Exodus 36-38
New English Translation
36 1 So Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person[a] in whom the Lord has put skill[b] and ability[c] to know how[d] to do all the work for the service[e] of the sanctuary are to do the work[f] according to all that the Lord has commanded.”
2 Moses summoned[g] Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in whom[h] the Lord had put skill—everyone whose heart stirred him[i] to volunteer[j] to do the work. 3 They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to do[k] the work for the service of the sanctuary, and they still continued to bring him a freewill offering each morning.[l] 4 So all the skilled people who were doing all the work on the sanctuary came from the work[m] they were doing 5 and told Moses, “The people are bringing much more than[n] is needed for the completion[o] of the work which the Lord commanded us to do!”[p]
6 Moses instructed them to take[q] his message[r] throughout the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman do anymore work for the offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing any more.[s] 7 Now the materials were more than enough[t] for them to do all the work.[u]
The Building of the Tabernacle
8 All the skilled among those who were doing the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarn; they were made with cherubim that were the work of an artistic designer. 9 The length of one curtain was 42 feet, and the width of one curtain was 6 feet—the same size for each of the curtains. 10 He joined[v] five of the curtains to one another, and the other[w] five curtains he joined to one another. 11 He made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in the first set; he did the same along the edge of the end curtain in the second set. 12 He made fifty loops on the first curtain, and he made fifty loops on the end curtain that was in the second set, with the loops opposite one another. 13 He made fifty gold clasps and joined the curtains together to one another with the clasps, so that the tabernacle was a unit.[x]
14 He made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains.[y] 15 The length of one curtain was 45 feet, and the width of one curtain was 6 feet—one size for all eleven curtains. 16 He joined five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. 17 He made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in the first set and fifty loops along the edge of the curtain that joined the second set. 18 He made fifty bronze clasps to join the tent together so that it might be a unit.[z] 19 He made a covering for the tent out of ram skins dyed red and over that a covering of fine leather.[aa]
20 He made the frames[ab] for the tabernacle of acacia wood[ac] as uprights.[ad] 21 The length of each[ae] frame was 15 feet, the width of each[af] frame was 2¼ feet, 22 with[ag] two projections per frame parallel one to another.[ah] He made all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. 23 So he made frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side. 24 He made forty silver bases under the twenty frames—two bases under the first frame for its two projections, and likewise[ai] two bases under the next frame for its two projections, 25 and for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, he made twenty frames 26 and their forty silver bases, two bases under the first frame and two bases under the next[aj] frame. 27 And for the back of the tabernacle on the west he made six frames. 28 He made two frames for the corners of the tabernacle on the back. 29 At the two corners[ak] they were doubled at the lower end and[al] finished together at the top in one ring. So he did for both. 30 So there were eight frames and their silver bases, sixteen bases, two bases under each frame.
31 He made bars of acacia wood, five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle 32 and five bars for the frames on the second side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the tabernacle for the back side on the west. 33 He made the middle bar to reach from end to end in the center of the frames. 34 He overlaid the frames with gold and made their rings of gold to provide places[am] for the bars, and he overlaid the bars with gold.
35 He made the special curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen; he made[an] it with cherubim, the work of an artistic designer. 36 He made for it four posts of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, with gold hooks,[ao] and he cast for them four silver bases.
37 He made a hanging for the entrance of the tent of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer, 38 and its five posts and their hooks. He overlaid their tops[ap] and their bands with gold, but their five bases were bronze.[aq]
The Making of the Ark
37 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was 45 inches, its width 27 inches, and its height 27 inches. 2 He overlaid it with pure gold, inside and out, and he made a surrounding border[ar] of gold for it. 3 He cast four gold rings for it that he put[as] on its four feet, with[at] two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 4 He made poles of acacia wood, overlaid them with gold, 5 and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark.
6 He made[au] an atonement lid of pure gold; its length was 45 inches, and its width was 27 inches. 7 He made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid, 8 one cherub on one end[av] and one cherub on the other end.[aw] He made the cherubim from the atonement lid on its two ends. 9 The cherubim were spreading their wings[ax] upward, overshadowing the atonement lid with their wings. The cherubim[ay] faced each other,[az] looking toward the atonement lid.[ba]
The Making of the Table
10 Bezalel[bb] made the table of acacia wood; its length was 36 inches, its width 18 inches, and its height 27 inches. 11 He overlaid it with pure gold, and he made a surrounding border of gold for it. 12 He made a surrounding frame for it about three inches wide, and he made a surrounding border of gold for its frame. 13 He cast four gold rings for it and attached the rings at the four corners where its four legs were. 14 The rings were close to the frame to provide places for the poles to carry the table. 15 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table. 16 He made the vessels which were on the table out of pure gold, its[bc] plates, its ladles, its pitchers, and its bowls, to be used in pouring out offerings.
