Exodus 40:8

Summary

This verse gives two sequential instructions for the Tabernacle courtyard: to set up (or complete) the courtyard on all sides, and to install the screen at the entrance/gate of that courtyard. Both actions are described as continuations of a prior narrative sequence, expressed through paired verbs.

Key words

• sam.Ta ("you will put", H7760A) — qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular; marks this as the next step in an ongoing sequence of instructions rather than an isolated command.
• cha.Tzer ("courtyard", H2691A) — common gender singular noun, appearing twice, once as the object of the first verb and once inside a construct chain in the second clause.
• sa.Viv ("all around", H5439G) — common gender singular noun functioning adverbially, specifying the spatial extent of the action on the courtyard.
• Na.ta.ta ("you will put", H5414H) — qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular; a different verbal root from sam.Ta, though both are conventionally rendered "put" in English.
• ma.Sakh / Sha.'ar ("screen of" / "gate of", H4539 / H8179G) — two nouns in construct state, forming a chain "screen of [the] gate of [the] courtyard," where each noun specifies the one before it.

What the text says

The verse contains two clauses joined by the narrative ve ("and", H9001), each built on a sequential perfect verb — first sam.Ta (H7760A), then Na.ta.ta (H5414H). This verbal pattern signals that both actions follow directly from prior instructions in the chapter, forming a continuous chain of commands rather than two disconnected statements.

The first clause places et-he.chatzer ("the courtyard", H0853 + H9009 + H2691A) as the direct object of sam.Ta, modified by sa.Viv ("all around", H5439G), indicating the courtyard is to be treated on its entire perimeter. The second clause introduces a three-word construct chain: masakh ("screen of", H4539) governs sha'ar ("gate of", H8179G), which in turn governs he.chatzer ("the courtyard", H2691A). This construct chain expresses possession/specification cascading through three nouns — literally "the screen belonging to the gate belonging to the courtyard" — a structure that English renders with prepositional phrases ("the screen for the gate of the courtyard").

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text speaks of setting the courtyard sa.Viv ("all around", H5439G) and installing the masakh ("screen", H4539) at the sha'ar ("gate", H8179G) of the courtyard. The Vulgate renders this as surrounding the atrium with hangings ("tentoriis") and mentions "ingressum ejus" ("its entrance"), which corresponds loosely to the gate/screen construct chain but does not preserve the three-term construct structure explicitly. The LXX text provided (Swete) diverges substantially in content, referring instead to anointing an altar of incense and its vessels, indicating that the Greek textual tradition at this point does not align with the Hebrew verse in subject matter, reflecting a difference in verse correspondence between the Greek and Hebrew traditions of Exodus 40 rather than a translation variant of the same content.