Exodus 37

Exodus · Chapter 37

Exodus 37:9

1And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it:2And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about.3And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it.4And he made staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold.5And he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark.6And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof.7And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat;8One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof.9And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims.10And he made the table of shittim wood: two cubits was the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof:11And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made thereunto a crown of gold round about.12Also he made thereunto a border of an handbreadth round about; and made a crown of gold for the border thereof round about.13And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings upon the four corners that were in the four feet thereof.14Over against the border were the rings, the places for the staves to bear the table.15And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table.16And he made the vessels which were upon the table, his dishes, and his spoons, and his bowls, and his covers to cover withal, of pure gold.17And he made the candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work made he the candlestick; his shaft, and his branch, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, were of the same:18And six branches going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side thereof:19Three bowls made after the fashion of almonds in one branch, a knop and a flower; and three bowls made like almonds in another branch, a knop and a flower: so throughout the six branches going out of the candlestick.20And in the candlestick were four bowls made like almonds, his knops, and his flowers:21And a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches going out of it.22Their knops and their branches were of the same: all of it was one beaten work of pure gold.23And he made his seven lamps, and his snuffers, and his snuffdishes, of pure gold.24Of a talent of pure gold made he it, and all the vessels thereof.25And he made the incense altar of shittim wood: the length of it was a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same.26And he overlaid it with pure gold, both the top of it, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns of it: also he made unto it a crown of gold round about.27And he made two rings of gold for it under the crown thereof, by the two corners of it, upon the two sides thereof, to be places for the staves to bear it withal.28And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold.29And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
9And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims.And the cherubim had wings that spread upward, overshadowing the mercy seat. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the mercy seat.And the cherubim spread out their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy-seat were the faces of the cherubim.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and they wereוַיִּהְי֣וּvai-yih-YUH1961
to be

הָיָה (ha.yah) 1) to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out 1a) (Qal) 1a1) --- 1a1a) to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass 1a1b) to come about, come to pass 1a2) to come into being, become 1a2a) to arise, appear, come 1a2b) to become 1a2b1) to become 1a2b2) to become like 1a2b3) to be instituted, be established 1a3) to be 1a3a) to exist, be in existence 1a3b) to abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time) 1a3c) to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated (with word of locality) 1a3d) to accompany, be with 1b) (Niphal) …

the cherubimהַכְּרֻבִים֩ha-ke-ru-VIMH3742
cherub

כְּרוּב (ke.ruv) 1) cherub, cherubim (pl) 1a) an angelic being 1a1) as guardians of Eden 1a2) as flanking God's throne 1a3) as an image form hovering over the Ark of the Covenant 1a4) as the chariot of Jehovah (fig.)

spreading outפֹּרְשֵׂ֨יpo-re-SEIH6566
to spread

פָּרַשׂ (pa.ra.s) 1) to spread, spread out, stretch, break in pieces 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to spread out, display 1a2) to spread over 1b) (Niphal) to be scattered, be spread out 1c) (Piel) 1c1) to spread out 1c1) to scatter

of wingsכְנָפַ֜יִםkhe-na-FA-yimH3671
wing

כָּנָף (ka.naph) 1) wing, extremity, edge, winged, border, corner, shirt 1a) wing 1b) extremity 1b1) skirt, corner (of garment)

to upwards towardsלְמַ֗עְלָהle-MA'-lahH4605
above

מַ֫עַל (ma.al) subst 1) higher part, upper part adv 1a) above prep 1b) on the top of, above, on higher ground than with locative 1c) upwards, higher, above

coveringסֹֽכְכִ֤יםso-khe-KHIMH5526B
to cover

סָכַךְ (sa.khakh) 1) to block, overshadow, screen, stop the approach, shut off, cover 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to screen, cover 1a2) to cover oneself 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to screen, cover

with wings theirבְּכַנְפֵיהֶם֙be-khan-fei-HEMH3671
wing

כָּנָף (ka.naph) 1) wing, extremity, edge, winged, border, corner, shirt 1a) wing 1b) extremity 1b1) skirt, corner (of garment)

overעַל־'al-H5921A
upon

עַל (al) prep 1) upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against 1a) upon, on the ground of, on the basis of, on account of, because of, therefore, on behalf of, for the sake of, for, with, in spite of, notwithstanding, concerning, in the matter of, as regards 1b) above, beyond, over (of excess) 1c) above, over (of elevation or pre-eminence) 1d) upon, to, over to, unto, in addition to, together with, with (of addition) 1e) over (of suspension or extension) …

