Exodus 29:8 is part of a larger section detailing the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests. This chapter outlines the rituals and garments necessary for their service, emphasizing the importance of being properly prepared for their sacred duties.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exodus 28:40 | Make tunics, sashes, and headbands for Aaron’s sons, to give them glory and splendor. |
| 2 | Leviticus 8:13 | Then Moses presented Aaron’s sons, put tunics on them, wrapped sashes around them, and tied headbands on them, just as the LORD had commanded him. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 2 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — תַּקְרִ֑יב, tak.Rivgenerated
The verb קָרַב (qarab) means to approach or bring near. In this context, it indicates the act of presenting Aaron's sons for their ordination, highlighting the significance of their role as priests.
The Hiphil form used here suggests an intentional act of bringing someone into a specific position or relationship, emphasizing the formal nature of their appointment to serve before God.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The finite verb תַּקְרִ֑יב governs the main action of the verse, with two phrases following: a noun phrase indicating the object (his sons) and a second verb phrase describing what is to be done (clothe them). The structure emphasizes the sequential actions required for the ordination.
The Hebrew word order places the verb first, underscoring the action of presenting as the primary focus, followed by the objects of that action.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates תַּקְרִ֑יב as προσάχεις, meaning 'you will bring near'. This choice aligns closely with the Hebrew meaning but emphasizes the act of drawing near, which is significant in the context of priestly duties.
The Greek translation maintains the intent of the original Hebrew while adapting the phrasing to suit a Greek-speaking audience.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Exodus 29:8 gives instructions for Moses to present his sons and clothe them with tunics. This verse is part of the process of ordaining Aaron and his sons as priests, emphasizing their preparation for service.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
It means to bring them forward for their roles as priests, indicating their appointment and readiness for service.
Tunics symbolize the proper attire for priests, representing purity and readiness to serve before God.
Ordaining priests establishes a formal role in leading worship and performing sacrifices, essential for the community's relationship with God.
It highlights God's instructions for worship and the establishment of a priestly system, which is central to Israel's covenant relationship with Him.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How does the act of presenting someone for a role reflect on their responsibilities?
- What can we learn about preparation for service from this verse?
- In what ways do garments symbolize our roles in our communities or faith?
- How does understanding the priestly duties enhance our view of worship?
Commentators on this verse — 4 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Exodus 29:8 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd thou shalt bring his sons,.... Order the sons of Aaron to come to the same place where he was: and put coats upon them: such as were ordered to be made for them, Exodus 28:40.
Read John Gill on Exodus 29 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. No JFB commentary on these verses.
Read Robert Jamieson on Exodus 29 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsExodus 29:8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.Ver. 8. Coats, &c.]
Read John Trapp on Exodus 29 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges8–9. The investiture of the ordinary priests (Leviticus 8:13). These are to be dressed in their tunics, sashes, and caps (Exodus 28:40). The words Aaron and his sons (which are inexact, for ‘Aaron’ had no ‘cap,’ Exodus 28:40) are not in LXX., or in the corresponding passage, Leviticus 8:13; they are doubtless a gloss, due to the fact that the ‘girdle’ (sash) for Aaron was not mentioned in v. 5 (so Di.). The linen drawers (Exodus 28:42 f.) are not noticed either here or in Leviticus 8:7; Leviticus 8:13.
Read Cambridge on Exodus 29 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
Present his sons as well and clothe them with tunics.
You shall bring his sons, and put tunics on them.
Present his sons as well and clothe them with tunics.
You are to present his sons and clothe them with tunics
Tyndale line
And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
And thou shalt bring his sonnes, and put coates vpon them,
Strictly literal
And thou shalt bring his sons near, and clothe them with the vests.
'And his sons thou dost bring near, and hast clothed them [with] coats,
And you bring his sons near, and have clothed them [with] coats,
And his sons shalt thou bring near, and clothe them with coats.
You must bring his sons and put coats on them.
From the Latin
Thou shalt bring his sons also and shalt put on them the linen tunicks, and gird them with a girdle:
Simplified
Then have his sons come and put the tunics on them.
