וְזֹ֣את ׀ עֲשׂ֣וּ לָהֶ֗ם וְחָיוּ֙ וְלֹ֣א יָמֻ֔תוּ בְּגִשְׁתָּ֖ם אֶת־קֹ֣דֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁ֑ים אַהֲרֹ֤ן וּבָנָיו֙ יָבֹ֔אוּ וְשָׂמ֣וּ אוֹתָ֗ם אִ֥ישׁ אִ֛ישׁ עַל־עֲבֹדָת֖וֹ וְאֶל־מַשָּׂאֽוֹ׃
Do this with them, that they may live and not die when they approach the most sacred objects: let Aaron and his sons go in and assign every one of them to his duties and to his porterage.
(The above rendering comes from the RJPS translation—an adaptation of the NJPS translation—according to a proposed correction for late Fall 2024. Before accounting for this rendering, I will analyze the plain sense of the Hebrew term אִישׁ, by employing a situation-oriented construal as outlined in this introduction, pp. 11–16.)
This is one of 19 biblical instances where (singular, absolute) אִישׁ is repeated. While אִישׁ by itself has its own situating function, the repetition אִישׁ אִישׁ imparts a “no exceptions” meaning to the situation that is being depicted, as I explained at the first instance, Exodus 36:4; see my comment there.
One such type of usages, in which אִישׁ אִישׁ describes a thoroughgoing manner of distribution, is found not only in Exod 36:4, but also in Num 1:4, 4:49—and here. In this case, participation in Tabernacle-related duties is to be distributed across the set of all Levite men of working age. The point of the repetition is that every single Levite must be involved—taking care not to leave out any of them. The reason for such care follows from what has just been stated in this verse: if even one Levite does not know clearly what is expected of him, he might make a fatal error.
Gender is not at issue, because women are not in view.
As for rendering into English, when gender is not at issue, English idiom expects it to be specified only when it is not obvious to the reader. In this case, the male pronouns (“his duties … his porterage”) are more than enough evidence for the contemporary reader. Thus we have no warrant for rendering אִישׁ itself in gendered terms. The NJPS “each of them” is appropriately gender neutral.
However, the NJPS rendering does not express the emphatic, across-the-board nature of the claim that is conveyed by the phrase אִישׁ אִישׁ. The revised rendering replaces each with every one for this reason.