Exodus 36-38

Complete Jewish Bible

36 “B’tzal’el and Oholi’av, along with all the craftsmen whom Adonai has endowed with the wisdom and skill necessary to carry out the work needed for the sanctuary, are to do exactly according to everything Adonai has ordered.”

² Moshe summoned B’tzal’el, Oholi’av and every craftsman to whom Adonai had given wisdom, everyone whose heart stirred him, to come and take part in the work. ³ They received from Moshe all the offering which the people of Isra’el had brought for the work of building the sanctuary. But they still kept bringing voluntary offerings every morning, ⁴ until all the craftsmen doing the work for the sanctuary left the work they were involved with ⁵ to tell Moshe, “The people are bringing far more than is needed to do the work Adonai has ordered done.” ⁶ So Moshe gave an order which was proclaimed throughout the camp: “Neither men nor women are to make any further efforts for the sanctuary offering.” In this way, the people were restrained from making additional contributions. ⁷ For what they had already was not only sufficient for doing all the work, but too much!

(LY: iv) ⁸ All the skilled men among them who did the work made the tabernacle, using ten sheets of finely woven linen and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn. He made them with k’ruvim worked in that had been crafted by a skilled artisan. ⁹ Each sheet was forty-two feet long and six feet wide; all the sheets were the same size. ¹⁰ He joined five sheets one to another, and the other five sheets he joined one to another. ¹¹ He made loops of blue on the edge of the outermost sheet in the first set and did the same on the edge of the outermost sheet in the second set. ¹² He made fifty loops on the one sheet, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the sheet in the second set; the loops were opposite one another. ¹³ He made fifty fasteners of gold and coupled the sheets to each other with the fasteners, so that the tabernacle formed a single unit.

¹⁴ He made sheets of goat’s hair to be used as a tent covering the tabernacle; he made eleven sheets. ¹⁵ Each sheet was forty-five feet long and six feet wide; all eleven sheets were the same size. ¹⁶ He joined five sheets together and six sheets together. ¹⁷ He made fifty loops on the edge of the outermost sheet in the first set and fifty loops on the outermost sheet in the second set. ¹⁸ He made fifty fasteners of bronze to join the tent together, so that it would be a single unit.

¹⁹ He made a covering for the tent of tanned ram skins and an outer covering of fine leather.

(LY: v) ²⁰ He made the upright planks of acacia-wood for the tabernacle. ²¹ Each plank was fifteen feet long and two-and-a-quarter feet wide. ²² There were two projections on each plank, and the planks were joined one to another. This is how he made all the planks for the tabernacle.

²³ He made the planks for the tabernacle as follows: twenty planks for the south side, facing southward. ²⁴ He made forty silver sockets under the twenty planks, two sockets under one plank for its two projections and two sockets under another plank for its two projections. ²⁵ For the second side of the tabernacle, to the north, he made twenty planks ²⁶ and their forty silver sockets, two sockets under one plank and two under another. ²⁷ For the rear part of the tabernacle, toward the west, he made six planks. ²⁸ For the corners of the tabernacle in the rear he made two planks, ²⁹ double from the bottom all the way to the top but joined at a single ring. He did the same with both of them at the two corners. ³⁰ Thus there were eight planks with their silver sockets, sixteen sockets, two sockets under each plank.

³¹ He made crossbars of acacia-wood, five for the planks of the one side of the tabernacle, ³² five crossbars for the planks of the other side of the tabernacle, and five crossbars for the planks at the side of the tabernacle at the rear toward the west. ³³ He made the middle crossbar so that it extended from one end of the planks to the other, halfway up. ³⁴ He overlaid the planks with gold, made gold rings for them through which the crossbars could pass and overlaid the crossbars with gold.

³⁵ He made the curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen. He made them with k’ruvim worked in that had been crafted by a skilled artisan. ³⁶ He made for it four posts of acacia-wood and overlaid them with gold, and gold hooks; and cast for them four silver sockets.

³⁷ For the entrance to the tent he made a screen of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen, in colors, the work of a weaver; ³⁸ with its five posts and their hooks. He overlaid their capitals and their attached rings for hanging with gold, while their five sockets were of bronze.

37 B’tzal’el made the ark of acacia-wood three-and-three-quarters feet long, two-and-a-quarter feet wide and two-and-a-quarter feet high. ² He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside and put a molding of gold for it around the top. ³ He cast four gold rings for it at its four feet, two rings on each side. ⁴ He made poles of acacia-wood and overlaid them with gold. ⁵ He put the carrying-poles for the ark in the rings on the sides of the ark.

⁶ He made a cover for the ark of pure gold, three-and-three-quarters feet long and two-and-a-quarter feet wide. ⁷ He made two k’ruvim of gold; he made them of hammered work for the two ends of the ark-cover — ⁸ one keruv for one end and one keruv for the other end; he made the k’ruvim of one piece with the ark-cover at its two ends. ⁹ The k’ruvim had their wings spread out above, so that their wings covered the ark; their faces were toward each other and toward the ark-cover.

¹⁰ He made the table of acacia-wood, three feet long, eighteen inches wide and eighteen inches high. ¹¹ He overlaid it with pure gold and put a molding of gold around the top of it. ¹² He made around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a molding of gold around the rim. ¹³ He cast for it four gold rings and attached the rings to the four corners, near its four legs. ¹⁴ The rings to hold the carrying-poles for the table were placed close to the rim. ¹⁵ He made the carrying-poles for the table of acacia-wood and overlaid them with gold. ¹⁶ He made the utensils to be put on the table — its dishes, pans, bowls and pitchers — of pure gold.

