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shebanq

וָו – hook

Semantic Fields: Semantic Field 1   Semantic Field 2   
Author(s): Arian Verheij, Paul Sanders *
First published: 2026-01-06
Citation: Arian Verheij, Paul Sanders, וָו – hook,
               Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database (sahd-online.com), 2026 (WORK IN PROGRESS)

Introduction

Grammatical type: noun masc.
Occurrences: 13 HB (13/0/0); 0x Sir; 0x Qum; 0x Inscr. (Total: 13)

  • Torah: Exod 26:32, 37; 27:10, 11, 17; 36:36, 38; 38:10, 11, 12, 17, 19, 28;

Text Doubtful

A.1 In 4Q365 (4QRPc) fr12a.I:6, 8, וויהמה has been reconstructed on the basis of Exod 36:36, 38.

1. Root and Comparative Material

A.1 Next to Rabbinic Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic (see Targumim), a cognate is only attested in Punic (DNWSI, 297).

2. Formal Characteristics

A.1 The noun וָו is a qal > qāl form; see BL, 449-50, §61f.

3. Syntagmatics

[Discussion will be added later.]

4. Ancient Versions

Septuagint (LXX) and other Greek versions11

  • ἀγκύλη, ‘loop’, ‘curtain-ring, hook’: Exod 38:17[37:15]; 38:19[37:17]; 38:28[39:5];
  • κεφαλίς, ‘rounded top end’: Exod 26:32, 37; 27:17; 36:36[37:4];
  • κρίκος, ‘ring: used to join curtains’: Exod 27:10, 11; 36:38[37:6];
  • no translation: 38:10[37:8]; 38:11[37:9]; 38:12[37:10].

Peshitta (Pesh)

  • ܩܘܒܥܐ (qūbʿā), ‘head covering, skullcap’, ‘capital’:12 in all instances.

c. Targumim:

  • וָו, ‘hook’:14 TgO and TgPsJ in all instances.
  • אונקלוון and אונקלוות (both plur. of אונקלי), or shortened forms (נקלוות, קלוות, קליות), ‘hook’, a loan from ἀγκύλη:15 TgN in all instances.
  • פריחין, ‘blossom’:16 TgSmr in all instances (the forms פרעיון, פריעין and פריון are corrupt).

Vulgate (Vg)

  • caput, ‘head’, ‘upper or extreme part of anything’, etc.:17 in all instances, apparently following LXX κεφαλίς, with no representation of the following הָעַמֻּדִים in Exod 27:10, 11; 38:17.

A.1 Some of the ancient translations are discussed by Gesenius (TPC i:399) and Houtman (2000:437-38).

5. Lexical/Semantic Fields

[Discussion will be added later.]

6. Exegesis

A.1 The noun וָו occurs only in the book of Exodus in the context of the construction of the Tabernacle (מִשְׁכָּן). The first five instances (Exod 26:32, 37; 27:10, 11, 17) are about receiving the order to construct the sanctuary; the other eight passages (36:36, 38; 38:10, 11, 12, 17, 19, 28) are about carrying out the order.

A.2 English dictionaries usually translate וָו as either ‘nail’, or ‘hook’, or they mention both of these translations.18 The corresponding common German renderings are ‘Nagel’ or ‘Haken’.19 A proper analysis of the textual evidence may show which translation is best. It has been suggested that the name of the letter waw was derived from the shape of the וָו (Driver 1954:162).

A.3 In Exod 26:32 Moses is assigned to make וָוִים of gold at the four pillars of acacia (עַמּוּדֵי שִׁטִּים), which are overlaid with gold and rest on four bases of silver (אַדְנֵי־כָסֶף). According to Exod 26:33, the pillars served for hanging up the tapestry (פָּרֹכֶת) that separated (בדל hiph.) the holy place (קֹדֶשׁ) from the most holy (קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים). It is not clear how exactly the tapestry has to be hung on the וָוִים. Exodus 26:33 describes that the tapestry shall be hung under the קְרָסִים. In Exod 26:37 Moses again has to make וָוִים of gold at five pillars of acacia (עַמּוּדֵי שִׁטִּים), which are overlaid with gold and have five bases of bronze (אַדְנֵי נְחֹשֶׁת). According to Exod 26:36, these pillars serve for another kind of curtain, namely the screen (מָסָךְ) for the entrance (פֶּתַח) of the tent (אֹהֶל). In Exod 27:10 Moses has to make וָוִים and their חֲשִֻׁקִים of silver for the twenty pillars (עַמֻּדִ֛ים), which have twenty bases (אֲדָנִים) of bronze. These pillars serve for hanging up the great hangings (קְלָעִים) that fence the four sides of the court (חָצֵר) of the Tabernacle (27:9).

