Exodus — Chapter 38
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1And he made the altar of burnt offering
2And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass.
3And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons,
4And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it.
5And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass,
6And he made the staves
7And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards.
8And he made the laver
9And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court
10Their pillars
11And for the north side
12And for the west side
13And for the east side eastward fifty cubits.
14The hangings of the one side
15And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand,
16All the hangings of the court round about
17And the sockets for the pillars
18And the hanging for the gate of the court
19And their pillars
20And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about,
21This is the sum of the tabernacle,
22And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses.
23And with him
24All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy
25And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation
26A bekah for every man,
27And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket.
28And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five
29And the brass of the offering
30And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brasen altar, and the brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar,
31And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.
1And he made the altar of burnt-offering of acacia wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof, foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof.
2And he made the horns thereof upon the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of one piece with it: and he overlaid it with brass.
3And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basins, the flesh-hooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.
4And he made for the altar a grating of network of brass, under the ledge round it beneath, reaching halfway up.
5And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grating of brass, to be places for the staves.
6And he made the staves of acacia wood, and overlaid them with brass.
7And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, wherewith to bear it; he made it hollow with planks.
8And he made the laver of brass, and the base thereof of brass, of the mirrors of the ministering women that ministered at the door of the tent of meeting.
9And he made the court: for the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits;
10their pillars were twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.
11And for the north side a hundred cubits, their pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.
12And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.
13And for the east side eastward fifty cubits.
14The hangings for the one side [of the gate] were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three;
15and so for the other side: on this hand and that hand by the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
16All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen.
17And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver; and the overlaying of their capitals, of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.
18And the screen for the gate of the court was the work of the embroiderer, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court.
19And their pillars were four, and their sockets four, of brass; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals, and their fillets, of silver.
20And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass.
21This is the sum of [the things for] the tabernacle, even the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.
22And Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that Jehovah commanded Moses.
23And with him was Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a skilful workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and in fine linen.
24All the gold that was used for the work in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
25And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was a hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:
26a beka a head, [that is], half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that passed over to them that were numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men.
27And the hundred talents of silver were for casting the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the veil; a hundred sockets for the hundred talents, a talent for a socket.
28And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five [shekels] he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their capitals, and made fillets for them.
29And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels.
30And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tent of meeting, and the brazen altar, and the brazen grating for it, and all the vessels of the altar,
31and the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the gate of the court, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.
1Bezalel made the altar for the burnt offering of acacia wood 7½ feet long and 7½ feet wide—it was square—and its height was 4½ feet.
2He made its horns on its four corners; its horns were part of it, and he overlaid it with bronze.
3He made all the utensils of the altar—the pots, the shovels, the tossing bowls, the meat hooks, and the fire pans—he made all its utensils of bronze.
4He made a grating for the altar, a network of bronze under its ledge, halfway up from the bottom.
5He cast four rings for the four corners of the bronze grating, to provide places for the poles.
6He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.
7He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it. He made the altar hollow, out of boards.
8He made the large basin of bronze and its pedestal of bronze from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
9Bezalel made the courtyard. For the south side the hangings of the courtyard were of fine twisted linen, 150 feet long,
10with their twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver.
11For the north side the hangings were 150 feet, with their twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver.
12For the west side there were hangings 75 feet long, with their 10 posts and their 10 bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver.
13For the east side, toward the sunrise, it was 75 feet wide,
14with hangings on one side of the gate that were 22½ feet long, with their three posts and their three bases,
15and for the second side of the gate of the courtyard, just like the other, the hangings were 22½ feet long, with their three posts and their three bases.
16All the hangings around the courtyard were of fine twisted linen.
17The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks of the posts and their bands were silver, their tops were overlaid with silver, and all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.
18The curtain for the gate of the courtyard was of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer. It was 30 feet long and, like the hangings in the courtyard, it was 7½ feet high,
19with four posts and their four bronze bases. Their hooks and their bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver.
20All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the courtyard all around were bronze.
21This is the inventory of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, which was counted by the order of Moses, being the work of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.
22Now Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that the Lord had commanded Moses;
23and with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an artisan, a designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen.
24All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary (namely, the gold of the wave offering) was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.
25The silver of those who were numbered of the community was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel,
26one beka per person, that is, a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, for everyone who crossed over to those numbered, from twenty years old or older, 603,550 in all.
