The Tabernacle Underwritten

36 “Now Bezalel, Oholiab, and every [a]skillful person in whom the Lord has put [b]skill and understanding to know how to perform all the work [c]in the construction of the sanctuary, shall perform in accordance with everything that the Lord has commanded.”

Then Moses called Bezalel, Oholiab, and every [d]skillful person in [e]whom the Lord had put [f]skill, (A)everyone whose heart stirred him, to come to the work to perform it. They received from Moses every [g]contribution which the sons of Israel had brought to perform [h]the work [i]in the construction of the sanctuary. And they still continued bringing to him [j]voluntary offerings every morning. And all the [k]skillful people who were performing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from [l]the work which they were performing, and they said to [m]Moses, “(B)The people are bringing much more than enough for the [n]construction work which the Lord commanded us to [o]perform.” So Moses issued a command, and circulated a [p]proclamation throughout the camp, saying, “No man or woman is to perform work any longer for the [q]contributions of the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing any more. (C)For the [r]material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it.

Construction Begins

(D)All the [s]skillful people among those who were performing the work made the [t]tabernacle with ten curtains; of fine twisted linen and [u]violet, purple, and scarlet material, with cherubim, the work of a skilled embroiderer, [v]Bezalel made them. The length of each curtain was [w]twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains had [x]the same measurements. 10 He [y]joined five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he [z]joined to one another. 11 And he made loops of violet on the edge of the [aa]outermost curtain in the first [ab]set; he did likewise on the edge of the curtain that was [ac]outermost in the second [ad]set. 12 He made (E)fifty loops in the one curtain, and he made fifty loops on the [ae]edge of the curtain that was in the second [af]set; the loops were opposite each other. 13 He also made (F)fifty clasps of gold, and [ag]joined the curtains to one another with the clasps, so that the tabernacle was [ah]a unit.

14 Then (G)he made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; he [ai]made eleven curtains in all. 15 The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the width of each curtain; the eleven curtains had [aj]the same measurements. 16 He [ak]joined five curtains by themselves, and the other six curtains by themselves. 17 Moreover, he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the first [al]set, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second [am]set. 18 He also made fifty clasps of [an]bronze to [ao]join the tent together so that it would be [ap]a unit. 19 And he made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins [aq]dyed red, and a covering of [ar]fine leather above.

20 (H)Then he made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright. 21 Ten cubits was the length of [as]each board, and one and a half cubits the width of each board. 22 There were two tenons for each board, [at]fitted to one another; he did this to all the boards of the tabernacle. 23 So he made the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards [au]for the south side; 24 and he made forty bases of silver under the twenty boards; two bases under one board for its two tenons, and two bases under another board for its two tenons. 25 Then for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty boards, 26 and their forty bases of silver; two bases under one board, and two bases under another board. 27 And for the [av]back of the tabernacle, to the west, he made six boards. 28 He made two boards for the corners of the [aw]tabernacle at the [ax]back. 29 They were double beneath, and together they were complete to its [ay]top, [az]to the first ring; he did this with both of them for the two corners. 30 There were eight boards with their bases of silver, sixteen bases, two bases under every board.

31 Then he made (I)bars of acacia wood, five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle, 32 and five bars for the boards of the [ba]other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the [bb]back side to the west. 33 And he made the middle bar to pass through in the [bc]center of the boards from end to end. 34 Then he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold as holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