the atonement coverהַכַּפֹּ֔רֶתha-ka-PO-retH3727
mercy seat

כַּפֹּרֶת (kap.po.ret) 1) mercy-seat, place of atonement 1a) the golden plate of propitiation on which the High Priest sprinkled the seat 7 times on the Day of Atonement symbolically reconciling Jehovah and His chosen people 1a1) the slab of gold on top of the ark of the covenant which measured 2.5 by 1.5 cubits; on it and part of it were the two golden cherubim facing each other whose outstretched wings came together above and constituted the throne of God

and faces theirוּפְנֵיהֶ֖םu-fe-nei-HEMH6440H
face: before

פָּנֶה (pa.neh) : before/to/front 1) face 1a) face, faces 1b) presence, person 1c) face (of seraphim or cherubim) 1d) face (of animals) 1e) face, surface (of ground) 1f) as adv of loc/temp 1f1) before and behind, toward, in front of, forward, formerly, from beforetime, before 1g) with prep 1g1) in front of, before, to the front of, in the presence of, in the face of, at the face or front of, from the presence of, from before, from before the face of

eachאִ֣ישׁ'ishH0376I
man

אִישׁ (ish) : man 1) man 1a) man, male (in contrast to woman, female) 1b) husband 1c) human being, person (in contrast to God) 1d) servant 1e) mankind 1f) champion 1g) great man 2) whosoever 3) each (adjective)

[was] toאֶל־'el-H0413
to(wards)

אֶל (el) 1) to, toward, unto (of motion) 2) into (limit is actually entered) 2a) in among 3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion) 4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character) 5) in addition to, to 6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of 7) according to (rule or standard) 8) at, by, against (of one's presence) 9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to)

brother itsאָחִ֑יו'a-CHIVH0251I
brother: male-sibling

אָח (ach) : male-sibling 1) brother 1a) brother of same parents 1b) half-brother (same father) 1c) relative, kinship, same tribe 1d) each to the other (reciprocal relationship) 1e) (fig.) of resemblance

toאֶל־'el-H0413
to(wards)

אֶל (el) 1) to, toward, unto (of motion) 2) into (limit is actually entered) 2a) in among 3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion) 4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character) 5) in addition to, to 6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of 7) according to (rule or standard) 8) at, by, against (of one's presence) 9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to)

the atonement coverהַכַּפֹּ֔רֶתha-ka-PO-retH3727
mercy seat

כַּפֹּרֶת (kap.po.ret) 1) mercy-seat, place of atonement 1a) the golden plate of propitiation on which the High Priest sprinkled the seat 7 times on the Day of Atonement symbolically reconciling Jehovah and His chosen people 1a1) the slab of gold on top of the ark of the covenant which measured 2.5 by 1.5 cubits; on it and part of it were the two golden cherubim facing each other whose outstretched wings came together above and constituted the throne of God

they wereהָי֖וּha-YUH1961
to be

הָיָה (ha.yah) 1) to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out 1a) (Qal) 1a1) --- 1a1a) to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass 1a1b) to come about, come to pass 1a2) to come into being, become 1a2a) to arise, appear, come 1a2b) to become 1a2b1) to become 1a2b2) to become like 1a2b3) to be instituted, be established 1a3) to be 1a3a) to exist, be in existence 1a3b) to abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time) 1a3c) to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated (with word of locality) 1a3d) to accompany, be with 1b) (Niphal) …

[the] faces ofפְּנֵ֥יpe-NEIH6440H
face: before

פָּנֶה (pa.neh) : before/to/front 1) face 1a) face, faces 1b) presence, person 1c) face (of seraphim or cherubim) 1d) face (of animals) 1e) face, surface (of ground) 1f) as adv of loc/temp 1f1) before and behind, toward, in front of, forward, formerly, from beforetime, before 1g) with prep 1g1) in front of, before, to the front of, in the presence of, in the face of, at the face or front of, from the presence of, from before, from before the face of

the cherubimהַכְּרֻבִֽים׃ פha-ke-ru-VIMH3742
cherub

כְּרוּב (ke.ruv) 1) cherub, cherubim (pl) 1a) an angelic being 1a1) as guardians of Eden 1a2) as flanking God's throne 1a3) as an image form hovering over the Ark of the Covenant 1a4) as the chariot of Jehovah (fig.)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.