Numbers 4:11
וְעַל׀ מִזְבַּח הַזָּהָב יִפְרְשׂוּ בֶּגֶד תְּכֵלֶת וְכִסּוּ אֹתוֹ בְּמִכְסֵה עוֹר תָּחַשׁ וְשָׂמוּ אֶת־בַּדָּֽיו׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
וְעַ֣ל׀ מִזְבַּ֣ח הַזָּהָ֗ב יִפְרְשׂוּ֙ בֶּ֣גֶד תְּכֵ֔לֶת וְכִסּ֣וּ אֹת֔וֹ בְּמִכְסֵ֖ה ע֣וֹר תָּ֑חַשׁ וְשָׂמ֖וּ אֶת־בַּדָּֽיו׃
καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τὸ χρυσοῦν ἐπικαλύψουσιν ἱμάτιον ὑακίνθινον, καὶ καλύψουσιν αὐτὸ καλύμματι ὑακινθίνῳ, καὶ διεμβαλοῦσιν τοὺς ἀναφορεῖς αὐτοῦ.
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
Necnon et altare aureum involvent hyacinthino vestimento, et extendent desuper operimentum janthinarum pellium, inducentque vectes.
“Sobre el altar de oro extenderán una tela azul, lo cubrirán con una cubierta de piel de tejón, y le colocarán sus varas.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y sobre el altar de oro extenderán el paño cárdeno, y le cubrirán con la cubierta de pieles de tejones, y le pondrán sus varales.
Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with fine leather, and insert the poles.
✦ What the text says
Summary
Numbers 4:11 describes procedures for covering the golden altar before the Israelite camp moves: the Kohathites (implied subject "they") are to spread a blue cloth over it, cover it with a layer of tachash skin, and insert its carrying poles.
Key words
- miz.Bach ("[the] altar of", H4196) — masculine singular construct, linking to ha.Zahav ("the gold") to form "altar of the gold."
- yif.re.Su ("they will spread out", H6566) — qal imperfect, marking the first action in the sequence as ongoing/future.
- khi.Su ("they will cover", H3680) — piel (intensive) sequential perfect; the piel stem suggests thorough or deliberate covering, continuing the narrative chain begun with the imperfect verb.
- mikh.Seh ("a covering of", H4372) — masculine singular construct, joined to or Tachash ("skin of tachash") to specify the covering material.
- sa.Mu ("they will put in", H7760H) — qal sequential perfect, the final action in the sequence, governing ba.Da ("poles of") + suffix "its."
What the text says
The verse follows a three-step sequence marked grammatically by verb forms: an initial qal imperfect (yif.re.Su, "they will spread out") establishes the action, followed by two qal/piel sequential perfects (khi.Su, "they covered/will cover"; sa.Mu, "they put/will put") that continue the same narrative chain via the ve- (H9001) conjunction. This verb pattern in Biblical Hebrew narrative indicates a sequence of dependent actions rather than three independent statements — each step logically follows the prior one in the ritual procedure.
The construct chains are notable: miz.Bach ha.Zahav ("altar of the gold") describes the object; Beged tekhelet ("covering of violet stuff") names the first layer; mikh.Seh or Tachash ("covering of skin of tachash") names the second layer, itself a double construct (covering-of skin-of tachash). The direct object marker 'et (H0853) appears twice (positions 11 and 19) without independent translation, marking the definite objects "it" (the altar) and "its poles."
The subject "they" is not explicitly named in this verse but continues from the surrounding context of priestly duties.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders Beged tekhelet (H0899B + H8504, "covering of violet/blue stuff") as ἱμάτιον ὑακίνθινον ("hyacinth-colored garment"), and mikh.Seh or Tachash as καλύμματι ὑακινθίνῳ ("hyacinth-colored covering"), using the same color term for both layers where the Hebrew distinguishes tekhelet (violet/blue cloth) from or Tachash (skin of tachash, an animal). The Vulgate renders tachash as "janthinarum pellium" ("violet-colored skins"), also using a color descriptor rather than identifying the material as a specific animal skin, as the Hebrew Tachash (H8476) does.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.