Exodus 39:16

וַֽיַּעֲשׂוּ שְׁתֵּי מִשְׁבְּצֹת זָהָב וּשְׁתֵּי טַבְּעֹת זָהָב וַֽיִּתְּנוּ אֶת־שְׁתֵּי הַטַּבָּעֹת עַל־שְׁנֵי קְצוֹת הַחֹֽשֶׁן׃

Hebrew interlinear

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The same verse in five languages

Hebrew

וַֽיַּעֲשׂ֗וּ שְׁתֵּי֙ מִשְׁבְּצֹ֣ת זָהָ֔ב וּשְׁתֵּ֖י טַבְּעֹ֣ת זָהָ֑ב וַֽיִּתְּנ֗וּ אֶת־שְׁתֵּי֙ הַטַּבָּעֹ֔ת עַל־שְׁנֵ֖י קְצ֥וֹת הַחֹֽשֶׁן׃

Greek (Septuagint)

καὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον καὶ πάντα τὰ σκεύη αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ ἔλαιον τῆς χρίσεως καὶ τὸ θυμίαμα τῆς συνθέσεως, (37) καὶ τὴν λυχνίαν τὴν καθαρὰν

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

Latin (Vulgate)

et duos uncinos, totidemque annulos aureos. Porro annulos posuerunt in utroque latere rationalis,

Spanish

Hicieron dos engastes de oro y dos argollas de oro, y pusieron las argollas en las dos esquinas superiores del pectoral.

Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)

Hicieron asimismo los dos engastes y los dos anillos, de oro; los cuales dos anillos de oro pusieron en los dos cabos del racional.

English

They also made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and fastened the two rings to the two corners of the breastpiece.

What the text says

Summary

The verse describes two actions: the artisans made two gold filigree settings (mishbetzot, H4865) and two gold rings (tabba'ot, H2885), then attached the rings to the two ends of the breastpiece (choshen, H2833). The verse continues the narrative of the tabernacle vestment construction using paired, symmetrical objects in gold.

Key words

  • va.ya'aSu ("and they made", H6213) — qal narrative verb, plural, opening the first clause of action.
  • mishbetzot ("filigree settings of", H4865) — feminine plural construct; grammatically bound to zahav ("gold", H2091), forming "settings of gold."
  • tabba'ot ("rings of", H2885) — feminine plural construct, paired with shtei ("two", H8147) to indicate a dual set.
  • va.yi.te.Nu ("and they put", H5414H) — second narrative qal verb, marking the sequential action of placing the rings.
  • qetzot ("ends of", H7098) — feminine plural construct, specifying the location on the choshen where the rings are placed.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built on two sequential narrative verbs joined by the vav-consecutive construction: va.ya'aSu ("and they made") and va.yi.te.Nu ("and they put"). Both verbs govern paired objects, marked morphologically by the dual/paired form shtei ("two", H8147), which appears three times, always in construct state — meaning each occurrence introduces a following noun that it binds grammatically ("two of X").

The first clause names two manufactured items: mishbetzot zahav ("settings of gold") and tabba'ot zahav ("rings of gold"), each construct chain pairing a plural noun with the singular noun zahav ("gold", H2091) to indicate material. The second clause uses the direct object marker 'et (H0853) before shtei ha-tabba'ot ("the two rings"), now with the definite article, referring back to the rings just introduced. These are placed 'al ("on", H5921A) shnei qetzot ha-choshen ("the two ends of the breastpiece"), with qetzot again in construct governing the definite noun ha-choshen.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate renders mishbetzot (H4865) as "uncinos" ("hooks/clasps") rather than as settings, differing from the Hebrew term, which in this context denotes gold filigree or setting-work rather than hook-shaped fasteners.

The LXX text supplied for this reference corresponds to material about the altar and its vessels, not to the breastpiece rings described in the Hebrew verse; this reflects a difference in verse/chapter ordering between the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text for this section of the tabernacle account, rather than a translational divergence on this specific content.

The SBLIBRE Spanish translation adds "superiores" ("upper") to describe the corners of the breastpiece, a specification not present in the Hebrew qetzot ("ends of", H7098).

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