Exodus 38:16

Summary

Exodus 38:16 states that all the curtains surrounding the courtyard (of the tabernacle) were made of shesh ("fine linen", H8336B) that was mashezar ("twisted", H7806). The verse is a summary statement closing the description of the courtyard's hangings.

Key words

• kol ("all", H3605) — construct form beginning a chain, "all of the curtains of...", setting up a genitive relationship with the following noun.
• kal'ei ("curtains of", H7050B) — masculine plural construct, meaning it cannot stand alone grammatically; it requires the following noun (chatzer) to complete its meaning ("curtains of the courtyard").
• chatzer ("courtyard", H2691A) — singular common noun, the space being enclosed by these curtains, preceded by the definite article he ("the", H9009).
• saviv ("all around", H5439G) — adverbial noun indicating the curtains encircled the courtyard on every side, not just one section.
• mashezar ("twisted", H7806) — hophal passive participle, masculine singular. The hophal stem is causative-passive, indicating the linen was made to be twisted (i.e., the twisting was done to it by an external process), rather than describing linen that twists itself.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence has no explicit verb "to be" — it is a nominal (verbless) clause. The structure is: kol-kal'ei he-chatzer saviv ("all the curtains of the courtyard, all around") followed by shesh mashezar ("fine linen, twisted"). The subject (the curtains) is placed first, and the predicate (their material) follows without a linking verb, which is normal for descriptive statements in Biblical Hebrew. Translations supply "were" to render this smoothly.

The construct chain kol-kal'ei he-chatzer links three elements tightly: "all," "curtains of," and "the courtyard," producing the sense "all of the courtyard's curtains" as a single conceptual unit. The adverb saviv modifies this unit, specifying that the curtains went "all around" the courtyard, not partially. The final phrase shesh mashezar describes the material: shesh names the fabric (fine linen), while mashezar, as a hophal passive participle, emphasizes that the linen had undergone a twisting process — the fibers were caused to be twisted, rather than being naturally twisted.

Differences between versions

The Latin Vulgate (Cuncta atrii tentoria byssus retorta texuerat) closely follows the Hebrew structure, naming the courtyard's curtains and the twisted linen (retorta, corresponding to mashezar). The Greek text provided under LXXSWETE for this verse number does not correspond to the Hebrew content of Exodus 38:16; it describes lampstands, lamps, and gold ornamentation (λαμπάδια, λύχνοι, χρυσοῦν), showing that the verse numbering or content alignment between the Hebrew (TAHOT) and this Greek witness diverges significantly at this point in the chapter.