Exodus 38:1-20

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38:1 VA YA'AS ET MIZBACH HA OLAH ATSEY SHITIM CHAMESH AMOT ARKO VE CHAMESH AMOT RACHBO RAVU'A VE SHALOSH AMOT KOMATO

וַיַּעַשׂ אֶת מִזְבַּח הָעֹלָה עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים חָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת אָרְכּוֹ וְחָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת רָחְבּוֹ רָבוּעַ וְשָׁלֹשׁ אַמּוֹת קֹמָתוֹ

KJ (King James translation): And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof.

BN (BibleNet translation): And he made the altar for the burnt-offerings out of acacia-wood, five cubits long, five cubits wide, four-square, and three cubits high thereof.


Every artists' impression I have looked at imagines the altar as rectangular, side-on to the congregation, and the equivalents in both synagogue and churches always mirror this; yet the instruction here is unequivocal: the altar was square.


38:2 VA YA'AS KARNOTAV AL ARBA PINOTAV MIMENU HAYU KARNOTAV VA YETSAPH OTO NECHOSHET

וַיַּעַשׂ קַרְנֹתָיו עַל אַרְבַּע פִּנֹּתָיו מִמֶּנּוּ הָיוּ קַרְנֹתָיו וַיְצַף אֹתוֹ נְחֹשֶׁת

KJ: And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass.

BN: And he made horns for its four corners; these horns were integrated with it as a single piece; and he overlaid it with brass.


Brass, not gold - necessary, because this is going to be the holy barbecue, so it has to absorb heat without extruding damaging chemicals. Gold would not work so well, nor would it endure. Gold is ornamental, brass functional - so we can see another layer of difference between this and the horned altar described in the previous chapter.


38:3 VA YA'AS ET KOL KELEY HA MIZBE'ACH ET HA SIROT VE ET HA YA'IM VE ET HA MIZRAKOT ET HA MIZLAGOT VE ET HA MACHTOT KOL KELAV ASAH NECHOSHET

וַיַּעַשׂ אֶת כָּל כְּלֵי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ אֶת הַסִּירֹת וְאֶת הַיָּעִים וְאֶת הַמִּזְרָקֹת אֶת הַמִּזְלָגֹת וְאֶת הַמַּחְתֹּת כָּל כֵּלָיו עָשָׂה נְחֹשֶׁת

KJ: And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.

BN: And he made all the utensils for the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the flesh-hooks and the fire-pans; all these utensils too he made out of brass.

As many times previously, why sometimes Mizbach and sometimes Mizbe'ach?


38:4 VA YA'AS LA MIZBE'ACH MICHBAR MA'ASEH RESHET NECHOSHET TACHAT KARKUBO MI LEMATAH AD CHETS'YO

וַיַּעַשׂ לַמִּזְבֵּחַ מִכְבָּר מַעֲשֵׂה רֶשֶׁת נְחֹשֶׁת תַּחַת כַּרְכֻּבּוֹ מִלְּמַטָּה עַד חֶצְיוֹ

KJ: And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it.

BN: And he made for the altar a meshed grate of brass, under and around the ledge beneath it, reaching halfway up.


Much as we might place a metal grate in front of a log-fireplace in our own country cottages today.


38:5 VA YITSOK ARBA TABA'OT BE ARBA HA KETSA'OT LE MICHBAR HA NECHOSHET BATIM LABADIM

וַיִּצֹק אַרְבַּע טַבָּעֹת בְּאַרְבַּע הַקְּצָו‍ֹת לְמִכְבַּר הַנְּחֹשֶׁת בָּתִּים לַבַּדִּים

KJ: And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to beplaces for the staves.

BN: And he cast four rings for the four ends of the brass grate, to provide holders for the staves.


38:6 VA YA'AS ET HA BADIM ATSEY SHITIM VA YETSAPH OTAM NECHOSHET

וַיַּעַשׂ אֶת הַבַּדִּים עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים וַיְצַף אֹתָם נְחֹשֶׁת

KJ: And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass.

BN: And he made the staves of acacia-wood, and overlaid them with brass.


36:7 VA YAV'E ET HA BADIM BA TABA'OT AL TSAL'OT HA MIZBE'ACH LASE'T OTO BA HEM NEVUV LUCHOT ASAH OTO

וַיָּבֵא אֶת הַבַּדִּים בַּטַּבָּעֹת עַל צַלְעֹת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לָשֵׂאת אֹתוֹ בָּהֶם נְבוּב לֻחֹת עָשָׂה אֹתוֹ

KJ: And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards.

BN: And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, so that they could carry it; he made it hollow, using planks.




