8 Then all the expert workmen among them made the House with its ten curtains; of the best linen, blue and purple and red, they made them, with winged ones worked by expert designers.
And at the two ends of the cover you are to make two winged ones of hammered gold,
And there, between the two winged ones on the cover of the ark, I will come to you, face to face, and make clear to you all the orders I have to give you for the children of Israel.
And you are to make a House for me, with ten curtains of the best linen, blue and purple and red, worked with designs of winged ones by a good workman. Every curtain is to be twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide, all of the same measure. Five curtains are to be joined together, and the other five are to be joined together. And you are to put twists of blue cord on the edge of the outside curtain of the first group of five, and on the edge of the outside curtain of the second group of five; Fifty twists on one curtain and fifty on the other, the twists to be opposite one another. Then make fifty gold hooks, joining the curtains together by the hooks, and in this way the House will be made. And you are to make curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the House, eleven curtains. Every curtain is to be thirty cubits long and four cubits wide, all of the same measure. Five of these curtains are to be joined together, and the other six are to be joined together, the sixth being folded over to make a hanging in front of the tent. And you are to put fifty twists of cord on the edge of the outside curtain of one group, and fifty twists on the edge of the outside curtain of the other group. Then make fifty brass hooks and put the hooks into the twists, joining the tent together to make it one. And the folded part which is over of the curtains of the tent, the half-curtain which is folded back, will be hanging down over the back of the House. And the cubit which is over of the ten curtains at the sides will be hanging over the two sides of the House as a cover. And then you are to make a cover for the tent, of sheepskins coloured red, and a cover of leather over that. And you are to make upright boards of hard wood for the House. Every board is to be ten cubits high and a cubit and a half wide. Every board is to be joined to the one nearest to it by two tongues, and so for every board in the House. These are the boards needed for the house; twenty boards for the south side, With forty silver bases under the twenty boards, two bases under every board to take its tongues. And twenty boards for the second side of the house on the north, With their forty silver bases, two under every board. And six boards for the back of the House on the west, With two boards for the angles of the House at the back. The two are to be joined together at the base and at the top to one ring, forming the two angles. So there are to be eight boards, with their sixteen silver bases, two bases under every board. And make rods of the same wood, five for the boards on the one side, And five for the boards on the other side of the House, and five for the west side of the House at the back. And the middle rod is to go through the rings of all the boards from end to end. And the boards are to be plated with gold, having gold rings for the rods to go through: and the rods are to be plated with gold. And you are to make the House from the design which you saw on the mountain. And you are to make a veil of the best linen, blue and purple and red, worked with designs of winged ones by a good workman: Hanging it by gold hooks from four pillars of wood, plated with gold and fixed in silver bases. And you are to put up the veil under the hooks, and put inside it the ark of the law: the veil is to be a division between the holy place and the most holy. You are to put the cover on the ark of the law, inside the most holy place. And outside the veil you are to put the table, and the support for the lights opposite the table on the south side of the House; and the table is to be on the north side. And you are to make a curtain for the doorway of the Tent, of the best linen with needlework of blue and purple and red. And make five pillars for the curtain, of hard wood plated with gold; their hooks are to be of gold and their bases of brass
And I have made selection of Oholiab with him, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are wise I have put the knowledge to make whatever I have given you orders to have made;
And let every wise-hearted man among you come and make whatever has been ordered by the Lord;
And David made houses for himself in the town of David; and he got ready a place for the ark of God, and put up a tent for it.
And in the most holy place he made images of two winged beings, covering them with gold.
And in the heart of it were the forms of four living beings. And this was what they were like; they had the form of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the under sides of their feet were like the feet of oxen; and they were shining like polished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings; the four of them had faces on their four sides. They went without turning, every one went straight forward. As for the form of their faces, they had the face of a man, and the four of them had the face of a lion on the right side, and the four of them had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four of them had the face of an eagle. And their wings were separate at the top; two of the wings of every one were joined one to another, and two were covering their bodies. Every one of them went straight forward; wherever the spirit was to go they went; they went on without turning. And between the living beings it was like burning coals of fire, as if flames were going one after the other between the living beings; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went thunder-flames. And the living beings went out and came back as quickly as a thunder-flame. Now while I was looking at the four living beings, I saw one wheel on the earth, by the side of the living beings, for the four of them. The form of the wheels and their work was like a beryl; the four of them had the same form and design, and they were like a wheel inside a wheel. The four of them went straight forward without turning to one side. And I saw that they had edges, and their edges, even of the four, were full of eyes round about. And when the living beings went on, the wheels went by their side; and when the living beings were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Wherever the spirit was to go they went; and the wheels were lifted up by their side: for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. When these went on, the others went; and when these came to rest, the others came to rest; and when these were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up by their side: for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. And over the heads of the living beings there was the form of an arch, looking like ice, stretched out over their heads on high. Under the arch their wings were straight, one stretched out to another: every one had two wings covering their bodies on this side and two covering their bodies on that side. And when they went, the sound of their wings was like the sound of great waters to my ears, like the voice of the Ruler of all, a sound like the rushing of an army: when they came to rest they let down their wings. And there was a voice from the top of the arch which was over their heads: when they came to rest they let down their wings. And on the top of the arch which was over their heads was the form of a king's seat, like a sapphire stone; and on the form of the seat was the form of a man seated on it on high. And I saw it coloured like electrum, with the look of fire in it and round it, going up from what seemed to be the middle of his body; and going down from what seemed to be the middle of his body I saw what was like fire, and there was a bright light shining round him. Like the bow in the cloud on a day of rain, so was the light shining round him. And this is what the glory of the Lord was like. And when I saw it I went down on my face, and the voice of one talking came to my ears.
