Exodus 30:26

Summary

The verse instructs that the anointing oil be used on the 'Ohel Mo'ed ("tent of meeting", H0168G/H4150I) and on the 'aron ha-'Edut ("ark of the testimony", H0727/H5715). The verb form marks this as the continuation of a sequence of ritual actions.

Key words

• ma.shach.Ta ("you will anoint", H4886) — Qal sequential perfect, second person masculine singular; this verb form continues a chain of instructions begun earlier in the passage, functioning like a future/imperative within the narrative sequence.
• 'O.hel ("[the] tent of", H0168G) — masculine singular construct noun; construct state links it directly to the following word, producing "tent of meeting" rather than "a tent" and "a meeting" separately.
• mo.'Ed ("meeting", H4150I) — masculine singular noun, the absolute form completing the construct chain begun by 'Ohel.
• 'a.Ron ("[the] ark of", H0727) — masculine singular construct noun, again forming a bound phrase with the following noun.
• 'e.Dut ("testimony", H5715) — feminine singular noun, preceded by the definite article ha (H9009), giving "the testimony" and thus "the ark of the testimony."

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative vav (H9001) attached to mashachta, a Qal perfect with vav-consecutive force, which carries forward a sequence of actions the speaker has been describing. The pronominal suffix on bo ("with it", H9033 + preposition) refers back to an antecedent object — the anointing substance mentioned earlier in the passage — without restating its name.

Two direct objects follow, each introduced by the untranslated object marker 'et (H0853), which in Biblical Hebrew signals a definite direct object without adding independent meaning. The first object is the construct phrase 'Ohel Mo'ed, literally "tent of meeting" — the noun 'Ohel is grammatically bound to Mo'ed, so the phrase functions as a single compound designation rather than two separate ideas. The second object, joined by the conjunction ve (H9002), is 'Aron ha-'Edut, "ark of the testimony," where the construct noun 'Aron is followed by 'Edut carrying the definite article, making the whole phrase definite by virtue of its final component, a standard feature of Hebrew construct chains.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders 'Ohel Mo'ed ("tent of meeting") as skēnēn tou martyriou ("tent of the testimony/witness"), using the same term (martyriou) it later applies to the ark, whereas the Hebrew uses two distinct terms, Mo'ed ("meeting") for the tent and 'Edut ("testimony") for the ark. The Vulgate follows this pattern for the tent (tabernaculum testimonii) but shifts terminology for the ark, giving arcam testamenti ("ark of the covenant/testament") where the Hebrew has 'Edut ("testimony") and the LXX has martyriou ("testimony").