Exodus 25:3

Summary

The verse introduces a list by specifying its category: it names what will be taken from the people as a terumah ("contribution", H8641), then opens the enumeration with the first three items — gold, silver, and bronze. It functions as a heading verse before the fuller list of materials continues in the following verses.

Key words

• zoT ("this", H2063) — feminine demonstrative particle, agreeing with the feminine noun terumah, pointing forward to the list that follows.
• terumah ("contribution", H8641) — feminine singular noun with the definite article ha (H9009), naming the category of what is being collected.
• tikChu ("you will take", H3947H) — qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural, addressed collectively to the people who will bring the material.
• me'itTam ("from with them", H0854 + H9038) — preposition me (H9006) + 'et ("with") + 3rd person masculine plural suffix, indicating the source of the contribution.
• zaHav ("gold", H2091), Khesef ("silver", H3701G), neChoshet ("bronze", H5178A) — three masculine/feminine singular nouns joined by the conjunction ve/va (H9002), forming the opening items of the list.

What the text says

The sentence begins with the conjunction ve ("and", H9002) attached to the demonstrative zoT ("this"), producing the construction "and this is the terumah." The demonstrative zoT is feminine, matching the grammatical gender of terumah, and it functions cataphorically — pointing ahead to the material list rather than back to something already stated. This structure sets up a definition: the noun phrase "the terumah" is defined by the relative clause that follows.

The relative clause is introduced by 'asher ("which", H0834A), governing the verb tikChu ("you will take", H3947H), a qal imperfect verb in the 2nd person masculine plural. The imperfect aspect conveys an action not yet completed — either ongoing or future — consistent with instructions being given before the action occurs. The source of the collection is marked by me'itTam, a compound of the preposition me ("from"), the preposition 'et ("with"), and the 3rd person masculine plural suffix ("them"), literally "from with them."

After the relative clause, the text shifts from verbal syntax to a simple nominal list: zaHav ("gold"), Khesef ("silver"), and neChoshet ("bronze"), each joined by the conjunction ve/va. No verb governs this list directly — the items stand in apposition to terumah, specifying its contents.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders terumah ("contribution", H8641) as aparchē ("first-fruits/offering"), a term with a different semantic range than the Hebrew "contribution." The Vulgate omits an equivalent for terumah and zoT altogether, beginning directly with "Haec sunt autem quae accipere debeatis" ("these are what you must accept"), reformulating the relative clause as an obligation ("debeatis") rather than preserving the Hebrew's simple imperfect tikChu ("you will take").