38:8 VA YA'AS ET HA KIYOR NECHOSHET VE ET KANO NECHOSHET BE MAR'OT HA TSOV'OT ASHER TSAV'U PETACH OHEL MO'ED

וַיַּעַשׂ אֵת הַכִּיּוֹר נְחֹשֶׁת וְאֵת כַּנּוֹ נְחֹשֶׁת בְּמַרְאֹת הַצֹּבְאֹת אֲשֶׁר צָבְאוּ פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד

KJ: And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

BN: And he made the laver, and its base also, of brass, for the mirrors of the serving women who served at the door of the Tent of Meeting. {S}


Serving women at the door of the Tent of Meeting! What was their role? Greeters? Usherettes? Priestesses? Some Christian churches today have lay deacons in these roles - is this the same intention?

samech break, on this occasion denoting a paragraph division in a list.


38:9 VA YA'AS ET HE CHATSER LIPH'AT NEGEV TEYMANAH KAL'EY HE CHATSER SHESH MASHZAR ME'AH BA AMAH

וַיַּעַשׂ אֶת הֶחָצֵר לִפְאַת נֶגֶב תֵּימָנָה קַלְעֵי הֶחָצֵר שֵׁשׁ מָשְׁזָר מֵאָה בָּאַמָּה

KJ: And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits:

BN: And he made the courtyard; for the south-facing side the hangings of the courtyard were of fine, twined linen, a hundred cubits.


CHATSER: Court or courtyard? It isn't really either, in a tent, though it was mostly definitely a courtyard in the Temple in Yeru-Shala'im. And look at the size - way larger than the Ohel itself.


38:10 AMUDEYHEM ESRIM VE ADNEYHEM ESRIM NECHOSHET VAVEY HA AMUDIM VA CHASHUKEYHEM KASEPH

עַמּוּדֵיהֶם עֶשְׂרִים וְאַדְנֵיהֶם עֶשְׂרִים נְחֹשֶׁת וָוֵי הָעַמּוּדִים וַחֲשֻׁקֵיהֶם כָּסֶף

KJ: Their pillars were twenty, and their brasen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.

BN: These had twenty rods, and twenty sockets, all of brass; the hooks for the rods and their fillets were made of silver.


AMUDEYHEM: cannot mean "pillars"; but they are hanging curtains, not building a paapet. A hundred cubits is equivalent to 583 feet, which is a lot of curtain, and needs support. If there are twenty rods, that means one every 29 feet.Presumably they didn't need groundpegs as they dug them deep into the sand.


38:11 VE LIPH'AT TSAPHON ME'AH V AMAH AMUDEYHEM ESRIM VE ADNEYHEM ESRIM NECHOSHET VAVEY HA AMUDIM VE CHASHUKEYHEM KASEPH

וְלִפְאַת צָפוֹן מֵאָה בָאַמָּה עַמּוּדֵיהֶם עֶשְׂרִים וְאַדְנֵיהֶם עֶשְׂרִים נְחֹשֶׁת וָוֵי הָעַמּוּדִים וַחֲשֻׁקֵיהֶם כָּסֶף

KJ: And for the north side the hangings were an hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

BN: And for the north side a hundred cubitsof curtain, with twenty rods, and twenty sockets, likewise of brass; the hooks for the rods and their fillets were also of silver.


38:12 VE LIPH'AT YAM KELA'IM CHAMISHIM BA AMAH AMUDEYHEM ASARAH VE ADNEYHEM ASARAH VAVEY HA AMUDIM VE CHASHUKEYHEM KASEPH

וְלִפְאַת יָם קְלָעִים חֲמִשִּׁים בָּאַמָּה עַמּוּדֵיהֶם עֲשָׂרָה וְאַדְנֵיהֶם עֲשָׂרָה וָוֵי הָעַמֻּדִים וַחֲשׁוּקֵיהֶם כָּסֶף

KJ: And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

BN: And for the west side fifty cubits of curtain, ten rods in this case, and ten sockets; the hooks for the pillars and their fillets likewise made of silver.


38:13 VE LIPH'AT KEDMAH MIZRACHAH CHAMISHIM AMAH

וְלִפְאַת קֵדְמָה מִזְרָחָה חֲמִשִּׁים אַמָּה

KJ: And for the east side eastward fifty cubits.

BN: And for the east side eastward fifty cubits.


38:14 KELA'IM CHAMESH ESREY AMAH EL HA KATEPH AMUDEYHEM SHELOSHAH VE ADNEYHEM SHELOSHAH

קְלָעִים חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה אֶל הַכָּתֵף עַמּוּדֵיהֶם שְׁלֹשָׁה וְאַדְנֵיהֶם שְׁלֹשָׁה

KJ: The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

BN: The curtains on one shoulder of the gate were fifteen cubits in length, with three rods and three sockets.


KATEPH: Is really a shoulder, not a side. Which part of the gate might that be? To which the answer is: that depends what type of gate you build. And we are not given sufficient information to know that. My assumption is that gates are basically two-dimensional when closed, but that they create a virtual three-dimensional space when they open, and that it was this area that also needed to be curtained off, to maintain the separation of the sacred from the profane.


