| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the causal conjunction ki {כִּי | kî} ‘for/because’ establishing the reason for the priestly designation. The prepositional pronoun vo {בּוֹ | bô} ‘in him’ introduces the recipient of the action of bachar {בָּחַר | bā-ḥar} ‘he chose,’ where Yahweh Eloheikha {יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ | Yə-hō-wāh ʾĕ-lō-hê-kha} functions as the selecting subject. The phrase mikol shevateikha {מִכָּל־שְׁבָטֶיךָ | mi-kôl še-vā-ṯê-kha} ‘from all your tribes’ creates an exclusive scope. The parallel infinitive constructions la‘amod {לַעֲמֹד | la-‘a-môḏ} ‘to stand’ and le-sharet {לְשָׁרֵת | lə-šā-rêṯ} ‘to minister’ convey the dual purpose of ceremonial positioning and priestly service. The locative beshem Yahweh {בְּשֵׁם־יְהוָה | bə-šêm Yə-hō-wāh} ‘in the name of the LORD’ grounds both functions in covenantal authority. The final clause hu u-vanav kol ha-yamim {הוּא וּבָנָיו כָּל־הַיָּמִים | hû ū-ḇānā-v kôl ha-yā-mîm} ‘he and his sons all the days’ employs a nominal temporal phrase with kol ‘all’ plus the definite noun ha-yamim to denote unbroken, generational ministry. English infinitives preserve the Hebrew purposive infinitive constructs, and the repeated divine name underscores ongoing divine agency. |