Exodus 26:20

Summary

Exodus 26:20 specifies the construction requirement for the second side wall of the tabernacle structure, identifying it as the north-facing side, and states that twenty wooden frames are required for this wall.

Key words

• tzela' ("side of", H6763) — feminine singular noun in construct state, meaning it is grammatically bound to the following word "tabernacle," forming the phrase "side of the tabernacle."
• mishkan ("tabernacle", H4908) — masculine singular noun with definite article ha (H9009), naming the structure whose side is being described.
• shenit ("second", H8145) — feminine singular ordinal number, agreeing in gender with tzela' ("side"), marking this as the second of the sides being enumerated in the passage.
• tzafon ("the north", H6828G) — feminine singular noun, specifying the compass direction of this side, joined to the preceding construct phrase pe'at ("side of", H6285).
• 'esrim ("twenty", H6242) — masculine plural cardinal number, giving the count of qaresh ("frame", H7175), the structural units required.

What the text says

The verse opens with the conjunction u ("and", H9002) attached to the preposition le ("for", H9005), linking this verse to the preceding description of the tabernacle's first side. The construct chain tzela' ha-mishkan ha-shenit ("side of the tabernacle, the second") identifies which wall is under discussion — the ordinal shenit modifies tzela' directly, both being feminine singular forms, showing grammatical agreement between the noun and its ordinal descriptor.

A second construct phrase, pe'at tzafon ("side of the north"), further locates this wall by compass direction, using a different noun for "side" (pe'ah, H6285) than the one used for the tabernacle's wall (tzela', H6763) — a distinction not always visible in translation, where both may render simply as "side."

The final clause states the quantity of frames: 'esrim qaresh ("twenty frame"). Notably, qaresh ("frame", H7175) appears in the singular form despite being counted by the plural number 'esrim ("twenty", H6242) — a common pattern in Biblical Hebrew where the counted noun following a numeral above ten may remain in the singular.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text specifies tzafon ("north", H6828G) as the direction of this second side. The Septuagint (LXXSWETE) instead reads πρὸς νότον ("toward the south"), a divergence in the stated compass direction. The Vulgate (VULCLEM) follows the Hebrew, rendering "ad aquilonem" ("toward the north"), consistent with the Hebrew tzafon.