Exodus 28:13 — Word Study
WLCוְעָשִׂ֥יתָ מִשְׁבְּצֹ֖ת זָהָֽב׃
BSAFashionʻâsâh [make, create] goldzâhâb [valuable, brilliant] filigree settingsmishbᵉtsâh [intricate, embroidered, ornamental, ouches]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ | and you will make | Verb, Qal, sequential perfect second person masculine singular |
| מִשְׁבְּצֹ֖ת | filigree settings of | Noun common, feminine plural construct |
| זָהָֽב׃ | gold | Noun common, masculine singular absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Fashion gold filigree settings |
| KJV | ¶ And thou shalt make ouches of gold; |
| ASV | And thou shalt make settings of gold, |
| YLT | 'And thou hast made embroidered things of gold, |
| WEB | You shall make settings of gold, |
| BBE | And you are to make twisted frames of gold; |
Where they part company is in the word מִשְׁבְּצֹ֖ת — see How Translations Differ.
One main verb with a noun phrase following as the object, indicating the focus on the act of creation.
6 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Ellicott, AdamClarke & more — read them ›
clause
verbעָשָׂה
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Exodus 28:13
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — Instructions for the High Priest's Garmentsgenerated
Exodus 28:13 is part of God's detailed instructions to Moses regarding the garments of the high priest, specifically the ephod. This verse emphasizes the importance of craftsmanship in the creation of sacred items, reflecting the value placed on beauty and precision in the service of God. The following verses continue to elaborate on the materials and designs required for the high priest's attire, indicating the significance of these garments in the worship and representation of the Israelite community before God.
Cross References
The Key Word — עָשָׂה, ve.'a.Si.tagenerated
The verb עָשָׂה (asah) means to make or do, and it appears frequently in the Hebrew Bible, indicating a wide range of actions from creation to craftsmanship. In this context, it signifies the act of creating intricate and valuable items for the priest's garments.
This form, a sequential perfect second person masculine singular, indicates that God is commanding Moses directly, emphasizing the importance of the task at hand. The verb encompasses both the physical act of making and the spiritual significance behind the creation of these sacred objects.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
One finite verb governs the whole verse — עָשִׂ֥יתָ, you will make — with a noun phrase following that serves as the object: מִשְׁבְּצֹ֖ת filigree settings of זָהָֽב gold. The structure emphasizes the action of making and the materials used, highlighting the importance of both in the context of sacred craftsmanship.
The Hebrew word order places the verb at the beginning, indicating the command's immediacy and importance, followed by the object, which specifies what is to be made.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates עָשָׂה as ποιήσεις, which also means to make or do. This choice aligns with the Hebrew meaning and emphasizes the act of creation.
For מִשְׁבְּצֹ֖ת, the Greek word used is ἀσπιδίσκας, which suggests a focus on the ornamental aspect of the settings, indicating that the translators understood the significance of beauty in the craftsmanship.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Exodus 28:13 describes God's command to Moses to create gold filigree settings for the high priest's garments. This emphasizes the importance of beauty and skill in the items used for worship, reflecting their value in the service of God.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
To fashion gold filigree settings means to create intricate and ornamental designs using gold, which are used to hold precious stones on the high priest's garments.
The craftsmanship is important because it reflects the value and beauty of the items used in worship, signifying their sacred purpose and the honor of serving God.
This verse connects to the overall instructions by highlighting the importance of detailed and beautiful craftsmanship in the creation of the high priest's garments, which are critical for the priest's role in mediating between God and the people.
The materials specified for the settings are gold, which is a valuable and brilliant metal, emphasizing the preciousness of the high priest's garments.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What does the emphasis on craftsmanship in this verse teach us about our work and service to God?
- How can we apply the principles of beauty and skill in our own lives and tasks?
- In what ways can we honor God through the things we create or do?
- Why do you think God placed such importance on the details of the high priest's garments?
Commentators on this verse — 6 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Exodus 28:13 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd thou shalt make ouches of gold. Or sockets of gold, to put the two onyx stones in, Exodus 28:11 for of other ouches we read not, excepting the enclosings, in which the twelve stones of the
Read John Gill on Exodus 28 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work. Ephod.
Read Robert Jamieson on Exodus 28 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers2. THE .(13-30) The space devoted to the “breastplate” is indicative of its high importance. It was the most costly, most magnificent, and most conspicuous of the high priest’s garments, while at the same time it was the most mysterious. Externally it was a blaze of gold and jewels; internally it held those strange and precious objects known as “the Urim and the Thummim” (Exodus 28:30), by means of which the Divine will was made known to the high priest, and through him to the people. The basis of the garment was a linen fabric of similar materials and workmanship with the ephod (Exodus 28:15), square in shape, about nine inches each way, and “doubled,” so as to form internally a bag or…
Read Charles John Ellicott on Exodus 28 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 13. Ouches of gold] משבצת mishbetsoth, strait places, sockets to insert the stones in, from שבץ shabats, to close, inclose, straiten. Socket, in this place, would be a more proper translation, as ouch cannot be traced up to any legitimate authority. It appears sometimes to signify a hook, or some mode of attaching things together.