38:15 VE LA KATEPH HA SHENIT MI ZEH U MI ZEH LE SHA'AR HE CHATSER KELA'IM CHAMESH ESREY AMAH AMUDEYHEM SHELOSHAH VE ADNEYHEM SHELOSHAH

וְלַכָּתֵף הַשֵּׁנִית מִזֶּה וּמִזֶּה לְשַׁעַר הֶחָצֵר קְלָעִים חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה עַמֻּדֵיהֶם שְׁלֹשָׁה וְאַדְנֵיהֶם שְׁלֹשָׁה

KJ: And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

BN: Likewise for the other shoulder; on this side, as on that side of the gate of the courtyard, there were fifteen cubits of curtain, with three rods and three sockets.


KATEPH HA SHENIT...MI ZEH U MI ZEH: "The other shoulder... this side... that side" seems to indicate that the gate could swing both inwards and outwards, and therefore there was a need for curtaining on both sides.


38:16 KOL KAL'EY HE CHATSER SAVIV SHESH MASHZAR

כָּל קַלְעֵי הֶחָצֵר סָבִיב שֵׁשׁ מָשְׁזָר

KJ: All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen.

BN: Every curtain draped throughout the courtyard was made of fine twined linen.


38:17 VE HA ADANIM LA AMUDIM NECHOSHET VAVEY HA AMUDIM VE CHASHUKEYHEM KESEPH VE TSIPU'I RA'SHEYHEM KASEPH VE HEM MECHUSHAKIM KESEPH KOL AMUDEY HE CHATSER

וְהָאֲדָנִים לָעַמֻּדִים נְחֹשֶׁת וָוֵי הָעַמּוּדִים וַחֲשׁוּקֵיהֶם כֶּסֶף וְצִפּוּי רָאשֵׁיהֶם כָּסֶף וְהֵם מְחֻשָּׁקִים כֶּסֶף כֹּל עַמֻּדֵי הֶחָצֵר

KJ: And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters ofsilver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.

BN: And the sockets for the rods were made of brass; the hooks for the rods and their fillets were made of silver, as was the overlay for their capitals, and all the rods for the courtyard were filleted with silver.



maphtir


38:18 U MASACH SHA'AR HE CHATSER MA'ASEH ROKEM TECHELET VE ARGAMAN VE TOLA'AT SHANI VE SHESH MASHZAR VE ESRIM AMAH ORECH VE KOMAH VE ROCHAV CHAMESH AMOT LE'UMAT KAL'EY HE CHATSER

וּמָסַךְ שַׁעַר הֶחָצֵר מַעֲשֵׂה רֹקֵם תְּכֵלֶת וְאַרְגָּמָן וְתוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי וְשֵׁשׁ מָשְׁזָר וְעֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה אֹרֶךְ וְקוֹמָה בְרֹחַב חָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת לְעֻמַּת קַלְעֵי הֶחָצֵר

KJ: And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court.

BN: And the screen for the gate into the courtyard was the work of the weaver, in colours of blue and purple and scarlet and fine twined linen; twenty cubits in length, five cubits wide at its highest point, where it overlapped with the curtains in the courtyard.


AMAH ORECH VE KOMAH: How does something have height in its breadth? I assume by being circular or oval or elliptical in shape, and therefore the "height" is really "the high point", the screen's apogee. What we cannot tell from this is whether the flat part was at the top or the bottom, the round part ditto. Given the relative sizes, it seems unlikely that the rounded part would be below and the flat above, but this is pure surmise.


38:19 VE AMUDEYHEM ARBA'AH VE ADNEYHEM ARBA'AH NECHOSHET VAVEYHEM KESEPH VE TSIPU'IY RA'SHEYHEM VE CHASHUKEYHEM KASEPH

וְעַמֻּדֵיהֶם אַרְבָּעָה וְאַדְנֵיהֶם אַרְבָּעָה נְחֹשֶׁת וָוֵיהֶם כֶּסֶף וְצִפּוּי רָאשֵׁיהֶם וַחֲשֻׁקֵיהֶם כָּסֶף

KJ: And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets of silver.

BN: And they had four rods, and four sockets, made of brass; their hooks were of silver, and the overlay for their capitals and fillets was of silver.


38:20 VE CHOL HA YETEDOT LA MISHKAN VE LE CHATSER SAVIV NECHOSHET

וְכָל הַיְתֵדֹת לַמִּשְׁכָּן וְלֶחָצֵר סָבִיב נְחֹשֶׁת

KJ: And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass.

BN: And all the pins for the Mishkan, and for the circumference of the courtyard, were made of brass.


MISHKAN: I have an issue with the King James; see verse 8, where "tabernacle" is used, but the Yehudit gives OHEL MO'ED, which is the "Tent of Meeting"; but here, where "tabernacle" is again used, the Yehudit gives MISHKAN - for a complete design-plan, and an explanation of the difference, click here.

This is the end of the sedra in the Yehudit version; chapter 38 in the Christian version continues into the next sedra.




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