Exodus 26:31

Summary

The verse instructs the making of a parokhet ("curtain", H6532) woven from four types of material — violet, purple, scarlet, and twisted linen — worked by a skilled craftsman with a design of cherubim. The sentence moves from a second-person command ("you will make") to an impersonal third-person construction ("someone will make it") describing how the curtain's decorative work is executed.

Key words

• parokhet ("a curtain", H6532) — feminine singular noun, the direct object of the initial command, naming the specific textile object being constructed.
• toLa'at ("scarlet stuff of", H8438B) — feminine singular noun in construct state, meaning it is bound to the following word shani ("scarlet", H8144) to form a single compound term for a dyed material.
• mashzar ("twisted", H7806) — hophal passive participle, indicating the linen (shesh, H8336B) has undergone twisting; the passive form describes the material's finished state rather than naming an agent.
• choshev ("a skillful worker", H2803G) — qal participle in construct with ma'aseh ("work of", H4639G), together forming "work of a designer/craftsman," a technical phrase describing a manner of workmanship.
• ya'aseh ("someone will make", H6213H) — qal imperfect, third person, shifting the grammatical subject away from the "you" addressed in the opening verb to an unspecified agent who executes the design.

What the text says

The verse opens with ve'asita ("and you will make", H6213H), a sequential perfect continuing instructions given earlier in the chapter, with "you" as the addressee. The object is parokhet ("curtain", H6532), followed by a list of four materials joined by repeated ve ("and", H9002): tekhelet ("violet stuff", H8504), argaman ("purple", H0713), the construct pair tola'at shani ("scarlet stuff of scarlet", H8438B/H8144), and shesh ("fine linen", H8336B) qualified by the passive participle mashzar ("twisted", H7806).

After the materials, the construct phrase ma'aseh choshev ("work of a skillful worker", H4639G/H2803G) describes the manner of craftsmanship applied to the curtain. The following verb ya'aseh ("someone will make", H6213H) shifts to third-person imperfect, an impersonal construction distinct from the initial second-person address — grammatically indicating an unspecified craftsman performs the actual work, rather than the addressee directly. The object marker otah ("it", H0853+H9034) refers back to the feminine parokhet, and the final word keruvim ("cherubim", H3742), a plural noun without a connecting verb, stands in apposition describing what is depicted in this skilled work.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ma'aseh choshev as ergon hyphanton ("woven work"), emphasizing weaving technique, whereas the Hebrew construct phrase centers on the "work of a designer/craftsman" without specifying weaving. The Vulgate expands this further with "opere plumario et pulchra varietate contextum" ("worked with embroidery and woven with beautiful variety"), adding descriptive elaboration ("beautiful variety") not present in the Hebrew wording.