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The Cost of the Tabernacle

21 This is the sum of the things for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, as counted according to the command of Moses, for the work of the Levites, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 22 Now Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that the Lord commanded Moses. 23 With him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and a skillful craftsman and an embroiderer in blue and in purple and in scarlet fabric, and in fine linen.

24 All the gold that was used for the work, in all the building and furnishing of the sanctuary, the gold from the wave offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 25 The silver from those of the congregation who were assembled and counted was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; 26 a beka for each man (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary) for everyone who was counted, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men. 27 The hundred talents of silver were for casting the sockets of the sanctuary and the sockets of the veil (partition curtain); a hundred sockets for the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. 28 Of the 1,775 shekels, he made hooks for the support poles and overlaid their tops and made connecting rings for them. 29 The bronze of the wave offering was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels. 30 With it Bezalel made the sockets for the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, and the bronze altar and its bronze grating, and all the utensils of the altar, 31 and the sockets of the court all around and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pegs of the tabernacle and all the pegs around the court.

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The Materials Used

21 These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant law,(A) which were recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar(B) son of Aaron, the priest. 22 (Bezalel(C) son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses; 23 with him was Oholiab(D) son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan—an engraver and designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.) 24 The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary(E) was 29 talents and 730 shekels,[a] according to the sanctuary shekel.(F)

25 The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census(G) was 100 talents[b] and 1,775 shekels,[c] according to the sanctuary shekel— 26 one beka per person,(H) that is, half a shekel,[d] according to the sanctuary shekel,(I) from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more,(J) a total of 603,550 men.(K) 27 The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases(L) for the sanctuary and for the curtain—100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base. 28 They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands.

29 The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels.[e] 30 They used it to make the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all its utensils, 31 the bases for the surrounding courtyard and those for its entrance and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and those for the surrounding courtyard.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 38:24 The weight of the gold was a little over a ton or about 1 metric ton.
  2. Exodus 38:25 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons; also in verse 27
  3. Exodus 38:25 That is, about 44 pounds or about 20 kilograms; also in verse 28
  4. Exodus 38:26 That is, about 1/5 ounce or about 5.7 grams
  5. Exodus 38:29 The weight of the bronze was about 2 1/2 tons or about 2.4 metric tons.