30 And thou shalt set up the tabernacle according to its fashion, as hath been shewn thee on the mountain.
And see that thou make [them] according to their pattern, which hath been shewn to thee in the mountain.
According to all that I shall shew thee, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the utensils thereof, even so shall ye make [it].
(who serve the representation and shadow of heavenly things, according as Moses was oracularly told [when] about to make the tabernacle; for See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern which has been shewn to thee in the mountain.)
Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it hath been shewn thee on the mountain, so shall they make [it].
And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first of the month, that the tabernacle was set up. And Moses set up the tabernacle, and put in its bases, and fixed its boards, and put in its bars, and set up its pillars.
And the Kohathites set forward bearing the sanctuary: and [the others] set up the tabernacle whilst they came.
minister of the holy places and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord has pitched, [and] not man.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 26
Commentary on Exodus 26 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 26
Moses here receives instructions,
These particulars, thus largely recorded, seem of little use to us now; yet, having been of great use to Moses and Israel, and God having thought fit to preserve down to us the remembrance of them, we ought not to overlook them. Even the antiquity renders this account venerable.
Exd 26:1-6
Exd 26:7-14
Moses is here ordered to make a double covering for the tabernacle, that it might not rain in, and that the beauty of those fine curtains might not be damaged.
Exd 26:15-30
Very particular directions are here given about the boards of the tabernacle, which were to bear up the curtains, as the stakes of a tent which had need to be strong, Isa. 54:2. These boards had tenons which fell into the mortises that were made for them in silver bases. God took care to have every thing strong, as well as fine, in his tabernacle. Curtains without boards would have been shaken by every wind; but it is a good thing to have the heart established with grace, which is as the boards to support the curtains of profession, which otherwise will not hold out long. The boards were coupled together with gold rings at top and bottom (v. 24), and kept firm with bars that ran through golden staples in every board (v. 26), and the boards and bars were all richly gilded, v. 29. Thus every thing in the tabernacle was very splendid, agreeable to that infant state of the church, when such things were proper enough to please children, to possess the minds of the worshippers with a reverence of the divine glory, and to affect them with the greatness of that prince who said, Here will I dwell; in allusion to this the new Jerusalem is said to be of pure gold, Rev. 21:18. But the builders of the gospel church said, Silver and gold have we none; and yet the glory of their building far exceeded that of the tabernacle, 2 Co. 3:10, 11. How much better is wisdom than gold! No orders are given here about the floor of the tabernacle; probably that also was boarded; for we cannot think that within all these fine curtains they trod upon the cold or wet ground; if it was so left, it may remind us of ch. 20:24, An altar of earth shalt thou make unto me.
Exd 26:31-37
Two veils are here ordered to be made,