And take his sons and put their robes on them;
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree closely in their wording, with a complete match of five out of five words. The Samaritan Pentateuch differs in one word, using כיתנות (kitnot) instead of כֻּתֹּנֶת (kuthonet), both meaning 'tunic'.
וְאֶת־ בָּנָ֖יו תַּקְרִ֑יב וְהִלְבַּשְׁתָּ֖ם כֻּתֳּנֹֽת׃
5 of the 5 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
ואת בניו תקריב והלבשׁתם כיתנות
1 word differs from the Masoretic Text: כיתנות (tunic)
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Exodus 29:8
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
אֵת (eth) is primarily a grammatical marker in Hebrew, indicating the definite direct object of a verb. It is not translated into English and typically precedes nouns that are definite. The word is derived from a demonstrative sense of entity, related to the Hebrew word for 'self.' Its Aramaic equivalent is יָת (yat).
אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite
base
H853 אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite
853 'eth ayth
apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of
entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more
definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or
namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).
see HEBREW for 0226
אֵת (et) — [Obj.].
sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative
Aramaic equivalent: yat (יָת "whom" H3487)
Conj | DirObjM — Conjunction · particleHC/To
בֵּן (ben) means 'son' or 'male child' and encompasses a wide range of meanings, including descendants, young animals, and even figurative uses like sparks or arrows. It can refer to members of a tribe or class and is used in various contexts throughout the Old Testament, such as in 1 Chronicles 24:26. The word is derived from a root meaning 'to build' and implies a connection to family or lineage.
בֵּן 4870 n.m. son
son, male child, born of a woman
children (male and female)
youth, young men
the young of animals
of plant shoots
fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows
member of a guild, order or class
of animals son of (the) herd
ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.
n. relat. of age
base
בְּנוֹ 1 Ch 24:26, 27 as n.pr.m. in AV, RV, but render: the sons of Jaaziah his son, & the sons of Merari by Jaaziah his son, cf. VB & Be Öt.
done
H1121a בֵּן son . son, male child, born of a woman
. children (male and female)
. youth, young men
. the young of animals
. of plant shoots
. fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows
. . member of a guild, order or class
. of animals son of (the) herd
. ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.
. n. relat. of age
H1121b בְּנוֹ as n. pr. m. in AV, RV, but render: the sons of Jaaziah his son, & the sons of Merari by Jaaziah his son
1121 ben bane
from 1129; 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,
etc., (like 1, 251, etc.)):--+ afflicted, age, (Ahoh-)
(Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-)ite, (anoint-)ed one, appointed to,
(+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-)ian, one born,
bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X
came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of
first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, +
kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+)
people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, +
spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous
one, + valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.
see HEBREW for 01129
see HEBREW for 01
see HEBREW for 0251
בֵּן (ben) — son: child.
: child/son
בְּנוֹ (be.no) — Beno.
A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ch.24.26;
son of: Jaaziah (H3269);
brother of: Shoham (H7719), Zaccur (H2139I) and Ibri (H5681)
§ Beno = "his son"
the sons of Jaaziah and the sons of Merari by Jaahziah (his son)
בֵּן (ben) — son: descendant/people.
: descendant, people, tribe, nation
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
§ : child/son
בֵּן (ben) — son: young animal.
: calf/lamb/young(ANIMAL)
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
§ : descendant
בֵּן (ben) — son: type of.
: rebel/son(Belial)
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
§ : people/men/nation/tribe
בֵּן (ben) — son.
: [inheriting]son/heir
A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)
בֵּן (ben) — son: warrior.
: warrior/son(strong)
N-mp | Suff — Noun common masculine plural construct · suffixHNcmpc/Sp3ms
קָרַב (qarab) is a Hebrew verb meaning to approach or come near, with various nuances including bringing or presenting something. It encompasses different forms such as Qal (to approach), Niphal (to be brought near), and Hiphil (to bring near). The term is often associated with offerings or dedications to God, particularly in the context of the book of Ezekiel.
