Exodus 26:29

Summary

Exodus 26:29 instructs that the frames (kerashim, H7175) of the tabernacle structure be overlaid with gold, that gold rings be made to serve as holders for the crossbars, and that the crossbars themselves also be overlaid with gold.

Key words

• ke.ra.Shim ("frames", H7175) — masculine plural noun, the wooden vertical structural pieces of the tabernacle wall.
• te.tza.Peh ("you will overlay", H6823) — piel imperfect, second person masculine singular; the piel stem intensifies the action (a full covering/plating), and the imperfect marks it as a future/ongoing instruction to the addressee (Moses).
• ta.'a.Seh ("you will make", H6213H) — qal imperfect, second person masculine singular; a simple future action verb governing the making of the rings.
• ba.Tim ("holders", H1004N) — masculine plural noun, literally "houses," here describing the rings' function as receptacles for the bars.
• tzi.pi.Ta ("you will overlay", H6823) — same root as te.tza.Peh but in the sequential (waw-consecutive) perfect form; this grammatical shift marks continuation of the same instruction sequence rather than a new independent command.

What the text says

The verse is built as a chain of three instructions connected by conjunctions, each governed by a second-person verb addressed to a singular "you." The first clause uses te.tza.Peh (piel imperfect) to command the overlaying of the kerashim with zahav ("gold", H2091). The second clause shifts to a qal verb, ta.'a.Seh, for making the tabbe'oteihem ("their rings", H2885, with third-person plural suffix "their" referring back to the frames), specifying these rings function as battim ("holders/houses") for the berichim ("bars", H1280) — the crossbars that would run through the frames to bind the structure.

The final clause returns to the root tzafah ("to overlay") but now in the sequential perfect (ve-tzippita), a form that continues a narrative or instructional sequence rather than opening a new command. This grammatical alternation between imperfect and sequential perfect is a common feature of Biblical Hebrew instructional prose, chaining actions together without needing to repeat "you will" as a fresh imperative each time. The word battim ("houses") is notable for its metaphorical use — the rings are described as "houses" for the bars, meaning they serve as fittings or sockets through which the bars pass, a nuance not preserved when translated simply as "holders" or "rings."

Differences between versions

The LXX renders kerashim ("frames") with a Greek term referring to pillars/posts (στύλους), which frames the structural pieces differently than the Hebrew's more general "frames." The Vulgate uses tabulas ("boards/tablets") for the same word, and laminis aureis ("gold plates/sheets") for the final overlay of the bars, emphasizing a plated-sheet image rather than the verb-repetition seen in the Hebrew tzippita.