Exodus 25:16

Summary

The verse instructs the addressee to place inside the ark "the testimony" (ha-'edut), an object that God states he will give to him. The sentence is a direct divine command continuing a sequence, with a relative clause specifying whose gift the testimony is.

Key words

• na.ta.Ta ("you will put", H5414H) — qal sequential perfect, second person masculine singular; continues a chain of prior instructions as an ongoing command ("and you shall put").
• 'a.Ron ("ark", H0727) — masculine singular noun, definite via the preceding article ha (H9009); marks the destination of the action.
• 'et (H0853) — untranslated direct object marker, signaling that ha-'edut is the grammatical object being placed.
• 'e.Dut ("testimony", H5715) — feminine singular noun, definite; the item to be deposited in the ark.
• 'e.Ten ("I will give", H5414G) — qal imperfect, first person singular, expressing an action not yet completed from the standpoint of the speaker, introduced by the relative particle 'a.Sher ("which", H0834A).

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with the narrative vav (H9001) attached to na.ta.Ta, linking this command to the preceding material as part of a continuous set of instructions. The verb form is a sequential perfect, which in this context functions as a directive: "and you shall put." The object of the placement is introduced twice grammatically — first through the preposition 'el (H0413) plus the definite article and noun ha-'aron ("into the ark"), marking the location, and second through the object marker 'et followed by ha-'edut ("the testimony"), marking what is placed.

The relative clause 'a.Sher 'e.Ten 'e.Lei.kha ("which I will give to you") modifies ha-'edut, clarifying that the testimony is something the speaker will provide. The verb 'e.Ten is an imperfect, indicating an action situated in future or ongoing time relative to the speaker, distinct from the sequential perfect na.ta.Ta used for the addressee's action. The pronominal suffix -kha (H9031) attached to the preposition 'el specifies the second-person masculine singular recipient of the giving.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (Ponesque in arca testificationem quam dabo tibi) and the Hebrew align closely in structure and content, both marking the ark as location and "testimony" as the object given by the speaker. The Septuagint text supplied here (LXXSWETE) describes measurements of a hilasterion ("mercy seat") in gold, content that does not correspond to the Hebrew of this verse; the Greek text given addresses a different subject matter than ha-'edut and the placement command found in the Hebrew and Vulgate.