Exodus 28:14
וּשְׁתֵּי שַׁרְשְׁרֹת זָהָב טָהוֹר מִגְבָּלֹת תַּעֲשֶׂה אֹתָם מַעֲשֵׂה עֲבֹת וְנָתַתָּה אֶת־שַׁרְשְׁרֹת הָעֲבֹתֹת עַל־הַֽמִּשְׁבְּצֹֽת׃ ס
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וּשְׁתֵּ֤י שַׁרְשְׁרֹת֙ זָהָ֣ב טָה֔וֹר מִגְבָּלֹ֛ת תַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה אֹתָ֖ם מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה עֲבֹ֑ת וְנָתַתָּ֛ה אֶת־שַׁרְשְׁרֹ֥ת הָעֲבֹתֹ֖ת עַל־הַֽמִּשְׁבְּצֹֽת׃ ס
καὶ ποιήσεις δύο κροσωτὰ ἐκ χρυσίου καθαροῦ, καταμεμιγμένα ἐν ἄνθεσιν, ἔργον πλοκῆς· καὶ ἐπιθήσεις τὰ καροσωτὰ τὰ πεπλεγμένα ἐπὶ τὰς ἀσπιδίσκας κατὰ τὰς παρωμίδας αὐτῶν ἐκ τῶν ἐμπροσθίων.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
et duas catenulas ex auro purissimo sibi invicem cohærentes, quas inseres uncinis.
y dos cadenas de oro puro tejidas en forma de cordón, y sujetarás estas cadenas a los engastes.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y dos cadenillas de oro fino; las cuales harás de hechura de trenza; y fijarás las cadenas de hechura de trenza en los engastes.
and two chains of pure gold, made of braided cord work; and attach these chains to the settings. The Breastpiece (Exodus 39:8–21)
✦ What the text says
Summary
The verse instructs the making of two chains of pure gold, twisted like cordage, which are then to be attached to filigree settings. It specifies both the material and the technique of manufacture, followed by the action of fastening them in place.
Key words
- shar.she.Rot ("chains of", H8333) — feminine plural construct, linking the chains to the material that follows, zahav ("gold").
- ta.Hor ("pure", H2889) — masculine singular adjective modifying zahav ("gold", H2091), specifying the quality of the gold.
- mig.ba.Lot ("twisted cords", H4020) — feminine plural noun describing the physical form the chains take, appearing before the verb that commands their making.
- ta.'a.Seh ("you will make", H6213H) — qal imperfect, second person masculine singular, expressing an instruction with ongoing or future force.
- na.ta.Tah ("you will put", H5414H) — qal sequential perfect, continuing the narrative sequence begun by the imperfect verb, marking the next action in the process (attaching the chains).
What the text says
The verse divides into two clauses linked by the sequential ve- ("and") prefixed to the second verb. The first clause centers on ta.'a.Seh ("you will make", H6213H), a qal imperfect verb placed after its object description — a common feature in Biblical Hebrew where descriptive material (shar.she.Rot zahav tahor migbalot, "chains of pure gold, twisted") precedes the verb, followed by the direct object marker 'oTam ("them", H0853+H9038) resuming the referent. The phrase ma.'a.Seh 'a.Vot ("a work of cordage", H4639G + H5688) functions appositionally, clarifying that the twisting technique resembles cordage work.
The second clause uses na.ta.Tah ("you will put", H5414H), a sequential perfect that continues the instructional chain from the preceding imperfect — a standard Biblical Hebrew pattern where imperfect + sequential perfect forms a continuous set of commands. Here the object is shar.she.Rot ha-'avoTot ("the chains of the cords", H8333 + H5688 with definite article H9009), now definite, referring back to the chains just described. These are placed 'al ha-mishbeTzot ("on the filigree settings", H5921A + H4865), specifying the location of attachment.
Differences between versions
The LXX (Septuagint) renders shar.she.Rot ("chains") as κροσωτά ("fringes" or "tassels") rather than a term for chains, and adds καταμεμιγμένα ἐν ἄνθεσιν ("intertwined with flowers"), a phrase not present in the Hebrew text. The Vulgate uses catenulas ("small chains") and describes them as sibi invicem cohærentes ("clinging to one another"), differing from the Hebrew's ma.'a.Seh 'a.Vot ("work of cordage") description of twisted-cord technique. The Vulgate also specifies attachment uncinis ("with hooks"), where the Hebrew text names ha-mishbeTzot ("the filigree settings", H4865) as the attachment point.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.