The Making of the Lampstand
17 Bezalel[bd] made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered metal; its base and its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its blossoms were from the same piece.[be] 18 Six branches were extending from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it. 19 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on the first branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on the next[bf] branch, and the same[bg] for the six branches that were extending from the lampstand. 20 On the lampstand there were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms, 21 with a bud under the first two branches from it, and a bud under the next two branches from it, and a bud under the third two branches from it; according to the six branches that extended from it.[bh] 22 Their buds and their branches were of one piece;[bi] all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold. 23 He made its seven lamps, its trimmers, and its trays of pure gold. 24 He made the lampstand[bj] and all its accessories with seventy-five pounds of pure gold.
The Making of the Altar of Incense
25 Bezalel[bk] made the incense altar of acacia wood. Its length was 18 inches and its width 18 inches—a square—and its height was 36 inches. Its horns were of one piece with it.[bl] 26 He overlaid it with pure gold—its top,[bm] its four walls,[bn] and its horns—and he made a surrounding border of gold for it.[bo] 27 He also made[bp] two gold rings for it under its border, on its two sides, on opposite sides,[bq] as places[br] for poles to carry it with. 28 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
29 He made the sacred anointing oil and the pure fragrant incense, the work of a perfumer.
The Making of the Altar for the Burnt Offering
38 Bezalel[bs] made the altar for the burnt offering of acacia wood 7½ feet long and 7½ feet wide—it was square—and its height was 4½ feet. 2 He made its horns on its four corners; its horns were part of it,[bt] and he overlaid it with bronze. 3 He made all the utensils of the altar—the pots, the shovels, the tossing bowls, the meat hooks, and the fire pans—he made all its utensils of bronze. 4 He made a grating for the altar, a network of bronze under its ledge, halfway up from the bottom. 5 He cast four rings for the four corners of the bronze grating, to provide places for the poles. 6 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. 7 He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it. He made the altar[bu] hollow, out of boards.
8 He made the large basin of bronze and its pedestal of bronze from the mirrors of the women who served[bv] at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
The Construction of the Courtyard
9 Bezalel[bw] made the courtyard. For the south side[bx] the hangings of the courtyard were of fine twisted linen, 150 feet long, 10 with[by] their twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. 11 For the north side the hangings were[bz] 150 feet, with their twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. 12 For the west side there were[ca] hangings 75 feet long, with[cb] their ten posts and their ten bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. 13 For the east side, toward the sunrise, it was 75 feet wide,[cc] 14 with hangings on one side[cd] of the gate that were 22½ feet long, with their three posts and their three bases, 15 and for the second side of the gate of the courtyard, just like the other,[ce] the hangings were 22½ feet long, with their three posts and their three bases. 16 All the hangings around the courtyard were of fine twisted linen. 17 The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks of the posts and their bands were silver, their tops were overlaid with silver, and all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.[cf] 18 The curtain[cg] for the gate of the courtyard was of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer. It was 30 feet long and, like the hangings in the courtyard, it was 7½ feet high, 19 with four posts and their four bronze bases. Their hooks and their bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. 20 All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the courtyard all around were bronze.
The Materials of the Construction
21 This is the inventory[ch] of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, which was counted[ci] by the order[cj] of Moses, being the work[ck] of the Levites under the direction[cl] of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. 22 Now Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that the Lord had commanded Moses; 23 and with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an artisan, a designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen.
24 All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary[cm] (namely,[cn] the gold of the wave offering) was 29 talents and 730 shekels,[co] according to the sanctuary shekel.
25 The silver of those who were numbered of the community was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels,[cp] according to the sanctuary shekel, 26 one beka per person, that is, a half shekel,[cq] according to the sanctuary shekel, for everyone who crossed over to those numbered, from twenty years old or older,[cr] 603,550 in all.[cs] 27 The 100 talents of silver were used for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the special curtain—100 bases for 100 talents, one talent per base. 28 From the remaining 1,775 shekels[ct] he made hooks for the posts, overlaid their tops, and made bands for them.
