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 ¹  of gold for it. 37:3 He cast four gold rings for it that he put ²  on its four feet, with ³  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 ⁴  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 ⁵  and one cherub on the other end. ⁶  He made the cherubim from the atonement lid on its two ends. 37:9 The cherubim were spreading their wings ⁷  upward, overshadowing the atonement lid with their wings. The cherubim ⁸  faced each other, ⁹  looking toward the atonement lid. ¹⁰ 

[37:2]  ¹ tn Or “molding.”

[37:3]  ² tn “that he put” has been supplied.

[37:3]  ³ tn This is taken as a circumstantial clause; the clause begins with the conjunction vav.

[37:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he made.”

[37:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “from/at [the] end, from this.”

[37:8]  ⁶ tn The repetition of the expression indicates it has the distributive sense.

[37:9]  ⁷ tn The construction is a participle in construct followed by the genitive “wings” – “spreaders of wings.”

[37:9]  ⁸ tn “The cherubim” has been placed here instead of in the second clause to produce a smoother translation.

[37:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “and their faces a man to his brother.”

[37:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to the atonement lid were the faces of the cherubim.”