1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.
3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,
4 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair,
5 And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
6 Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,
7 Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.
8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
9 According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.
12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.
13 And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.
15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.
16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
18 And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubim on the two ends thereof.
20 And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
23 Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about.
25 And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.
26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.
27 Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table.
28 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.
29 And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them.
30 And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me always.
31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.
32 And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:
33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick.
34 And in the candlesticks shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers.
35 And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick.
36 Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold.
37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.
38 And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.
39 Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels.
40 And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount.
1 And the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto Moses, H4872 saying, H559
2 Speak H1696 unto the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 that they bring H3947 me an offering: H8641 of every man H376 that giveth it willingly H5068 with his heart H3820 ye shall take H3947 my offering. H8641
3 And this is the offering H8641 which ye shall take H3947 of them; gold, H2091 and silver, H3701 and brass, H5178
4 And blue, H8504 and purple, H713 and scarlet, H8438 H8144 and fine linen, H8336 and goats' H5795 hair,
5 And rams' H352 skins H5785 dyed red, H119 and badgers' H8476 skins, H5785 and shittim H7848 wood, H6086
6 Oil H8081 for the light, H3974 spices H1314 for anointing H4888 oil, H8081 and for sweet H5561 incense, H7004
7 Onyx H7718 stones, H68 and stones H68 to be set H4394 in the ephod, H646 and in the breastplate. H2833
8 And let them make H6213 me a sanctuary; H4720 that I may dwell H7931 among H8432 them.
9 According to all that I shew H7200 thee, after the pattern H8403 of the tabernacle, H4908 and the pattern H8403 of all the instruments H3627 thereof, even so shall ye make H6213 it.
10 And they shall make H6213 an ark H727 of shittim H7848 wood: H6086 two cubits H520 and a half H2677 shall be the length H753 thereof, and a cubit H520 and a half H2677 the breadth H7341 thereof, and a cubit H520 and a half H2677 the height H6967 thereof.
11 And thou shalt overlay H6823 it with pure H2889 gold, H2091 within H1004 and without H2351 shalt thou overlay H6823 it, and shalt make H6213 upon it a crown H2213 of gold H2091 round about. H5439
12 And thou shalt cast H3332 four H702 rings H2885 of gold H2091 for it, and put H5414 them in the four H702 corners H6471 thereof; and two H8147 rings H2885 shall be in the one H259 side H6763 of it, and two H8147 rings H2885 in the other H8145 side of it.
13 And thou shalt make H6213 staves H905 of shittim H7848 wood, H6086 and overlay H6823 them with gold. H2091
14 And thou shalt put H935 the staves H905 into the rings H2885 by the sides H6763 of the ark, H727 that the ark H727 may be borne H5375 with them.
15 The staves H905 shall be H1961 in the rings H2885 of the ark: H727 they shall not be taken H5493 from it.
16 And thou shalt put H5414 into the ark H727 the testimony H5715 which I shall give H5414 thee.
17 And thou shalt make H6213 a mercy seat H3727 of pure H2889 gold: H2091 two cubits H520 and a half H2677 shall be the length H753 thereof, and a cubit H520 and a half H2677 the breadth H7341 thereof.
18 And thou shalt make H6213 two H8147 cherubims H3742 of gold, H2091 of beaten work H4749 shalt thou make H6213 them, in the two H8147 ends H7098 of the mercy seat. H3727
19 And make H6213 one H259 cherub H3742 on the one end, H7098 and the other H259 cherub H3742 on the other H2088 end: H7098 even of the mercy seat H3727 shall ye make H6213 the cherubims H3742 on the two H8147 ends H7098 thereof.
20 And the cherubims H3742 shall stretch H6566 forth their wings H3671 on high, H4605 covering H5526 the mercy seat H3727 with their wings, H3671 and their faces H6440 shall look one H376 to another; H251 toward the mercy seat H3727 shall the faces H6440 of the cherubims H3742 be.
21 And thou shalt put H5414 the mercy seat H3727 above H4605 upon the ark; H727 and in the ark H727 thou shalt put H5414 the testimony H5715 that I shall give H5414 thee.
22 And there I will meet H3259 with thee, and I will commune H1696 with thee from above the mercy seat, H3727 from between H996 the two H8147 cherubims H3742 which are upon H5921 the ark H727 of the testimony, H5715 of all things which I will give thee in commandment H6680 unto the children H1121 of Israel. H3478
23 Thou shalt also make H6213 a table H7979 of shittim H7848 wood: H6086 two cubits H520 shall be the length H753 thereof, and a cubit H520 the breadth H7341 thereof, and a cubit H520 and a half H2677 the height H6967 thereof.
24 And thou shalt overlay H6823 it with pure H2889 gold, H2091 and make H6213 thereto a crown H2213 of gold H2091 round about. H5439
25 And thou shalt make H6213 unto it a border H4526 of an hand breadth H2948 round about, H5439 and thou shalt make H6213 a golden H2091 crown H2213 to the border H4526 thereof round about. H5439
26 And thou shalt make H6213 for it four H702 rings H2885 of gold, H2091 and put H5414 the rings H2885 in the four H702 corners H6285 that are on the four H702 feet H7272 thereof.
27 Over against H5980 the border H4526 shall the rings H2885 be for places H1004 of the staves H905 to bear H5375 the table. H7979
28 And thou shalt make H6213 the staves H905 of shittim H7848 wood, H6086 and overlay H6823 them with gold, H2091 that the table H7979 may be borne H5375 with them.
29 And thou shalt make H6213 the dishes H7086 thereof, and spoons H3709 thereof, and covers H7184 thereof, and bowls H4518 thereof, to cover H5258 withal: H2004 of pure H2889 gold H2091 shalt thou make H6213 them.
30 And thou shalt set H5414 upon the table H7979 shewbread H3899 before H6440 me alway. H8548
31 And thou shalt make H6213 a candlestick H4501 of pure H2889 gold: H2091 of beaten work H4749 shall the candlestick H4501 be made: H6213 his shaft, H3409 and his branches, H7070 his bowls, H1375 his knops, H3730 and his flowers, H6525 shall be of the same.
