Essay for Exodus 38:8
וַיַּ֗עַשׂ אֵ֚ת הַכִּיּ֣וֹר נְחֹ֔שֶׁת וְאֵ֖ת כַּנּ֣וֹ נְחֹ֑שֶׁת בְּמַרְאֹת֙ הַצֹּ֣בְאֹ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֣ר צָֽבְא֔וּ פֶּ֖תַח אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד׃ (ס)
And he made the laver of brass, and the base thereof of brass, of the mirrors of the serving women that did service at the door of the tent of meeting.
The Five Books of Moses, by Everett Fox
Only one line is used to record the making of the basin; the parallel account in 30:17–21 says much more about its function. There is a brief allusion in this verse about the “mirrors” which were the raw material for the basin; Cassuto (1967) sees this as a contemporary citing of what must have been a well-known tradition about the special contribution of the Israelite women, above and beyond the official contributions listed in Chap. 35.
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