29 The bronze of the wave offering was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels.[cu] 30 With it he made the bases for the door of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grating for it, and all the utensils of the altar, 31 the bases for the courtyard all around, the bases for the gate of the courtyard, all the tent pegs of the tabernacle, and all the tent pegs of the courtyard all around.[cv]
Footnotes
- Exodus 36:1 tn Heb “wise of [in] heart.”
- Exodus 36:1 tn Heb “wisdom.”
- Exodus 36:1 tn Heb “understanding, discernment.”
- Exodus 36:1 tn The relative clause includes this infinitive clause that expresses either the purpose or the result of God’s giving wisdom and understanding to these folk.
- Exodus 36:1 tn This noun is usually given an interpretive translation. B. Jacob renders the bound relationship as “the holy task” or “the sacred task” (Exodus, 1019). The NIV makes it “constructing,” so read “the work of constructing the sanctuary.”
- Exodus 36:1 tn The first word of the verse is a perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it is singular because it agrees with the first of the compound subject. The sentence is a little cumbersome because of the extended relative clause in the middle.
- Exodus 36:2 tn The verb קָרָא (qaraʾ) plus the preposition “to”—“to call to” someone means “to summon” that person.
- Exodus 36:2 tn Here there is a slight change: “in whose heart Yahweh had put skill.”
- Exodus 36:2 tn Or “whose heart was willing.”
- Exodus 36:2 sn The verb means more than “approach” or “draw near”; קָרַב (qarav) is the word used for drawing near the altar as in bringing an offering. Here they offer themselves, their talents and their time.
- Exodus 36:3 tn In the Hebrew text the infinitive “to do it” comes after “sanctuary”; it makes a smoother rendering in English to move it forward, rather than reading “brought for the work.”
- Exodus 36:3 tn Heb “in the morning, in the morning.”
- Exodus 36:4 tn Heb “a man, a man from his work”; or “each one from his work.”
- Exodus 36:5 tn The construction uses the verbal hendiadys: מַרְבִּים לְהָבִיא (marbim lehaviʾ) is the Hiphil participle followed (after the subject) by the Hiphil infinitive construct. It would read, “they multiply…to bring,” meaning, “they bring more” than is needed.
- Exodus 36:5 tn Heb “for the service” (so KJV, ASV).
- Exodus 36:5 tn The last clause is merely the infinitive with an object—“to do it.” It clearly means the skilled workers are to do it.
- Exodus 36:6 tn The verse simply reads, “and Moses commanded and they caused [a voice] to cross over in the camp.” The second preterite with the vav may be subordinated to the first clause, giving the intent (purpose or result).
- Exodus 36:6 tn Heb “voice.”
- Exodus 36:6 tn The verse ends with the infinitive serving as the object of the preposition: “from bringing.”
- Exodus 36:7 tn This part of the sentence comes from the final verb, the Hiphil infinitive—leave over, meaning, have more than enough (see BDB 451 s.v. יָתַר).
- Exodus 36:7 tn Heb “for all the work, to do it.”sn This lengthy section (35:1-36:7) forms one of the most remarkable sections in the book. Here there is a mixture of God’s preparation of people to do the work and their willingness to give and to serve. It not only provides insight into this renewed community of believers, but it also provides a timeless message for the church. The point is clear enough: In response to God’s commission, and inspired by God’s Spirit, the faithful and willing people rally to support and participate in the Lord’s work.
- Exodus 36:10 tn The verb is singular since it probably is referring to Bezalel, but since he would not do all the work himself, it may be that the verbs could be given a plural subject: “they joined.”
- Exodus 36:10 tn The words “the other” have been supplied.
- Exodus 36:13 tn Heb “one.”
- Exodus 36:14 tn Heb “eleven curtains he made them.”
- Exodus 36:18 tn The construction uses the infinitive construct from the verb “to be” to express this purpose clause: “to be one,” or, “so that it might be a unit.”
- Exodus 36:19 tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.
- Exodus 36:20 tn There is debate whether the word הַקְּרָשִׁים (haqqerashim) means “boards” or “frames” or “planks” (see Ezek 27:6) or “beams,” given the size of them. The literature on this includes M. Haran, “The Priestly Image of the Tabernacle,” HUCA 36 (1965): 192; B. A. Levine, “The Description of the Tabernacle Texts of the Pentateuch,” JAOS 85 (1965): 307-18; J. Morgenstern, “The Ark, the Ephod, and the Tent,” HUCA 17 (1942/43): 153-265; 18 (1943/44): 1-52.
