Exodus 39:19

Summary

The verse describes two additional gold rings being made and attached to the two lower ends of the choshen ("breastpiece", H2833), specifically on its inner edge, on the side facing the 'efod ("ephod", H0646). The sentence is built from two sequential narrative verbs describing the manufacture and placement of these rings.

Key words

• ta.be.'Ot ("rings of", H2885) — feminine plural construct, linking the rings directly to the material that follows (zahav, "gold").
• cho.shen ("breastpiece", H2833) — masculine singular with definite article, the object receiving the rings.
• 'e.fod ("ephod", H0646) — masculine singular with definite article, marking the garment relative to which the breastpiece's side is defined.
• ke.Tzot ("ends of", H7098) — feminine plural construct governed by the dual numeral she.nei ("two", H8147), specifying the two extremities of the breastpiece.
• Ba.ye.ta ("the inside", H1004O) with the directional he (H9011) — the noun for "house/interior" combined with a directional suffix meaning "toward the inside," indicating the orientation of the rings relative to the ephod.

What the text says

The verse is structured as two clauses joined by narrative vav: first va.ya.'a.Su ("they made", H6213H) with its object she.tei tab.be.'Ot zahav ("two rings of gold", H8147/H2885/H2091), then va.ya.Simu ("they put", H7760H) describing where these rings were placed — 'al she.nei ke.tzot ha.cho.shen ("on the two ends of the breastpiece"). The construct chains (she.tei tabbe'ot, she.nei ketzot) tie the numerals tightly to their nouns, a common feature of Biblical Hebrew where cardinal numbers in construct state directly govern the counted noun.

The phrase 'al sefa.to ("on its edge", H8193I) with the third-person suffix specifies a particular edge of the breastpiece, further qualified by the relative clause 'asher 'el-'ever ha'efod ("which was toward the side of the ephod"). The final word, bayeta with the directional he, adds a spatial nuance not always rendered explicitly in translation: it indicates movement or orientation "toward the inside," clarifying that the relevant edge faces inward relative to the ephod, rather than outward.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text describes the placement of rings on the breastpiece and ephod. The LXX text provided for this verse instead describes the garments of Aaron and his sons for the priesthood ("τὰς στολὰς τοῦ ἁγίου... τὰς στολὰς τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ"), reflecting a different content and verse alignment in the Greek tradition of Exodus 39 compared to the Hebrew. The Vulgate similarly diverges, describing fastening "ad balteum" ("to the belt") with rings joined by a "vitta hyacinthina" ("blue/violet cord") to prevent looseness — a phrasing not paralleled in the Hebrew of this specific verse, again pointing to a different arrangement of material in this chapter across textual traditions.