What Does Leviticus 10:20 Mean?
And when Moses heard that, it was good in his eyes.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And when Moses heard that, he was content.THE KEY
The Hebrew places contentment in perception: after Moses hears, the matter is good in his eyes.
THE MEANING
A judgment can change when the reason behind an act is heard. Moses receives Aaron’s explanation, and what he challenged becomes good in his eyes; the verse lets acceptance remain quiet.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that revising a judgment after hearing a reason means weakness dissolves here: Moses accepts what he first challenged.
THE ROOT
וַיִּיטַב בְּעֵינָיו
vayyitav beʿenav
GROWS FROM
יטב
Be good, pleasing, or fitting.
“good in his eyes” in this verse is vayyitav beʿenav. The KJV’s “content” foregrounds a settled feeling; the Hebrew wording also shows the judgment beneath it: the matter is good in Moses’ eyes. His hearing ends in a changed evaluation.
ALSO GROWS
yitav: Be good or pleasing; go well.
יִיטַב
This form makes the verse’s goodness an assessment of what now seems fitting.
heytiv: Do good, deal well, or benefit.
הֵיטִיב
This related form shows the root can describe goodness enacted, while Moses’ response shows goodness recognized.
וַיִּשְׁמַע
vayyishmaʿ
GROWS FROM
שמע
Hear, listen, or receive a report.
The root of “heard” also forms a word for a report: what reaches Moses is an account he can take in. Hearing comes before the matter becomes good in his eyes.
ALSO GROWS
shemuʿah: A report or news; something heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
It links hearing with receiving an account, as Moses receives Aaron’s explanation.
shomeaʿ: One who hears or listens.
שֹׁמֵעַ
It keeps attention on the listener’s part in the moment: Moses hears before his judgment settles.
THE PATTERN
A response becomes sound when hearing comes before judgment.
And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak, for your servant hears and responds.Know this, my beloved brothers. Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to swell.THE THREAD
The one who returns a word before he hears it, folly and shame are his.Both verses use שָׁמַע (shamaʿ, hear): Moses hears before the matter becomes good in his eyes, while Proverbs names the shame of answering before hearing. The shared root makes listening the hinge between receiving an account and forming a judgment.
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