32 And six H8337 branches H7070 shall come H3318 out of the sides H6654 of it; three H7969 branches H7070 of the candlestick H4501 out of the one H259 side, H6654 and three H7969 branches H7070 of the candlestick H4501 out of the other H8145 side: H6654
33 Three H7969 bowls H1375 made like unto almonds, H8246 with a knop H3730 and a flower H6525 in one H259 branch; H7070 and three H7969 bowls H1375 made like almonds H8246 in the other H259 branch, H7070 with a knop H3730 and a flower: H6525 so in the six H8337 branches H7070 that come H3318 out of the candlestick. H4501
34 And in the candlestick H4501 shall be four H702 bowls H1375 made like unto almonds, H8246 with their knops H3730 and their flowers. H6525
35 And there shall be a knop H3730 under two H8147 branches H7070 of the same, and a knop H3730 under two H8147 branches H7070 of the same, and a knop H3730 under two H8147 branches H7070 of the same, according to the six H8337 branches H7070 that proceed H3318 out of the candlestick. H4501
36 Their knops H3730 and their branches H7070 shall be of the same: all it shall be one H259 beaten work H4749 of pure H2889 gold. H2091
37 And thou shalt make H6213 the seven H7651 lamps H5216 thereof: and they shall light H5927 the lamps H5216 thereof, that they may give light H215 over against H5676 it. H6440
38 And the tongs H4457 thereof, and the snuffdishes H4289 thereof, shall be of pure H2889 gold. H2091
39 Of a talent H3603 of pure H2889 gold H2091 shall he make H6213 it, with all these vessels. H3627
40 And look H7200 that thou make H6213 them after their pattern, H8403 which was shewed H7200 thee in the mount. H2022
1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they take for me an offering: of every man whose heart maketh him willing ye shall take my offering.
3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them: gold, and silver, and brass,
4 and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' `hair',
5 and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia wood,
6 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,
7 onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate.
8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
9 According to all that I show thee, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the furniture thereof, even so shall ye make it.
10 And they shall make an ark of acacia wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.
12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four feet thereof; and two rings shall be on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.
13 And thou shalt make staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings on the sides of the ark, wherewith to bear the ark.
15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.
16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
17 And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half `shall be' the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
18 And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold; of beaten work shalt thou make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat.
19 And make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end: of one piece with the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim on the two ends thereof.
20 And the cherubim shall spread out their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
21 And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
23 And thou shalt make a table of acacia wood: two cubits `shall be' the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about.
25 And thou shalt make unto it a border of a handbreadth round about; and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.
26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.
27 Close by the border shall the rings be, for places for the staves to bear the table.
28 And thou shalt make the staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.
29 And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and the spoons thereof, and the flagons thereof, and the bowls thereof, wherewith to pour out: of pure gold shalt thou make them.
30 And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me alway.
31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made, even its base, and its shaft; its cups, its knops, and its flowers, shall be of one piece with it.
32 And there shall be six branches going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side thereof:
33 three cups made like almond-blossoms in one branch, a knop and a flower; and three cups made like almond-blossoms in the other branch, a knop and a flower: so for the six branches going out of the candlestick:
34 and in the candlestick four cups made like almond-blossoms, the knops thereof, and the flowers thereof;
35 and a knop under two branches of one piece with it, and a knop under two branches of one piece with it, and a knop under two branches of one piece with it, for the six branches going out of the candlestick.
36 Their knops and their branches shall be of one piece with it; the whole of it one beaten work of pure gold.
37 And thou shalt make the lamps thereof, seven: and they shall light the lamps thereof, to give light over against it.
38 And the snuffers thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.
39 Of a talent of pure gold shall it be made, with all these vessels.
40 And see that thou make them after their pattern, which hath been showed thee in the mount.
1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
2 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and they take for Me a heave-offering; from every man whose heart impelleth him ye do take My heave-offering.
3 `And this `is' the heave-offering which ye take from them; gold, and silver, and brass,
4 and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and linen, and goats' `hair',
5 and rams' skins made red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
6 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for the perfume of the spices,
7 shoham stones, and stones for setting for an ephod, and for a breastplate.
8 `And they have made for Me a sanctuary, and I have tabernacled in their midst;
9 according to all that which I am shewing thee, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all its vessels, even so ye do make `it'.
10 `And they have made an ark of shittim wood; two cubits and a half its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height;
11 and thou hast overlaid it `with' pure gold, within and without thou dost overlay it, and thou hast made on it a ring of gold round about.
12 `And thou hast cast for it four rings of gold, and hast put `them' on its four feet, even two rings on its one side, and two rings on its second side;
13 and thou hast made staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them `with' gold,
14 and hast brought the staves into the rings on the sides of the ark, to bear the ark by them,
15 in the rings of the ark are the staves, they are not turned aside from it;
16 and thou hast put unto the ark the testimony which I give unto thee.
17 `And thou hast made a mercy-seat of pure gold, two cubits and a half its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth;
18 and thou hast made two cherubs of gold, beaten work dost thou make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat;
19 and make thou one cherub at the end on this side, and one cherub at the end on that; at the mercy-seat ye do make the cherubs on its two ends.
20 `And the cherubs have been spreading out wings on high, covering the mercy-seat over with their wings, and their faces `are' one towards another -- towards the mercy-seat are the faces of the cherubs.
21 `And thou hast put the mercy-seat on the ark above, and unto the ark thou dost put the testimony which I give unto thee;
22 and I have met with thee there, and have spoken with thee from off the mercy-seat (from between the two cherubs, which `are' on the ark of the testimony) all that which I command thee concerning the sons of Israel.
23 `And thou hast made a table of shittim wood, two cubits its length, and a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height,
24 and hast overlaid it `with' pure gold, and hast made for it a crown of gold round about,
25 and hast made for it a border of a handbreadth round about, and hast made a crown of gold to its border round about.
26 `And thou hast made to it four rings of gold, and hast put the rings on the four corners, which `are' to its four feet;
27 over-against the border are the rings for places for staves to bear the table;
28 and thou hast made the staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them with gold, and the table hath been borne with them;
29 and thou hast made its dishes, and its bowls, and its covers, and its cups, with which they pour out; of pure gold thou dost make them;
30 and thou hast put on the table bread of the presence before Me continually.
31 `And thou hast made a candlestick of pure gold, of beaten work is the candlestick made; its base, and its branch, its calyxes, its knops, and its flowers are of the same;
32 and six branches are coming out of its sides, three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the second side;
33 three calyxes made like almonds in the one branch, a knop and a flower, and three calyxes made like almonds in one branch, a knop and a flower; so for the six branches which are coming out from the candlestick.
34 `And in the candlestick `are' four calyxes made like almonds, its knops and its flowers;
35 and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, `are' to the six branches which are coming out of the candlestick;
36 their knops and their branches are of the same, all of it one beaten work of pure gold;
37 and thou hast made its seven lamps, and `one' hath caused its lights to go up, and it hath given light over-against its front.
