Exodus 35:28

Summary

The verse lists materials brought for the tabernacle service: aromatic spice and oil designated for the lamp, the anointing oil, and the incense made of perfumed spices. Each item is introduced by direct object markers and prepositions specifying its intended use.

Key words

• bosem ("spice", H1314) — masculine singular noun with definite article, naming a specific aromatic substance among the offerings.
• shemen ("oil", H8081) — appears twice: first as an absolute noun (the general oil for light), then in construct form (shemen ha-mishchah, "oil of the anointing") to specify oil used for anointing purposes.
• ma'or ("light", H3974) — governed by the preposition le ("for"), marking the purpose of the first oil mentioned.
• mishchah ("anointing", H4888A) — feminine singular noun following shemen in construct chain, defining the function of that oil.
• q'toret ("incense of", H7004) — feminine singular construct noun linked to sammim, forming the phrase "incense of the perfumes/spices."

What the text says

The verse continues a list (beginning earlier in the chapter) of materials contributed by the Israelites, each introduced by the direct object marker 'et (H0853), which signals the accusative case without adding independent meaning. Two items are named directly — ha-bosem ("the spice") and ha-shemen ("the oil") — followed by three prepositional phrases beginning with le- ("for"), each specifying a use: le-ma'or ("for light"), u-le-shemen ha-mishchah ("and for the oil of the anointing"), and ve-li-q'toret ha-sammim ("and for the incense of the perfumes").

The construct chains are grammatically significant: shemen ha-mishchah links "oil" to "anointing" as a genitive relationship, meaning oil characterized by or intended for anointing, rather than two separate items. Similarly, q'toret ha-sammim binds "incense" to "the perfumes," identifying the incense as being made from or associated with spices/perfumes (sammim, plural of a term denoting aromatic substances). This structure clarifies that the oil and incense mentioned are not generic but specifically the ritual oil and incense already introduced by earlier priestly instructions in the text.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ha-bosem ("the spice") as τὰς συνθέσεις ("the compositions/mixtures"), a plural abstract term differing from the Hebrew singular concrete noun. For q'toret ha-sammim ("incense of the perfumes"), the LXX uses τὴν σύνθεσιν τοῦ θυμιάματος ("the composition of the incense"), reversing the head-noun relationship compared to the Hebrew construct chain. The Vulgate adds the phrase odoris suavissimi ("of sweetest odor") describing the incense, an interpretive addition not present as a separate lexical item in the Hebrew text, where sammim itself denotes the aromatic spices without an explicit adjective for scent quality.