Exodus 27:18

Summary

Exodus 27:18 specifies the dimensions of the courtyard structure: one hundred cubits in length, fifty by fifty in breadth, and five cubits in height, with the hangings made of twisted fine linen and the bases made of bronze.

Key words

• 'Orekh ("length of", H0753) — masculine singular noun in construct state, opening the verse by governing hechatzer ("the courtyard"); construct nouns like this create a genitive-type link without a preposition.
• Rochav ("breadth", H7341) — masculine singular noun, structurally parallel to 'orekh, introducing the second measurement in the same construct-less listing pattern.
• Chamishim...ba-chamishim ("fifty...on/in the fifty", H2572 repeated) — the number appears twice, the second instance preceded by the preposition ba ("in/on"), producing a doubled numerical expression not paralleled by the single occurrence of "hundred" for length.
• Mashzar ("twisted", H7806) — hophal (causative-passive) participle, masculine singular, describing shesh ("fine linen", H8336B) as a material that has been processed by twisting; the passive form indicates the action was performed on the material rather than describing an inherent quality.
• Adnei-hem ("bases of-them", H0134 + H9028) — construct plural noun with a third-person masculine plural suffix, followed directly by nechoshet ("bronze", H5178A) in apposition, without a linking preposition.

What the text says

The verse is built as a chain of verbless nominal clauses: each measurement noun ('orekh, rochav, qomah) stands in construct or parallel position with a cardinal number, and no Hebrew verb "to be" appears — the glosses supply "[will be]" in brackets because the sense is carried by juxtaposition alone. This is a common feature of Hebrew technical or legal enumeration, where the syntax itself (noun + number) functions as a complete predication.

The most notable grammatical feature is the doubled number in chamishim ba-chamishim — "fifty" stated twice, the second time governed by the preposition ba. Unlike the length (me'ah, "hundred," stated once) or the height (chamesh, "five," stated once), the breadth measurement repeats the numeral with a preposition attached, a structure not found in the parallel measurement phrases in this verse.

The final clause, ve-adnei-hem nechoshet, places the plural construct noun "bases-of-them" directly next to the material noun "bronze" with no preposition or verb, again relying on apposition to convey "their bases [are] bronze."

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the doubled Hebrew numeral literally as ἑκατὸν ἐφ᾿ ἑκατόν and πεντήκοντα ἐπὶ πεντήκοντα ("hundred upon hundred," "fifty upon fifty"), preserving the repetition present in the Hebrew for both length and breadth, whereas the Hebrew text repeats only the breadth number (chamishim ba-chamishim), not the length number. The Vulgate gives each measurement only once ("centum," "quinquaginta," "quinque"), without reproducing the doubling found in the Hebrew breadth phrase. The RV1909 adds explanatory language ("cincuenta por un lado y cincuenta por el otro") not present as separate words in the Hebrew, interpreting the doubled numeral as two distinct sides. The SBLIBRE converts the cubit measurements into metric units (e.g., "cuarenta y cinco metros"), which are modern equivalences not found in the source text's unit of measure, 'amah ("cubit", H0520A).