- Exodus 36:20 tn “Wood” is an adverbial accusative.
- Exodus 36:20 tn The plural participle “standing” refers to how these items will be situated; they will be vertical rather than horizontal (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 354).
- Exodus 36:21 tn Heb “the frame.”
- Exodus 36:21 tn Heb “the one.”
- Exodus 36:22 tn Heb “two hands to the one frame.”
- Exodus 36:22 tn Heb “joined one to one.”
- Exodus 36:24 tn The clause is repeated to show the distributive sense; it literally says, “and two bases under the one frame for its two projections.”
- Exodus 36:26 tn Heb “under the one frame” again.
- Exodus 36:29 tn This is the last phrase of the verse, moved forward for clarity.
- Exodus 36:29 tn This difficult verse uses the perfect tense at the beginning, and the second clause parallels it with יִהְיוּ (yihyu), which has to be taken here as a preterite without the consecutive vav (ו). The predicate “finished” or “completed” is the word תָּמִּים (tammim); it normally means “complete, sound, whole,” and related words describe the sacrifices as without blemish.
- Exodus 36:34 tn Literally “houses”; i.e., places to hold the bars.
- Exodus 36:35 tn The verb is simply “he made” but as in Exod 26:31 it probably means that the cherubim were worked into the curtain with the yarn, and so embroidered on the curtain.
- Exodus 36:36 tn Heb “and their hooks gold.”
- Exodus 36:38 tn The word is “their heads”; technically it would be “their capitals” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV). The bands were bands of metal surrounding these capitals just beneath them. These are not mentioned in Exod 26:37, and it sounds like the posts are to be covered with gold. But the gradation of metals is what is intended: the posts at the entrance to the Most Holy Place are all of gold; the posts at the entrance to the tent are overlaid with gold at the top; and the posts at the entrance to the courtyard are overlaid with silver at the top (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 387, citing Dillmann without reference).
- Exodus 36:38 sn For a good summary of the differences between the instruction section and the completion section, and the reasons for the changes and the omissions, see B. Jacob, Exodus, 1022-23.
- Exodus 37:2 tn Or “molding.”
- Exodus 37:3 tn “that he put” has been supplied.
- Exodus 37:3 tn This is taken as a circumstantial clause; the clause begins with the conjunction vav.
- Exodus 37:6 tn Heb “and he made.”
- Exodus 37:8 tn Heb “from/at [the] end, from this.”
- Exodus 37:8 tn The repetition of the expression indicates it has the distributive sense.
- Exodus 37:9 tn The construction is a participle in construct followed by the genitive “wings”—“spreaders of wings.”
- Exodus 37:9 tn The subject, “the cherubim,” has been added again in the translation for smoothness.
- Exodus 37:9 tn Heb “and their faces a man to his brother.”
- Exodus 37:9 tn Heb “to the atonement lid were the faces of the cherubim.”
- Exodus 37:10 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Exodus 37:16 tn The suffixes on these could also indicate the indirect object (see Exod 25:29).
- Exodus 37:17 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Exodus 37:17 tn Heb “from it”; the referent (“the same piece” of wrought metal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Exodus 37:19 tn Heb “the one branch.” But the repetition of “one…one” means here one after another, or the “first” and then the “next.”
- Exodus 37:19 tn Heb “thus for six branches….”
- Exodus 37:21 tn As in Exod 26:35, the translation of “first” and “next” and “third” is interpretive, because the text simply says “under two branches” in each of three places.
- Exodus 37:22 tn Heb “were from it.”
- Exodus 37:24 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the lampstand) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Exodus 37:25 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Exodus 37:25 tn Heb “from it were its horns,” meaning that they were made from the same piece.
- Exodus 37:26 tn Heb “roof.”
- Exodus 37:26 tn Heb “its walls around.”
- Exodus 37:26 tn Heb “and he made for it border gold around.”
- Exodus 37:27 tn Heb “and he made.”
- Exodus 37:27 sn Since it was a small altar, it needed only two rings, one on either side, in order to be carried. The second mention of their location clarifies that they should be on the sides, the right and the left, as one approached the altar.
- Exodus 37:27 tn Heb “for houses.”
