Exodus 25:38 — Word Study
WLCוּמַלְקָחֶ֥יהָ וּמַחְתֹּתֶ֖יהָ זָהָ֥ב טָהֽוֹר׃
BSAThe wick trimmersmelqâch [tongs, snuffers] and their traysmachtâh [censers, snuffdishes] must be of pureṭâhôwr [clean, ceremonially spotless] goldzâhâb [a valuable, brilliant metal]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וּמַלְקָחֶ֥יהָ | and tongs its | Conjunction, noun common masculine dual construct, suffix |
| וּמַחְתֹּתֶ֖יהָ | and fire-pans its | Conjunction, noun common feminine plural construct, suffix |
| זָהָ֥ב | [will be] gold | Noun common, masculine singular absolute |
| טָהֽוֹר׃ | pure | Adj |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | The wick trimmers and their trays must be of pure gold. |
| KJV | And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. |
| ASV | And the snuffers thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. |
| YLT | 'And its snuffers and its snuff dishes [are] of pure gold; |
| WEB | Its snuffers and its snuff dishes shall be of pure gold. |
| BBE | And the instruments and trays for use with it are all to be of the best gold. |
Where they part company is מַלְקָחַ֫יִם — see How Translations Differ.
The sentence is straightforward, with a main clause followed by a predicate that describes the required material.
6 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Trapp, Ellicott & more — read them ›
clause
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 25:38
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 Tabernaclegenerated
Exodus 25:38 is part of the detailed instructions given to Moses regarding the construction and furnishing of the Tabernacle. This verse highlights the importance of using pure materials for the sacred items used in worship, emphasizing the reverence required in the service of God. The surrounding verses outline the specifications for the lampstand and its accessories, which were crucial for maintaining the light in the holy place.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 Chronicles 4:21 | the flowers, lamps, and tongs of gold—of purest gold; |
| 2 | Isaiah 6:6 | Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. |
| 3 | Exodus 37:23 | He also made its seven lamps, its wick trimmers, and trays of pure gold. |
| 4 | Numbers 4:9 | They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand used for light, together with its lamps, wick trimmers, and trays, as well as the jars of oil with which to supply it. |
| 5 | 1 Kings 7:50 | the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, ladles, and censers; and the gold hinges for the doors of the inner temple (that is, the Most Holy Place ) as well as for the doors of the main hall of the temple. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 8 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — מַלְקָחַ֫יִם, malqachayimgenerated
The term מַלְקָחַ֫יִם (malqachayim) refers to tongs or snuffers, specifically designed for handling the wicks of lamps or altar coals in the temple. Its dual form indicates a pair of tools, essential for the ritualistic functions of the sanctuary.
This word is derived from a root meaning 'to take' or 'to grasp', highlighting its practical use in the sacred context. The use of tongs signifies the careful handling of holy items, reflecting the broader theme of purity and reverence in temple worship.
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
The main verb is implied in the structure, with the noun phrases וּמַלְקָחֶ֥יהָ and וּמַחְתֹּתֶ֖יהָ serving as subjects, followed by the predicate זָהָ֥ב טָהֽוֹר׃. The arrangement emphasizes the importance of both tools being made of pure gold.
The Hebrew word order places the items being described first, highlighting their significance in the context of the temple's sacred service.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates מַלְקָחַ֫יִם as τὸν, indicating a straightforward rendering that focuses on the function without elaborating on the specific tools. This choice reflects a more general understanding of the items used in worship.
In contrast, the term for gold is rendered as ξρυσίου, which aligns with the precious nature of the material, emphasizing its value in the context of sacred objects.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Exodus 25:38 tells us that the wick trimmers and their trays must be made of pure gold. These tools are essential for the temple's lampstand, used to maintain the light in the holy place. The emphasis on pure gold highlights the importance of using the best materials in worship.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
The wick trimmers were used to handle the wicks of the lamps in the temple, ensuring they were properly maintained for the lighting of the holy space.
Pure gold signifies the value and holiness of the items used in worship, reflecting the reverence required in serving God.
The trays, or fire-pans, were used to hold live coals, which were essential for burning incense and maintaining the sacred fire in the temple.
This verse is part of a larger set of instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle, emphasizing the need for purity and quality in all aspects of worship.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How can I ensure that I approach my worship with the same reverence as the instructions for the temple tools?
- What does using 'pure gold' symbolize in my own life and worship?
- In what ways can I apply the principle of using the best materials in my service to God?
- How do the tools used in worship reflect the nature of the God we serve?
Commentators on this verse — 6 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Exodus 25:38 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleVer. 38 And the tongs thereof,.... Which, according to Jarchi, was a sort of forks with which they took the wicks out of the oil, and put them in the lamps; or, as some think, the snuffers, but they
Read John Gill on Exodus 25 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. And the tongs thereof , [ uwmalqaacheyhaa (H4457)] - sometimes large tongs for a fire (cf. Isaiah 6:6); but here small tongs, or snuffers for lamps (cf.
Read Robert Jamieson on Exodus 25 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsExodus 25:38 And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, [shall be of] pure gold.Ver. 38. And the tongs.] All of gold; betokening the purity of doctrine and discipline in the Church.
