Exodus 28:24

Summary

The verse instructs that two cords of gold ('avotot ha-zahav) are to be attached to two rings, positioned at the ends of the breastpiece (ha-choshen). It continues the sequence of instructions for assembling the priestly breastpiece, using a verb form that marks continuity with prior actions.

Key words

• na.ta.Tah ("you will put", H5414H) — qal sequential perfect, second person masculine singular; this form links the action to a preceding chain of commands, functioning like "and you shall put" in an ongoing procedural sequence.
• 'a.vo.Tot ("cords of", H5688) — feminine plural construct; grammatically bound to the following noun zahav, forming the phrase "cords of gold."
• ta.ba.'Ot ("rings", H2885) — feminine plural, absolute (not construct here), the object to which the cords are attached via the preposition 'al ("on").
• ke.Tzot ("ends of", H7098) — feminine plural construct; introduces the location "ends of the breastpiece," anchoring where the rings are found.
• Cho.shen ("breastpiece", H2833) — masculine singular, definite; the object under construction throughout this passage.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built as a single instruction with two prepositional phrases specifying placement. The verb na.ta.Tah ("you will put") governs the direct object 'et-she.Tei 'a.vo.Tot ha-zahav ("the two cords of the gold"), where she.Tei ("two") is in construct with 'a.vo.Tot ("cords of"), which is itself in construct with ha-zahav ("the gold"). This creates a chain: "the two cords of the gold."

The first prepositional phrase, 'al she.Tei ha-tabba'ot ("on the two rings"), indicates where the cords are placed — again using the construct pattern she.Tei ha-tabba'ot ("two of the rings"). The second prepositional phrase, 'el qetzot ha-choshen ("to the ends of the breastpiece"), specifies the location of those rings using another construct chain, qetzot ha-choshen ("ends of the breastpiece").

The construct chains (she.Tei 'a.vo.Tot, she.Tei ha-tabba'ot, qetzot ha-choshen) allow the Hebrew to compress multiple layers of specification—quantity, material, and location—into tight noun phrases without additional connecting words.

Differences between versions

The LXX (Swete) diverges structurally, using λήιον τῆς κρίσεως ("oracle of judgment") where the Hebrew has ha-choshen ("the breastpiece"), and describing "chains" (ἁλυσιδωτὰ) placed "on both sides" (ἐπ' ἀμφοτέρων τῶν κλιτῶν) rather than mirroring the Hebrew's construct chain of "ends" (qetzot). The Vulgate (Clementine) renders 'a.vo.Tot as catenas ("chains") rather than "cords," and omits explicit mention of "gold" for the rings, unlike the Hebrew which does not specify the rings' material at all in this verse.