Exodus 37:2

Summary

The verse describes the overlaying of an object (identified by the pronominal suffix as "it," referring to the ark built in the preceding verses) with pure gold on both its inner and outer surfaces, followed by the making of a decorative gold molding around it.

Key words

• va-y'tzapehu ("and he overlaid it", H6823 + H9033) — piel verb with narrative vav and 3rd person masculine singular suffix; the piel stem gives an intensive/thorough sense of covering, and the suffix shows the action lands directly on the object without naming it again.
• zahav tahor ("pure gold", H2091 + H2889) — noun followed by adjective, both masculine singular, specifying the material's quality as an attribute of the gold used for overlaying.
• mi-bayit u-mi-chutz ("from inside and from outside", H1004O + H2351) — two prepositional phrases joined by u ("and", H9002), marking totality of coverage on both surfaces of the object.
• va-ya'as ("and he made", H6213H) — qal narrative verb, syntactically parallel to va-y'tzapehu, introducing the second main action of the verse.
• zer zahav ("a molding of gold", H2213 + H2091) — construct chain where zer ("molding of") governs zahav ("gold"), indicating the molding's composition.

What the text says

The verse is built on two parallel narrative clauses, each opening with a vav-prefixed verb (va-y'tzapehu, va-ya'as), a structural pattern typical of sequential action in Biblical Hebrew prose. The first clause uses the piel verb y'tzapehu ("he overlaid it") with a pronominal suffix rather than a repeated noun, meaning the object being overlaid is not restated in this verse — it depends on continuity with the preceding context. The phrase mi-bayit u-mi-chutz ("from inside and from outside") uses the preposition min (here rendered "from") in a spatial sense to indicate coverage originating from both interior and exterior surfaces.

The second clause, va-ya'as lo zer zahav saviv, uses the qal verb ya'as ("he made") with the preposition l- plus suffix ("for it") indicating the beneficiary of the action, followed by the construct phrase zer zahav ("molding of gold") and the adverb saviv ("all around", H5439G), which specifies the molding's placement circling the object.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (Et fecit illi coronam auream per gyrum) renders only the second clause of the Hebrew verse, translating zer as coronam ("crown"), a different image than "molding," and omits the first clause about overlaying with gold inside and out. The LXX text supplied here does not correspond to this verse's content; it describes curtain measurements, so no direct comparison of the Greek to this Hebrew verse can be drawn from the provided data. The Spanish (SBLIBRE) and English (BSB) versions align closely with the Hebrew structure, rendering both clauses and preserving the inside/outside and surrounding-molding details.