Read AdamClarke on Exodus 28 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges13, 14. Two rosettes of gold to be made, with chains of gold attached to them. The object of these chains is explained in vv. 22–5: they are to attach the ‘breastplate’ to the shoulder-straps.
Read Cambridge on Exodus 28 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible13, 14. Ouches… chains — These were designed in some way to fasten the ephod and breastplate together, (comp. Exodus 28:25,) and so serve to introduce the description of the latter.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Exodus 28 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
Fashion gold filigree settings
You shall make settings of gold,
Fashion gold filigree settings
You are to make filigree settings of gold
Tyndale line
¶ And thou shalt make ouches of gold;
And thou shalt make settings of gold,
And thou shalt make ouches of gold:
And thou shalt make ouches of gold;
So thou shalt make bosses of golde,
Strictly literal
And thou shalt make enclosures of gold;
'And thou hast made embroidered things of gold,
And you have made filigrees of gold,
And thou shalt make casings of gold;
You must make settings of gold
From the Latin
Thou shalt make also hooks of gold.
Simplified
Make ornamental gold settings
And you are to make twisted frames of gold;
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text (MT) reads "וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ מִשְׁבְּצֹ֖ת זָהָֽב׃" which translates to "And you shall make settings of gold." The Septuagint (LXX) aligns with the MT in meaning, although its specific wording and structure differ due to translation choices. The Samaritan Pentateuch (SP) presents a variation with the phrase "ועשׂית משׁבצות זהב" where the word for 'settings' is rendered as 'משׁבצות' instead of the MT's 'מִשְׁבְּצֹ֖ת'. This indicates a slight lexical difference, but the overall meaning remains consistent across these witnesses.
וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ מִשְׁבְּצֹ֖ת זָהָֽב׃
3 of the 3 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
ועשׂית משׁבצות זהב
1 word differs from the Masoretic Text: משׁבצות (settings)
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Exodus 28:13
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
עָשָׂה (asah) is a Hebrew verb meaning to do or make, encompassing a wide range of actions such as producing, preparing, and observing. It can refer to both concrete and abstract activities, including making offerings and attending to tasks. The verb also has forms indicating passive meanings, such as being made or offered. Notably, the Piel form refers to pressing or squeezing.
עָשָׂה 2622 vb. do, make
Qal 2524
do (1560 t.)
deal with
oft. in phr. do kindness with
abs. act, act with effect
make (670 t.)
produce, yield
prepare, esp. of dressing and cooking food
make offering
attend to, put in order
observe, celebrate, religious festival
acquire property of various kinds
appoint priests
bring about of י׳’s effecting a deliverance
use
spend, pass, days of life
Niph.
97be done
be made, of concr. things
be produced from vine
be prepared, of food
be offered
be observed, passover
be used
Pu. I was made
base
[עָשָׂה] vb. Pi. press, squeeze
base
H6213a עָשָׂה do, make .. . do (1560 + t.)
. deal with
. oft. in phr. do kindness with
. abs. act, act with effect
. . make (670 + t.)
. produce, yield
. prepare, esp. of dressing and cooking food
. make offering
. attend to, put in order
. observe, celebrate, religious festival
. acquire property of various kinds
. appoint priests
. bring about of י׳’s effecting a deliverance
. use
. spend, pass, days of life
. . be done
. . be made, of concr. things
. be produced from vine
. be prepared, of food
. be offered
. be observed, passover
. be used
. I was made
H6213b עָשָׂה Pi. press, squeeze
6213 `asah aw-saw'
a primitive root; to do or make, in the broadest sense and
widest application (as follows):--accomplish, advance,
appoint, apt, be at, become, bear, bestow, bring forth,
bruise, be busy, X certainly, have the charge of, commit, deal
(with), deck, + displease, do, (ready) dress(-ed), (put in)
execute(-ion), exercise, fashion, + feast, (fight-)ing man, +
finish, fit, fly, follow, fulfill, furnish, gather, get, go
about, govern, grant, great, + hinder, hold ((a feast)), X
indeed, + be industrious, + journey, keep, labour, maintain,
make, be meet, observe, be occupied, offer, + officer, pare,
bring (come) to pass, perform, pracise, prepare, procure,
provide, put, requite, X sacrifice, serve, set, shew, X sin,
spend, X surely, take, X thoroughly, trim, X very, + vex, be
(warr-)ior, work(-man), yield, use.
עָשָׂה (a.sah) — to make: do.
