Exodus 38:24

24 All the gold that was spended in the work of the saintuary, and that was offered in gifts, was of nine and twenty talents, and of seven hundred and thirty shekels, at the measure of the saintuary. (All the gold that was used for the work of the sanctuary, and that was offered in gifts, was twenty-nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, by the measure of the sanctuary.)

Exodus 38:24 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 38:24

All the gold that was occupied for the work, in all the
work of the [place]
That was expended in making the mercy seat and cherubim, and the candlestick, which were all of pure gold; besides other things belonging to the ark and shewbread table; and the plates, with which the ark and many other things were covered or glided:

even the gold of the offering;
which the people brought and offered freely; as their bracelets, earrings, and jewels of gold, ( Exodus 35:22 )

was twenty nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels,
after the shekel of the sanctuary:
now as it is clear from ( Exodus 38:25 Exodus 38:26 ) that a talent is of the value of 3000 shekels, which, according to Brerewood, amount to three hundred and seventy five pounds of our money; and reckoning as he does the value of gold to be twelve times that of silver, a talent of gold, with him, is, of our money, 4500 pounds; so that twenty nine talents, seven hundred and thirty shekels, are reckoned by him at 131,595 pounds ^F13; but according to Dr. Cumberland ^F14, who is more exact in his calculation, and who reckons a talent of silver at three hundred and fifty three pounds, eleven shillings, and ten pence halfpenny, and the value of gold to be fourteen times that of silver; so that a talent of gold is, with him, 5067 pounds, three shillings, and ten pence; wherefore this whole sum of gold expended in the tabernacle, according to him, amounted to 148,719 pounds sterling: and, according to Waserus ^F15, the amount of the whole is 350,920 Hungarian ducats, which make three tons and a half of gold, and nine hundred and twenty ducats: when one considers the distressed case of the Israelites in Egypt, their late deliverance from thence, and the desert in which they were, it may be wondered how they came by these riches, here and after mentioned; but when it is observed, the riches of their ancestors, particularly what Joseph got in Egypt, which descended to their posterity; the repayment of the labour of the Israelites at their departure, with what they borrowed of the Egyptians, and what they found upon their carcasses when cast up by the Red sea, it will in a good measure be accounted for; to which may be added, that, according to Jerom ^F16, there were, eleven miles from Mount Horeb in the wilderness, fruitful mountains of gold; called Catachrysea.

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 De Ponder. & pretiis. Vet. Num. c. 4, 5.
F14 Of Scripture Weights and Measures, c. 4. p. 120, 121.
F15 De Antiqu. Numis. l. 2. c. 18.
F16 De locis Heb. fol. 90. A.

Exodus 38:24 In-Context

22 Which instruments Bezaleel, the son of Uri, [the] son of Hur, of the lineage of Judah, fulfilled; for the Lord commanded by Moses, (Which Tabernacle, and its purtenances, Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made; all of which the Lord commanded to Moses to be made.)

23 while Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the lineage of Dan, was joined fellow to him, and he himself was a noble craftsman of wood, and a tapicer, that is, a weaver of diverse colours, and an embroiderer of jacinth, purple, vermilion, and bis. (And Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, was joined in fellowship with Bezaleel, and he himself was a noble craftsman of wood, and a tapicer, that is, a weaver of diverse colours, and an embroiderer in jacinth, and purple, and red silk twice-dyed, and fine linen.)

24 All the gold that was spended in the work of the saintuary, and that was offered in gifts, was of nine and twenty talents, and of seven hundred and thirty shekels, at the measure of the saintuary. (All the gold that was used for the work of the sanctuary, and that was offered in gifts, was twenty-nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, by the measure of the sanctuary.)

25 Forsooth the silver of (the) numbering of the people was an hundred hundreds, and a thousand and seven hundred and seventy (and five) shekels, at the weight of (the) saintuary, (And the silver gotten from the registering of the people was a hundred talents, and a thousand and seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, by the measure of the sanctuary,)

26 half a shekel by each head of all that passed (by) to (be) number(ed), from twenty years and above, of six hundred thousand and three thousand, and five hundred and fifty men. (half a shekel from each man who was registered, twenty years and older, that is, from six hundred and three thousand, and five hundred and fifty men.)