Bible Strands

Exodus 25:36

The buds and branches are to be all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — God instructs Moses on the tabernacle's construction, specifying that the menorah's decorative components must be structurally unified with its main body. This directive occurs within the broader architectural blueprint for the sanctuary's furnishings.

The words — The Hebrew terms כַּפְתֹּרֵיהֶם (kaf.to.rei.hem) and קְנֹתָם (ke.no.tam) denote "their bulbs" and "their branches," while מִקְשָׁה אַחַת (mik.shah a.chat) literally translates to "one hammered [work]." These words emphasize that the decorative elements are not attached separately but are forged from a single mass of gold.

The thread — The phrase "hammered gold" recurs in Exodus 25:18 for the cherubim on the mercy seat, Numbers 8:4 for the menorah's complete construction from base to blossoms, and 1 Kings 10:16 for Solomon's gilded shields. This lexical pattern links the sanctuary's sacred objects to a unified technique of forced metalwork.

Why it lands — The text requires that the menorah's decorative parts be forged from the same material and structure as its base, eliminating any suggestion of assembly or repair. A reader must recognize that the command prioritizes indivisible craftsmanship over modular construction.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

כַּפְתֹּרֵיהֶ֥םkaf.to.rei./Hembulbs/ theirוּקְנֹתָ֖םu./ke.no.Ta/mand/ branches/ theirמִמֶּ֣נָּהmi.Me./nahfrom/ itיִהְי֑וּyih.Yuthey will beכֻּלָּ֛הּku.La/hall of/ itמִקְשָׁ֥הmik.Shah[will be] hammered workאַחַ֖ת'a.Chatoneזָהָ֥בza.Havgoldטָהֽוֹר׃ta.Horpure

King James Version

Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold.

Cross-references