Exodus 27:11
וְכֵן לִפְאַת צָפוֹן בָּאֹרֶךְ קְלָעִים מֵאָה אֹרֶךְ וְעַמּוּדָיו עֶשְׂרִים וְאַדְנֵיהֶם עֶשְׂרִים נְחֹשֶׁת וָוֵי הָֽעַמֻּדִים וַחֲשֻׁקֵיהֶם כָּֽסֶף׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וְכֵ֨ן לִפְאַ֤ת צָפוֹן֙ בָּאֹ֔רֶךְ קְלָעִ֖ים מֵ֣אָה אֹ֑רֶךְ וְעַמּוּדָ֣יו עֶשְׂרִ֗ים וְאַדְנֵיהֶ֤ם עֶשְׂרִים֙ נְחֹ֔שֶׁת וָוֵ֧י הָֽעַמֻּדִ֛ים וַחֲשֻׁקֵיהֶ֖ם כָּֽסֶף׃
οὕτως τῷ πρὸς ἀπηλιώτην ἱστία ἑκατὸν πηχῶν μῆκος· καὶ οἱ στύλοι αὐτῶν εἴκοσι, καὶ αἱ βάσεις αὐτῶν εἴκοσι χαλκαῖ, καὶ οἱ κρίκοι καὶ αἱ ψαλίδες τῶν στύλων καὶ αἱ βάσεις αὐτῶν περιηργυρωμέναι ἀργύρῳ.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Similiter et in latere aquilonis per longum erunt tentoria centum cubitorum, columnæ viginti, et bases æneæ ejusdem numeri, et capita earum cum cælaturis suis argentea.
El lado norte también medirá cuarenta y cinco metros de largo, con cortinas colgadas de veinte postes sobre veinte bases de bronce. Los ganchos y las uniones de los postes serán de plata.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y de la misma manera al lado del aquilón habrá á lo largo cortinas de cien codos de longitud, y sus veinte columnas, con sus veinte basas de metal; los capiteles de sus columnas y sus molduras, de plata.
Likewise there are to be curtains on the north side, a hundred cubits long, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
✦ What the text says
Summary
Exodus 27:11 specifies the dimensions and materials for the north side of the tabernacle courtyard, mirroring the specifications already given for another side (indicated by khen, "thus"). It describes curtains of a hundred units in length, supported by twenty pillars set in twenty bronze bases, with the pillars' hooks and bands made of silver.
Key words
- khen ("thus", H3651C) — adverb linking this verse to a prior specification (likely the south side), signaling repetition of the same structure.
- ke.la.'Im ("curtains", H7050B) — masculine plural noun, the hanging fabric enclosing the court.
- 'am.d ("pillars", H5982G) — masculine plural construct with pronominal suffix u ("its", H9023), yielding "its pillars," referring back to the curtain structure.
- ne.Cho.shet ("bronze", H5178A) — feminine singular noun describing the material of the 'ad.nei.hem ("their bases", H0134 + H9028).
- Ka.sef ("silver", H3701G) — masculine singular noun specifying the material of the cha.shu.kei.hem ("their bands", H2838 + H9028).
What the text says
The verse opens with ve.khen ("and thus", H9002+H3651C), an adverbial construction indicating that the following description repeats a pattern already established elsewhere in the text (typically understood as referring back to the south side description). The phrase li.f.'At tza.fOn ("for the side of north") uses a construct chain — f.'At ("side of", H6285) governing tza.fOn ("north", H6828G) — to specify location.
The measurements follow a paratactic listing style typical of Biblical Hebrew technical description: nouns are placed in sequence without connecting verbs, and numbers follow the nouns they modify (Me.'ah "hundred", H3967, follows 'O.rekh "length", H0753). This creates a list-like rhythm: length, then pillars, then bases, then hooks, then bands — each paired with its material or quantity.
The construct chains are notable: 'am.d + suffix u ("its pillars"), 'ad.nei. + suffix Hem ("their bases"), va.Vei ha.'a.mu.Dim ("hooks of the pillars", H2053+H9009+H5982G) as a full construct phrase rather than pronominal suffix, and cha.shu.kei + suffix Hem ("their bands"). The materials — ne.Cho.shet ("bronze") for the bases and Ka.sef ("silver") for the hooks and bands — are stated as bare nouns in apposition, without a copula, a common Hebrew construction for descriptive clauses ("the bases: bronze"; "the bands: silver").
Differences between versions
The LXX renders tza.fOn ("north") as πρὸς ἀπηλιώτην ("toward the east wind," i.e., east), diverging from the Hebrew's specification of the north side. The Vulgate follows the Hebrew with in latere aquilonis ("on the north side"). The LXX also adds περιηργυρωμέναι ("overlaid with silver") for the bases, where the Hebrew states the bases are bronze (ne.Cho.shet) and only the hooks/bands are silver (Ka.sef); the Vulgate's bases æneæ ("bronze bases") matches the Hebrew on this point.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.