Exodus 38:13

Summary

This verse specifies the measurement of the eastern side of the courtyard structure: fifty cubits. It uses two terms for "east" in construct relationship, followed by a cardinal number and the standard unit of linear measurement, ammah ("cubit", H0520A).

Key words

• feAt ("side of", H6285) — feminine singular noun in construct state, meaning it grammatically depends on the following word to specify "the side of X."
• qedmah ("east", H6924B) — masculine singular noun with directional force, functioning as the object of the construct chain begun by feAt.
• mizracha ("east/sunrise-ward", H4217H) — a second term for "east," carrying its own directional he (H9011) suffix, reinforcing the orientation already given.
• chamishshim ("fifty", H2572) — cardinal number, masculine plural form, quantifying the cubits that follow.
• ammah ("cubit", H0520A) — feminine singular noun, the standard unit being counted; because it follows a numeral above ten, it appears in the singular rather than plural form, as is typical in Biblical Hebrew numeral syntax.

What the text says

The Hebrew clause is built as a construct chain: feAt ("side of") governs qedmah ("east"), producing the phrase "the side of the east." This is then reinforced by mizrachah, a second and distinct root for "east" tied to the concept of sunrise, each carrying the directional suffix -ah (H9011), which in Biblical Hebrew marks motion or orientation "toward" a location. The doubling of directional terms — qedmah and mizrachah — is a feature of the source text's style in this measurement list, emphasizing the eastward orientation without introducing semantic contradiction; both terms point to the same cardinal direction.

The numeral chamishshim ("fifty") precedes ammah ("cubit"), and the noun appears in singular form despite the plural value, consistent with the pattern in Biblical Hebrew where nouns of measurement following numbers above ten retain singular morphology. The verse contains no verb; it is a nominal clause continuing a list of measurements from the surrounding context, understood elliptically as specifying a length.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (Porro contra orientem quinquaginta cubitorum paravit tentoria) matches the Hebrew's content — orientation "toward the east" and "fifty cubits" — while adding the noun "tentoria" ("curtains/hangings"), a term not present in the Hebrew word list given, likely supplied for clarity in Latin. The LXX text provided for this reference describes a lampstand (λυχνίαν, "lampstand") entirely unrelated in content to the Hebrew measurement clause, reflecting the well-documented divergence in verse ordering and content between the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint in the tabernacle-construction section of Exodus.