Read John Trapp on Exodus 25 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(38) Tongs . . . snuffdishes.—“Tongs,” or pincers, were required for trimming the wicks of the lamps, and removing loose portions; “snuffdishes” for receiving the fragments thus removed.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Exodus 25 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges38. tongs] so Exodus 37:23, Numbers 4:9, 1 Kings 7:49 b (=2 Chronicles 4:21 a), Isaiah 6:6†. In Isaiah 6:6 we should still say ‘tongs’ (the Heb. is lit. the two takers), but not in the other cases. Probably in all cases something of the nature of tweezers for drawing up the wick is meant (like the forcipes figured in Smith’s Dict. of Class. Antiq.3. i. 872): ‘snuffers,’ which in the case of a lamp we should naturally think of, represents a different Heb. word (1 Kings 7:50 al.). snuffdishes] so Exodus 37:23, Numbers 4:9. The same word (lit. (fire-) catcher) is also used for what we should denote by the separate terms fire-pan (Exodus 27:3 al.), and censer (Numbers 16:6 al.).
Read Cambridge on Exodus 25 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible38. Tongs… snuffdishes — The one for snuffing and trimming the lamps, the other for holding the burned snuffings when removed from the wicks. These latter were a small sort of fire-pans or ash-pans. Comp. Exodus 27:3.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Exodus 25 →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
The wick trimmers and their trays must be of pure gold.
Its snuffers and its snuff dishes shall be of pure gold.
The wick trimmers and their trays must be of pure gold.
Its trimmers and its trays are to be of pure gold.
Tyndale line
And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.
And the snuffers thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.
And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.
And its tongs, and its snuff-dishes, shall be of pure gold.
Also the snuffers and snuffedishes thereof shalbe of pure golde.
Strictly literal
and the snuffers thereof, and the snuff-trays thereof, of pure gold.
'And its snuffers and its snuff dishes [are] of pure gold;
And its snuffers and its snuff dishes [are] of pure gold;
And its tongs, and its snuff-dishes shall be of pure gold.
The tongs and their trays must be made of pure gold.
From the Latin
The snuffers also and where the snuffings shall be put out, shall be made of the purest gold.
Simplified
The wick tongs and their trays are to be made of pure gold.
And the instruments and trays for use with it are all to be of the best 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 and the Septuagint agree closely in this verse, with four words matched directly. The Samaritan Pentateuch differs in one word, using מחתיתיה (fire holder) instead of מַחְתֹּתֶ֖יהָ, which indicates a slight variation in terminology but maintains the overall meaning.
וּמַלְקָחֶ֥יהָ וּמַחְתֹּתֶ֖יהָ זָהָ֥ב טָהֽוֹר׃
4 of the 4 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.
ומלקחיה ומחתיתיה זהב טהור
1 word differs from the Masoretic Text: מחתיתיה (fire holder)
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 25:38
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.
מֶלְקָחַ֫יִם (melqachayim) refers to tongs or snuffers, specifically used in religious contexts such as for altar service or lamp maintenance in the temple. The term is noted to be in the dual form, indicating a pair of tools. It is derived from the root word meaning 'to take' or 'to grasp'.
מֶלְקָחַ֫יִם, [מַלְקָחַיִם] n.[m.]du. tongs, snuffers
base
H4457 מֶלְקָחַ֫יִם, [מַלְקָחַיִם] tongs, snuffers
4457 melqach mel-kawkh'
or malqach {mal-kawkh'}; from 3947; (only in dual)
tweezers:--snuffers, tongs.
see HEBREW for 03947
מֶלְקָחַ֫יִם (mel.qach) — tong.
1) snuffers, tongs
1a) tongs (for altar use)
1b) snuffers (for lamps in temple or tabernacle)
Conj | N-md | Suff — Conjunction · noun common masculine dual construct · suffixHC/Ncmdc/Sp3fs
מַחְתָּה (machtah) refers to a fire-holder, specifically a censer or snuff-dish used for holding live coals. The entries suggest it is associated with the act of removal, as indicated by its connection to another Hebrew word. It encompasses various forms like fire-pans and trays.
מַחְתָּה n.f. fire-holder, censer, snuff-dish
base
H4289 מַחְתָּה fire-holder, censer, snuff-dish
4289 machtah makh-taw'
the same as 4288 in the sense of removal; a pan for live
coals:--censer, firepan, snuffdish.
see HEBREW for 04288
מַחְתָּה (mach.tah) — censer.
1) fire-holder, censer, firepan, snuff dish, tray
1a) snuff-dish
1b) fire-pans
1c) censer
Conj | N-fp | Suff — Conjunction · noun common feminine plural construct · suffixHC/Ncfpc/Sp3fs
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…
טָהוֹר (tahor) means clean or pure, covering physical, ceremonial, and moral senses. It is derived from the root word associated with H2891. The entries emphasize its application in various contexts, including animals and ethical purity.
טָהוֹר adj. clean, pure
base
H2889 טָהוֹר clean, pure
2889 tahowr taw-hore'
or tahor {taw-hore'}; from 2891; pure (in a physical,
chemical, ceremonial or moral sense):--clean, fair,
pure(-ness).
see HEBREW for 02891
טָהוֹר (ta.hor) — pure.
1) pure, clean
1a) clean (ceremonially-of animals)
1b) pure (physically)
1c) pure, clean (morally, ethically)
Adj — AdjHAamsa