35 (J)Moreover, he made the veil of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen; he made it with cherubim, the work of a skilled embroiderer. 36 And he made four pillars of acacia for it, and overlaid them with gold, with their hooks of gold; and he cast four bases of silver for them. 37 He also made a (K)curtain for the doorway of the tent, of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, the work of a [bd]weaver; 38 and he made its (L)five pillars with their hooks, and he overlaid their tops and their [be]bands with gold; but their five bases were of [bf]bronze.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 36:1 Lit man wise of heart
  2. Exodus 36:1 Lit wisdom
  3. Exodus 36:1 Or connected with the service of; lit of the service of
  4. Exodus 36:2 Lit man wise of heart
  5. Exodus 36:2 Lit whose heart
  6. Exodus 36:2 Lit wisdom
  7. Exodus 36:3 Or uplifted offering
  8. Exodus 36:3 Lit it for the work
  9. Exodus 36:3 Lit of the service of
  10. Exodus 36:3 Or freewill offering
  11. Exodus 36:4 Lit wise
  12. Exodus 36:4 Lit his
  13. Exodus 36:5 Lit Moses, saying,
  14. Exodus 36:5 Lit service for the work
  15. Exodus 36:5 Lit perform it
  16. Exodus 36:6 Lit voice
  17. Exodus 36:6 Or uplifted offering
  18. Exodus 36:7 Lit work
  19. Exodus 36:8 Lit wise of heart
  20. Exodus 36:8 Lit dwelling place
  21. Exodus 36:8 Or bluish; LXX hyacinth in color, and so throughout the ch
  22. Exodus 36:8 Lit he
  23. Exodus 36:9 About 42 ft. long and 6 ft. wide or 13 m and 1.8 m
  24. Exodus 36:9 Lit one measure
  25. Exodus 36:10 Or coupled
  26. Exodus 36:10 Or coupled
  27. Exodus 36:11 Lit one curtain from the end in the coupling
  28. Exodus 36:11 Lit coupling
  29. Exodus 36:11 Lit one curtain from the end in the coupling
  30. Exodus 36:11 Lit coupling
  31. Exodus 36:12 Lit end
  32. Exodus 36:12 Lit coupling
  33. Exodus 36:13 Or coupled
  34. Exodus 36:13 Lit one
  35. Exodus 36:14 Lit made them
  36. Exodus 36:15 Lit one measure
  37. Exodus 36:16 Or coupled
  38. Exodus 36:17 Lit tie
  39. Exodus 36:17 Lit tie
  40. Exodus 36:18 Or copper
  41. Exodus 36:18 Or couple
  42. Exodus 36:18 Lit one
  43. Exodus 36:19 Or tanned
  44. Exodus 36:19 Meaning of the Heb uncertain
  45. Exodus 36:21 Lit the
  46. Exodus 36:22 Lit bound
  47. Exodus 36:23 Lit to the side of the Negev, to the south
  48. Exodus 36:27 Lit far parts
  49. Exodus 36:28 Lit dwelling place
  50. Exodus 36:28 Lit far parts
  51. Exodus 36:29 Or head
  52. Exodus 36:29 Or with reference to
  53. Exodus 36:32 Or second
  54. Exodus 36:32 Lit far parts
  55. Exodus 36:33 Lit midst
  56. Exodus 36:37 Lit variegator; i.e., a weaver in colors
  57. Exodus 36:38 Or rings
  58. Exodus 36:38 Or copper

36 “The Lord has gifted Bezalel, Oholiab, and the other skilled craftsmen with wisdom and ability to perform any task involved in building the sanctuary. Let them construct and furnish the Tabernacle, just as the Lord has commanded.”

So Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and all the others who were specially gifted by the Lord and were eager to get to work. Moses gave them the materials donated by the people of Israel as sacred offerings for the completion of the sanctuary. But the people continued to bring additional gifts each morning. Finally the craftsmen who were working on the sanctuary left their work. They went to Moses and reported, “The people have given more than enough materials to complete the job the Lord has commanded us to do!”

So Moses gave the command, and this message was sent throughout the camp: “Men and women, don’t prepare any more gifts for the sanctuary. We have enough!” So the people stopped bringing their sacred offerings. Their contributions were more than enough to complete the whole project.

Building the Tabernacle

The skilled craftsmen made ten curtains of finely woven linen for the Tabernacle. Then Bezalel[a] decorated the curtains with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skillfully embroidered cherubim. All ten curtains were exactly the same size—42 feet long and 6 feet wide.[b] 10 Five of these curtains were joined together to make one long curtain, and the other five were joined to make a second long curtain. 11 He made fifty loops of blue yarn and put them along the edge of the last curtain in each set. 12 The fifty loops along the edge of one curtain matched the fifty loops along the edge of the other curtain. 13 Then he made fifty gold clasps and fastened the long curtains together with the clasps. In this way, the Tabernacle was made of one continuous piece.

14 He made eleven curtains of goat-hair cloth to serve as a tent covering for the Tabernacle. 15 These eleven curtains were all exactly the same size—45 feet long and 6 feet wide.[c] 16 Bezalel joined five of these curtains together to make one long curtain, and the other six were joined to make a second long curtain. 17 He made fifty loops for the edge of each large curtain. 18 He also made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the long curtains together. In this way, the tent covering was made of one continuous piece. 19 He completed the tent covering with a layer of tanned ram skins and a layer of fine goatskin leather.

