Exodus 25:24

Summary

Exodus 25:24 continues the instructions for the table of the tabernacle, directing that it be covered with pure gold and fitted with a gold molding running around its edge. The verse consists of two parallel commands built on the same grammatical pattern, both addressed to a singular "you."

Key words

• tzipita ("you will overlay", H6823) — piel stem (intensive/factitive) in the sequential perfect, continuing the chain of instructions begun in earlier verses; indicates a thorough covering action rather than a light coating.
• zahav ("gold", H2091) tahor ("pure", H2889) — noun followed by adjective, forming the fixed phrase "pure gold" that specifies the material quality required.
• zer ("molding of", H2213) — masculine singular noun in the construct state, meaning it must be followed by another noun to complete its sense ("molding of X").
• saviv ("all around", H5439) — a noun used adverbially to indicate that the molding encircles the object completely, not just partially.

What the text says

The verse is built from two clauses joined by the narrative ve- ("and") attached to sequential perfect verbs, a construction typical of instructional lists in this chapter: each new verb (tzipita, then asita) advances the sequence of actions the addressee must perform. In the first clause, the direct object marker 'oto ("it", H0853+H9033) refers back to the table described earlier, and the verb tzipita is followed directly by zahav tahor, stating the material without an intervening preposition — the gold itself functions almost as an adverbial complement describing how the overlay is done.

The second clause repeats the same ve- + sequential perfect pattern with asita ("you will make", H6213), followed by lo ("for it", preposition + suffix), and then the construct phrase zer zahav — literally "molding of gold." The construct state of zer means it cannot stand alone grammatically; it depends on zahav to be complete, producing the sense of a molding made of that material rather than a molding merely decorated with it. The final word, saviv, extends the phrase spatially, clarifying that the molding is not local to one side but circles the entire object.

Differences between versions

The LXXSWETE text for this verse reads στρεπτὸν κυμάτιον τῇ στεφάνῃ κύκλῳ ("a twisted wave-molding for the crown, around"), which does not correspond to the Hebrew zer ("molding of") but instead specifies a particular decorative shape (a twisted or wave pattern) and adds "for the crown" (τῇ στεφάνῃ), an element not present as a separate word in the Hebrew clause. The Vulgate renders zer as labium ("lip" or "rim") rather than "molding," and uses the feminine pronoun eam to refer back to the table, reflecting the grammatical gender of the Latin noun for the table rather than the Hebrew masculine referent marked by 'oto.