Exodus 36

1 "Bezalel and Oholiab, along with everyone whom God has given the skill and know-how for making everything involved in the worship of the Sanctuary as commanded by God, are to start to work."
2 Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab along with all whom God had gifted with the ability to work skillfully with their hands. The men were eager to get started and engage in the work.
3 They took from Moses all the offerings that the Israelites had brought for the work of constructing the Sanctuary. The people kept on bringing in their freewill offerings, morning after morning.
4 All the artisans who were at work making everything involved in constructing the Sanctuary came, one after another,
5 to Moses, saying, "The people are bringing more than enough for doing this work that God has commanded us to do!"
6 So Moses sent out orders through the camp: "Men! Women! No more offerings for the building of the Sanctuary!"
7 There was plenty of material for all the work to be done. Enough and more than enough. The Tapestries
8 Then all the skilled artisans on The Dwelling made ten tapestries of fine twisted linen and blue, purple, and scarlet fabric with an angel-cherubim design worked into the material.
9 Each panel of tapestry was forty-six feet long and six feet wide.
10 Five of the panels were joined together, and then the other five.
11 Loops of blue were made along the edge of the outside panel of the first set, and the same on the outside panel of the second set.
12 They made fifty loops on each panel, with the loops opposite each other.
13 Then they made fifty gold clasps and joined the tapestries together so that The Dwelling was one whole.
14 Next they made tapestries of woven goat hair for a tent that would cover The Dwelling. They made eleven panels of these tapestries.
15 The length of each panel was forty-five feet long and six feet wide.
16 They joined five of the panels together, and then the other six,
17 by making fifty loops along the edge of the end panel and fifty loops along the edge of the joining panel,
18 then making fifty clasps of bronze, connecting the clasps to the loops, bringing the tent together.
19 They finished it off by covering the tapestries with tanned rams' skins dyed red, and covered that with dolphin skins. The Framing
20 They framed The Dwelling with vertical planks of acacia wood,
21 each section of frame fifteen feet long and two and a quarter feet wide,
22 with two pegs for securing them. They made all the frames identical:
23 twenty frames for the south side,
24 with forty silver sockets to receive the two tenons from each of the twenty frames;
25 they repeated that construction on the north side of The Dwelling.
27 For the rear of The Dwelling facing west, they made six frames,
28 with two additional frames for the rear corners.
29 Both of the two corner frames were double in thickness from top to bottom and fit into a single ring
30 - eight frames altogether with sixteen sockets of silver, two under each frame.
31 They made crossbars of acacia wood, five for the frames on one side of The Dwelling,
32 five for the other side, and five for the back side facing west.
33 The center crossbar ran from end to end halfway up the frames.
34 They covered the frames with a veneer of gold, made gold rings to hold the crossbars, and covered the crossbars with a veneer of gold.
35 They made the curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. They wove a design of angel-cherubim into it.
36 They made four posts of acacia wood, covered them with a veneer of gold, and cast four silver bases for them.
37 They made a screen for the door of the tent, woven from blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen with embroidery.
38 They framed the weaving with five poles of acacia wood covered with a veneer of gold, and made gold hooks to hang the weaving and five bronze bases for the poles.

Exodus 36 Commentary

Chapter 36

The making of the tabernacle The liberality of the people restrained.

- The readiness and zeal with which these builders set about their work, the exactness with which they performed it, and the faithfulness with which they objected to receive more contributions, are worthy of our imitation. Thus should we serve God, and our superiors also, in all things lawful. Thus should all who are in public trusts abhor filthy lucre, and avoid all occasions and temptations to covetousness. Where have we the representation of God's love towards us, that we by love dwell in him and he in us, save in Emmanuel? ( Matthew 1:23 ) . This is the ( 2 Corinthians. 5:18 2 Corinthians. 5:19 ) the design of the "tabernacle of witness," a visible testimony of the love of God to the race of men, however they were fallen from their first state. And this love was shown by Christ's taking up his abode on earth; by the Word being made flesh, Joh. 1:14 , wherein, as the original expresses it, he did tabernacle among us.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 36

Bezaleel and Aholiab, with the artificers under them, having a call as well as qualifications for the service of the sanctuary, and having received from Moses the materials for it, set about it, Ex 36:1-3 but the people bringing more than was necessary, they acquaint Moses with it, who by a proclamation restrained from it, Ex 36:4-7 and next an account is given of the several things that were wrought by them, as first the curtains for the tabernacle, both of linen and goats' hair, and the coverings of them, Ex 36:8-19 next the boards for the tabernacle, and the sockets they were set in, and the bars for the boards, Ex 36:20-34 and then the vail which parted the most holy place from the holy place, and the hanging which divided between the holy place and the court, Ex 36:35-38.

Exodus 36 Commentaries

Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.