38 `And its snuffers and its snuff dishes `are' of pure gold;
39 of a talent of pure gold he doth make it, with all these vessels.
40 And see thou and do `them' by their pattern which thou art shewn in the mount.
1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me a heave-offering: of every one whose heart prompteth him, ye shall take my heave-offering.
3 And this is the heave-offering that ye shall take of them: gold, and silver, and copper,
4 and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and byssus, and goats' [hair],
5 and rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins; and acacia-wood;
6 oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil, and for the incense of fragrant drugs;
7 onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.
8 And they shall make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
9 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].
10 And they shall make an ark of acacia-wood; two cubits and a half the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold: inside and outside shalt thou overlay it; and shalt make upon it a border of gold round about.
12 And cast four rings of gold for it, and put [them] at the four corners thereof, that two rings may be upon the one side thereof and two rings upon the other side thereof.
13 And make staves of acacia-wood and overlay them with gold.
14 And put the staves into the rings upon the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.
15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not come out from it.
16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony that I shall give thee.
17 And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
18 And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold; [of] beaten work shalt thou make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat.
19 And make one cherub at the end of the one side, and one cherub at the end of the other side; out of the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim at the two ends thereof.
20 And the cherubim shall stretch out [their] wings over it, covering over with their wings the mercy-seat, and their faces opposite to one another: toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubim be [turned].
21 And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above on the ark, and shalt put in the ark the testimony that I shall give thee.
22 And there will I meet with thee, and will speak with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, everything that I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
23 And thou shalt make a table of acacia-wood, two cubits the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make upon it a border of gold round about.
25 And thou shalt make for it a margin of a handbreadth round about, and shalt make a border of gold for the margin thereof round about.
26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings at the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.
27 Close to the margin shall the rings be, as receptacles of the staves to carry the table.
28 And thou shalt make the staves of acacia-wood, and overlay them with gold; and the table shall be carried upon them.
29 And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and cups thereof, and goblets thereof, and bowls thereof, with which to pour out: of pure gold shalt thou make them.
30 And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me continually.
31 And thou shalt make a lamp-stand of pure gold; [of] beaten work shall the lamp-stand be made: its base and its shaft, its cups, its knobs, and its flowers shall be of the same.
32 And six branches shall come out of the sides thereof -- three branches of the lamp-stand out of one side thereof, and three branches of the lamp-stand out of the other side thereof;
33 three cups shaped like almonds in the one branch, a knob and a flower: and three cups shaped like almonds in the other branch, a knob and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the lamp-stand.
34 And in the lamp-stand four cups shaped like almonds, its knobs and its flowers;
35 and a knob under two branches of it, and [again] a knob under two branches of it, and [again] a knob under two branches of it, for the six branches that proceed out of the lamp-stand.
36 Their knobs and their branches shall be of itself -- all of one beaten work of pure gold.
37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof, and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may shine out before it;
38 and the snuffers thereof, and the snuff-trays thereof, of pure gold.
39 Of a talent of pure gold shall they make it, with all these utensils.
40 And see that thou make [them] according to their pattern, which hath been shewn to thee in the mountain.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2 "Speak to the children of Israel, that they take an offering for me. From everyone whose heart makes him willing you shall take my offering.
3 This is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, brass,
4 blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goats' hair,
5 rams' skins dyed red, sea cow hides, acacia wood,
6 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense,
7 onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate.
8 Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
9 According to all that I show you, the pattern of the tent, and the pattern of all of its furniture, even so you shall make it.
10 "They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Its length shall be two and a half cubits, its breadth a cubit and a half, and a cubit and a half its height.
11 You shall overlay it with pure gold. Inside and outside shall you overlay it, and shall make a gold molding around it.
12 You shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four feet. Two rings shall be on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.
13 You shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
14 You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark.
15 The poles shall be in the rings of the ark. They shall not be taken from it.
16 You shall put the testimony which I shall give you into the ark.
17 You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two and a half cubits shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.
18 You shall make two cherubim of hammered gold. You shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat.
19 Make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end. You shall make the cherubim on its two ends of one piece with the mercy seat.
20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another. The faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.
21 You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I will give you.
22 There I will meet with you, and I will tell you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the testimony, all that I command you for the children of Israel.
23 "You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth, and one and a half cubits its height.
24 You shall overlay it with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it.
25 You shall make a rim of a handbreadth around it. You shall make a golden molding on its rim around it.
26 You shall make four rings of gold for it, and put the rings in the four corners that are on its four feet.
27 the rings shall be close to the rim, for places for the poles to carry the table.
28 You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be carried with them.
29 You shall make its dishes, its spoons, its ladles, and its bowls to pour out offerings with. Of pure gold shall you make them.
30 You shall set bread of the presence on the table before me always.
31 "You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. Of hammered work shall the lampstand be made, even its base, its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its flowers, shall be of one piece with it.
32 There shall be six branches going out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of its one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of its other side;
33 three cups made like almond blossoms in one branch, a bud and a flower; and three cups made like almond blossoms in the other branch, a bud and a flower, so for the six branches going out of the lampstand;
34 and in the lampstand four cups made like almond blossoms, its buds and its flowers;
35 and a bud under two branches of one piece with it, and a bud under two branches of one piece with it, and a bud under two branches of one piece with it, for the six branches going out of the lampstand.
36 Their buds and their branches shall be of one piece with it, the whole of it one beaten work of pure gold.
37 You shall make its lamps seven, and they shall light its lamps to give light to the space in front of it.
38 Its snuffers and its snuff dishes shall be of pure gold.
39 It shall be made of a talent of pure gold, with all these accessories.
40 See that you make them after their pattern, which has been shown to you on the mountain.
1 And the Lord said to Moses,
2 Say to the children of Israel that they are to make me an offering; from every man who has the impulse in his heart take an offering for me.
3 And this is the offering you are to take from them: gold and silver and brass;
4 And blue and purple and red, and the best linen, and goats' hair;
5 And sheepskins coloured red, and leather, and hard wood;
6 Oil for the light, spices for the sweet-smelling oil, sweet perfumes for burning;
7 Beryls and stones of value to be put on the ephod and on the priest's bag.
8 And let them make me a holy place, so that I may be ever present among them.
9 Make the House and everything in it from the designs which I will give you.
10 And they are to make an ark of hard wood; two and a half cubits long, and a cubit and a half wide and high.
11 It is to be plated inside and out with the best gold, with an edge of gold all round it
12 And make four rings of gold for it, to be fixed on its four feet, two rings on one side of it and two on the other.
13 And make rods of the same wood, plating them with gold.
14 And put the rods through the rings at the sides of the ark, for lifting it.
15 The rods are to be kept in the rings, and never taken out.
16 Inside the ark you are to put the record which I will give you.
17 And you are to make a cover of the best gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.
18 And at the two ends of the cover you are to make two winged ones of hammered gold,
19 One at one end and one at the other; the winged ones are to be part of the cover.
20 And their wings are to be outstretched over the cover, and the winged ones are to be opposite one another, facing the cover.
