Exodus 37:6

Summary

Exodus 37:6 describes the construction of the kaporet ("atonement cover", H3727), a cover made of pure gold, with precise dimensions: two and a half cubits in length and one and a half cubits in width. The verse is purely descriptive, stating the material and measurements of this object.

Key words

• kaporet ("atonement cover of", H3727) — feminine singular construct noun; grammatically bound to the following word zahav, forming the phrase "atonement-cover of gold."
• zahav ("gold", H2091) — masculine singular noun, the material specified for the object.
• tahor ("pure", H2889) — masculine singular adjective modifying zahav, describing the gold's quality.
• 'ammatayim ("[was] two cubits", H0520A) — feminine dual noun; the dual form itself encodes the number "two" without needing a separate numeral.
• 'orkah ("length of", H0753) with suffix -ah ("its", H9024) — construct noun plus pronominal suffix, meaning "its length," referring back to the kaporet.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative verb va-ya'as ("and he made", H6213H), a qal form with the narrative vav prefix that continues the sequence of construction actions typical of this section of Exodus. The direct object is kaporet zahav tahor — a construct chain where kaporet ("atonement cover of") is grammatically linked to zahav ("gold"), and tahor ("pure") further qualifies the gold. This construct structure is compact: Hebrew does not need a preposition like "of" as a separate word — the grammatical relationship is built into the noun forms themselves.

The measurements follow without a verb of measuring; Hebrew simply juxtaposes the object's dimensions using dual and singular noun forms. 'ammatayim uses the dual grammatical number to express "two cubits" in a single word, while va-cheytzi ("and a half", H2677) adds the fractional half. The same pattern repeats for the width: 'ammah va-cheytzi ("a cubit and a half"). Each dimension phrase ends with a construct noun ('orkah "its length," rachbah "its breadth") carrying a third-person feminine singular suffix (H9024) that refers back to the kaporet, itself a feminine noun — the grammatical gender agreement ties the measurements explicitly to this specific object.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate renders kaporet as propitiatorium, id est, oraculum ("the propitiatory, that is, the oracle"), adding an explanatory gloss not present in the Hebrew noun itself. The SBLIBRE translation converts the cubit measurements into metric units ("un metro con quince centímetros," "casi setenta centímetros"), a interpretive conversion absent from the Hebrew text, which uses only the units 'ammah ("cubit") and its dual/fractional forms. The LXX text supplied here (Swete, verse 9) describes gilded "heads/capitals" (kephalidas) and bronze bases (chalkai), content that does not correspond to the Hebrew text of Exodus 37:6 concerning the kaporet; this reflects a difference in verse numbering and content ordering between the Hebrew and LXX textual traditions in this section of Exodus.