(RY: iii, LY: vi) ¹⁷ He made the menorah of pure gold. He made it of hammered work; its base, shaft, cups, rings of outer leaves and flowers were a single unit. ¹⁸ There were six branches extending from its sides, three branches of the menorah on one side of it and three on the other. ¹⁹ On one branch were three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a ring of outer leaves and petals; likewise on the opposite branch three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a ring of outer leaves and petals; and similarly for all six branches extending from the menorah. ²⁰ On the central shaft of the menorah were four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its ring of outer leaves and petals. ²¹ Where each pair of branches joined the central shaft was a ring of outer leaves of one piece with the pair of branches — thus for all six branches. ²² Their rings of outer leaves and their branches were of one piece with the shaft. Thus the whole menorah was one piece of hammered work made of pure gold. ²³ He made its seven lamps, its tongs and its trays of pure gold. ²⁴ The menorah and its utensils were made of sixty-six pounds of pure gold.

²⁵ He made the altar on which to burn incense of acacia-wood, eighteen inches square and three feet high; its horns were a single unit. ²⁶ He overlaid it with pure gold — its top, all around its sides and its horns; and he put around it a molding of gold. ²⁷ He made two gold rings for it under its molding at the two corners on both sides, to hold the carrying-poles. ²⁸ He made the poles of acacia-wood and overlaid them with gold.

²⁹ He made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of aromatic plant substances as would an expert perfume-maker.

38 (RY: iv, LY: vii) He made the altar for burnt offerings of acacia-wood, seven-and-a-half feet long and seven-and-a-half feet wide — it was square — and four-and-a-half feet high. ² He made horns for it on its four corners, the horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze.

³ He made all the utensils for the altar — its pots, shovels, basins, meat-hooks and fire pans; all its utensils he made of bronze. ⁴ He made for the altar a grate of bronze netting, under its rim, reaching halfway up the altar. ⁵ He cast four rings for the four ends of the bronze grate to hold the poles. ⁶ He made the poles of acacia-wood and overlaid them with bronze. ⁷ He put the carrying-poles into the rings on the sides of the altar; he made it of planks and hollow inside.

⁸ He made the basin of bronze with its base of bronze from the mirrors of the women serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

⁹ He made the courtyard. On the south side, facing southward, the tapestries for the courtyard were made of finely woven linen, 150 feet long, ¹⁰ supported on twenty posts in twenty bronze sockets; the hooks on the posts and the attached rings for hanging were of silver. ¹¹ On the north side they were 150 feet long, hung on twenty posts in twenty bronze sockets, with the hooks on the posts and their rings of silver. ¹² On the west side were tapestries seventy-five feet long, hung on ten posts in ten sockets, with the hooks on the posts and their rings of silver. ¹³ On the east side were tapestries seventy-five feet long. ¹⁴ The tapestries for the one side [of the gateway] were twenty-two-and-a-half feet long, hung on three posts in three sockets; ¹⁵ likewise for the other side — on either side [of the gate] were tapestries twenty-two-and-a-half feet long on three posts in three sockets. ¹⁶ All the tapestries for the courtyard, all the way around, were of finely woven linen; ¹⁷ the sockets for the posts were of bronze; the hooks on the posts and their rings were of silver; the capitals of the posts were overlaid with silver; and all the posts of the courtyard were banded with silver.

(LY: Maftir) ¹⁸ The screen for the gateway to the courtyard was the work of a weaver in colors, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen. Its length was thirty feet and its height seven-and-a-half feet all the way along, like the tapestries of the courtyard. ¹⁹ It had four posts in four bronze sockets, with silver hooks, capitals overlaid with silver and silver fasteners.

²⁰ The tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard around it were of bronze.

Haftarah Vayak’hel: M’lakhim Alef (1 Kings) 7:40–50 (A); 7:13–26 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Vayak’hel: 2 Corinthians 9:1–15; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 9:1–14; Revelation 11:1–13

Parashah 23: P’kudei (Accounts) 38:21–40:38

[In regular years read with Parashah 22, in leap years read separately]

²¹ These are the accounts of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, recorded, as Moshe ordered, by the L’vi’im under the direction of Itamar the son of Aharon, the cohen.

²² B’tzal’el the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Y’hudah, made everything that Adonai ordered Moshe to make. ²³ Assisting him was Oholi’av the son of Achisamakh, of the tribe of Dan, who was an engraver, a designer and a weaver in colors — in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and in fine linen.

²⁴ All the gold used for the work in everything needed for the sanctuary, the gold of the offering, weighed 29 talents 730 shekels [1,930 pounds], using the sanctuary shekel.

²⁵ The silver given by the community weighed 100 talents 1,775 shekels [6,650 pounds], using the sanctuary shekel. ²⁶ This was a beka per person, that is, half a shekel [one-fifth of an ounce], using the sanctuary shekel, for everyone twenty years old or older counted in the census, 603,550 men. ²⁷ The hundred talents of silver were used to cast the sockets for the sanctuary and the sockets for the curtain — one hundred sockets made from the hundred talents, one talent [sixty-six pounds] per socket. ²⁸ The 1,775 shekels [fifty pounds] he used to make hooks for the posts, to overlay their capitals and to make fasteners for them.

²⁹ The bronze in the offering came to 4,680 pounds. ³⁰ He used it to make the sockets for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar, its bronze grate, all the utensils for the altar, ³¹ the sockets for the courtyard around it, the sockets for the gateway to the courtyard, all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and all the tent pegs for the courtyard around it.