21 And put the cover over the ark, and in the ark the record which I will give you.
22 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.
23 And you are to make a table of the same wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high,
24 Plated with the best gold, with a gold edge all round it;
25 And make a frame all round it, as wide as a man's hand, with a gold edge to the frame.
26 And make four gold rings and put them at the four angles, on the four feet of the table;
27 The rings are to be fixed under the frame to take the rods with which the table is to be lifted.
28 Make rods of the same wood, plated with gold, for lifting the table.
29 And make the table-vessels, the spoons and the cups and the basins for liquids, all of the best gold.
30 And on the table at all times you are to keep my holy bread.
31 And you are to make a support for lights, of the best gold; its base and its pillar are to be of hammered gold; its cups, its buds, and its flowers are to be made of the same metal.
32 It is to have six branches coming out from its sides; three branches from one side and three from the other.
33 Every branch having three cups made like almond flowers, every cup with a bud and a flower, on all the branches.
34 And on the pillar, four cups like almond flowers, every one with its bud and its flower:
35 And under every two branches a bud, made with the branch, for all the six branches of it.
36 The buds and the branches are to be made of the same metal; all together one complete work of hammered gold.
37 Then you are to make its seven vessels for the lights, putting them in their place so that they give light in front of it.
38 And the instruments and trays for use with it are all to be of the best gold.
39 A talent of gold will be needed for it, with all these vessels.
40 And see that you make them from the design which you saw on the mountain.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 25
Commentary on Exodus 25 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Directions Concerning the Sanctuary and Priesthood - Exodus 25-31
To give a definite external form to the covenant concluded with His people, and construct a visible bond of fellowship in which He might manifest Himself to the people and they might draw near to Him as their God, Jehovah told Moses that the Israelites were to erect Him a sanctuary, that He might dwell in the midst of them (Exodus 25:8). The construction and arrangement of this sanctuary were determined in all respects by God Himself, who showed to Moses, when upon the mountain, a pattern of the dwelling and its furniture, and prescribed with great minuteness both the form and materials of all the different parts of the sanctuary and all the things required for the sacred service. If the sanctuary was to answer its purpose, the erection of it could not be left to the inventive faculty of any man whatever, but must proceed from Him, who was there to manifest Himself to the nation, as the Holy One, in righteousness and grace. The people could only carry out what God appointed, and could only fulfil their covenant duty, by the readiness with which they supplied the materials required for the erection of the sanctuary and completed the work with their own hands. The divine directions extended to all the details, because they were all of importance in relation to the design of God. The account therefore is so elaborate, that it contains a description not only of the directions of God with reference to the whole and every separate part (ch. 25-31), but also of the execution of the work in all its details (ch. 35-40).
The following is the plan upon which this section is arranged. After the command of God to the people to offer gifts for the sanctuary about to be erected, which forms the introduction to the whole (Exodus 25:1-9), the further directions commence with a description of the ark of the covenant, which Jehovah had appointed as His throne in the sanctuary, that is to say, as it were, with the sanctuary in the sanctuary (Exodus 25:10-22). Then follow - (1) the table of shew-bread and the golden candlestick (Ex 25:23-40), as the two things by means of which the continual communion of Israel with Jehovah was to be maintained; (2) the construction of the dwelling, with an account of the position to be occupied by the three things already named (ch. 26); (3) the altar of burnt-offering, together with the court which was to surround the holy dwelling (Ex 27:1-19). This is immediately followed by the command respecting the management of the candlestick (Exodus 27:20, Exodus 27:21), which prepares the way for an account of the institution of the priesthood, and the investiture and consecration of the priests (ch. 28 and 29), and by the directions as to the altar of incense, and the service to be performed at it (Exodus 30:1-10); after which, there only remain a few subordinate instructions to complete the whole (Ex 30:11-31:17). “The description of the entire sanctuary commences, therefore,” as Ranke has aptly observed, “with the ark of the law, the place of the manifestation of Jehovah, and terminates with the altar of incense, which stood immediately in front of it.” The dwelling was erected round Jehovah's seat, and round this the court. The priests first of all presented the sacrifices upon the altar of burnt-offering, and then proceeded into the holy place and drew near to Jehovah. The highest act in the daily service of the priests was evidently this standing before Jehovah at the altar of incense, which was only separated by the curtain from the most holy place.
Exodus 25:1-3
(cf. Exodus 35:1-9). The Israelites were to bring to the Lord a heave-offering ( תּרוּמה from רוּם , a gift lifted, or heaved by a man from his own property to present to the Lord; see at Leviticus 2:9), “ on the part of every one whom his heart drove, ” i.e., whose heart was willing (cf. לבּו נדיב Exodus 35:5, Exodus 35:22): viz., gold, silver, brass, etc.
Exodus 25:4
תּכלת , ὑάκινθος , purple of a dark blue shade, approaching black rather than bright blue. ארגּמן , πορφύρα (Chald. ארגּון , 2 Chron, Exodus 2:6; Daniel 5:7, Daniel 5:16; - Sanskrit, râgaman or râgavan , colore rubro praeditus ), true purple of a dark red colour. שׁני תּולעת , literally the crimson prepared from the dead bodies and nests of the glow-worm,
(Note: Glanzwurm : “the Linnean name is coccus ilicis . It frequents the boughs of a species of ilex; on these it lays its eggs in groups, which become covered with a kind of down.” Smith's Dictionary, Art. Colours. - Tr.)
then the scarlet-red purple, or crimson. שׁשׁ , βύσσος , from שׁוּשׁ to be white, a fine white cotton fabric, not linen, muslin, or net. עזים goats, here goats' hair ( τρίχες αἰγείαι , lxx).