: do/perform
1) to do, fashion, accomplish, make
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to do, work, make, produce
1a1a) to do
1a1b) to work
1a1c) to deal (with)
1a1d) to act, act with effect, effect
1a2) to make
1a2a) to make
1a2b) to produce
1a2c) to prepare
1a2d) to make (an offering)
1a2e) to attend to, put in order
1a2f) to observe, celebrate
1a2g) to acquire (property)
1a2h) to appoint, ordain, institute
1a2i) to bring about
1a2j) to use
1a2k) to spend, pass
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be done
1b2) to be made
1b3) to be produced
1b4) to be offered
1b5) to be observed
1b6) to be used
1c) (Pual) to be made
עָשָׂה (a.sah) — to press.
(Piel) to press, squeeze
עָשָׂה (a.sah) — to make.
: make(OBJECT)
1) to do, fashion, accomplish, make
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to do, work, make, produce
1a1a) to do
1a1b) to work
1a1c) to deal (with)
1a1d) to act, act with effect, effect
1a2) to make
1a2a) to make
1a2b) to produce
Conj | V-Qal-2ms — Verb · Qal · sequential perfect second person masculine singularHc/Vqq2ms
מִשְׁבְּצ(וֹ)ת (mishbtsah) refers to chequered or plaited work, typically associated with settings for gems. It is derived from a root meaning to weave or plait, and is described as a type of brocade or filigree. The term appears in contexts related to ornamental craftsmanship.
מִשְׁבְּצ(וֹ)ת n.f. pl. chequered (or plaited) work, usu. of settings for gems
base
H4865 מִשְׁבְּצ(וֹ)ת chequered (or plaited) work, usu. of settings for gems
4865 mishbtsah mish-bets-aw'
from 7660; a brocade; by analogy, a (reticulated) setting of
a gem:--ouch, wrought.
see HEBREW for 07660
מִשְׁבְּצוֹת (mish.be.tsah) — filigree.
plaited or filigree or chequered work (of settings for gems)
N-fp — Noun common · feminine plural constructHNcfpc
ov:
(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.
OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]
1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.
I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.
For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.
It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.
Lamentations 3:1.
The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.
Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.
That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.
Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…
זָהָב (zahab) means gold and is derived from an unused root that conveys the idea of shimmering. It encompasses various aspects of gold, including its value as a precious metal, its use as a measure of weight, and its figurative brilliance. The term appears in contexts related to wealth, merchandise, and gifts.
זָהָב 385 n.m. gold
= gold-ore, gold in raw state
gold as wealth
gold as spoil of war
gold as merchandise
gold as costly gift
gold as material
gold described by its source
gold defined by var. adj. and pts.
as measure of weight and value
= golden oil, from colour
often named with
the chief vbs. used
base
H2091 זָהָב gold
2091 zahab zaw-hawb'
from an unused root meaning to shimmer; gold, figuratively,
something gold-colored (i.e. yellow), as oil, a clear sky:--
gold(-en), fair weather.
זָהָב (za.hav) — gold.
1) gold
1a) as precious metal
1b) as a measure of weight
1c) of brilliance, splendour (fig.)
Aramaic equivalent: de.hav (דְּהַב "gold" H1722)
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular absoluteHNcmsa
gold (zahabh; chrusos):
1. Terms:
No metal has been more frequently mentioned in Old Testament writings than gold, and none has had more terms applied to it. Among these terms the one most used is zahabh. The Arabic equivalent, dhahab, is still the common name for gold throughout Palestine, Syria and Egypt. With zahabh frequently occur other words which, translated, mean "pure" (Ex 25:11), "refined" (1Ch 28:18), "finest" (1Ki 10:18), "beaten" (1Ki 10:17), "Ophir" (Ps 45:9).
Other terms occurring are: paz, "fine gold" (Job 28:17;
Gold
(1.) Heb. zahab, so called from its yellow colour (Ex. 25:11; 1 Chr. 28:18; 2 Chr. 3:5).
(2.) Heb. segor, from its compactness, or as being enclosed or treasured up; thus precious or “fine gold” (1 Kings 6:20; 7:49).
Gold was known from the very earliest times. (Genesis 2:11) It was at first used chiefly for ornaments, etc. (Genesis 24:22) Coined money was not known to the ancients till a comparatively late period; and on the Egyptian tombs gold is represented as being weighed in rings for commercial purposes. Comp. (Genesis 43:21) Gold was extremely abundant in ancient times, (1 Chronicles 22:14; 2 Chronicles 1:15; 9:9; Daniel 3:1; Nahum 2:9) but this did not depreciate its value, because of the enormous quantities consumed by…
A well-known valuable metal, found in many parts of the world, and obtained anciently in Ophir, Job 28:16; Parvaim, 2Ch 3:6; Sheba, and Raamah, Eze 27:22. Job alludes to gold in various forms, Job 22:24 28:15-19. Abraham was rich in it, and female ornaments were early made of it, Ge 13:2 24:22,35. It is spoken of throughout Scripture; and the use of it among and ancient Hebrews, in its native and mixed state, and for the same purposes as at present, was very common. The Ark of the Covenant was overlaid with pure gold; the mercy seat, the vessels and utensils belonging to the tabernacle, and those also of the house of…