Exodus 36:19

Summary

Exodus 36:19 describes the construction of two protective coverings placed over the tent structure of the tabernacle: an inner layer made from ram skins dyed red, and an outer layer made from the skins of an animal identified as tachash (H8476), positioned above the first.

Key words

• va-Ya'as ("and he made", H6213H) — qal verb in narrative form, continuing the sequence of construction actions described throughout the chapter.
• mikhseh ("a covering", H4372) — masculine singular noun, appearing twice: first in absolute form (word 3), then in construct form (word 10) governing the following noun.
• 'orot ("skins of", H5785) — feminine plural construct noun, used twice to link the covering to its material source (ram skins, then tachash skins).
• me'udammim ("dyed red", H119) — pual (intensive passive) participle, masculine plural, indicating the skins have undergone a reddening process, agreeing with 'elim ("rams", H352A).
• milma'la ("from above", H4605 + directional elements) — compound of preposition mi ("from", H9006), preposition le ("to", H9005), and the noun "above" with a directional he suffix (H9011), marking spatial placement of the second covering relative to the first.

What the text says

The verse follows a simple narrative chain introduced by the vav-consecutive on va-Ya'as ("and he made"), typical of the procedural style running through this chapter of Exodus. The sentence structure pairs two parallel construct phrases: mikhseh...'orot 'elim me'udammim ("a covering...skins of rams, dyed-red") and mikhseh 'orot techashim ("a covering of skins of techashim"). The first covering is described with the noun mikhseh in absolute state, followed by the material specified through the construct chain 'orot 'elim; the passive participle me'udammim qualifies the rams themselves as already dyed. The second covering uses mikhseh in construct state directly bound to 'orot techashim, a tighter grammatical link than the first phrase.

The final compound milma'la stacks three elements (min + le + "above" + directional he) to express spatial layering — the second covering rests over the first. This layered construction (preposition upon preposition upon noun upon directional suffix) intensifies the sense of "on top of," a nuance that a single English word like "above" does not fully replicate.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text of Exodus 36:19 concerns tabernacle coverings made of ram skins and tachash skins. The Vulgate renders tachash skins as pellibus janthinis ("violet-colored skins"), differing from the animal-based reading implied by the Hebrew term. The Septuagint text provided for this reference corresponds instead to content about gemstones (λιγύριον, "amber/ligure," ἀχάτης, "agate," ἀμέθυστος, "amethyst"), reflecting the well-documented reordering of the tabernacle-construction material between the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint in this section of Exodus, where content is distributed differently across chapters 35–39.