Exodus 40:34

The Cloud and the Glory

34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. ¹

Exodus 40:34 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 40:34

Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation
The outside of it; this cloud was the same with the pillar of cloud that went before the Israelites, as soon almost as they came out of Egypt; and led them through the Red sea, and conducted them to Mount Sinai; only it now appeared in a different form, not erect as a pillar, but more expanded, so as to cover the tabernacle without;

and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle;
the inside of it, not the most holy place only, but the holy place also: this was an uncommon brightness, lustre, and splendour, a glorious stream of light, which the eye of man could not well bear to behold; such a glory filled the temple of Solomon at the dedication of that, ( 1 Kings 8:11 ) and was an emblem of Christ, the brightness of his Father's glory, dwelling in and filling the tabernacle of the human nature, where the Godhead, the Shechinah, the divine Majesty, dwells bodily, ( Hebrews 1:3 ) ( John 1:14 ) ( Colossians 2:9 ) .

Exodus 40:34 In-Context

32 They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

33 And Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar, and he hung the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.

34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

35 Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

36 Whenever the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out through all the stages of their journey.

Cross References

• 1. (Numbers 9:15–23)