Exodus 25:5
מאדּמים אלים ערת rams' skins reddened, i.e., dyed red. תּחשׁ is either the seal, phoca, or else, as this is not known to exist in the Arabian Gulf, the φῶκος = φώκαινα of the ancients, as Knobel supposes, or κῆτος θαλάσσιον ὅμοιον δελφῖνι , the sea-cow ( Manati, Halicora ), which is found in the Red Sea, and has a skin that is admirably adapted for sandals. Hesychius supposes it to have been the latter, which is probably the same as the large fish Tûn or Atûm , that is caught in the Red Sea, and belongs to the same species as the Halicora (Robinson, Pal. i. p. 170); as its skin is also used by the Bedouin Arabs for making sandals ( Burckhardt , Syr. p. 861). In the Manati the upper skin differs from the under; the former being larger, thicker, and coarser than the latter, which is only two lines in thickness and very tough, so that the skin would be well adapted either for the thick covering of tents or for the finer kinds of ornamental sandals (Ezekiel 16:10). שׁטּים עצי acacia-wood. שׁטּה for שׁנטה , the true acacia ( acacia vera ), which grows in Egypt and on the Arabian peninsula into a tree of the size of a nut-tree, or even larger;
(Note: See Abdallatif's Merkwürdigkeiten Aegyptens, and Rosenmüller , Althk . iv. i. pp. 278-9. This genuine acacia, Sont , must not be confounded, according to Robinson ( Pal. 2, 350), with the Acacia gumnifera (Talh). Seetzen also makes a distinction between the Thollhh , the Szont of the Egyptians, and the Szeiâl , and between an acacia which produces gum and one which does not; but he also observes that the same tree is called both Thollhh and Szeiâl in different places. He then goes on to say that he did not find a single tree large enough to furnish planks of ten cubits in length and one and a half in breadth for the construction of the ark (he means, of the tabernacle), and he therefore conjectures that the Israelites may have gone to Egypt for the materials with which to build the tabernacle. But he has overlooked the fact, that it is not stated in the text of the Bible that the boards of the tabernacle, which were a cubit and a half in breadth, were cut from one plank of the breadth named; and also that the trees in the valleys of the peninsula of Sinai are being more and more sacrificed to the charcoal trade of the Bedouin Arabs (see p. 366), and therefore that no conclusion can be drawn from the present condition of the trees as to what they were in the far distant antiquity.)
the only tree in Arabia deserta from which planks could be cut, and the wood of which is very light and yet very durable.
Exodus 25:6
Oil for the candlestick (see at Exodus 27:20). בּשׂמים perfumes, spices for the anointing oil (see at Exodus 30:22.), and for the incense ( הסּמּים , lit., the scents, because the materials of which it was composed were not all of them fragrant; see at Exodus 30:34.).
Exodus 25:7
Lastly, precious stones , שׁהם אבני probably beryls (see at Genesis 2:12), for the ephod (Exodus 28:9), and מלּאים אבני , lit., stones of filling, i.e., jewels that are set (see Exodus 28:16.). On ephod ( אפד ), see at Exodus 28:6; and on חשׁן , at Exodus 28:15. The precious stones were presented by the princes of the congregation (Exodus 35:27).
Exodus 25:8-9
With these freewill-offerings they were to make the Lord a sanctuary, that He might dwell in the midst of them (see at Exodus 25:22). “ According to all that I let thee see (show thee), the pattern of the dwelling and the pattern of all its furniture, so shall ye make it .” The participle מראה does not refer to the past; and there is nothing to indicate that it does, either in Exodus 25:40, where “in the mount” occurs, or in the use of the preterite in Exodus 26:30; Exodus 27:8. It does not follow from the expression, “which is showed thee in the mount,” that Moses had already left the mountain and returned to the camp; and the use of the preterite in the passages last named may be simply explained, either on the supposition that the sight of the pattern or model of the whole building and its component parts preceded the description of the different things required for the completion of the building, or that the instructions to make the different parts in such and such a way, pointed to a time when the sight of the model really belonged to the past. On the other hand, the model for the building could not well be shown to Moses, before he had been told that the gifts to be made by the people were to be devoted to the building of a sanctuary. תּבנית , from בּנה to build, lit., a building, then a figure of anything, a copy of representation of different things, Deuteronomy 4:17.; a drawing or sketch, 2 Kings 16:10 : it never means the original, not even in Psalms 144:12, as Delitzsch supposes (see his Com. on Hebrews 8:5). In such passages as 1 Chronicles 28:11-12, 1 Chronicles 28:19, where it may be rendered plan, it does not signify an original, but simply means a model or drawing, founded upon an idea, or taken from some existing object, according to which a building was to be constructed. Still less can the object connected with תבנית in the genitive be understood as referring to the original, from which the תבנית was taken; so that we cannot follow the Rabbins in their interpretation of this passage, as affirming that the heavenly originals of the tabernacle and its furniture had been shown to Moses in a vision upon the mountain. What was shown to him was simply a picture or model of the earthly tabernacle and its furniture, which were to be made by him. Both Acts 7:44 and Hebrews 8:5 are perfectly reconcilable with this interpretation of our verse, which is the only one that can be grammatically sustained. The words of Stephen, that Moses was to make the tabernacle κατὰ τὸν τύπον ὅν ἑωράκει , “according to the fashion that he had seen,” are so indefinite, that the text of Exodus must be adduced to explain them. And when the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews cites the words, “See that thou make all things κατὰ τὸν τύπον τὸν δειχθέντα σοι ἐν τῷ ὄρει ” (according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount), from Exodus 25:40 of this chapter, as a proof the Levitical priests only served the type and shadow of heavenly things ( τῶν ἐπουρανίων ); it is true, his words may be understood as showing that he regarded the earthly tabernacle with all its arrangements as only the counterpart and copy of a heavenly original. But this interpretation is neither necessary nor well founded. For although the author, by following the Sept., in which בּתניתם is rendered κατὰ τὸν τύπον , the suffix being dropped, leaves it just a possible thing to understand the τύπος shown to Moses as denoting a heavenly tabernacle (or temple); yet he has shown very clearly that this was not his own view, when he explains the “patterns of things in the heavens” ( ὑποδείγματα τῶν ἐν οὐρανοῖς ) and “the true” things ( τὰ ἀληθινά ) of both the tabernacle and its furniture as denoting the “ heaven ” ( οὐρανός ) into which Christ had entered, and not any temple in heaven. If the ἐπουράνια are heaven itself, the τύπος showed to Moses cannot have been a temple in heaven, but either heaven itself, or, more probably still, as there could be no necessity for this to be shown to Moses in a pictorial representation, a picture of heavenly things or divine realities, which was shown to Moses that he might copy and embody it in the earthly tabernacle.
