Exodus 39:1-43

Exodus: *Israel becomes a nation

God’s instructions to Moses

Exodus Chapter s 19 to 40

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 39

The priests’ clothes – verses 1-31 (Compare Exodus 28:2-28)

Most of the information about the priests’ clothes is the same as in Exodus 28:2-43. But this chapter (Exodus chapter 39) emphasises that the skilful workers made everything. And they did it exactly as God had ordered. The words: ‘as the *LORD had ordered Moses’ appear 7 times in this chapter. This chapter includes a few extra details than in Exodus chapter 28. But it leaves out other details.

Bezalel and his workers make the clothes

v1 Bezalel and his workers made special clothes for the priests. The workers sewed them with blue, purple and bright red wool. They made beautiful clothes for Aaron, exactly as the *LORD had ordered Moses.

1. The *ephod – verses 2-7 (Compare Exodus 28:6-14)

v2 The workers made the *ephod out of *linen of good quality. And they sewed designs onto it with thin gold wire, and with blue, purple and bright red wool. v3 They hammered the gold in order to make it very thin. And then they cut it into thin wires. The skilful workers sewed the *linen. They used this gold wire. They also used blue, purple and bright red wool. v4 They made pieces for the shoulders of the *ephod. And they attached these pieces to two of the corners of the *ephod. Then they fastened it. v5 They made a belt that went on the *ephod. They made it with skill out of the same *linen. And they sewed similar designs onto it with gold wire, and with blue, purple and bright red wool. They did all this exactly as the *LORD had ordered Moses.

v6 They fixed the *onyx stones into gold patterns. And they cut the names of Israel’s sons on the stones. v7 Then they fastened these precious stones on the pieces of the shoulders of the *ephod. They did this so that the *LORD would never forget the *Israelites. They did everything as the *LORD had ordered Moses.

Verse 3 The workers hammered the gold in order to make it very thin. And then they cut it into thin wires. This explains how the *Israelites produced the gold wire. They used it with the blue, purple and bright red wool. It made the priests’ clothes very beautiful. The priests’ special clothes made the people respect them. The people gave honour to the priests (Exodus 28:2; Exodus 28:40).

2. The *breast-piece – verses 8-21 (Compare Exodus 28:15-30)

v8 Bezalel and his skilful workers made the *breast-piece. They made it out of *linen of good quality. And they sewed it with gold wire, and with blue, purple and bright red wool. v9 They made it square. It was 9 inches (22 centimetres) long and 9 inches (22 centimetres) wide, and they folded it in half. v10 Then they attached four rows of precious stones to it. In the first row they put 3 stones called a ruby, a topaz and a beryl. v11 In the second row they put 3 stones called a turquoise, a *sapphire and an emerald. v12 In the third row they put 3 stones called a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst. v13 And in row 4 they put 3 stones called a chrysolite, an *onyx and a jasper. They made delicate gold patterns to hold each precious stone. Then they attached the stones to the cloth. v14 There were 12 stones. There was 1 stone for the name of each of Israel’s 12 sons. And they cut 1 family’s name on each stone. They cut it in the manner that people cut stones for *seals.

v15 They made two chains out of pure gold to go on the *breast-piece. The chains were like strings. v16 They made two gold patterns and two gold rings. Then they fastened each ring to a corner at the top of the *breast-piece. v17 And they fastened the two gold chains to these rings at the corners of the *breast-piece. v18 They fastened the other ends of the chains to the two gold patterns. Then they attached these patterns to the shoulders of the *ephod at the front. v19 They made two more gold rings. They attached them to the lower corners of the *breast-piece. These rings were on the inside edge next to the *ephod. v20 Then they made two other gold rings that they attached to the *ephod. These rings were above and very close to the *ephod’s belt. v21 They tied the rings on the *breast-piece to the rings on the *ephod. They used blue string to tie them. Also they attached it to the belt. Then, the *breast-piece did not swing out from the *ephod. They did all this work as the *LORD had ordered Moses.

Verses 8-21 describe the *breast-piece like Exodus 28:15-28. They mention all the precious stones. But this chapter does not mention the small objects called *Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28:30-31). And it does not mention the purpose for those small objects. Aaron carried them to help him make decisions for the *Israelites.

3. The special shirt under the *ephod – verses 22-26 (Compare Exodus 28:31-35)

v22 A skilful worker made blue cloth for the most important priest’s special shirt. It was like a dress. He wore under the *ephod. v23 It had a hole in the centre through which he put his head. The worker put a special edge, like a collar, round the hole. Then the hole would not tear. v24 They sewed designs round the lower edge of the special shirt. They used blue, purple and bright red wool. The designs were of fruit called *pomegranates. v25 Then they made pure gold bells. They attached them round the lower edge of the special shirt too. They put the bells between the *pomegranates. v26 They sewed a *pomegranate and then put a bell. Then they sewed another *pomegranate and another bell all round the lower edge. The most important priest must wear this special shirt when he did his duties in the special tent. That was what the *LORD ordered Moses.