A.4 The meaning of the word חֲשִֻׁקִים in this description is also uncertain. But two passages use the participle pu‘al of √חשׁק to indicate that the pillars were connected by these objects made of silver (Exod 27:17; 38:17). Because they are also connected to the וָוִים, it is likely that the חֲשִֻׁקִים were cross-beams, which were fixed to the upper ends of the pillars by means of the וָוִים. In fact, Exod 38:28 specifies that Moses overlaid the capitals of the pillars and ‘connected them’ (וְחִשַּׁ֥ק אֹתָֽם), apparently making use of the וָוִים that are mentioned just before. This construction lent stability to the upper part of the Tabernacle and guaranteed that the pillars would always stand at the proper distance from each other to accommodate the curtains.

A.5 Exod 27:11 repeats the data for the north side of the court: ‘Make וָוִים and their cross-beams (חֲשֻׁקֵיהֶם) of silver at the twenty pillars (עַמֻּדִ֛ים), which have twenty bases (אֲדָנִים) of bronze’. In the verses 12-16 the curtain, the pillars and their bases are mentioned again for the other sides of the court, but here the וָוִים and the cross-beams are not mentioned. However, Exod 27:17 summarizes the pillars for all the sides of the court, interconnected (מְחֻשָּׁקִים) with silver and with their וָוֵיהֶם of silver and their bases of bronze.

A.6 Exod 36:36 mentions the וָוִים in the context of the actual making of the Tabernacle. Moses made four pillars of acacia and overlaid them with gold, their וָוִים of gold for the tapestry (פָּרֹכֶת) that has to separate the holy place from the most holy.

A.7 In Exod 36:38 the וָוִים are mentioned in the context of the making of the screen (מָסָךְ) for the entrance of the tent: five pillars of acacia, with their וָוִים. The material they are made of is unclear. It is only said that the pillars, their capitals (רָאשֵׁיהֶם) and their cross-beams (חֲשֻׁקֵיהֶם) were overlaid with gold and that the five bases were of bronze.

A.8 Exod 38:9-16 describes the actual making of the hangings of the court (קַלְעֵי הֶֽחָצֵר). For the south side, twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, the וָוִים of the pillars (וָוֵי הָעַמֻּדִים) and their cross-beams (חֲשֻׁקֵיהֶם) were silver (38:9-10). Exod 38:11 has exactly the same formulation for the north side. Exod 38:12 has almost the same formulation for the west side; the only difference is that there are ten pillars and ten bases. Exod 38:13, referring to the east side of the court, does not mention the hooks or the pillars; only the length of the hangings is given.

A.9 Exod 38:17 recapitulates the data about the material for the pillars and their components: the bases for the pillars were of bronze, the וָוִים for the pillars and their cross-beams were of silver, likewise the overlaying of their capitals. Exod 38:18-19 deals with the screen for the gate of the court (מָסַךְ שַׁעַר הֶחָצֵר): their four pillars and four bases were of bronze, their וָוִים of silver, likewise their overlaying and their cross-beams. In Exod 38:28 the וָוִים are mentioned in the context of the costs for the Tabernacle. The silver that was brought in by the congregation was 100 talents (כִּכָּר) and 1775 shekels (שֶׁקֶל) (38:25). The וָוִים for the pillars (וָוִים לָעַמּוּדִים; 38:28) were made of the 1775 shekels, like the overlaying of their capitals and cross-beams.

