Exodus 25:4

Summary

Exodus 25:4 lists materials to be brought as offerings: dyed threads or fabrics in three colors, fine linen, and goat hair. The verse is a simple coordinated list of nouns joined by the conjunction "and," continuing an enumeration begun in the preceding verse.

Key words

• techelet ("violet stuff", H8504) — feminine singular noun naming a blue-violet dye or dyed material, likely derived from a marine source; grammatically simple, functioning as one item in the list.
• 'argaman ("purple", H0713) — masculine singular noun for a purple dye or dyed material, paired asyndetically in sense (though syntactically joined by ve) with the other colors.
• tola'at ("scarlet stuff of", H8438A) — feminine singular noun in the construct state, meaning it must attach to the following word to form a compound expression rather than standing alone.
• shani ("scarlet", H8144) — masculine singular noun that completes the construct phrase begun by tola'at, together yielding "scarlet-stuff of scarlet" or "crimson material," a designation for red dye derived from an insect source.
• 'izzim ("goat hair", H5795) — masculine plural noun; the plural form indicates either the animals (goats) or, by extension, the hair taken from them, used here as raw material.

What the text says

The Hebrew verse is structured as a chain of five items, each introduced by the conjunction ve/u ("and", H9002): techelet, 'argaman, tola'at shani, shesh, and 'izzim. This repeated conjunction creates a paratactic list rather than a hierarchical sentence — there is no verb in this verse itself; it depends grammatically on the preceding material list initiated earlier in the passage.

A notable grammatical feature is the construct pair tola'at ("scarlet stuff of", H8438A) plus shani ("scarlet", H8144). The construct state means tola'at cannot stand independently in this form; it requires shani to complete its meaning, producing a compound term for a specific red dye-material rather than two separate items. This is different from the other colors (techelet, 'argaman), which stand as single independent nouns.

The final term, 'izzim ("goat hair", H5795), is grammatically plural and literally denotes "goats," though in this material list it functions as shorthand for the hair taken from goats, used as a textile raw material.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders tola'at shani as κόκκινον διπλοῦν ("scarlet, doubled/twice-dyed"), adding a qualifier ("doubled") not explicit in the Hebrew construct phrase. The Vulgate similarly reads coccum bis tinctum ("scarlet dyed twice"), matching the LXX's addition of "twice" rather than a literal rendering of the Hebrew construct structure. The Hebrew itself does not contain a word corresponding to "twice" or "doubled"; both LXX and Vulgate appear to interpret the construct phrase with this added nuance not visible in the base text alone.