Exodus 27:4

Summary

This verse instructs the construction of a bronze grating for the altar, describing it with imagery of net-work, and further specifies that four bronze rings be attached at its four extremities. The sentence uses two parallel commands, each introduced by the same verb form, to describe first the grating and then the rings.

Key words

• 'a.Si.ta ("you will make", H6213H) — qal sequential perfect, second person masculine singular; appears twice, structuring the verse into two linked instructions ("you will make... and you will make...").
• mikh.Bar ("a grating", H4345) — masculine singular noun, the object first commanded into being.
• ma.'a.Seh ("a work of", H4639G) — construct form, linking mikbar to the following noun to specify what kind of work it is.
• Re.shet ("a net of", H7568) — feminine singular construct, paired with ma'aseh to form the phrase "work of a net," describing the grating's netlike structure.
• ke.tzo.Ta + v ("its extremities", H7098 + H9023) — feminine plural construct with third-person masculine singular suffix, denoting the four points of the grating where the rings are placed.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built on two sequential perfect verbs, both 'asita ("you will make", H6213H), which continue a chain of instructions begun earlier in the passage. The first clause commands the making of a mikbar ("grating", H4345) described further by the construct chain ma'aseh reshet nechoshet — literally "a work of a net of bronze" (H4639G, H7568, H5178A) — three nouns stacked in construct relationship to specify the material and form of the object: a bronze grating shaped like netting.

The second clause repeats the verb 'asita and shifts attention to the rings placed "upon" ('al, H5921A) the net: arba tabe'ot nechoshet ("four rings of bronze", H0702, H2885, H5178A), again using a noun in construct (tabe'ot, "rings of") to link the number to the material. Their location is given as 'al arba' qetzotav ("upon its four extremities", H5921A, H0702, H7098, H9023), where qetzotav is a feminine plural construct noun with a pronominal suffix referring back to the net or grating. The repetition of the verb form across both clauses gives the verse a parallel, step-by-step structure rather than a single continuous description.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew qetzotav ("its extremities", H7098) is rendered in the LXX as κλίτη ("sides"), while the Vulgate uses angulos ("corners" / "angles"). The three versions thus differ in how they describe the location of the rings — as "extremities," "sides," or "corners" respectively — though all refer to the same four points on the grating.