(Note: The conclusion drawn by Delitzsch (Hebräerbrief, p. 337), that because the author does not refer to anything between the ἐπουράνια and their ἀντίτυπα (Exodus 9:24), the τύπος can only have consisted of the ἐπουράνια themselves, is a mistake. All that the premises preclude, is the intervention of any objective reality, or third material object, but not the introduction of a pictorial representation, through which Moses was shown how to copy the heavenly realities and embody them in an earthly form. The earthly tent would no more be a copy of the copy of a heavenly original in this case, than a palace built according to a model is a copy of that model. Moreover, Delitzsch himself thinks it is “not conceivable that, when Moses was favoured with a view of the heavenly world, it was left to him to embody what he saw in a material form, to bring it within the limits of space.” He therefore assumes, both for the reason assigned, and because “no mortal has ever looked directly at heavenly things,” that “inasmuch as what was seen could not be directly reflected in the mirror of his mind, not to mention the retina of his eye, it was set before him in a visible form, and according to the operation of God who showed it, in a manner adapted to serve as a model of the earthly sanctuary to be erected.” Thus he admits that it is true that Moses did not see the heavenly world itself, but only a copy of it that was shown to him by God.)
If we understand the verse before us in this sense, it merely expresses what is already implied in the fact itself. If God showed Moses a picture or model of the tabernacle, and instructed him to make everything exactly according to this pattern, we must assume that in the tabernacle and its furniture heavenly realities were to be expressed in earthly forms; or, to put it more clearly, that the thoughts of God concerning salvation and His kingdom, which the earthly building was to embody and display, were visibly set forth in the pattern shown. The symbolical and typical significance of the whole building necessarily follows from this, though without our being obliged to imitate the Rabbins, and seek in the tabernacle the counterpart or copy of a heavenly temple. What these divine thoughts were that were embodied in the tabernacle, can only be gathered from the arrangement and purpose of the whole building and its separate parts; and upon this point the description furnishes so much information, that when read in the light of the whole of the covenant revelation, it gives to all the leading points precisely the clearness that we require.
The Ark of the Covenant (cf. Exodus 37:1-9). - They were to make an ark ( ארון ) of acacia-wood, two cubits and a half long, one and a half broad, and one and a half high, and to plate it with pure gold both within and without. Round about it they were to construct a golden זר , i.e., probably a golden rim, encircling it like an ornamental wreath. They were also to cast four golden rings and fasten them to the four feet ( פּעמת walking feet, feet bent as if for walking) of the ark, two on either side; and to cut four poles of acacia-wood and plate them with gold, and put them through the rings for carrying the ark. The poles were to remain in the rings, without moving from them, i.e., without being drawn out, that the bearers might not touch the ark itself (Numbers 4:15).
Into this ark Moses was to put “the testimony” ( העדת ; cf. Exodus 40:20). This is the name given to the two tables of stone, upon which the ten words spoken by God to the whole nation were written, and which Moses was to receive from God (Exodus 24:12). Because these ten words were the declaration of God upon the basis of which the covenant was concluded (Exodus 34:27-28; Deuteronomy 4:13; Deuteronomy 10:1-2), these tables were called the tables of testimony (ch. Exodus 31:18; Exodus 34:29), or tables of the covenant (Deuteronomy 9:9; Deuteronomy 11:15).
In addition to this, Moses was to make a capporeth ( ἱλαστήριον ἐπίθεμα , lxx; propitiatorium , Vulg .), an atoning covering. The meaning operculum , lid ( Ges. ), cannot be sustained, notwithstanding the fact that the capporeth was placed upon the ark (Exodus 25:21) and covered the tables laid within it; for the verb כפר has not the literal signification of covering or covering up either in Kal or Piel . In Kal it only occurs in Genesis 6:14, where it means to pitch or tar; in Piel it is only used in the figurative sense of covering up sin or guilt, i.e., of making atonement. 1 Chronicles 28:11 is decisive on this point, where the holy of holies, in which the capporeth was, is called הכּפּרת בּית , which cannot possibly mean the covering-house, but must signify the house of atonement. The force of this passage is not weakened by the remark made by Delitzsch and others, to the effect that it was only in the later usage of the language that the idea of covering gave place to that of the covering up or expiation of sin; for neither in the earlier nor earliest usage of the language can the supposed primary meaning of the word be anywhere discovered. Knobel's remark has still less force, viz., that the ark must have had a lid, and it must have been called a lid. For if from the very commencement this lid had a more important purpose than that of a simple covering, it might also have received its name from this special purpose, even though this was not fully explained to the Israelites till a later period in the giving of the law (Leviticus 16:15-16). It must, however, have been obvious to every one, that it was to be something more than the mere lid of the ark, from the simple fact that it was not to be made, like the ark, of wood plated with gold, but to be made of pure gold, and to have two golden cherubs upon the top. The cherubim were to be made of gold מקשׁה (from קשׁה to turn), i.e., literally, turned work (cf. Isaiah 3:24), here, according to Onkelos , נגיד opus ductile , work beaten with the hammer and rounded, so that the figures were not solid but hollow (see Bähr, i. p. 380).
“Out of the capporeth shall ye make the cherubs at its two ends,” i.e., so as to form one whole with the capporeth itself, and be inseparable from it.
