42 According to all that Jehovah hath commanded Moses, so have the sons of Israel done all the service;
be watchful because of his presence, and hearken to his voice, rebel not against him, for he beareth not with your transgression, for My name `is' in his heart; for, if thou diligently hearken to his voice, and hast done all that which I speak, then I have been at enmity with thine enemies, and have distressed those distressing thee.
And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, `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. `And this `is' the heave-offering which ye take from them; gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and linen, and goats' `hair', and rams' skins made red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for the perfume of the spices, shoham stones, and stones for setting for an ephod, and for a breastplate. `And they have made for Me a sanctuary, and I have tabernacled in their midst; 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'. `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; 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. `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; and thou hast made staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them `with' gold, and hast brought the staves into the rings on the sides of the ark, to bear the ark by them, in the rings of the ark are the staves, they are not turned aside from it; and thou hast put unto the ark the testimony which I give unto thee. `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; and thou hast made two cherubs of gold, beaten work dost thou make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat; 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. `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. `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; 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. `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, and hast overlaid it `with' pure gold, and hast made for it a crown of gold round about, and hast made for it a border of a handbreadth round about, and hast made a crown of gold to its border round about. `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; over-against the border are the rings for places for staves to bear the table; and thou hast made the staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them with gold, and the table hath been borne with them; 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; and thou hast put on the table bread of the presence before Me continually. `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;
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Commentary on Exodus 39 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 39
Ex 39:1-43. Garments of the Priests.
1, 2. cloths of service—official robes. The ephod of the high priest, the robe of the ephod, the girdle of needlework, and the embroidered coat were all of fine linen; for on no material less delicate could such elaborate symbolical figures have been portrayed in embroidery, and all beautified with the same brilliant colors. (See on Ex 28:1-43).
3. cut the gold into wires to work it—that is, the metal was beaten with a hammer into thin plates, cut with scissors or some other instrument into long slips, then rounded into filaments or threads. "Cloth of golden tissue is not uncommon on the monuments, and specimens of it have been found rolled about mummies; but it is not easy to determine whether the gold thread was originally interwoven or subsequently inserted by the embroiderer" [Taylor].
30. a writing, like to the engravings of a signet—The seal-ring worn both by ancient and modern Egyptians on the little finger of the right hand, contained, inscribed on a cornelian or other precious stone, along with the owner's name, a religious sentiment or sacred symbol, intimating that he was the servant of God, or expressive of trust in Him. And it was to this practice the inscription on the high priest alludes (compare Joh 3:33).
34. the covering of rams' skin dyed red—(See on Ex 25:5). It was probably red morocco leather and "badgers' skins," rather "the skins of the tahash, supposed to be the dugong, or dolphin of the Red Sea, the skin of which is still used by the Arabs under the same appellation" [Goss].
43. Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the Lord had commanded—A formal inspection was made on the completion of the tabernacle, not only with a view to have the work transferred from the charge of the workmen, but to ascertain whether it corresponded with "the pattern." The result of a careful and minute survey showed that every plank, curtain, altar, and vase had been most accurately made of the form, and in the place designed by the Divine Architect—and Moses, in accepting it of their hands, thanked God for them, and begged Him to bless them.