[קָרֵב], קָרַב 279 vb. come near, approach
Qal 93 approach
Niph. he shall be brought unto God
Pi. cause to approach, bring near
Hiph.
177
bring near, bring, present
of time
as term techn. (c. 158 t.), chiefly Ez HP, bring near, of presenting, dedicating, or offering to י׳
base
H7126 קָרֵב, קָרַב come near, approach .approach
. he shall be brought unto God
. cause to approach, bring near
. . . bring near, bring, present
. of time
. as term techn. (c. 158 t.), chiefly Ez HP, bring near, of presenting, dedicating, or offering to י׳
7126 qarab kaw-rab'
a primitive root; to approach (causatively, bring near) for
whatever purpose:--(cause to) approach, (cause to) bring
(forth, near), (cause to) come (near, nigh), (cause to) draw
near (nigh), go (near), be at hand, join, be near, offer,
present, produce, make ready, stand, take.
קָרַב (qa.rav) — to present: come.
: come/approach
1) to come near, approach, enter into, draw near
1a) (Qal) to approach, draw near
1b) (Niphal) to be brought near
1c) (Piel) to cause to approach, bring near, cause to draw near
1d) (Hiphil) to bring near, bring, present
קָרַב (qa.rav) — to present: bring.
: bring/offer
1) to come near, approach, enter into, draw near
1a) (Qal) to approach, draw near
1b) (Niphal) to be brought near
1c) (Piel) to cause to approach, bring near, cause to draw near
1d) (Hiphil) to bring near, bring, present
V-Hiphil-Imperf-2ms — Verb · Hiphil · imperfect second person masculine singularHVhi2ms
The Hebrew word לָבֵשׁ (*labash*) means to put on or wear clothing, and it can refer to both literal and figurative clothing. It is built from a primitive root meaning to wrap around. The entries cover various forms, including Qal, Pual, and Hiphil, indicating different nuances of dressing or being clothed. The word is also noted for its use in a figurative sense, such as being clothed with a spirit.
לָבֵשׁ, לָבַשׁ vb. put on (a garment), wear, clothe, be clothed
Qal
lit. put on (one’s own) garment; = wear (more or less habitually)
very oft. fig., put on, be clothed with
lit. put on
once
clothed with
and the spirit of י׳ clothed itself with Gideon
Pu. arrayed
Hiph. clothe, array with
base
H3847 לָבֵשׁ, לָבַשׁ put on (a garment), wear, clothe, be clothed
3847 labash law-bash'
or labesh {law-bashe'}; a primitive root; properly, wrap
around, i.e. (by implication) to put on a garment or clothe
(oneself, or another), literally or figuratively:--(in)
apparel, arm, array (self), clothe (self), come upon, put (on,
upon), wear.
לָבֵשׁ (la.vash) — to clothe.
1) to dress, wear, clothe, put on clothing, be clothed
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to put on clothes, be clothed, wear
1a2) to put on, be clothed with (fig.)
1b) (Pual) to be fully clothed
1c) (Hiphil) to clothe, array with, dress
Aramaic equivalent: le.vash (לְבֵשׁ "to clothe" H3848)
Conj | V-Hiphil-2ms | Suff — Verb hiphil sequential perfect second person masculine singular · suffixHc/Vhq2ms/Sp3mp
כֻּתֹּ֫נֶת (kthoneth) refers to a tunic or garment, specifically a long shirt-like undergarment typically made of linen. It is derived from a root meaning to cover, and is associated with clothing items such as coats and robes. The term appears in various contexts in the Old Testament.
כֻּתֹּ֫נֶת, כְּתֹ֫נֶת n.f. tunic
base
H3801 כֻּתֹּ֫נֶת, כְּתֹ֫נֶת tunic
3801 kthoneth keth-o'-neth
or kuttoneth {koot-to'-neth}; from an unused root meaning to
cover (compare 3802); a shirt:--coat, garment, robe.
see HEBREW for 03802
כֻּתֹּ֫נֶת (ke.to.net) — tunic.
1) tunic, under-garment
1a) a long shirt-like garment usually of linen
N-fp — Noun common · feminine plural absoluteHNcfpa