Exodus 37:1-9

The Making of the Ark

37:1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was three feet nine inches, its width two feet three inches, and its height two feet three inches. 37:2 He overlaid it with pure gold, inside and out, and he made a surrounding border of gold for it. 37:3 He cast four gold rings for it that he put on its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 37:4 He made poles of acacia wood, overlaid them with gold, 37:5 and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark.

37:6 He made an atonement lid of pure gold; its length was three feet nine inches, and its width was two feet three inches. 37:7 He made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid, 37:8 one cherub on one end and one cherub on the other end. He made the cherubim from the atonement lid on its two ends. 37:9 The cherubim were spreading their wings upward, overshadowing the atonement lid with their wings. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the atonement lid. 10 


tn Or “molding.”

tn “that he put” has been supplied.

tn This is taken as a circumstantial clause; the clause begins with the conjunction vav.

tn Heb “and he made.”

tn Heb “from/at [the] end, from this.”

tn The repetition of the expression indicates it has the distributive sense.

tn The construction is a participle in construct followed by the genitive “wings” – “spreaders of wings.”

tn “The cherubim” has been placed here instead of in the second clause to produce a smoother translation.

tn Heb “and their faces a man to his brother.”

10 tn Heb “to the atonement lid were the faces of the cherubim.”