Exodus 30:2

Summary

The verse specifies the dimensions of an object (understood from context as the incense altar): one cubit in length, one cubit in width, forming a square shape, two cubits in height, with horns extending from it as an integral part of the structure.

Key words

• 'a.re.K ("length", H0753) — masculine singular noun in construct state, meaning "length of," bound to the pronominal suffix o ("its") to express "its length."
• ra.che.B ("breadth", H7341) — masculine singular construct noun, "breadth of," similarly suffixed to mean "its breadth."
• ra.Vu.a' ("square", H7251) — qal passive participle, masculine singular; describes a completed state of being squared, not an action in progress.
• yih.Yeh ("it will be", H1961) — qal imperfect of the verb "to be," third person masculine singular, indicating a future or resultative state ("it will be squared").
• kar.no.Ta ("horns", H7161A) — feminine plural construct noun, "horns of," followed by the suffix v ("its"), indicating the horns belong to and emerge from the object described.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built almost entirely through construct chains (noun + pronominal suffix) rather than full verbal clauses. Each dimension — 'a.Mah ("a cubit", H0520A) for length, 'a.Mah for breadth, and 'a.ma.Ta.yim ("two cubits", H0520A, dual form) for height — is stated as a bare noun phrase without an explicit verb "to be" in most cases; Biblical Hebrew often omits the copula in such descriptive clauses, letting the noun phrases themselves assert the measurement. The only finite verb in the verse, yih.Yeh ("it will be", H1961), appears specifically with the participle ra.Vu.a' ("square", H7251), marking the squared shape as the resultant condition into which the object is fixed, distinct from the simple noun-based statements of length and width that surround it.

The final clause, mi.Me.nu ("from it", H4480A + H9033) followed by kar.no.Ta-v ("its horns", H7161A + H9023), reverses normal word order by placing the prepositional phrase "from it" before the subject "its horns." This fronting emphasizes that the horns originate directly "from it" — that is, from the same body as the rest of the object — rather than being separately attached pieces.

Differences between versions

The LXX (Swete) adds an explicit verb, καὶ ποιήσεις ("and you shall make"), which is not present in the Hebrew of this verse, shifting the sentence from a descriptive statement of dimensions to a direct command. The Vulgate similarly frames the clause with "habens" ("having"), softening the construct-based Hebrew phrasing into a participial description tied to the object. The Hebrew itself, by contrast, presents each measurement as a standalone nominal clause without repeating any command verb.