Exodus 40:24

Summary

Exodus 40:24 describes the placement of the lampstand menorah ("lampstand", H4501) inside the tent of meeting. The verse specifies its exact position: opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle structure.

Key words

• va-yYasem ("and he put", H7760H) — qal verb with narrative vav, marking a sequential action in the ongoing account of Moses assembling the tabernacle furnishings.
• ha-mMenorah ("the lampstand", H4501) — feminine singular noun with definite article, the direct object of the placement, marked additionally by 'et (H0853).
• 'Ohel mo'Ed ("tent of meeting", H0168G + H4150I) — construct chain naming the specific structure where the object is placed.
• Nokhach ha-shShulchan ("opposite the table", H5227 + H7979) — construct form indicating spatial relation, positioning the lampstand relative to another furnishing.
• Yerekh ha-mMishkan ("side of the tabernacle", H3409 + H4908) — construct chain locating the lampstand along a specific side of the larger tabernacle enclosure.
• Negbah ("southward", H5045H + H9011) — noun with directional he suffix, indicating orientation toward the south.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built as a single main clause with the verb va-yYasem ("and he put") governing the object ha-mMenorah ("the lampstand"), followed by a chain of prepositional and construct phrases that narrow down the location with increasing specificity: first the general structure ('Ohel mo'Ed, "tent of meeting"), then a relational marker (Nokhach ha-shShulchan, "opposite the table"), then a further locational construct (Yerekh ha-mMishkan, "side of the tabernacle"), and finally a directional suffix (Negbah, "southward") that specifies the compass orientation without a separate preposition, since the he ending itself encodes "toward."

This layering of construct chains and prepositions allows the Hebrew to stack spatial information economically within one clause, moving from the largest container (the tent) to the smallest directional detail (south), without needing multiple independent sentences.

Differences between versions

The Septuagint (LXX) here names a different object being placed — to thysiastērion to chrysoun ("the golden altar") — rather than the lampstand, and locates it apenanti tou katapetasmatos ("opposite the veil") rather than opposite the table. The Vulgate similarly reads altare aureum ("golden altar") contra velum ("against the veil"), diverging from the Hebrew's ha-mMenorah ("the lampstand") and Nokhach ha-shShulchan ("opposite the table"). The Hebrew text and both modern translations shown (BSB, SBLIBRE) agree in naming the lampstand and its position relative to the table and the south side of the tabernacle.