What Does Leviticus 8:6 Mean?
And Moses brought Aaron and his sons near, and washed them in the waters.
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 Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.THE KEY
You are brought near before the washing begins.
THE MEANING
The scene places you in a sequence of nearness and washing: you are brought close, then what clings is washed away. Readiness begins by clearing what is already there.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that you must arrive already clean to be brought near: here, nearness comes first and washing follows.
THE ROOT
וַיַּקְרֵב
wayyaqrev
GROWS FROM
קרב
qarab
Draw near, approach.
“brought near” in this verse is wayyaqrev. English “brought” can sound like transport; this root makes nearness part of the action. Its branches include near and korban, a drawing-near offering, so the movement here is toward closeness, not merely relocation.
ALSO GROWS
qarov: Near, close.
קָרוֹב
This branch makes explicit the nearness carried by “brought.”
korban: Offering; drawing near.
קָרְבָּן
This branch links approach with the offering, illuminating the movement toward sacred service.
וַיִּרְחָץ
vayirchats
GROWS FROM
רחץ
rachats
Wash, bathe.
“washed” in this verse is vayirchats. The root names an action on the body: water removes what clings. Washing clears the body before the garments and service that follow, so preparation begins by uncovering rather than adding.
ALSO GROWS
rachatsu: Wash; used in the invitation to wash the feet in Genesis 18:4.
רַחֲצוּ
The same root appears in an act of embodied welcome, showing washing as practical care as well as preparation.
yirchatsu: They shall wash; used before altar service in Exodus 30:20.
יִרְחֲצוּ
This branch shows washing accompanying approach and service.
מֹשֶׁה
Moshe
GROWS FROM
משה
mashah
Draw out of water; the name is linked to this action in Exodus 2:10.
“Moses” in this verse is Moshe. The verse that gives Moshe his name links it to being drawn out of water. Here the name-bearer brings Aaron and his sons to water, echoing drawing out, bringing near, and washing.
ALSO GROWS
mashah: To draw out.
מָשָׁה
This is the verb connected to Moses’ name in Exodus 2:10.
meshitihu: I drew him out.
מְשִׁיתִהוּ
This is the phrase used to explain the name, linking Moses to water and emergence.
THE PATTERN
Washing clears what clings at the threshold of nearness and participation.
Who climbs the mountain of the LORD? Who stands in his set-apart place? Clean of hands and clear of heart, he who does not lift up his living soul to emptiness, nor swears in deceit.Jesus said to him, The one who has bathed has no need, except to wash the feet, but is wholly clean; and you are clean, though not all of you.That he might set her apart, cleansing her with the bath of water by the word.THE THREAD
You bring Aaron and his sons near to the opening of the tent of meeting, and you wash them with waters.This verse repeats both roots: תַּקְרִיב (taqriv, bring near) shares קרב (qarab, draw near), and וְרָחַצְתָּ (verachats, wash) shares רחץ (rachats, wash). The pairing shows nearness and washing as one sequence: cleansing begins as they are brought close.
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