Exodus 36:1-38
1 Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded.
2 And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it:
3 And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning.
4 And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made;
5 And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make.
6 And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.
7 For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.
8 And every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them.
9 The length of one curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: the curtains were all of one size.
10 And he coupled the five curtains one unto another: and the other five curtains he coupled one unto another.
11 And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling: likewise he made in the uttermost side of another curtain, in the coupling of the second.
12 Fifty loops made he in one curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain which was in the coupling of the second: the loops held one curtain to another.
13 And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches: so it became one tabernacle.
14 And he made curtains of goats' hair for the tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them.
15 The length of one curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one curtain: the eleven curtains were of one size.
16 And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves.
17 And he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second.
18 And he made fifty taches of brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one.
19 And he made a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins above that.
20 And he made boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood, standing up.
21 The length of a board was ten cubits, and the breadth of a board one cubit and a half.
22 One board had two tenons, equally distant one from another: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle.
23 And he made boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward:
24 And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons.
25 And for the other side of the tabernacle, which is toward the north corner, he made twenty boards,
26 And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.
27 And for the sides of the tabernacle westward he made six boards.
28 And two boards made he for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides.
29 And they were coupleda beneath, and coupled together at the head thereof, to one ring: thus he did to both of them in both the corners.
30 And there were eight boards; and their sockets were sixteen sockets of silver, under every board two sockets.
31 And he made bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,
32 And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the sides westward.
33 And he made the middle bar to shoot through the boards from the one end to the other.
34 And he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold to be places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.
35 And he made a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work.
36 And he made thereunto four pillars of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold: their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver.
37 And he made an hanging for the tabernacle door of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, of needlework;b
38 And the five pillars of it with their hooks: and he overlaid their chapiters and their fillets with gold: but their five sockets were of brass.
THE TEXT OF EXODUS
TRANSLATION
36 And Be-zal-el and O-ho-li-ab shall work, and every wise-hearted man, in whom Je-ho-vah hath put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all the work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that Je-ho-vah hath commanded.
(2) And Mo-ses called Be-zal-el and O-ho-li-ab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart Je-ho-vah had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: (3) and they received of Mo-ses all the offering which the children of Is-ra-el had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, wherewith to make it. And they brought yet unto him freewill-offerings every morning. (4) And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they wrought; (5) and they spake unto Mo-ses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which Je-ho-vah commanded to make. (6) And Mo-ses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. (7) For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.
(8) And all the wise-hearted men among them that wrought the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains; of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cher-u-bim, the work of the skilful workman, Be-zal-el made them. (9) The length of each curtain was eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits: all the curtains had one measure. (10) And he coupled five curtains one to another: and the other five curtains he coupled one to another. (11) And he made loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling: likewise he made in the edge of the curtain that was outmost in the second coupling. (12) Fifty loops made he in the one curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain that was in the second coupling: the loops were opposite one to another. (13) And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains one to another with the clasps: so the tabernacle was one.
(14) And he made curtains of goats-' hair for a tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them. (15) The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits the breadth of each curtain: the eleven curtains had one measure. (16) And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. (17) And he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which was outmost in the second coupling. (18) And he made fifty clasps of brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one. (19) And he made a covering for the tent of rams-' skins dyed red, and a covering of sealskins above.
(20) And he made the boards for the tabernacle, of acacia wood, standing up. (21) Ten cubits was the length of a board and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board. (22) Each board had two tenons, joined one to another: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle. (23) And the made the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards for the south side southward; (24) and he made forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons. (25) And for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty boards, (26) and their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. (27) And for the hinder part of the tabernacle westward he made six boards. (28) And two boards made he for the corners of the tabernacle in the hinder part. (29) And they were double beneath; and in like manner they were entire unto the top thereof unto one ring: thus he did to both of them in the two corners. (30) And there were eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; under every board two sockets.
(31) And he made bars of acacia wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, (32) and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the hinder part westward. (33) And he made the middle bar to pass through in the midst of the boards from the one end to the other. (34) And he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold for places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.
(35) And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cher-u-bim, the work of the skilful workman, made he it. (36) And he made thereunto four pillars of acacia, and overlaid them with gold: their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver. (37) And he made a screen for the door of the Tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer; (38) and the five pillars of it with their hooks, and he overlaid their capitals and their fillets with gold; and their five sockets were of brass.
EXPLORING EXODUS: CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
(Questions over Exodus 36:1-7 are included in the notes on chapter 35.)
1.
Topic: It is helpful to remember the contents of this chapter under the title of ENCLOSINGS, because it tells of the curtains, boards, bars, etc. that enclosed the tabernacle.
2.
Outline: (1)
Workmen called; Exodus 36:2.
(2)
Excessive materials donated by people; Exodus 36:3-7.
(3)
Tabernacle curtains made; Exodus 36:8-13.
(4)
Tent of goats-' hair made; Exodus 36:14-19.
(5)
Boards; Exodus 36:20-30.
(6)
Bars; Exodus 36:31-34.
(7)
Veil and screen; Exodus 36:35-38.
3.
Parallel passages: (See the notes on the earlier parallel passages.)
(1)
Exodus 36:2-7 (Offering) - Exodus 25:1-7; Exodus 35:4-9; Exodus 35:20-29.
(2)
Exodus 36:8-19 (Curtains) - Exodus 26:1-14.
(3)
Exodus 36:20-30 (Boards) - Exodus 26:15-25.
(4)
Exodus 36:35-38 (Veil and screen) - Exodus 26:31-37.
4.
Notes:
Exodus 36:1 - The A.S.V. translation shall work is a better translation than the King James translation wrought. According to all is more clearly translated with respect to all.
Exodus 36:3 -The offering is pictured as having been brought and placed in a heap before Moses. The craftsmen then came and took from it whatever they needed.
The people brought offerings every morning. The Hebrew idiom is picturesque: In the morning, in the morning.
Exodus 36:4 - Wrought is an old past tense form of the verb work. The Hebrew text emphasizes the continuity of the work: they were doing it.
Exodus 36:5 - The generosity of the Israelites reminds us of that of the churches of Macedonia (2 Corinthians 8:2-3). These people are examples for us.
Exodus 36:8 - The subject of the last verb (made) in Exodus 36:8 is not stated, but the verb is singular: he made them. The same is true of numerous verbs in the following verses (Exodus 36:10-11; Exodus 36:13 ff). It is probable that the subject is Bezalel (as in Exodus 37:1). The A.S.V. supplies this reading in italics. Possibly the subject is indefinite, and refers to whichever craftsman did each work.
Exodus 36:8 does not indicate that the items were made in the exact order in which they are mentioned. Probably they were all being made simultaneously.
Exodus 36:16 - The instructions in Exodus 26:9 b about doubling back the sixth curtain (the one that lay at the front of the tabernacle) is not repeated here, because Chapter s 36-39 do not give details about how the tabernacle parts were positioned. Similarly Exodus 26:12-13 is not repeated after Exodus 36:18.
Exodus 36:38 - He overlaid their capitals and fillets with gold. In the passage parallel to this (Exodus 26:37) it says only that he was to overlay them (the pillars) with gold. This is an example of the infrequent but interesting variations between Chapter s 26-31 and 36-39.