“ And let the cherubs be stretching out wings on high, screening ( סככים , συσκιάζοντες ) with their wings above the capporeth, and their faces (turned) one to the other; towards the capporeth let the faces of the cherubs be .” That is to say, the cherubs were to spread out their wings in such a manner as to form a screen over the capporeth , with their faces turned towards one another, but inclining or stooping towards the capporeth . The reason for this is given in Exodus 25:22. There - viz., above the capporeth that was placed upon the ark containing the testimony - Jehovah would present Himself to Moses ( נועד , from יעד to appoint, to present one's self to a person at an appointed place, to meet with him), and talk with him “ from above the capporeth, out from between the two cherubs upon the ark of testimony, all that I shall command thee for the sons of Israel ” (cf. Exodus 29:42). Through this divine promise and the fulfilment of it (Exodus 40:35; Leviticus 1:1; Numbers 1:1; Numbers 16:19), the ark of the covenant together with the capporeth became the throne of Jehovah in the midst of His chosen people, the footstool of the God of Israel (1 Chronicles 28:2, cf. Psalms 132:7; Psalms 99:5; Lamentations 2:1). The ark, with the tables of the covenant as the self-attestation of God, formed the foundation of this throne, to show that the kingdom of grace which was established in Israel through the medium of the covenant, was founded in justice and righteousness (Psalms 89:15; Psalms 97:2). The gold plate upon the ark formed the footstool of the throne for Him, who caused His name, i.e., the real presence of His being, to dwell in a cloud between the two cherubim above their outspread wings; and there He not only made known His will to His people in laws and commandments, but revealed Himself as the jealous God who visited sin and showed mercy (Exodus 20:5-6; Exodus 34:6-7), - the latter more especially on the great day of atonement, when, through the medium of the blood of the sin-offering sprinkled upon and in front of the capporeth, He granted reconciliation to His people for all their transgressions in all their sin (Leviticus 16:14.). Thus the footstool of God became a throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16, cf. Exodus 9:5), which received its name capporeth or ἱλαστήριον from the fact that the highest and most perfect act of atonement under the Old Testament was performed upon it. Jehovah, who betrothed His people to Himself in grace and mercy for an everlasting covenant (Hosea 2:2), was enthroned upon it, above the wings of the two cherubim, which stood on either side of His throne; and hence He is represented as “dwelling (between) the cherubim” הכּרבים ישׁב (1 Samuel 4:4; 2 Samuel 6:2; Psalms 80:2, etc.). The cherubs were not combinations of animal forms, taken from man, the lion, the ox, and the eagle, as many have inferred from Ezek 1 and 10, for even the composite beings which Ezekiel saw with four faces had a human figure (Ezekiel 1:5); but they are to be regarded as figures made in a human form, and not in a kneeling posture, but, according to the analogy of 2 Chronicles 3:13, standing upright. Consequently, as the union of four faces in one cherub is peculiar to Ezekiel, and the cherubs of the ark of the covenant, like those of Solomon's temple, had but one face each, not only did the human type form the general basis of these figures, but in every respect, with the exception of the wings, they were made in the likeness of men. And this is the only form which would answer the purpose for which they were intended, viz., to represent the cherubim, or heavenly spirits, who were stationed to prevent the return of the first man to the garden of Eden after his expulsion thence, and keep the way to the tree of life. Standing upon the capporeth of the ark of the covenant, the typical foundation of the throne of Jehovah, which Ezekiel saw in the vision as רקיע דּמוּת רקי “the likeness of a firmament” (Ezekiel 1:22, Ezekiel 1:25), with their wings outspread and faces lowered, they represented the spirits of heaven, who surround Jehovah, the heavenly King, when seated upon His throne, as His most exalted servants and the witnesses of His sovereign and saving glory; so that Jehovah enthroned above the wings of the cherubim was set forth as the God of Hosts who is exalted above all the angels, surrounded by the assembly or council of the holy ones (Psalms 89:6-9), who bow their faces towards the capporeth, studying the secrets of the divine counsels of love (1 Peter 1:12), and worshipping Him that liveth for ever and ever (Revelation 4:10).
The Table of Shew-Bread (cf. Exodus 37:10-16). - The table for the shew-bread (Exodus 25:30) was to be made of acacia-wood, two cubits long, one broad, and one and a half high, and to be plated with pure gold, having a golden wreath round, and a “ finish ( מסגּרת ) of a hand-breadth round about, ” i.e., a border of a hand-breadth in depth surrounding and enclosing the four sides, upon which the top of the table was laid, and into the four corners of which the feet of the table were inserted. A golden wreath was to be placed round this rim. As there is no article attached to זר־זהב in Exodus 25:25 (cf. Exodus 37:12), so as to connect it with the זר in Exodus 25:24, we must conclude that there were two such ornamental wreaths, one round the slab of the table, the other round the rim which was under the slab. At the four corners of the four feet, near the point at which they joined the rim, four rings were to be fastened for בּתּים , i.e., to hold the poles with which the table was carried, as in the case of the ark.
Vessels of pure gold were also to be made, to stand upon the table (cf. Exodus 37:16). קערת , τὰ τευβλία (lxx), large deep plates, in which the shew-bread was not only brought to the table, but placed upon it. These plates cannot have been small, for the silver קערת , presented by Nahshon the tribe prince, weighed 130 shekels (Numbers 7:13). כּפּת , from כּף a hollow hand, small scoops, according to Numbers 7:14, only ten shekels in weight, used to put out the incense belonging to the shew-bread upon the table (cf. Leviticus 24:7 and Numbers 7:14): lxx θυΐ́σκη , i.e., according to the Etymol. Magn., σκάφη ἡ τὰ θύματα δεχομένη . There were also two vessels “to pour out,” sc., the drink-offering, or libation of wine: viz., קשׂות , σπονδεῖα (lxx), sacrificial spoons to make the libation of wine with, and מנקּיּת , κύαθοι (lxx), goblets into which the wine was poured, and in which it was placed upon the table. (See Exodus 37:16 and Numbers 4:7, where the goblets are mentioned before the sacrificial spoons.)
Bread of the face ( פּנים לחם ), the mode of preparing and placing which is described in Leviticus 24:5., was to lie continually before ( לפני ) Jehovah. These loaves were called “bread of the face” (shew-bread), because they were to lie before the face of Jehovah as a meat-offering presented by the children of Israel (Leviticus 24:8), not as food for Jehovah, but as a symbol of the spiritual food which Israel was to prepare (John 6:27, cf. John 4:32, John 4:34), a figurative representation of the calling it had received from God; so that bread and wine, which stood upon the table by the side of the loaves, as the fruit of the labour bestowed by Israel upon the soil of its inheritance, were a symbol of its spiritual labour in the kingdom of God, the spiritual vineyard of its Lord.
(cf. Exodus 37:17-24). The Candlestick was to be made of pure gold, “beaten work.” מקשׁה : see Exodus 25:18. For the form תּיעשׂה instead of תּעשׂה (which is probably the work of a copyist, who thought the reading should be תּעשׂה in the Niphal , as the י is wanting in many MSS), see Gesenius , Lehrgeb . p. 52, and Ewald , §83b. “ Of it shall be (i.e., there shall issue from it so as to form one complete whole) its ירך ” (lit., the loins, the upper part of the thigh, which is attached to the body, and from which the feet proceed, - in this case the base or pedestal, upon which the candelabrum stood); its קנה , or reed, i.e., the hollow stem of the candelabrum rising up from the pedestal; - “ its גּבעים ,” cups, resembling the calix of a flower; - כּפתּרים , knobs, in a spherical shape (cf. Amos 9:1; Zephaniah 2:14); - “ and פּרחים ,” flowers, ornaments in the form of buds just bursting.
Exodus 25:32
From the sides of the candlestick, i.e., of the upright stem in the middle, there were to be six branches, three on either side.