27The 100 talents of silver were used for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the special curtain—100 bases for 100 talents, one talent per base.
28From the remaining 1,775 shekels he made hooks for the posts, overlaid their tops, and made bands for them.
29The bronze of the wave offering was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels.
30With it he made the bases for the door of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grating for it, and all the utensils of the altar,
31the bases for the courtyard all around, the bases for the gate of the courtyard, all the tent pegs of the tabernacle, and all the tent pegs of the courtyard all around.
1He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. It was square. Its length was five cubits, its width was five cubits, and its height was three cubits.
2He made its horns on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with brass.
3He made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the fire pans. He made all its vessels of brass.
4He made for the altar a grating of a network of brass, under the ledge around it beneath, reaching halfway up.
5He cast four rings for the four ends of brass grating, to be places for the poles.
6He made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with brass.
7He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it. He made it hollow with planks.
8He made the basin of brass, and its base of brass, out of the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
9He made the court: for the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, one hundred cubits;
10their pillars were twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.
11For the north side one hundred cubits, their pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.
12For the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.
13For the east side eastward fifty cubits.
14The hangings for the one side were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three;
15and so for the other side: on this hand and that hand by the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
16All the hangings around the court were of fine twined linen.
17The sockets for the pillars were of brass. The hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver; and the overlaying of their capitals, of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.
18The screen for the gate of the court was the work of the embroiderer, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen. Twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the width was five cubits, like to the hangings of the court.
19Their pillars were four, and their sockets four, of brass; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals, and their fillets, of silver.
20All the pins of the tabernacle, and around the court, were of brass.
21This is the amount of material used for the tabernacle, even the Tabernacle of the Testimony, as they were counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.
22Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that Yahweh commanded Moses.
23With him was Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a skillful workman, and an embroiderer in blue, in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen.
24All the gold that was used for the work in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents, and seven hundred thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
25The silver of those who were counted of the congregation was one hundred talents, and one thousand seven hundred seventy-five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:
26a beka a head, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for everyone who passed over to those who were counted, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty men.
27The one hundred talents of silver were for casting the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the veil; one hundred sockets for the one hundred talents, a talent for a socket.
28Of the one thousand seven hundred seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, overlaid their capitals, and made fillets for them.
29The brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand four hundred shekels.
30With this he made the sockets to the door of the Tent of Meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grating for it, all the vessels of the altar,
31the sockets around the court, the sockets of the gate of the court, all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins around the court.
Summary
The bronze altar, basin, and courtyard are built; an accounting of all the gold, silver, and bronze used in construction.
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Israel remains encamped at Mount Sinai. The bronze altar and laver are constructed; a materials inventory records what was used.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik notes the significance of the women's mirrors becoming the laver — self-reflection transformed into cleansing. He highlights the materials inventory as evidence of accountability in ministry.
- Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "The Brazen Altar" on v.1 (MTP Vol. 20, No. 1197) "The altar of burnt offering stood at the gate. You could not pass it by. Before you reached the laver, before you entered the holy place, before you saw the mercy seat — you met the altar. There is no approach to God except through sacrifice. The cross stands at the entrance of every blessing. You must pass by Calvary to reach the throne of grace. There is no other way." Sermon: "The Laver" on v.8 (MTP Vol. 16, No. 916) "Made of looking-glasses! The women gave up their mirrors that others might be washed. And what is the Word of God but a mirror (James 1:23) that shows us our defilement, and a laver that cleanses us? The same Word that reveals our sin provides our cleansing. Give up your vanity and gain your purity."
Reflection
- 1. The Bronze Altar was the first thing encountered (v.1). There is no approach to God without sacrifice. How does the cross of Christ stand at the entrance of your relationship with God? Do you try to bypass it?
- 2. The women gave their mirrors to make the laver (v.8). They surrendered instruments of self-focus to create an instrument of cleansing. What "mirrors" (sources of vanity or self-absorption) might God be asking you to surrender for His purposes?
- 3. The materials inventory (vv.21-31) shows careful accounting. How do you practice transparency and accountability with the resources God has entrusted to you — time, money, influence?
- 4. Every Israelite male contributed a half-shekel (v.26) — rich and poor alike, the same amount. What does this teach about equal standing before God? How does the gospel level all distinctions?
- 5. The silver bases (foundation) came from the redemption money (v.27). God's dwelling literally rests on redemption. How is your life built on the foundation of Christ's redemptive work?