- Exodus 38:1 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Exodus 38:2 tn Heb “its horns were from it,” meaning from the same piece.
- Exodus 38:7 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the altar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Exodus 38:8 sn The word for “serve” is not the ordinary one. It means “to serve in a host,” especially in a war. It appears that women were organized into bands and served at the tent of meeting. S. R. Driver thinks that this meant “no doubt” washing, cleaning, or repairing (Exodus, 391). But there is no hint of that (see 1 Sam 2:22; and see Ps 68:11 [12 HT]). They seem to have had more to do than what Driver said.
- Exodus 38:9 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Exodus 38:9 tn Heb “south side southward.”
- Exodus 38:10 tn While this verse could be translated as an independent sentence, it is probably to be subordinated as a circumstantial clause in line with Exod 27:10-12, as well as v. 12 of this passage.
- Exodus 38:11 tn Here the phrase “the hangings were” has been supplied.
- Exodus 38:12 tn The phrase “there were” has been supplied.
- Exodus 38:12 tn The text simply has “their posts ten and their bases ten”; this may be added here as a circumstantial clause with the main sentence in order to make sense out of the construction.
- Exodus 38:13 tn The text simply says “75 feet.”
- Exodus 38:14 tn The word literally means “shoulder.” The next words, “of the gate,” have been supplied here. The east end contained the courtyard’s entry with a wall of curtains on each side of the entry (see v. 15).
- Exodus 38:15 tn Heb “from this and from this” (cf, 17:12; 25:19; 26:13; 32:15; Josh 8:22, 33; 1 Kgs 10:19-20; Ezek 45:7).
- Exodus 38:17 tn Heb “they were banded with silver.”
- Exodus 38:18 tn This word is different from the word for hangings; it has more of the idea of a screen, shielding or securing the area.
- Exodus 38:21 tn The Hebrew word is פּקוּדֵי (pequde), which in a slavishly literal way would be “visitations of” the tabernacle. But the word often has the idea of “numbering” or “appointing” as well. Here it is an accounting or enumeration of the materials that people brought, so the contemporary term “inventory” is a close approximation. By using this Hebrew word there is also the indication that whatever was given, i.e., appointed for the tabernacle, was changed forever in its use. This is consistent with this Hebrew root, which does have a sense of changing the destiny of someone (“God will surely visit you”). The list in this section will also be tied to the numbering of the people.
- Exodus 38:21 tn The same verb is used here, but now in the Pual perfect tense, third masculine singular. A translation “was numbered” or “was counted” works. The verb is singular because it refers to the tabernacle as a unit. This section will list what made up the tabernacle.
- Exodus 38:21 tn Heb “at/by the mouth of.”
- Exodus 38:21 tn The noun is “work” or “service.” S. R. Driver explains that the reckonings were not made for the Levites, but that they were the work of the Levites, done by them under the direction of Ithamar (Exodus, 393).
- Exodus 38:21 tn Heb “by the hand of.”
- Exodus 38:24 tn These words form the casus pendens, or independent nominative absolute, followed by the apodosis beginning with the vav (ו; see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 469).
- Exodus 38:24 tn Heb “and it was.”
- Exodus 38:24 sn There were 3000 shekels in a talent, and so the total weight here in shekels would be 87,730 shekels of gold. If the sanctuary shekel was 224 grs., then this was about 40,940 oz. troy. This is estimated to be a little over a ton (cf. NCV “over 2,000 pounds”; TEV “a thousand kilogrammes”; CEV “two thousand two hundred nine pounds”; NLT “about 2,200 pounds”), although other widely diverging estimates are also given.
- Exodus 38:25 sn This would be a total of 301,775 shekels (about 140,828 oz), being a half shekel exacted per person from 603,550 male Israelites 20 years old or more (Num 1:46). The amount is estimated to be around 3.75 tons.
- Exodus 38:26 sn The weight would be about half an ounce.
- Exodus 38:26 tn Heb “upward.”
- Exodus 38:26 tn The phrase “in all” has been supplied.
- Exodus 38:28 tn Here the word “shekels” is understood; about 45 pounds.
- Exodus 38:29 sn The total shekels would have been 212,400 shekels, which would be about 108,749 oz. This would make about 2.5 to 3 tons.
- Exodus 38:31 sn The bronze altar is the altar for the burnt offering; the large bronze basin is not included here in the list.
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