The Bronze Altar

27 “Now you shall make (A)the altar of acacia wood, [a]five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be [b]three cubits. You shall make (B)its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with [c]bronze. And you shall make its pails for removing its ashes, and its shovels, its basins, its forks, and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze. You shall also make for it a grating, a netting of bronze, and on the netting you shall make four bronze rings [d]at its four corners. And you shall put it under the ledge of the altar, so that the netting will reach halfway up the altar. You shall also make carrying poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood and overlay them with bronze. Its poles shall be inserted into the rings, so that the poles will be on the two sides of the altar (C)when it is carried. You shall make it hollow with planks; (D)as it was shown to you on the mountain, so they shall make it.

Courtyard of the Tabernacle

“Now you shall make (E)the courtyard of the [e]tabernacle. [f]On the south side there shall be hangings for the courtyard of fine twisted linen, a [g]hundred cubits long for one side; 10 and its pillars shall be twenty, with their twenty bases of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their [h]bands shall be of silver. 11 Likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings a [i]hundred cubits long, and its twenty pillars with their twenty bases of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver. 12 For the width of the courtyard on the west side shall be hangings of [j]fifty cubits, with their ten pillars and their ten bases. 13 The width of the courtyard on the [k]east side shall be fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for the one [l]side of the gate shall be [m]fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three bases. 15 And for the [n]other [o]side there shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three bases. 16 And for the gate of the courtyard there shall be a curtain of [p]twenty cubits, of [q]violet, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of a [r]weaver, with their four pillars and their four bases. 17 All the pillars around the courtyard shall be joined together with silver, with their hooks of silver and their bases of bronze. 18 The length of the courtyard shall be a [s]hundred cubits, and the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits of fine twisted linen, and their bases of bronze. 19 All the utensils of the tabernacle used in all its service, and all its pegs, and all the pegs of the courtyard, shall be of bronze.

20 “And you shall command the sons of Israel that they bring you (F)clear oil of beaten olives for the [t]light, to make a lamp [u]burn continually. 21 In the (G)tent of meeting, outside (H)the veil which is before the testimony, (I)Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the Lord; it shall be a permanent (J)statute throughout their generations [v]for the sons of Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 27:1 About 7.5 ft. or 2.3 m
  2. Exodus 27:1 About 4.5 ft. or 1.4 m
  3. Exodus 27:2 Or copper, and so for bronze throughout the ch
  4. Exodus 27:4 Lit on
  5. Exodus 27:9 Or dwelling place
  6. Exodus 27:9 Lit For the side of the Negev to the south
  7. Exodus 27:9 About 150 ft. or 46 m
  8. Exodus 27:10 Or rings
  9. Exodus 27:11 About 150 ft. or 46 m
  10. Exodus 27:12 About 75 ft. or 23 m
  11. Exodus 27:13 Lit east side eastward
  12. Exodus 27:14 Lit shoulder
  13. Exodus 27:14 About 23 ft. or 6.8 m
  14. Exodus 27:15 Lit second
  15. Exodus 27:15 Lit shoulder
  16. Exodus 27:16 About 30 ft. or 9 m
  17. Exodus 27:16 Or bluish; LXX hyacinth in color
  18. Exodus 27:16 Lit variegator; i.e., a weaver in colors
  19. Exodus 27:18 About 150 ft. long, 75 ft. wide, and 7.5 ft. high or about 46 m, 23 m, and 2.3 m
  20. Exodus 27:20 Or luminary
  21. Exodus 27:20 Lit ascend
  22. Exodus 27:21 Lit from

The Altar for Offering Sacrifices

(Exodus 38.1-7)

The Lord said to Moses:

27 Use acacia wood to build an altar 2.25 meters square and 1.34 meters high, and make each of the four top corners stick up like the horn of a bull. Then cover the whole altar with bronze, including the four horns. All the equipment for the altar must also be made of bronze—the pans for the hot ashes, the shovels, the sprinkling bowls, the meat forks, and the fire pans. 4-5 Halfway up the altar build a ledge around it, and cover the bottom half of the altar with a decorative bronze grating. Then attach a bronze ring beneath the ledge at the four corners of the altar. 6-7 Cover two acacia wood poles with bronze and put them through the rings for carrying the altar. Construct the altar in the shape of an open box, just as you were shown on the mountain.

The Courtyard around the Sacred Tent

(Exodus 38.9-20)

The Lord said:

9-15 Surround the sacred tent with a courtyard 44 meters long on the south and north and 22 meters wide on the east and west. Use 20 bronze posts on bronze stands for the south and north and 10 for the west. Then hang a curtain of fine linen on the posts along each of these three sides by using silver hooks and rods.

Place three bronze posts on each side of the entrance at the east and hang a curtain 6.67 meters wide on each set of posts. 16 Use four more of these posts for the entrance way, then hang on them an embroidered curtain of fine linen nine meters long and woven with blue, purple, and red wool.

17-18 Make the curtains that surround the courtyard 2.25 meters high and hang them from the bronze posts with silver hooks and rods. 19 Make the rest of the equipment for the sacred tent of bronze, including the pegs for the tent and for the curtain surrounding the courtyard.

The Oil for the Lamp in the Holy Place

(Leviticus 24.1-4)

The Lord said to Moses:

20 Command the people of Israel to supply you with the purest olive oil. Do this so the lamp will keep burning 21 in front of the curtain that separates the holy place from the most holy place, where the sacred chest is kept. Aaron and his sons are responsible for keeping the lamp burning every night in the sacred tent. The Israelites must always obey this command.