Leviticus 8:29

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before Yahweh. It was Moses' portion of the ram of consecration, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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הֶ֣חָזֶ֔ה

châzeh

H2373

“the · breast”

Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute

Appears 13× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Exodus 29:26

Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H2372

TWOT: 634a

breast (of animals), breast of an animal sacrifice

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 →

18: words
14: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is הֶ֣חָזֶ֔ה breast H2373 — appearing just 13 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

הֶ֣חָזֶ֔ה breast H2373 occurs in 12 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

4 verbs
11 nouns
3 particles

Verb forms

וַיִּקַּ֤ח Qal · Sequential Imperfect
וַיְנִיפֵ֥הוּ Hiphil · Sequential Imperfect
הָיָה֙ Qal · Perfect
צִוָּ֥ה Piel · Perfect

Repetition

Words recur within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

מֹשֶׁה֙ Moses H4872 ×3
יְהוָ֑ה LORD H3068 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 26 words from the Hebrew and 36 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

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 18 Hebrew tokens and 25 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 Leviticus 8:29 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Exodus 29:26–27 "You shall take the breast of Aaron's ram of consecration, and wave it for a wave-offering before Yahweh: and it shall be your portion.
Leviticus 7:30–34 With his own hands he shall bring the offerings of Yahweh made by fire. He shall bring the fat with the breast, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before Yahweh.
Isaiah 66:20 They shall bring all your brothers out of all the nations for an offering to Yahweh, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says Yahweh, as the children of Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel into the house of Yahweh.
1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Peter 4:11 If any man speaks, let it be as it were oracles of God. If any man serves, let it be as of the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

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.

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

Hebrew Leviticus 8:29 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וַיִּקַּ֤ח מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶת הֶ֣חָזֶ֔ה וַיְנִיפֵ֥הוּ תְנוּפָ֖ה לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה מֵאֵ֣יל הַמִּלֻּאִ֗ים לְמֹשֶׁ֤ה הָיָה֙ לְמָנָ֔ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יְהוָ֖ה אֶת מֹשֶֽׁה

Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave offering before Yahweh. It was Moses' portion of the ram of consecration, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Leviticus 8:29 Septuagint · lemma form

καί λαμβάνω μωυσῆς ὁ στηθύνιον ἀποαἱρέω αὐτός ἐπίθεμα ἔναντι κύριος ἀπό ὁ κριός ὁ τελείωσις καί γίγνομαι μωυσῆς ἐν μερίς καθά ἐντέλλομαι κύριος ὁ μωυσῆς

And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood that was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, and on his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.

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)

וּנְסִיב מֹשֶׁה יָת חֶדְיָא וַאֲרִימֵהּ אֲרָמָא קֳדָם יְיָ מִדְכַר קוּרְבָּנַיָא לְמֹשֶׁה הֲוָה לָחֳלָק כְּמָא דִי פַקִיד יְיָ יָת מֹשֶׁה

(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)

וּנְסֵיב משֶׁה יַת חַדְיָא וַאֲרִימֵיהּ אֲרָמָא קֳדָם יְיָ מִדְכַר קוּרְבָּנַיָא אִתְפְּרַשׁ לְמשֶׁה הֲוָה לְחוּלַק הֵי כְּמָא דְפַקֵיד יְיָ יַת משֶׁה

And he took the breast, and uplifted it, an elevation before the Lord: of the oblation-ram that was the separated portion of Mosheh, as the Lord commanded Mosheh.

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 Leviticus 8:29 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 →

Joseph Benson's Commentary

Lev 8:29; Lev 8:31. Moses’s part — Who, at this time administering the priest’s office, was to receive the priest’s wages. Boil the flesh — That which was left of the ram, and particularly the breast, which was said to be Moses’s part, (Lev 8:29,) and by him was given to Aaron, that he and his sons might eat of it, in token that they, and only they, should have the right to do so for the future.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Tyndale Open Resources

8:29 Moses functioned as a priest in the ordination ceremony and so received the priest’s portion of the offering (see 8:15).

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(29) And Moses took the breast.—That is, the breast-piece, which was afterwards the perquisite of the officiating priest (see Lev_7:34), fell in this instance to the share of Moses, in accordance with the directions given in Exo_29:26, to be his sacrificial meal since he was divinely appointed to perform the priestly service.

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

29. The sacrifice having been offered Moses waves the breast and it is reserved as his portion. It has been asked Why, if Moses receives the breast as a priestly due, does he not also receive the right thigh and cakes? In answer it may be said that the whole ceremony is twofold in character. It is an inauguration of the priesthood and at the same time an instruction to the future priests how they should discharge their functions. The ceremony of waving the breast being prescribed for all Peace-Offerings is observed by Moses. The inauguration of the priests, both as offerers of sacrifice and receivers of priestly dues, is indicated by the composite character of that which is placed in their hands, and the first Wave-Offering is given entirely to the Lord to shew that all belongs to Him and that He is the real giver of the priestly dues or, as it is said, He ‘is their inheritance.’ (Deu_18:2.)

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 took the breast,.... Of the ram of consecration:

and waved it for a wave offering before the Lord; this Moses seems to have waved with his own hands, and not upon the hands of Aaron and his sons, putting his under them, as in the wave offering of the fat, shoulder, and cakes, and for which the following words seem to give a reason:

for of the ram of consecration it was Moses's part; the breast of it was his:

as the Lord commanded Moses; see Exo 29:26.

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

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

Moses at this time administering the priest’s office was to receive the priest’s wages; it being most just and reasonable that the work and wages should go together.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

John Wesley's Explanatory Notes

Moses's part - Who at this time administering the priest's office was to receive the priest's wages.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

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.

Leviticus, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 18 words (14 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is châzeh (“breast”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

What does “breast” (châzeh) contribute to the verse as a whole?
How does Exodus 29:26, which shares the word «breast», read alongside this verse?
What does the repetition of “Moses” (3× in this one verse) do in this verse?
These translations render this verse differently. What is at stake in choosing one wording over another?
«וַיִּקַּ֤ח» is a Qal Sequential Imperfect verb. How does that grammatical form shape the action described?
Compare how Joseph Benson's Commentary and Tyndale Open Study Notes read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

This verse counts 18 Hebrew ↔ 25 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 12 words in this verse.
“Moses” occurs 3× in this single verse.
14 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 18 words in this verse.