Then looking, I saw that on the arch which was over the head of the winged ones there was seen over them what seemed like a sapphire stone, having the form of a king's seat. And he said to the man clothed in linen, Go in between the wheels, under the winged ones, and get your two hands full of burning coals from between the winged ones and send them in a shower over the town. And he went in before my eyes. Now the winged ones were stationed on the right side of the house when the man went in; and the inner square was full of the cloud. And the glory of the Lord went up from the winged ones and came to rest over the doorstep of the house; and the house was full of the cloud and the open square was full of the shining of the Lord's glory. And the sound of the wings of the winged ones was clear even in the outer square, like the voice of the Ruler of all. And when he gave orders to the man clothed in linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the winged ones, then he went in and took his place at the side of a wheel. And stretching out his hand to the fire which was between the winged ones, he took some of it and went out. And I saw the form of a man's hands among the winged ones under their wings. And looking, I saw four wheels by the side of the winged ones, one wheel by the side of a winged one and another wheel by the side of another: and the wheels were like the colour of a beryl stone to the eye. In form the four of them were all the same, they seemed like a wheel inside a wheel. When they were moving, they went on their four sides without turning; they went after the head in the direction in which it was looking; they went without turning. And the edges of the four wheels were full of eyes round about. As for the wheels, they were named in my hearing, the circling wheels. And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a winged one, and the second was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. And the winged ones went up on high: this is the living being which I saw by the river Chebar. And when the winged ones went, the wheels went by their side: and when their wings were lifted to take them up from the earth, the wheels were not turned from their side. When they were at rest in their place, these were at rest; when they were lifted up, these went up with them: for the spirit of life was in them. Then the glory of the Lord went out from the doorstep of the house, and came to rest over the winged ones. And the winged ones, lifting up their wings, went up from the earth before my eyes, with the wheels by their side: and they came to rest at the east doorway of the Lord's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them on high.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 36
Commentary on Exodus 36 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Moses then summoned the master-builders named, and all who were skilled in art, “ every one whom his heart lifted up to come near to the work to do it ” (i.e., who felt himself stirred up in heart to take part in the work), and handed over to them the heaven-offering presented by the people for that purpose, whilst the children of Israel still continued bringing freewill-offerings every morning.
Then the wise workmen came, every one from his work that they were making, and said to Moses, “ Much make the people to bring, more than suffices for the labour (the finishing, as in Exodus 27:19) of the work, ” i.e., they are bringing more than will be wanted for carrying out the work (the מן in מדּי is comparative); whereupon Moses let the cry go through the camp, i.e., had proclamation made, “No one is to make any more property ( מלאכה as in Exodus 22:7, Exodus 22:10, cf. Genesis 33:14) for a holy heave-offering,” i.e., to prepare anything more from his own property to offer for the building of the sanctuary; and with this he put a stop to any further offerings.
“ And there was enough ( דּיּם their sufficiency, i.e., the requisite supply for the different things to be made) of the property for every work to make it, and over ” (lit., and to leave some over). By this liberal contribution of freewill gifts, for the work commanded by the Lord, the people proved their willingness to uphold their covenant relationship with Jehovah their God.
Ex 36:8-38:20. Execution of the Work. - Preparation of the dwelling-place: viz., the hangings and covering (Exodus 36:8-19, as in Exodus 26:1-14); the wooden boards and bolts (Exodus 36:20-34, as in Ex 26:15-30); the two curtains, with the pillars, hooks, and rods that supported them (Exodus 36:35-38, as in Exodus 26:31-37). As these have all been already explained, the only thing remaining to be noticed here is, that the verbs עשׂה in Exodus 36:8, ויחבּר in Exodus 36:10, etc., are in the third person singular with an indefinite subject, corresponding to the German man (the French on ).