Exodus 38:18

וּמָסַךְ שַׁעַר הֶחָצֵר מַעֲשֵׂה רֹקֵם תְּכֵלֶת וְאַרְגָּמָן וְתוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי וְשֵׁשׁ מָשְׁזָר וְעֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה אֹרֶךְ וְקוֹמָה בְרֹחַב חָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת לְעֻמַּת קַלְעֵי הֶחָצֵֽר׃

✦ Hebrew interlinear

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✦ The same verse in five languages

Hebrew

וּמָסַ֞ךְ שַׁ֤עַר הֶחָצֵר֙ מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה רֹקֵ֔ם תְּכֵ֧לֶת וְאַרְגָּמָ֛ן וְתוֹלַ֥עַת שָׁנִ֖י וְשֵׁ֣שׁ מָשְׁזָ֑ר וְעֶשְׂרִ֤ים אַמָּה֙ אֹ֔רֶךְ וְקוֹמָ֤ה בְרֹ֙חַב֙ חָמֵ֣שׁ אַמּ֔וֹת לְעֻמַּ֖ת קַלְעֵ֥י הֶחָצֵֽר׃

Greek (Septuagint)

Οὖτος περιηργύρωσεν τοὺς στύλους, καὶ ἔχων εὗσεν τῷ στύλῳ δακτυλίους χρυσοῦς, καὶ ἐχρύσωσεν τοὺς μοχλοὺς χρυσίῳ, καὶ κατεχρύσωσεν τοὺς στύλους τοῦ καταπετάσματος χρυσίῳ, ὑσί ᾦ, καὶ ἐποίησεν τὰς ἀγκύλας Χρυσδς.

Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0

Latin (Vulgate)

Et in introitu ejus opere plumario fecit tentorium ex hyacintho, purpura, vermiculo, ac bysso retorta, quod habebat viginti cubitos in longitudine, altitudo vero quinque cubitorum erat juxta mensuram, quam cuncta atrii tentoria habebant.

Spanish

La cortina para la entrada del patio estaba finamente bordada en hilo azul, púrpura, escarlata y lino fino torcido. Medía nueve metros de largo y poco más de dos metros de alto, al igual que las cortinas del patio.

Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)

Y el pabellón de la puerta del atrio fué de obra de recamado, de jacinto, y púrpura, y carmesí, y lino torcido: la longitud de veinte codos, y la altura en el ancho de cinco codos, conforme á las cortinas del atrio.

English

The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen. It was twenty cubits long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits high,

✦ What the text says

Summary

Exodus 38:18 describes the masakh ("screen", H4539) placed at the entrance of the courtyard: a woven textile made of blue, purple, and scarlet material together with twisted linen, produced by an embroiderer. Its dimensions are given as twenty cubits in length and five cubits in height, matching the height of the courtyard's surrounding curtains.

Key words

masakh ("screen of", H4539) — construct noun identifying this piece as the covering/screen specifically for the gate, distinct from the qela'im ("curtains") of the courtyard walls mentioned later in the verse.
ma'aseh ("work of", H4639G) — construct noun introducing the technique of manufacture, paired with the participle roqem.
roqem ("worker in colors", H7551) — Qal participle, masculine singular, naming the craftsman's activity (embroidery/variegated weaving) as the defining process behind the screen.
mashezar ("twisted", H7806) — Hophal passive participle describing the linen (shesh) as having undergone a twisting process, marking it as worked material rather than raw fiber.
'ummat ("corresponding to", H5980) — construct noun functioning prepositionally, linking the screen's height directly to the height standard of the courtyard's curtains (qal'ei he-chatzer).

What the text says

The verse opens with a construct chain: masakh ("screen of") + sha'ar ("gate of") + he-chatzer ("the courtyard"), producing "the screen of the gate of the courtyard" as the subject. This is followed by a second construct pair, ma'aseh roqem ("work of an embroiderer"), which specifies the manufacturing technique before listing the four materials: tekhelet ("violet stuff", H8504), argaman ("purple", H0713), tola'at shani ("scarlet stuff of scarlet", H8438B + H8144), and shesh mashezar ("twisted fine linen", H8336B + H7806). The materials list mirrors similar tabernacle-furnishing texts, and the passive participle mashezar indicates the linen's finished, twisted state rather than a simple adjective of color.

The measurements follow without a verb: 'esrim ammah orekh ("twenty cubits, length") and qomah be-rochav chamesh ammot ("height, in breadth, five cubits"), a nominal (verbless) construction typical of technical/inventory description in Biblical Hebrew. The final phrase, introduced by the construct 'ummat ("corresponding to"), ties this height explicitly to the qal'ei he-chatzer ("curtains of the courtyard"), establishing a shared vertical standard between the gate-screen and the courtyard's perimeter hangings.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text of this verse concerns the courtyard's entrance screen and its materials/dimensions. The Greek text supplied under LXXSWETE for this reference instead describes silvering of pillars, gold rings, gilding of bars, and golden hooks — content that does not correspond to the Hebrew wording given here, reflecting a difference in versification/arrangement between the Hebrew and Greek textual traditions of this section of Exodus. The Vulgate (VULCLEM) and the modern translations (RV1909, BSB, SBLIBRE) align closely with the Hebrew content, rendering the same materials, technique, and measurements without substantive divergence.

This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.