They made the breastplate square by doubling it; a span was its length and a span its width when doubled.
Parallel translations
- WEB It was square. They made the breastplate double. Its length was a span, and its width a span, being double.
- KJV It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled.
- BSB It was square when folded over double, a span long and a span wide.
- NASB It was square; they made the breastpiece folded double, a span long and a span wide when folded double.
- NLT He made the chestpiece of a single piece of cloth folded to form a pouch nine inches square.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The breastplate was square and doubled over, a span in length and width. Its folded form made a sturdy pouch.
Overview
The exact dimensions, roughly nine inches square and doubled for strength, show the precision of the design. The pouch shape allowed it to hold the sacred lots used to seek God's guidance. Such ordered detail reflects that worship and the seeking of God's will were to be conducted reverently, according to His appointed means rather than human invention.
Cross-references & the web
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 39:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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