Exodus 25:23

Summary

The verse instructs the construction of a table made of shittim ("acacia", H7848) wood, specifying its three dimensions: two cubits in length, one cubit in width, and one cubit and a half in height. The sentence continues the sequence of construction commands begun earlier in the chapter.

Key words

• 'a.Si.ta ("you will make", H6213H) — qal sequential perfect, second person masculine singular; continues a chain of instructions given previously, implying "and you shall also make..."
• shul.Chan ("a table", H7979) — masculine singular noun, the object to be constructed.
• 'a.Tzei ("wood(s) of", H6086G) — masculine plural construct; grammatically links to shi.Tim to form the phrase "wood of acacia," specifying material.
• 'a.re.K ("length", H0753) with suffix o ("its", H9023) — construct noun + pronominal suffix, literally "its length," referring back to the table.
• ko.ma.T ("height", H6967) with suffix o ("its", H9023) — same construction pattern, "its height."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built as a single verbal clause followed by three short nominal clauses giving measurements. The verb 'a.Si.ta ("you will make", H6213H) governs the whole verse; everything after it — the table, its material, and its dimensions — depends grammatically on this one verbal action. The noun phrase 'a.Tzei shi.Tim ("wood(s) of acacia", H6086G + H7848) uses a construct chain, a common Hebrew way of expressing "made of" without a separate preposition.

The three measurement clauses each follow the same pattern: a cardinal number expressed through nouns for cubit units ('a.ma.Ta.yim, "two cubits", H0520A; 'a.Mah, "a cubit", H0520A twice) followed by a noun in construct form ('a.re.K, "length", H0753; ra.che.B, "breadth", H7341; ko.ma.T, "height", H6967) plus the third-person masculine singular suffix o ("its", H9023). This suffix explicitly ties each dimension back to the table (shul.Chan, H7979), producing literally "two cubits [is] its length," "a cubit [is] its breadth," and "a cubit and a half [is] its height." The dual form 'a.ma.Ta.yim ("two cubits", H0520A) itself grammatically encodes the number "two" through the dual noun ending, without needing a separate numeral word.

Differences between versions

The Greek text supplied under LXXSWETE for this reference does not correspond to the Hebrew content of Exodus 25:23; it describes "twisted golden wreaths" and "a crown/border of a handbreadth around it" (στρεπτὰ κυμάτια χρυσᾶ κύκλῳ … στεφάνην παλαιστοῦ κύκλῳ), material found elsewhere in the chapter's description of table ornamentation, not the table's basic dimensions. The Vulgate (Facies et mensam de lignis setim, habentem duos cubitos longitudinis, et in latitudine cubitum, et in altitudine cubitum et semissem) and the Hebrew agree closely in structure and numerical values for length, width, and height.