A.10 In all the passages the noun וָו occurs in the plural. Apparently it was uncommon to use only one וָו. In all the contexts the וָוִים are attached to the pillars of the Tabernacle. In six verses they are called ‘their וָוִים‘ (וָוֵיהֶם, 26:32, 37; 27:17; 36:36, 38; 38:19); in six verses they are called ‘the וָוִים of the pillars’ (27:10, 11; 38:10, 11, 12, 17), and in one verse ‘the וָוִים for the pillars’ (38:28). They seem to serve as a point of suspension for the various curtains in the Tabernacle.

A.11 However, it is not explicitly said that the curtains were hung on the וָוִים. The only place where it is said the tapestry has to be put (נתן) on the pillars uses the expression תַּחַת הַקְּרָסים, ‘under the קְרָסִים’ (26:33). Consequently, the וָוִים seem to have a closer connection with the pillars than with the curtains, and the קְרָסִים seem to connect them with the curtains. So the קְרָסִים are most likely ‘curtain-rings’ or ‘clasps’.

7. Conclusion

A.1 In view of the quasi-absence of cognates and reliable extra-biblical evidence, identifying the וָוִים is difficult. The rendering ‘nail’ is unlikely, because a מַסְמֵר seems to be a carpenter’s nail and because a considerable weight was suspended from the וָוִים. Also ‘ring’ (cf. LXX κρίκος) is unlikely because it would have been left unspecified how these rings were connected to the pillars. Other ancient versions render by ‘head’ or ‘capital’, which also looks like guesswork and is in conflict with Exod 36:38; 38:17, 19, 28, where also רֵאשׁ occurs (Houtman 2000:437).

A.2 Pegs with a bulging head are a possibility (cf. TgSmr), but the rings might have slipped off easily, especially if the Tabernacle had to resist strong winds.

A.3 Therefore, the rendering ‘hook’ is the most likely one. The function of these hooks was to provide support for the curtains and to fix the cross-beams between the pillars. Their weight in gold and silver was considerable, even if the precious metals were used as a plating of wood only. Therefore, it must have been a sturdy type of hook over which the rings or clasps of the curtains were thrown when the framework of the Tabernacle had been erected.

Bibliography

For the abbreviations see the List of Abbreviations.

Driver 1954
. G.R. Driver, Semitic Writing from Pictograph to Alphabet, London 21954.
Houtman 2000
C. Houtman, Exodus (HCOT), vol. 3, Peeters: Leuven.

Notes

Some initial research for this entry was performed by Jopie Siebert-Hommes (†2-12-2023).

  1. The translations of the Greek are based on GELS. ↩

  2. Sokoloff, SLB, 1323. ↩

  3. Jastrow, DTT, 372. ↩

  4. Jastrow, DTT, 30. ↩

  5. DSA, 702. Cf. Jastrow, DTT, 1223-24: פֶּרַח, ‘blossom, flower, an ornament in the shape of a flower’. ↩

  6. OLD, 274-75. ↩

  7. BDB, 255: ‘hook, pin or peg (....), fastened on, or in, the posts of the tabernacle to support the various hangings’; K. Lawson Younger, Jr., NIDOTTE, vol. 1, 1064: ‘nail’; TLB, vol. 2, 441: ‘Hook; many believe that it means a bent nail, but perhaps a kind of two-pronged fork on the pillars of the Tabernacle, into which the hem of the curtain was inserted from above’; KBL, 246: ‘hook’, ‘peg’; HALOT, 259: ‘nails, pegs’; DCH ii:598: ‘hook, or, nail’; DCHR ii:743, ‘hook, or perh. rather, nail’. ↩

  8. GB, 190: ‘Nagel, Haken, an die die Vorhänge der Stiftshütte gehängt wurden’; HAWAT, 85: ‘Nagel, Haken’; HCHAT, 342: ‘krummer Haken, Nagel’; KBL, 246: ‘Haken’, ‘Nagel’; HAL, 249: ‘Nagel’; Ges18, 290: ‘Nagel’. Dalman, AuS, Bd. 6, 40, translates as ‘Haken’. ↩

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