Exodus 39

1 And of the blue and purple and scarlet they made garments of service, for service in the sanctuary, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
2 And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus.
3 And they beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it [into] wires, to work it artistically into the blue, and into the purple, and into the scarlet, and into the byssus.
4 They made shoulder-pieces for it, joining it: at its two ends was it joined together.
5 And the girdle of his ephod, which was on it, was of the same, according to its work, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
6 And they wrought the onyx stones mounted in enclosures of gold, engraved with the engravings of a seal, according to the names of the sons of Israel.
7 And he put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, [as] stones of memorial for the children of Israel; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
8 And he made the breastplate of artistic work, like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus.
9 It was square; double did they make the breastplate, a span the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, doubled.
10 And they set in it four rows of stones: [one] row, a sardoin, a topaz, and an emerald -- the first row;
11 and the second row, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a diamond;
12 and the third row, an opal, an agate, and an amethyst;
13 and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper; mounted in enclosures of gold in their settings.
14 And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, engraved as a seal, every one according to his name, for the twelve tribes.
15 And they made on the breastplate chains of laced work of wreathen work, of pure gold.
16 And they made two settings of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
17 And they put the two wreathen [cords] of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate;
18 and the two ends of the two wreathen [cords] they fastened to the two settings, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, on the front thereof.
19 And they made two rings of gold, and put [them] on the two ends of the breastplate, on the border thereof, which faceth the ephod inwards.
20 And they made two rings of gold, and put them upon the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod underneath, to the front thereof, just by the coupling thereof, above the girdle of the ephod.
21 And they bound the breastplate with its rings to the rings of the ephod with lace of blue, that it might be above the girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
22 And he made the cloak of the ephod of woven work, all of blue;
23 and the opening of the cloak in its middle, as the opening of a coat of mail; a binding was round about the opening, that it should not rend.
24 And they made on the skirts of the cloak pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet, twined.
25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates, in the skirts of the cloak, round about, between the pomegranates:
26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, in the skirts of the cloak round about, for service; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
27 And they made the vests of byssus of woven work, for Aaron, and for his sons;
28 and the turban of byssus; and the ornamental caps, of byssus; and the linen trousers, of twined byssus;
29 and the girdle, of twined byssus, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of embroidery; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
30 And they made the thin plate, the holy diadem, of pure gold, and wrote on it with the writing of the engravings of a seal, Holiness to Jehovah!
31 And they fastened to it a lace of blue, to fasten [it] on the turban above; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
32 And all the labour of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was ended; and the children of Israel had done [it] according to all that Jehovah had commanded Moses -- so had they done [it].
33 And they brought the tabernacle to Moses -- the tent, and all its utensils, its clasps, its boards, its bars, and its pillars, and its bases;
34 and the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the veil of separation;
35 the ark of the testimony, and its staves, and the mercy-seat;
36 the table, all its utensils, and the shewbread;
37 the pure candlestick, its lamps, the lamps set in order, and all its utensils, and the oil for the light;
38 and the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the incense of fragrant drugs; and the curtain for the entrance of the tent;
39 the copper altar, and the copper grating that was for it, its staves and all its utensils; the laver and its stand;
40 the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases; and the curtain for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the vessel's of service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;
41 the garments of service, for service in the sanctuary; the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, to serve as priests.
42 According to all that Jehovah had commanded Moses, so had the children of Israel done all the labour.
43 And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as Jehovah had commanded -- so had they done [it]; and Moses blessed them.

Exodus 39 Commentary

Chapter 39

The priests' garments. (1-31) The tabernacle completed. (32-43)

Verses 1-31 The priests' garments were rich and splendid. The church in its infancy was thus taught by shadows of good things to come; but the substance is Christ, and the grace of the gospel. Christ is our great High Priest. When he undertook the work of our redemption, he put on the clothes of service, he arrayed himself with the gifts and graces of the Spirit, girded himself with resolution to go through the undertaking, took charge of all God's spiritual Israel, laid them near his heart, engraved them on the palms of his hands, and presented them to his Father. And he crowned himself with holiness to the Lord, consecrating his whole undertaking to the honour of his Father's holiness. True believers are spiritual priests. The clean linen with which all their clothes of service must be made, is the righteousness of saints, ( Revelation 19:8 ) .

Verses 32-43 The tabernacle was a type or emblem of Jesus Christ. As the Most High dwelt visibly within the sanctuary, even on the ark, so did he reside in the human nature and tabernacle of his dear Son; in Christ dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, ( Colossians 2:9 ) . The tabernacle was a symbol of every real Christian. In the soul of every true follower of the Saviour the Father dwells, the object of his worship, and the author of his blessings. The tabernacle also typified the church of the Redeemer. The meanest and the mightiest are alike dear to the Father's love, freely exercised through faith in Christ. The tabernacle was a type and emblem of the heavenly temple, Re. 21:3 . What, then, will be the splendour of His appearance, when the cloud shall be withdrawn, and his faithful worshippers shall see him as he is!

Footnotes 5

  • [a]. Or 'beryl.'
  • [b]. Or 'surrounded by.'
  • [c]. Or 'enclosures,' as vers. 6,13: see ch. 28.11.
  • [d]. See Note, Gen. 41.42.
  • [e]. Or 'lamp-stand:' so ch. 40.4,24.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 39

In this chapter is continued the account of making the several things belonging to the sanctuary, particularly the clothes for the service of the tabernacle, and the garments of the priests, as the ephod and its curious girdle, Ex 39:1-7 the breastplate and the putting of the stones in it, and the fastening of it to the ephod, Ex 39:8-21 the robe of the ephod, with the bells and pomegranates to it, Ex 39:21-26 and the coats, mitre, bonnets, breeches, and girdle of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons, Ex 39:27-29 and the golden plate, Ex 39:30,31 and all being finished, the tabernacle and everything belonging to it were brought to Moses, and viewed by him; who seeing that all was done exactly according to the commandment of the Lord, blessed the people, and particularly the artificers, Ex 39:38-43.

Exodus 39 Commentaries

The Darby Translation is in the public domain.