20 For the framework of the Tabernacle, Bezalel constructed frames of acacia wood. 21 Each frame was 15 feet high and 27 inches wide,[d] 22 with two pegs under each frame. All the frames were identical. 23 He made twenty of these frames to support the curtains on the south side of the Tabernacle. 24 He also made forty silver bases—two bases under each frame, with the pegs fitting securely into the bases. 25 For the north side of the Tabernacle, he made another twenty frames, 26 with their forty silver bases, two bases under each frame. 27 He made six frames for the rear—the west side of the Tabernacle— 28 along with two additional frames to reinforce the rear corners of the Tabernacle. 29 These corner frames were matched at the bottom and firmly attached at the top with a single ring, forming a single corner unit. Both of these corner units were made the same way. 30 So there were eight frames at the rear of the Tabernacle, set in sixteen silver bases—two bases under each frame.

31 Then he made crossbars of acacia wood to link the frames, five crossbars for the north side of the Tabernacle 32 and five for the south side. He also made five crossbars for the rear of the Tabernacle, which faced west. 33 He made the middle crossbar to attach halfway up the frames; it ran all the way from one end of the Tabernacle to the other. 34 He overlaid the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. Then he overlaid the crossbars with gold as well.

35 For the inside of the Tabernacle, Bezalel made a special curtain of finely woven linen. He decorated it with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skillfully embroidered cherubim. 36 For the curtain, he made four posts of acacia wood and four gold hooks. He overlaid the posts with gold and set them in four silver bases.

37 Then he made another curtain for the entrance to the sacred tent. He made it of finely woven linen and embroidered it with exquisite designs using blue, purple, and scarlet thread. 38 This curtain was hung on gold hooks attached to five posts. The posts with their decorated tops and hooks were overlaid with gold, and the five bases were cast from bronze.

Footnotes

  1. 36:8 Hebrew he; also in 36:16, 20, 35. See 37:1.
  2. 36:9 Hebrew 28 cubits [12.9 meters] long and 4 cubits [1.8 meters] wide.
  3. 36:15 Hebrew 30 cubits [13.8 meters] long and 4 cubits [1.8 meters] wide.
  4. 36:21 Hebrew 10 cubits [4.6 meters] high and 1.5 cubits [69 centimeters] wide.

36 So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person(A) to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary(B) are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.”

Then Moses summoned Bezalel(C) and Oholiab(D) and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing(E) to come and do the work. They received from Moses all the offerings(F) the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough(G) for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.”

Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more(H) than enough to do all the work.

The Tabernacle(I)

All those who were skilled among the workers made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by expert hands. All the curtains were the same size—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.[a] 10 They joined five of the curtains together and did the same with the other five. 11 Then they made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and the same was done with the end curtain in the other set. 12 They also made fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. 13 Then they made fifty gold clasps and used them to fasten the two sets of curtains together so that the tabernacle was a unit.(J)

14 They made curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether. 15 All eleven curtains were the same size—thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.[b] 16 They joined five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another set. 17 Then they made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. 18 They made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the tent together as a unit.(K) 19 Then they made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather.[c]

20 They made upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 21 Each frame was ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,[d] 22 with two projections set parallel to each other. They made all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. 23 They made twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle 24 and made forty silver bases to go under them—two bases for each frame, one under each projection. 25 For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, they made twenty frames 26 and forty silver bases—two under each frame. 27 They made six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle, 28 and two frames were made for the corners of the tabernacle at the far end. 29 At these two corners the frames were double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both were made alike. 30 So there were eight frames and sixteen silver bases—two under each frame.

31 They also made crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, 32 five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. 33 They made the center crossbar so that it extended from end to end at the middle of the frames. 34 They overlaid the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also overlaid the crossbars with gold.

35 They made the curtain(L) of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker. 36 They made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold. They made gold hooks for them and cast their four silver bases. 37 For the entrance to the tent they made a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer;(M) 38 and they made five posts with hooks for them. They overlaid the tops of the posts and their bands with gold and made their five bases of bronze.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 36:9 That is, about 42 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 13 meters long and 1.8 meters wide
  2. Exodus 36:15 That is, about 45 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 14 meters long and 1.8 meters wide
  3. Exodus 36:19 Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals (see 35:7)
  4. Exodus 36:21 That is, about 15 feet long and 2 1/4 feet wide or about 4.5 meters long and 68 centimeters wide