Exodus 32:3

Summary

Exodus 32:3 describes the people removing their gold earrings and bringing them to Aaron. This action follows the request made in verse 2, where Aaron had asked the people for their gold rings.

Key words

• va-yitparekU ("and they tore off from themselves", H6561) — hithpael stem, marking a reflexive action: the people acted upon themselves, removing the rings from their own bodies rather than simply "taking off" in a neutral sense.
• ha-'Am ("the people", H5971A) — masculine singular noun with definite article, functioning as a collective singular subject for the plural verb agreement seen in the narrative.
• nizmei ("[the] rings of", H5141) — masculine plural construct, linking directly to ha-zaHav ("the gold", H2091) to form the phrase "rings of the gold," i.e., the gold rings.
• 'asher ("which", H0834A) — relative particle introducing the clause specifying where the rings were located.
• be-'azenei-Hem ("[were] on their ears", H0241G + H9028) — feminine dual construct noun with pronominal suffix, marking the paired body part (ears) with the possessive "their."

What the text says

The verse opens with a narrative vav attached to yitparekU ("they tore off from themselves," H6561), a hithpael form. The hithpael stem carries a reflexive or self-directed nuance, describing the people acting on their own ears to remove the rings — a nuance not always distinguishable in translations that use a neutral verb like "took off." The subject kol-ha'am ("all the people," H3605 + H5971A) is grammatically singular but takes a plural verb form, consistent with collective nouns functioning as plural agents in the narrative.

The direct object is marked by 'et (H0853, untranslated marker) followed by the construct chain nizmei ha-zahav ("rings of the gold"), specifying the material of the rings. The relative clause 'asher be-'azenei-hem ("which were on their ears") uses the dual noun 'azenei (H0241G), reflecting the paired nature of ears, with the third-person plural suffix -hem ("their," H9028) indicating possession. The verse closes with a second narrative vav clause, va-yavi'u ("and they brought," H0935P), a hiphil (causative) form indicating that the people caused the rings to be brought — that is, they carried them — to Aaron ('el-'aharon, H0413 + H0175).

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (VULCLEM) diverges notably from the Hebrew and the LXX: instead of describing the removal of earrings from the ears, it states "Fecitque populus quæ jusserat" ("And the people did what he had commanded"), omitting the specific detail about ears and rendering the action as compliance with a prior command. The LXX (περιείλαντο ... τὰ ἐνώτια τὰ χρυσᾶ τὰ ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶν αὐτῶν, "they took off the golden earrings that were in their ears") follows the Hebrew structure closely, including the detail about the ears.