Exodus 26:7

Summary

The verse instructs the making of curtains woven from goat hair, intended to form a tent covering over the tabernacle. It specifies that the total number of these curtains must be eleven.

Key words

• 'a.Si.ta ("you will make", H6213H) — qal sequential perfect, continuing the narrative chain of instructions begun in prior verses.
• ye.ri.'Ot ("curtains of", H3407) — feminine plural construct, linking directly to the following noun to form "curtains of goat hair."
• 'i.Zim ("goat hair", H5795) — masculine plural noun specifying the material of the curtains.
• 'O.hel ("a tent", H0168G) — masculine singular noun designating the structure these curtains are meant to form.
• ta.'a.Seh ("you will make", H6213H) — qal imperfect, marking the second occurrence of the making-command with a different aspect (ongoing/future) than the first verb in the verse.

What the text says

The verse contains two verbs built from the same root H6213, but in different forms: the first, 'a.Si.ta, is a sequential perfect that continues the chain of instructions from the preceding verses (v. 6 and earlier), while the second, ta.'a.Seh, is an imperfect form, marking a shift toward specifying the exact quantity of curtains after the material and function have been established. This repetition of the same verb in two grammatical aspects structures the verse into two parts: first stating what is to be made and its purpose, then specifying how many.

The construct chain ye.ri.'Ot 'i.Zim ("curtains of goat hair") identifies the raw material, while the phrase le.'O.hel 'al-ha.mish.Kan ("into a tent over the tabernacle") uses two prepositions (H9005 "into" and H5921A "over") to describe both the purpose (forming a tent) and the spatial relation (positioned above the tabernacle). The cardinal number is expressed through two words joined, 'ash.tei-'es.Reh ("one-ten," i.e. eleven), a Hebrew construction for the numeral 11. The final clause repeats ye.ri.'Ot ("curtains") without the construct form, now as an absolute plural noun, followed by the object marker 'o.Ta (H0853) plus the pronominal suffix -m ("them"), which grammatically closes the sentence by referring back to the curtains just introduced.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders 'i.Zim ("goat hair", H5795) as τριχίνας ("hairy/made of hair"), pairing it with δέρρεις ("skins/hides") rather than a direct equivalent of "curtains," and adds σκέπην ("covering"), a term not present in the Hebrew construct chain. The Vulgate uses saga cilicina ("goat-hair cloaks/sackcloth"), which also shifts the noun choice from "curtains" toward a garment/cloth term, and phrases the purpose clause as ad operiendum tectum tabernaculi ("for covering the roof of the tabernacle"), differing from the Hebrew's twofold prepositional phrase "into a tent over the tabernacle."