Exodus 36:18

Summary

This verse describes the making of fifty bronze hooks or clasps, whose function was to join the tent-covering together so that it would form a single, unified structure.

Key words

• va-Ya'as ("and he made", H6213H) — qal narrative verb continuing the sequence of construction actions in the tabernacle account.
• kar.Sei ("hooks of", H7165) — masculine plural construct noun, linking directly to the following noun to specify "hooks of bronze."
• ne.Cho.shet ("bronze", H5178A) — feminine singular noun naming the material of the hooks.
• cha.Ber ("join together", H2266) — piel infinitive, an intensive verbal form expressing the purpose of the hooks: to bind or fasten parts together.
• h.Yot ("be", H1961) — qal infinitive paired with 'e.Chad ("one", H0259), expressing the resulting state — "to become one."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence follows a simple narrative chain typical of the tabernacle construction account: the verb va-Ya'as ("and he made") introduces the action, followed by its object, kar.Sei ne.Cho.shet chamishim ("fifty hooks of bronze"). The construct chain kar.Sei nechoshet ties the noun "hooks" directly to its material "bronze," a common Hebrew way of expressing material composition without a separate preposition.

The purpose of these hooks is expressed through two infinitive constructions introduced by the preposition le ("to"): lechaber et-ha'ohel ("to join the tent") and lihyot 'echad ("to be one"). The first infinitive, from the piel stem chaber, conveys an intensified or thorough joining action — not just touching, but binding pieces securely together. The second infinitive, from the qal stem hayot, expresses result rather than method: the outcome of the joining is unity, a single unit made of previously separate pieces. This double infinitive structure — purpose followed by resulting state — is a feature of Biblical Hebrew syntax that allows a sequence of action and consequence to be expressed economically, without a separate clause for "so that."

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (fibulas æneas quinquaginta, quibus necteretur tectum, ut unum pallium ex omnibus sagis fieret) closely mirrors the Hebrew structure, rendering the purpose clauses with "quibus necteretur" (by which it might be fastened) and "ut... fieret" (so that it might become), preserving the double infinitive sense of process and result. The provided LXX (Swete) text for this reference does not correspond in content to the Hebrew verse; it instead describes gemstones ("ánthrax," "sáppheiros," "íaspis") arranged in rows, indicating that the LXX text supplied here reflects a different verse or a divergent versification/order in the Greek manuscript tradition rather than a translation of Exodus 36:18 as given in the Hebrew.