Exodus 37:26

Summary

The verse describes the overlaying of an object (the incense altar, referred to by context) with pure gold, specifying that its top, its surrounding sides, and its horns were all covered. It then states that a gold molding was made encircling it.

Key words

• y.Tzaf ("he overlaid", H6823) — Piel stem, giving an intensive nuance to the covering action, narrative form indicating sequence ("and then he overlaid").
• za.Hav ("gold", H2091) paired with ta.Hor ("pure", H2889) — the adjective ta.Hor modifies za.Hav, specifying the quality of the metal used, appearing only with the first mention of gold in the verse.
• ga.G ("top", H1406) — masculine singular construct, "top of," bound to the following suffix -o ("its"), naming the first part covered.
• ki.ro.Ta ("sides", H7023) — feminine plural construct, "sides of," referring to multiple surrounding surfaces, followed by sa.Viv ("all around", H5439G) to emphasize the encircling coverage.
• i.Ya.'as ("he made", H6213H) — Qal narrative form, marking a second distinct action after the overlaying, introducing the construction of the zer ("molding of", H2213).

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built around two main narrative verbs: y.Tzaf ("he overlaid") and i.Ya.'as ("he made"), both marked with the narrative vav construction that signals sequential action ("and then... and then..."). The first verb governs a direct object introduced by the untranslated marker 'oT (H0853) plus suffix, referring back to the object being overlaid, followed by the material za.Hav ta.Hor ("pure gold"). After this, three additional objects are listed, each introduced by its own 'et marker: ga.G-o ("its top"), ki.ro.Ta-v ("its sides") with sa.Viv ("all around"), and kar.no.Ta-v ("its horns"). These three nouns are all in construct form, each bound to a third-person suffix ("its"), and all function as the extended objects of the single verb y.Tzaf, indicating that the overlaying action applies distributively to top, sides, and horns.

The second clause, introduced by va-i.Ya.'as ("and he made"), shifts to a new action: producing a zer ("molding of", H2213), also construct with za.Hav ("gold"), for the object (l-o, "for it"), again finished with sa.Viv ("all around"). The repetition of sa.Viv in both halves of the verse reinforces the sense of complete circumferential coverage, first for the sides being overlaid, then for the molding being placed.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (VULCLEM) uses craticula ("grating/grille") to render what the Hebrew calls ga.G ("top", H1406), differing from the Hebrew term which more literally denotes a "top" or "roof" surface rather than a grating. The Vulgate also compresses the construct chain into an ablative list ("cum craticula ac parietibus et cornibus") without an equivalent for the second verb i.Ya.'as ("he made") governing the molding as a distinct action, merging both Hebrew clauses into a single sentence. The SBLIBRE and BSB both preserve two separate actions (overlaying, then making the molding), matching the Hebrew's two-verb structure more closely than the Vulgate does.