Exodus 38:17
וְהָאֲדָנִים לָֽעַמֻּדִים נְחֹשֶׁת וָוֵי הָֽעַמּוּדִים וַחֲשׁוּקֵיהֶם כֶּסֶף וְצִפּוּי רָאשֵׁיהֶם כָּסֶף וְהֵם מְחֻשָּׁקִים כֶּסֶף כֹּל עַמֻּדֵי הֶחָצֵֽר׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
Tap a word to see its entry
✦ The same verse in five languages
וְהָאֲדָנִ֣ים לָֽעַמֻּדִים֮ נְחֹשֶׁת֒ וָוֵ֨י הָֽעַמּוּדִ֜ים וַחֲשׁוּקֵיהֶם֙ כֶּ֔סֶף וְצִפּ֥וּי רָאשֵׁיהֶ֖ם כָּ֑סֶף וְהֵם֙ מְחֻשָּׁקִ֣ים כֶּ֔סֶף כֹּ֖ל עַמֻּדֵ֥י הֶחָצֵֽר׃
καὶ ἑπτὰ λύχνους ἐπ’ αὐτῆς χρυσοῦς, καὶ τὰς λαβίδας αὐτῆς χρυσᾶς, καὶ τὰς ἐπαρυστρίδας αὐτῶν χρυσᾶς.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Bases columnarum fuere æneæ, capita autem earum cum cunctis cælaturis suis argentea: sed et ipsas columnas atrii vestivit argento.
Las bases de los postes eran de bronce. Los ganchos y las uniones de los postes eran de plata, y la parte superior de los postes estaba recubierta de plata. Todos los postes del patio estaban unidos con barras de plata.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y las basas de las columnas eran de metal; los capiteles de las columnas y sus molduras, de plata; asimismo las cubiertas de las cabezas de ellas, de plata: y todas las columnas del atrio tenían molduras de plata.
The bases for the posts were bronze, the hooks and bands were silver, and the plating for the tops of the posts was silver. So all the posts of the courtyard were banded with silver.
✦ What the text says
Summary
The verse describes the metals used for the pillars of the courtyard: the bases were bronze, while the hooks, connecting bands, and the overlay on the tops of the pillars were silver. A closing clause states that all the pillars of the courtyard were fitted with silver bands.
Key words
- 'adanim ("bases", H0134) — masculine plural noun, subject of the first nominal clause, paired with nechoshet.
- nechoshet ("bronze", H5178A) — feminine singular noun used predicatively; no verb "to be" appears, the noun itself functions as the predicate ("the bases [were] bronze").
- chashuqeihem ("their bands", H2838) — construct plural noun + 3mp suffix ("their"), referring back to the pillars, paired again with kesef ("silver") as predicate.
- mechushaqim ("furnished with bands", H2836B) — pual (passive-intensive) participle, masculine plural, describing the resulting state of the pillars — "banded" rather than an action performed by a stated agent.
- kol ("all", H3605) — construct singular, governing 'amudei he-chatzer ("pillars of the courtyard"), forming the summarizing final phrase.
What the text says
The verse is built from a series of short nominal (verbless) clauses, a common construction in Biblical Hebrew for stating material composition: noun + material noun, with the copula "to be" left implicit. Thus 'adanim... nechoshet is literally "bases... bronze," understood as "the bases were bronze." The same pattern repeats for vavei ha-'amudim va-chashuqeihem kesef ("the hooks of the pillars and their bands [were] silver") and tzippui ra'sheihem kasef ("the overlay of their tops [was] silver"). This structure creates a rhythmic listing of parts and materials without repeating a verb.
The final clause shifts to a different construction: hem mechushaqim kesef, using the independent pronoun hem ("they") plus the pual participle mechushaqim. The participle form indicates a passive, resultative sense — the pillars exist in the state of "being banded," without naming who did the banding. The word chashuqim here echoes the earlier noun chashuqeihem ("their bands"), tying the summary statement lexically back to the itemized list. The verse closes with a construct chain, kol 'amudei he-chatzer ("all the pillars of the courtyard"), generalizing the preceding detail to every pillar in the structure.
Differences between versions
The Vulgate renders the bands/hooks material with the phrase "cum cunctis caelaturis suis argentea" ("with all their carvings, silver"), introducing the notion of "carvings" (caelaturis) where the Hebrew specifies vavei ("hooks") and chashuqim ("bands") as distinct items. The Vulgate's final clause, "vestivit argento" ("he covered with silver"), supplies an implied agent, whereas the Hebrew mechushaqim is a passive participle with no stated subject performing the action. The LXX text provided for this reference does not correspond to the Hebrew content of Exodus 38:17 at all — it describes golden lamps, tongs, and trays, reflecting the LXX's different arrangement and numbering of the tabernacle-construction chapters.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.