Exodus 35:32

Summary

Exodus 35:32 describes a capacity given for conceiving artistic plans and executing craftsmanship in three metals: gold, silver, and bronze. The verse pairs two infinitive verbs describing distinct but related activities: devising designs and then working the material into finished objects.

Key words

• chshov ("design", H2803G) — qal infinitive construct, preceded by the preposition la ("to"), expressing purpose: "to design/plan." It denotes the mental or conceptual act of devising a pattern.
• machashavot ("designs", H4284) — feminine plural noun, the direct object of chshov, indicating that multiple plans or devised patterns are in view, not a single design.
• 'asot ("work", H6213A) — qal infinitive construct, also governed by la, forming a second purpose clause parallel to chshov. It denotes the execution of labor, distinct from the conceptual design phase.
• zahav ("gold", H2091) — masculine singular noun, governed by the preposition ba ("in the"), marking the material within which the work of 'asot takes place.
• nechoshet ("bronze", H5178A) — feminine singular noun, the third of three materials listed, each introduced by ba ("in the") and joined by ve/u ("and").

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built on two parallel infinitive constructs, both introduced by the preposition la: lachshov ("to design") and la'asot ("to work"). This construction expresses purpose or result — the verse describes what the ability in question is for. The first infinitive, chshov, governs the noun machashavot ("designs") as its direct object, so the phrase lachshov machashavot literally reads "to design designs," a cognate-style construction emphasizing the act of devising plans intensively or repeatedly, since the object is plural.

The second infinitive, la'asot ("to work"), is followed by three prepositional phrases, each formed with ba ("in the") plus a metal: bazahav ("in the gold"), bakesef ("in the silver"), and banechoshet ("in the bronze"). The repeated preposition ba before each metal, rather than a single preposition covering all three, gives each material syntactic independence, listing them as three separate domains of work rather than a single combined substance.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the two Hebrew infinitives with architektonein ("to be a master-builder/architect") and expands the phrase with "according to all the works of architecture," a formulation not present in the Hebrew's machashavot ("designs"). The Vulgate uses excogitandum ("to devise/think out") and faciendum ("to make"), which parallels the Hebrew's two-infinitive structure more closely than the LXX's expanded phrasing. Modern versions such as BSB and SBLIBRE render machashavot with "artistic works," specifying an aesthetic quality not explicit in the Hebrew noun itself, which simply means "designs" or "plans."