Hebrew word · H2053

וָו

vavei

hook

Hook or peg. The word occurs only in Exodus 26–27 and 36–38, always for fittings on the tabernacle pillars. It is the same word as the letter name vav, whose early form may have looked like a peg or hook.

Appears 13 times in 13 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

hook, peg, nail, pin

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Exodus 26:37

Range of meaning

Hook or peg. The word occurs only in Exodus 26–27 and 36–38, always for fittings on the tabernacle pillars. It is the same word as the letter name vav, whose early form may have looked like a peg or hook.

Against the English

Most English versions say 'hooks'; YLT says 'pegs'. Ancient translators were less sure. The Greek translators (LXX) seem in places to have understood it as the decorated top of the pillar ('capitals'), not a hook.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 26:32, 37; 27:10–17; 36:36, 38; 38:10–19, 28. Exod 38:28 says Bezalel used leftover silver to make 'hooks for the pillars'. Outside these chapters the word is not attested in biblical Hebrew as an object.

From the study of Exodus 27:17

Range of meaning

A hook, peg or pin. The word occurs only in Exodus 26–27, 36 and 38, always for fittings on posts that held curtains or screens. It is also the name of the letter ו.

Against the English

Most versions have 'hooks'. YLT has 'pegs'. The Greek and Latin versions of related verses use words like 'rings' or 'capitals' (the tops of columns), which shows how uncertain the exact shape was even in antiquity.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exodus 26:32, 37 (gold hooks on the inner posts); 27:10–11, 17 (silver hooks on the courtyard posts); 38:28. The letter-name 'waw' goes back to early alphabet signs that are often thought to have been a peg or nail shape.

Where it appears

Exodus · 13

  1. Exodus 26:32 וָוֵיהֶ֖ם hooks their

    Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood, overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases.

  2. Exodus 26:37 וָוֵיהֶ֖ם hooks their

    Make five posts of acacia wood for the curtain, overlay them with gold, use hooks of gold, and cast five bronze bases for them.

    Here: 'Their hooks', presumably the fittings at the top of the pillars from which the screen hung. The word vav occurs only in the tabernacle chapters, and the exact shape is uncertain (see studies). It is the same word as the name of the Hebrew letter vav, which may once have been drawn like a peg or hook.

  3. Exodus 27:10 וָוֵ֧י [the] hooks of

    with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and silver hooks and bands on the posts.

  4. Exodus 27:11 וָוֵ֧י [the] hooks of

    Likewise there are to be curtains on the north side, a hundred cubits long, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

  5. Exodus 27:17 וָוֵיהֶ֖ם hooks their

    All the posts around the courtyard shall have silver bands, silver hooks, and bronze bases.

    Here: 'Their hooks': fittings on the posts from which the hangings were hung or fastened. This is a rare building term that appears only in the tabernacle chapters. It is also the name of the Hebrew letter ו, probably because the letter looked like a peg or hook.

  6. Exodus 36:36 וָוֵיהֶ֖ם hooks their

    He also made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold, along with gold hooks; and he cast four silver bases for the posts.

  7. Exodus 36:38 וָ֣וֵיהֶ֔ם hooks their

    together with five posts and their hooks. He overlaid the tops of the posts and their bands with gold, and their five bases were bronze.

  8. Exodus 38:10 וָוֵ֧י [the] hooks of

    with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

  9. Exodus 38:11 וָוֵ֧י [the] hooks of

    The north side was also a hundred cubits long, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases. The hooks and bands of the posts were silver.

  10. Exodus 38:12 וָוֵ֧י [the] hooks of

    The west side was fifty cubits long and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases. The hooks and bands of the posts were silver.

  11. Exodus 38:17 וָוֵ֨י [the] hooks of

    The bases for the posts were bronze, the hooks and bands were silver, and the plating for the tops of the posts was silver. So all the posts of the courtyard were banded with silver.

  12. Exodus 38:19 וָוֵיהֶ֣ם hooks their

    with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks were silver, as well as the bands and the plating of their tops.

  13. Exodus 38:28 וָוִ֖ים hooks

    With the 1,775 shekels of silver he made the hooks for the posts, overlaid their tops, and supplied bands for them.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.