Exodus 26:16

Summary

Exodus 26:16 specifies the dimensions of each frame (qeresh, H7175) used in constructing the tabernacle: ten cubits in length and one and a half cubits in width. The verse uses construct chains to link the measurements directly to the nouns "length" and "breadth."

Key words

• 'Eser ("ten", H6235) — construct form functioning as a numeral bound to the following noun, opening the measurement clause.
• 'Orekh ("length of", H0753) — masculine singular construct, linking the numeral cubits to the frame; construct state signals "the length belonging to X."
• Qaresh ("frame", H7175) — appears twice (lines 5 and 14), each time with the definite article ha (H9009), referring to a specific single frame among the tabernacle structure.
• Chatzi ("half of", H2677) — construct form indicating a fractional measurement, combined with 'ammah ("cubit", H0520A) to produce "half a cubit."
• 'Echad ("one", H0259) — feminine singular cardinal number agreeing with ha-qeresh in the second occurrence, emphasizing "the one frame" as a distinct unit being measured.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built entirely from construct chains rather than finite verbs — there is no verb "to be" or "to measure" in the Hebrew text itself; the meaning "will be" is supplied by translators based on context. The first clause, 'eser 'ammot 'orekh ha-qaresh ("ten cubits, length of the frame"), places the numeral and unit of measure (cubits) before the construct noun "length," which itself governs "the frame." The second clause repeats this construction pattern with 'ammah va-chatzi ha-'ammah ("a cubit and half of the cubit") for the width measurement, again governed by rochav ("breadth of", H7341) in construct with ha-qeresh ha-'echad ("the one frame"). The repetition of ha-qeresh ("the frame") in both clauses, with ha-'echad ("the one") added the second time, underscores that these two measurements — length and width — apply to a single, specific frame unit within the larger structure being described.

Differences between versions

The LXX (Swete) renders qeresh ("frame") as στύλον ("pillar/post"), differing from the Hebrew term for a frame or board structure. The Vulgate uses no explicit noun for "frame" in this verse, relying on the plural adjective singulae ("each one") from the surrounding context to carry the referent, and expresses the fractional cubit as semissem ("half"). The SBLIBRE translation converts the cubit measurements into metric units (four and a half meters, seventy centimeters) rather than preserving the Hebrew unit 'ammah ("cubit", H0520A).