Exodus 28:32
וְהָיָה פִֽי־רֹאשׁוֹ בְּתוֹכוֹ שָׂפָה יִֽהְיֶה לְפִיו סָבִיב מַעֲשֵׂה אֹרֵג כְּפִי תַחְרָא יִֽהְיֶה־לּוֹ לֹא יִקָּרֵֽעַ׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
Tap a word to see its entry
✦ The same verse in five languages
וְהָיָ֥ה פִֽי־רֹאשׁ֖וֹ בְּתוֹכ֑וֹ שָׂפָ֡ה יִֽהְיֶה֩ לְפִ֨יו סָבִ֜יב מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה אֹרֵ֗ג כְּפִ֥י תַחְרָ֛א יִֽהְיֶה־לּ֖וֹ לֹ֥א יִקָּרֵֽעַ׃
Καὶ ποιήσεις πέταλον χρυσοῦν καθαρόν, σφραγῖδος, ἁγίασμα κυρίου. καὶ ἐκτυπώσεις ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτύπωμα σφραγῖδος, ἁγίασμα Κυρίου.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
in cujus medio supra erit capitium, et ora per gyrum ejus textilis, sicut fieri solet in extremis vestium partibus, ne facile rumpatur.
Tendrá una abertura en el centro para meter la cabeza. El borde de esta abertura estará reforzado con un tejido especial, como el cuello de una armadura, para que no se rompa.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y en medio de él por arriba habrá una abertura, la cual tendrá un borde alrededor de obra de tejedor, como el cuello de un coselete, para que no se rompa.
with an opening at its top in the center. Around the opening shall be a woven collar with an opening like that of a garment, so that it will not tear.
✦ What the text says
Summary
Exodus 28:32 describes the neck-opening of a garment (the robe worn under the ephod): there is an opening at the top, its edge is reinforced with woven work like the collar of a garment, so that the fabric will not tear.
Key words
- pi ("opening of", H6310J) — construct noun repeated three times (lines 3, 12, 18), each time governing a different noun (ro'sh "top", suffix "its", tachra' "collar"), showing the same word used for the "mouth" or opening of different objects.
- sapah ("an edge", H8193I) — feminine singular noun naming the reinforced border around the opening.
- 'oreg ("a weaver", H0707) — qal participle, "one who does/weaves"; combined with ma'aseh ("the work of", H4639G) it forms the construct phrase "work of a weaver," i.e., a woven product rather than raw cloth.
- tachra' ("a collar", H8473) — rare masculine singular noun used as a comparison object ("like the opening of a tachra'").
- yiqqare'a ("it will be torn", H7167) — niphal imperfect, passive voice: the fabric is the one acted upon (torn), not an agent tearing something.
What the text says
The verse is built on a chain of three clauses, each using the verb hayah/yihyeh ("to be", H1961) in sequential or imperfect form, giving the sentence a procedural, instructional rhythm typical of construction directions. The first clause states there "will be" an opening (pi) at the top (ro'sh) in the middle (tokh) of the garment. The second clause adds that an edge (sapah) "will be" to that opening, surrounding it (saviv), and specifies that this edge is "the work of a weaver" — a construct phrase marking it as a distinct woven reinforcement rather than a raw cut edge.
The third clause compares this reinforced opening to the opening of a tachra', a garment or armor-like collar, again using pi in construct. The final clause states the purpose with a niphal (passive) verb: lo' yiqqare'a, "it will not be torn" — the grammatical subject is the opening/edge itself, receiving the (non-)action, which underlines that the woven border exists specifically to prevent tearing.
Differences between versions
The Hebrew text of this verse concerns the woven, reinforced neck-opening of a robe. The Vulgate follows this content closely, rendering capitium ("opening/hood"), ora... textilis ("woven edges"), and ne facile rumpatur ("so that it may not easily be torn"), matching the Hebrew's syntax and purpose clause. The LXX text supplied here, however, speaks of a "pure gold petal" (πέταλον χρυσοῦν καθαρόν) engraved with a seal reading "Holiness of the Lord" — content that does not correspond to the Hebrew of this verse and instead matches material found elsewhere in the chapter describing a golden plate.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.