Exodus 25:15

Summary

The verse specifies that the carrying poles are to remain permanently fixed in the rings attached to the ark, using a negated verb to state that they must never be taken out.

Key words

• ta.be.'Ot ("[the] rings of", H2885) — feminine plural construct noun, grammatically bound to ha'aron, forming the phrase "the rings of the ark"; it opens the sentence, placing location before subject.
• yih.Yu ("they will be", H1961) — qal imperfect, third person masculine plural of the verb "to be"; expresses a standing state projected into the future, not a single event.
• ba.Dim ("poles", H905G) — masculine plural noun with definite article, the grammatical subject of the sentence, referring to the carrying rods for the ark.
• ya.Su.ru ("they will be removed", H5493G) — qal imperfect, third person masculine plural of a root meaning "to turn aside, depart"; combined with the negation lo' it expresses a prohibition-like future negative.
• mi.Me.nu ("from it", H4480A + H9033) — preposition with third-person masculine singular suffix, referring back to ha'aron ("the ark"), marking the ark as the point of separation being denied.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with a prepositional phrase, be-ta'be'ot ha'aron ("in the rings of the ark"), placed before the subject ha-baddim ("the poles") and the verb yihyu ("they will be"). This word order foregrounds location: the rings are established first as the site where the poles belong, and only then is it stated that the poles "will be" there. The verb yihyu is a qal imperfect, which in this context describes a continuing or habitual state rather than a one-time event — the poles are to remain in place as an ongoing condition.

The second clause, lo' yasuru mimennu, uses the negation lo' with the qal imperfect yasuru, from a root meaning "to turn aside" or "depart." The imperfect form combined with lo' functions to state a future negative condition: the poles "will not turn aside" or "will not be removed" from the ark, referenced by the suffixed preposition mimennu ("from it"). Together the two clauses form a statement of fixed, permanent attachment: location established, then negation of separation.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (qui semper erunt in circulis, nec umquam extrahentur ab eis, "which will always be in the rings, and will never be extracted from them") closely follows the Hebrew sense of permanence and non-removal. The LXX text supplied here, however, does not correspond to this content at all — it reads "and to put into the ark the testimonies which I will give you," material concerning the tablets rather than the poles. This reflects a difference in verse content between the Hebrew Masoretic numbering and the Septuagint's arrangement of this section of chapter 25, where the corresponding material differs from the Hebrew verse under analysis.