Exodus 31:7

Summary

Exodus 31:7 lists cultic objects to be crafted: the 'ohel mo'ed ("tent of meeting", H0168G+H4150I), the 'aron ("ark", H0727) associated with the 'edut ("testimony", H5715), the kapporet ("atonement cover", H3727) resting on it, and all the keli ("articles/vessels", H3627) of the tent. The verse is a direct-object list, each item marked by the untranslated particle 'et (H0853).

Key words

• 'ohel ("tent of", H0168G) — masculine singular construct, forming a fixed compound with the following noun to designate a specific structure, not just any tent.
• mo'ed ("meeting", H4150I) — masculine singular noun completing the construct chain 'ohel mo'ed, "tent of meeting/appointed gathering."
• 'aron ("ark", H0727) — masculine singular noun with definite article, referring to a specific, already-known object.
• 'edut ("testimony", H5715) — feminine singular noun preceded by the preposition-plus-article la (H9005), literally "for/of the testimony," linking the ark to this term rather than to a covenant.
• kapporet ("atonement cover", H3727) — feminine singular noun with definite article, followed by the relative clause 'asher 'alav ("which [is] on it", H0834A + H5921A + 3rd person suffix), specifying its position relative to the ark.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is a chain of four direct objects, each introduced by 'et, syntactically dependent on a verb outside the quoted span (the making/giving of these items to the craftsmen, per the wider context of Exodus 31). The first item, 'ohel mo'ed, is a construct phrase meaning "tent of meeting" — the noun mo'ed specifies the function of the tent as a site of appointed encounter, not merely a covering. The second object, 'aron, is qualified by la'edut, "for/of the testimony," using the preposition le rather than a genitive construct, which ties the ark to the 'edut documents or witness-function rather than naming it "ark of the covenant" directly in Hebrew. The third object, kapporet, is further specified by a relative clause, 'asher 'alav, "which is upon it" — the pronominal suffix -av ("it/him") grammatically refers back to the ark, placing the kapporet physically on top of the 'aron. The final object, kol-keli ha'ohel, uses a construct chain ("all the articles of the tent") to generalize the remaining furnishings without listing them individually.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders 'ohel mo'ed as "σκηνὴν τοῦ μαρτυρίου" (tent of the testimony/witness) rather than "tent of meeting," shifting the second element from mo'ed ("meeting") to a term matching "testimony." For the ark, the LXX gives "κιβωτὸν τῆς διαθήκης" (ark of the covenant), where the Hebrew has la'edut ("of/for the testimony"), introducing "covenant" terminology absent from this Hebrew phrase. The Vulgate similarly renders the first item as "tabernaculum foederis" (tent of the covenant) and the second as "arcam testimonii" (ark of the testimony) — effectively swapping which object receives "covenant" versus "testimony" language compared to both the Hebrew and the LXX.