Exodus 40:31

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and their feet there.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Highlights

Septuagint runs longer here — compare

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וְרָחֲצ֣וּ

râchats

H7364

“and · to wash”

Conjunction + Verb, Qal, Sequential Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural

Appears 72× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Genesis 18:4

Full BDB Definition

Origin: a primitive root

TWOT: 2150

to wash, wash off, wash away, bathe - (Qal) - to wash, wash off, wash away - to wash, bathe (oneself) - (Pual) to be washed - (Hithpael) to wash oneself

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

9: words
8: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Grammatical profile

1 verb
5 nouns
1 preposition
2 particles

Verb forms

וְרָחֲצ֣וּ Qal · Sequential Perfect

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 12 words from the Hebrew and 19 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — the Septuagint runs noticeably longer here. See the side-by-side →

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 9 Hebrew tokens and 14 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Exodus 40:31 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Exodus 30:19–20 Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in it.
Psalms 26:6 I will wash my hands in innocence, So I will go about your altar, Yahweh;
Psalms 51:6–7 Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
John 13:10 Jesus said to him, "Someone who has bathed only needs to have his feet washed, but is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you."
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

Here the Septuagint runs noticeably longer than the Hebrew — LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) 19 words vs World English Bible 12. A rough length comparison of the two English translations, not a word-level alignment — read both below.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Exodus 40:31 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וְרָחֲצ֣וּ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ מֹשֶׁ֖ה וְאַהֲרֹ֣ן וּבָנָ֑יו אֶת יְדֵיהֶ֖ם וְאֶת רַגְלֵיהֶֽם

Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and their feet there.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Exodus 40:31 Septuagint · lemma form

καί καλύπτω ὁ νεφέλη ὁ σκηνή ὁ μαρτύριον καί δόξα κύριος πίμπλημι ὁ σκηνή

And he set up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar; and Moses accomplished all the works.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וּמְקַדְשִׁין מִנֵהּ משֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן וּבְנוֹהִי יָת יְדֵיהוֹן וְיָת רַגְלֵיהוֹן:

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וְנַסְבִין משֶׁה וְאַהֲרן וּבְנוֹי מִינֵיהּ בְּנַטְלָא וּמְקַדְשִׁין מִינֵיהּ יַת יְדֵיהוֹן וְיַת רִגְלֵיהוֹן

And Mosheh, and Aharon, and his sons, took from it for their ablutions, and sanctified therewith their hands and their feet;

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Exodus 40:31 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(31, 32) These verses are parenthetic. They interrupt the narrative of what Moses did “on the first day of the first month,” informing us of the use whereto the laver was applied subsequently. (Comp. Exo_30:19-21.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

31–32. See Exo_30:19-20. Moses is included, because for the time he acted as priest (v. 27). The tenses are frequentative, used to wash (twice), just as in Exo_34:34 f., for instance. As ‘Aaron and his sons’ are not yet installed (see Leviticus 8), there is a prolepsis in the verses, even if (Di.) they are not a mere interpolation, attached unsuitably to v. 30, on the basis of Exo_30:19 f.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation,.... He had been there before, both in the holy, and in the most holy place, to see that the furniture of each were put as the Lord directed, which being done he came out again; and now a cloud being on the outside of it, and the glory of the Lord within, he was so struck with an awe and reverence of the divine Being, of whose presence these were a symbol, that he could not engage his heart, or had not boldness to go into the tabernacle until he was called, Lev 1:1 for so it follows:

because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle; there was something, no doubt, very venerable in the spreading cloud, as well as very striking in the refulgent glory, which commanded distance, even to a person that had been used to converse with God; Moses, that went into the midst of the cloud where the Lord was, now could not or durst not go into the tabernacle it covered; and he who then was not deterred by the sight of the glory of God, which was like devouring fire, Exo 24:16 now could not, or at least thought it not proper and advisable to enter into the holy place erected for the service and worship of God; the chief reason of which may be, because, as yet, he had not a call to enter, as he then had, and as we find was afterwards given him, Lev 1:1 and perhaps another reason may be, because he was now no longer a priest; Aaron and his sons being invested with the priestly office, whose business it was to draw nigh to God; and indeed the call he afterwards had was not to come into the tabernacle, but was a call unto him out of it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The Pulpit Commentary

Vers. 31, 32. Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands. This is not a part of the narrative of what was done at this time, but a parenthetic statement of the purpose to which the laver was subsequently applied. On the importance attached to these ablutions, see Exo_30:20, Exo_30:21.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

washed their hands and their feet from the basin

They washed with water from the basin. This can be stated clearly in the translation. AT: "washed their hands and their feet with water from the basin" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

In this way

"And so"

translationWords

Moses

Aaron

tent of meeting

altar

Yahweh

command

court

tabernacle

works

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

ורחצו ממנו משה ואהרן AND MOSES AND AARON [AND HIS SONS] LAVED [THEIR HANDS] — On the eighth day of the consecration all of them mentioned here, including Moses, were alike in respect of the priestly office. The translation of ורחצו in the Targum should therefore be ומקדשין, and they were hallowing (i. e. they then hallowed their hands and their feet), for on that day Moses laved his hands together with them (Aaron and his sons).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Exodus, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 9 words (8 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is râchats (“to wash”). The Greek Septuagint runs longer here. A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

What does “to wash” (râchats) contribute to the verse as a whole?
Exodus 30:19–20 shares this passage’s theme. How do the two illuminate each other?
Compared with the Hebrew, the Septuagint runs longer here. What questions does that raise?
The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
The verb «וְרָחֲצ֣וּ» is Qal Sequential Perfect. How does its form color the action?
Reading how Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers and The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

This verse counts 9 Hebrew ↔ 14 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 5 words in this verse.
8 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 9 words in this verse.