Exodus 25:33-34
On each of these branches (the repetition of the same words expresses the distributive sense) there were to be “ three cups in the form of an almond-flower, (with) knob and flower, ” and on the shaft of the candlestick, or central stem, “ four cups in the form of almond-flowers, its knobs and its flowers .” As both ופרח כּפתּר (Exodus 25:33) and וּפרחיה כּפתּריה (Exodus 25:34) are connected with the previous words without a copula, Knobel and Thenius regard these words as standing in explanatory apposition to the preceding ones, and suppose the meaning to be that the flower-cups were to consist of knobs with flowers issuing from them. But apart from the singular idea of calling a knob or bulb with a flower bursting from it a flower-cup, Exodus 25:31 decidedly precludes any such explanation; for cups, knobs, and flowers are mentioned there in connection with the base and stem, as three separate things which were quite as distinct the one from the other as the base and the stem. The words in question are appended in both verses to משׁקּדים גּבעים in the sense of subordination; ו is generally used in such cases, but it is omitted here before כפתר , probably to avoid ambiguity, as the two words to be subordinated are brought into closer association as one idea by the use of this copula. And if כפתר and פרח are to be distinguished from נביע , the objection made by Thenius to our rendering משׁקּד “almond-blossom-shaped,” namely, that neither the almond nor the almond-blossom has at all the shape of a basin, falls entirely to the ground; and there is all the less reason to question this rendering, on account of the unanimity with which it has been adopted in the ancient versions, whereas the rendering proposed by Thenius , “wakened up, i.e., a burst or opened calix,” has neither foundation nor probability.
Exodus 25:35
“ and every pipe under the two branches shall be out from them (be connected with them) for the six (side) pipes going out from the candlestick; ” i.e., at the point where the three pairs of the six side pipes or arms branched off from the main pipe or stem of the candlestick, a knob should be so placed that the arms should proceed from the knob, or from the main stem immediately above the knob.
Exodus 25:36-37
“ Their knobs and their pipes (i.e., the knobs and pipes of the three pairs of arms) shall be of it (the candlestick, i.e., combined with it so as to form one whole), all one (one kind of) beaten work, pure gold .” From all this we get the following idea of the candlestick: Upon the vase there rose an upright central pipe, from which three side pies branched out one above another on either side, and curved upwards in the form of a quadrant to the level of the central stem. On this stem a calix and a knob and blossom were introduced four separate times, and in such a manner that there was a knob wherever the side pipes branched off from the main stem, evidently immediately below the branches; and the fourth knob, we may suppose, was higher up between the top branches and the end of the stem. As there were thus four calices with a knob and blossom in the main stem, so again there were three in each of the branches, which were no doubt placed at equal distances from one another. With regard to the relative position of the calix, the knob, and the blossom, we may suppose that the spherical knob was underneath the calix, and that the blossom sprang from the upper edge of the latter, as if bursting out of it. The candlestick had thus seven arms, and seven lights or lamps were to be made and placed upon them ( העלה ). “ And they (all the lamps) are to give light upon the opposite side of its front ” (Exodus 25:37): i.e., the lamp was to throw its light upon the side that was opposite to the front of the candlestick. The פּנים of the candlestick (Exodus 25:37 and Numbers 8:2) was the front shown by the seven arms, as they formed a straight line with their seven points; and עבר does not mean the side, but the opposite side, as is evident from Numbers 8:2, where we find מוּל אל instead. As the place assigned to the candlestick was on the south side of the dwelling-place, we are to understand by this opposite side the north, and imagine the lamp to be so placed that the line of lamps formed by the seven arms ran from front to back, by which arrangement the holy place would be better lighted, than if the candlestick had stood with the line of lamps from south to north, and so had turned all its seven lamps towards the person entering the holy place. The lamps were the receptacles for the wick and oil, which were placed on the top of the arms, and could be taken down to be cleaned. The hole from which the wick projected was not made in the middle, but at the edge, so that the light was thrown upon one side.
Exodus 25:38
The other things belonging to the candlestick were מלקחים tongs (Isaiah 6:6), i.e., snuffers, and מחמּות snuff-dishes, i.e., dishes to receive the snuff when taken from the wicks; elsewhere the word signifies an ash-pan, or vessel used for taking away the coal from the fire (Exodus 27:3; Leviticus 16:12; Numbers 17:3.).
Exodus 25:39-40
“ Of a talent of pure gold (i.e., 822,000 Parisian grains) shall he make it (the candlestick) and all these vessels, ” i.e., according to Exodus 37:24, all the vessels belonging to the candlestick. From this quantity of gold it was possible to make a candlestick of very considerable size. The size is not given anywhere in the Old Testament, but, according to Bähr's conjecture, it corresponded to the height of the table of shew-bread, namely, a cubit and a half in height and the same in breadth, or a cubit and a half between the two outside lamps.
The signification of the seven-armed candlestick is apparent from its purpose, viz., to carry seven lamps, which were trimmed and filled with oil every morning, and lighted every evening, and were to burn throughout the night (Exodus 27:20-21; Exodus 30:7-8; Leviticus 24:3-4). As the Israelites were to prepare spiritual food in the shew-bread in the presence of Jehovah, and to offer continually the fruit of their labour in the field of the kingdom of God, as a spiritual offering to the Lord; so also were they to present themselves continually to Jehovah in the burning lamps, as the vehicles and media of light, as a nation letting its light shine in the darkness of this world (cf. Matthew 5:14, Matthew 5:16; Luke 12:35; Philippians 2:15). The oil, through which the lamps burned and shone, was, according to its peculiar virtue in imparting strength to the body and restoring vital power, a representation of the Godlike spirit, the source of all the vital power of man; whilst the oil, as offered by the congregation of Israel, and devoted to sacred purposes according to the command of God, is throughout the Scriptures a symbol of the Spirit of God, by which the congregation of God was tilled with higher light and life. By the power of this Spirit, Israel, in covenant with the Lord, was to let its light shine, the light of its knowledge of God and spiritual illumination, before all the nations of the earth. In its seven arms the stamp of the covenant relationship was impressed upon the candlestick; and the almond-blossom with which it was ornamented represented the seasonable offering of the flowers and fruits of the Spirit, the almond-tree deriving its name שׁקד from the fact that it is the earliest of all the trees in both its blossom and its fruit (cf. Jeremiah 1:11-12). The symbolical character of the candlestick is clearly indicated in the Scriptures. The prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 4:1-14) sees a golden candlestick with seven lamps and two olive-trees, one on either side, from which the oil-vessel is supplied; and the angel who is talking with him informs him that the olive-trees are the two sons of oil, that is to say, the representatives of the kingdom and priesthood, the divinely appointed organs through which the Spirit of God was communicated to the covenant nation. And in Revelation 1:20, the seven churches, which represent the new people of God, i.e., the Christian Church, are shown to the holy seer in the form of seven candlesticks standing before the throne of God. - On Exodus 25:40, see at Exodus 25:9.