Verses 25-26 mention the gold bells round the lower edge of the priest’s special shirt. Exodus 28:35 explains their purpose. When the priest moved about in the Holy Place, the bells rang. Their sound would tell the people that the priest still was alive. The bells and the *pomegranate fruits made the clothes beautiful.

4. Other clothes for the priests – verses 27-31 (Compare Exodus 28:36-43)

v27 Skilful workers made other shirts for Aaron and his sons to wear. They made the shirts out of *linen of good quality. v28 And they used the same *linen to make the special hat for Aaron. They used the *linen for the other hats and the other clothes too. v29 Also they used it for the belts. The sewed the belts with designs in blue, purple and bright red wool. They did it exactly as the *LORD had ordered Moses.

v30 They made the special narrow piece out of pure gold. Then they cut words on it, in the same way that people cut words on a *seal. ‘Holy for the *LORD’, it said. v31 They attached this narrow piece of gold to the special hat. They attached it with a blue string. They did everything as the *LORD had ordered Moses.

Verse 27-29 The hat was probably a long piece of cloth. The priest wound it round his head in a special way.

Verse 30 The gold stripe was sometimes called ‘the narrow piece of gold’. It had the words ‘Holy for the *LORD’ on it (Exodus 28:36-37).

Moses examines the *Tabernacle – verses 32-43

v32 So they completed the work on God’s special tent called the *Tabernacle. The *Israelites did everything exactly as the *LORD had ordered Moses. v33 Then they brought everything to Moses. They brought the tent and all its furniture to him. This included its *hooks, its double poles and its bars in the shape of a cross. And it included its main poles and their bases. v34 They brought the covers too. They made one cover out of male sheep’s skins that they had coloured red. They made the other cover out of leather of good quality. They also brought the curtain that would hang in front of the special box. v35 And they brought this special box that was to remind the people. They brought its poles, and its cover where God can forgive people. v36 They brought the table with all its equipment, which included the holy bread. v37 And they brought the pure gold *lampstand with its row of lamps, and all its equipment. They did not forget the oil for the lights. v38 They brought the gold *altar. On this *altar they would burn the powder that has a sweet smell. And they brought the special sweet oil to pour on people and on things. (This oil would mark them as separate for the *LORD.) They brought the powder to burn with a sweet smell. And they brought the curtain for the entrance to the tent. v39 They brought the *bronze *altar with its *bronze bars like a net. And they brought its poles and all its tools. Also they brought the basin with its base. v40 They brought the curtains with their main posts and bases. These were for the wall round the yard. And they brought the other curtain for the entrance to the yard. Also, they brought the strong strings and metal pins that support the walls. So they brought all the furniture for God’s special tent. v41 They brought the clothes for the priests who served in the Holy Place too. They were the special clothes for Aaron, who was the most important priest. And the special clothes for his sons when they served as priests too.

v42 The *Israelites had done all the work exactly as the *LORD had ordered Moses. v43 Then Moses examined the work. He saw that the workers had done it perfectly. It was exactly as the *LORD had told him. So Moses *blessed them.

Verse 32 All the work was complete. The workers had obeyed their instructions exactly.

Verses 33-41 The workers brought everything to Moses. He looked at each object and he examined it all carefully. He made sure that there was nothing wrong with any of it. Nobody had changed the plans for anything.

Verse 42-43 Moses saw that it was all work of good quality. They had made everything as God had ordered. So Moses *blessed the workers. This reminds us about the words at the end of God’s own work. Genesis 1 tells us that God created everything. And Genesis 1: 31 says this. ‘God saw all that he had made. And he saw that it was very good.’

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has been here always.

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
ephod ~ one of the priest’s special clothes that he wore over his other clothes. It was like a short coat without sleeves. The workers made it from white linen and they sewed beautiful designs onto it.

linen ~ a special kind of cloth of good quality. People make it from the plant called *flax.
linen ~ a special kind of cloth of good quality. People make it from the plant called *flax.
onyx ~ a precious stone; usually it has black and white stripes, or brown and white stripes.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

'breast-piece ~ it covered the front of the upper part of the body. They made the priest’s breast-piece from cloth.
sapphire ~ a precious blue stone.
seal ~ a stamp that closes things. The design or name on the stamp has authority. So nobody can remove or break the seal unless the authorities permit it.'Urim and Thummim ~ two small objects that the chief priest used. He kept them in the pocket of the ephod. The priest used those objects to discover God’s decision about a situation. We do not know how God did that.

ephod ~ one of the priest’s special clothes that he wore over his other clothes. It was like a short coat without sleeves. The workers made it from white linen and they sewed beautiful designs onto it.

linen ~ a special kind of cloth of good quality. People make it from the plant called *flax.
pomegranate ~ a round, sweet fruit with many seeds inside it. Pomegranates grow on small trees.
Tabernacle ~ God’s special tent.
hook ~ people hang things from hooks. To make hooks people bend metal into the shape of a letter U.
lampstand ~ it held 7 lamps. They contained oil that burned, so the lamp-stand gave a lot of light.
altar ~ a table on which people give gifts or *sacrifices to God or to a false god.
bronze ~ a kind of metal that people make out of copper and tin.
bless ~ to say or do much good to a person; to call something holy; to call for good things to happen; to guard and to keep from evil.