Exodus 30:5

Summary

Exodus 30:5 instructs the construction of carrying poles made of acacia wood, which are then to be overlaid with gold. The verse continues a sequence of construction commands, likely referring to the incense altar described in the preceding verses.

Key words

• 'a.Si.ta ("you will make", H6213H) — qal sequential perfect, second person masculine singular; continues a chain of instructions addressed directly to the listener.
• ba.Dim ("poles", H0905G) — masculine plural noun, the object to be made; definite (marked with ha, H9009), indicating specific poles already referenced in context.
• 'a.Tzei ("wood(s) of", H6086G) — masculine plural noun in construct state, linking directly to the following noun to form the phrase "wood of acacia."
• shi.Tim ("acacia", H7848) — masculine plural noun specifying the type of wood.
• tzi.pi.Ta ("you will overlay", H6823) — piel sequential perfect, second person masculine singular; the piel stem intensifies the action, denoting a thorough covering rather than a light application.

What the text says

The verse is built on two parallel sequential-perfect verbs — 'a.Si.ta ("you will make", H6213H) and tzi.pi.Ta ("you will overlay", H6823) — both joined by the narrative ve (H9001, "and"). This grammatical form, the sequential perfect, functions to continue a chain of commands already established earlier in the passage, so the verse does not stand alone but extends a list of construction instructions given in direct second-person address.

The object of the first verb is ha.bba.Dim ("the poles", H0905G with definite article H9009), marked as definite, which indicates that these poles have already been introduced in the surrounding context rather than being introduced here for the first time. The phrase 'a.Tzei shi.Tim ("wood(s) of acacia", H6086G construct + H7848) specifies the material through a construct chain, a common Hebrew way of forming a genitive-like relationship without a separate word for "of."

The second clause uses the direct object marker 'et (H0853) attached to the pronominal suffix -am ("them", H9038) referring back to the poles, and the piel verb tzi.pi.Ta ("you will overlay", H6823). The piel stem here carries an intensive nuance, suggesting a complete or thorough covering process, distinct from a simple qal action. The material of the overlay, za.Hav ("gold", H2091), appears as a bare noun without a preposition, a construction sometimes called an accusative of material, indicating what the poles are covered with.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ba.Dim ("poles", H0905G) as σκυτάλας (a term for staves/bars) and shi.Tim ("acacia", H7848) as ξύλων ἀσήπτων ("incorruptible/imperishable wood"), a descriptive rendering rather than a transliteration of the specific wood type. The Vulgate uses "vectes" ("bars/poles") and "lignis setim" ("wood of Sethim"), preserving the proper name in transliterated form similarly to the Hebrew. The Vulgate's "inaurabis" ("you will gild") condenses the phrase without an explicit direct object pronoun equivalent to Hebrew 'otam ("them", H0853+H9038), though the referent remains clear from context.