Exodus 38

Making the Altar of Burnt Offering

1 ¹He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. Five cubits^[a] was its length, and five cubits its breadth. It was square, and three cubits was its height.

2 He made horns for it on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze.

3 And he made all the utensils of the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the fire pans. He made all its utensils of bronze.

4 And he made for the altar a grating, a network of bronze, under its ledge, extending halfway down.

5 He cast four rings on the four corners of the bronze grating as holders for the poles.

6 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.

7 And he put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it with them. He made it hollow, with boards.

Making the Bronze Basin

8 ²He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ³ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Making the Court

9 ⁴And he made the court. For the south side the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits;

10 their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.

11 And for the north side there were hangings of a hundred cubits, their twenty pillars, their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.

12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their ten pillars, and their ten bases; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.

13 And for the front to the east, fifty cubits.

14 The hangings for one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases.

15 And so for the other side. On both sides of the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three bases.

16 All the hangings around the court were of fine twined linen.

17 And the bases for the pillars were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. The overlaying of their capitals was also of silver, and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.

18 And the screen for the gate of the court was embroidered with needlework in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It was twenty cubits long and five cubits high in its breadth, corresponding to the hangings of the court.

19 And their pillars were four in number. Their four bases were of bronze, their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals and their fillets of silver.

20 And all the pegs for the tabernacle and for the court all around were of bronze.

Materials for the Tabernacle

21 These are the records of the tabernacle, ⁵the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were recorded at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites ⁶under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

22 ⁷Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses;

23 and with him was ⁸Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer and embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.

24 All the gold that was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering, was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels,^[b] by ⁹the shekel of the sanctuary.

25 The silver from those of the congregation who were recorded was a hundred talents and 1,775 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary:

26 a ¹⁰beka^[c] a head (that is, half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone who was listed in the records, from twenty years old and upward, for ¹¹ 603,550 men.

27 The hundred talents of silver were for casting the ¹²bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil; a hundred bases for the hundred talents, a talent a base.

28 And of the 1,775 shekels he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid their capitals and made fillets for them.

29 The bronze that was offered was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels;

30 with it he made the ¹³bases for the entrance of the tent of meeting, ¹⁴the bronze altar and the bronze grating for it and all the utensils of the altar,

31 the ¹⁵bases around the court, and the ¹⁶bases of the gate of the court, all the ¹⁷pegs of the tabernacle, and all the pegs around the court.

Exodus 38 Commentary

Chapter 38

The brazen altar and laver. (1-8) The court. (9-20) The offerings of the people. (21-31)

Verses 1-8 In all ages of the church there have been some persons more devoted to God, more constant in their attendance upon his ordinances, and more willing to part even with lawful things, for his sake, than others. Some women, devoted to God and zealous for the tabernacle worship, expressed zeal by parting with their mirrors, which were polished plates of brass. Before the invention of looking-glasses, these served the same purposes.

Verses 9-20 The walls of the court being of curtains only, intimated that the state of the Jewish church itself was movable and changeable; and in due time to be taken down and folded up, when the place of the tent should be enlarged, and its cords lengthened, to make room for the Gentile world.

Verses 21-31 The foundation of massy pieces of silver showed the solidity and purity of the truth upon which the church is founded. Let us regard the Lord Jesus Christ while reading of the furniture of the tabernacle. While looking at the altar of burnt-offering, let us see Jesus. In him, his righteousness, and salvation, is a full and sufficient offering for sin. In the laver of regeneration, by his Holy Spirit, let our souls be washed, and they shall be clean; and as the people offered willingly, so may our souls be made willing. Let us be ready to part with any thing, and count all but loss to win Christ.

Cross References

• 1. For ver. 1-7, see Exodus 27:1-8
• 2. Exodus 30:18
• 3. 1 Samuel 2:22; [Numbers 4:23; Numbers 8:24]
• 4. For ver. 9-20, see Exodus 27:9-19
• 5. Numbers 1:50, 53; Numbers 9:15; Numbers 10:11; Numbers 17:7, 8; Numbers 18:2; 2 Chronicles 24:6; Acts 7:44; [Exodus 16:34]
• 6. Exodus 6:23; Exodus 28:1; Numbers 4:28, 33
• 7. Exodus 31:2, 6
• 8. [See ver. 22 above]
• 9. See Exodus 30:13
• 10. [See ver. 24 above]
• 11. Numbers 1:46
• 12. Exodus 26:19, 21, 25, 32
• 13. Exodus 26:37
• 14. Exodus 27:2-4
• 15. Exodus 27:10-12
• 16. Exodus 27:16, 17
• 17. Exodus 27:19

Footnotes

• [a]. A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
• [b]. A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms; a shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
• [c]. A beka was about 1/5 ounce or 5.5 grams

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 38

This chapter is a continuation of the account of the making of the things belonging to the tabernacle, particularly the altar of burnt offering, Ex 38:1-7 the laver of brass, and the things it was made of, Ex 38:8 the court and its hangings, pillars, sockets, hooks and pins, Ex 38:9-20 then follows an account of the quantities of gold, silver, and brass, expended in the making of the several things appertaining to the sanctuary, Ex 38:21-31.

Bezaleel made it, or it was made by his direction, he having the care and oversight of it, wherefore the making of it is ascribed to him, 2Ch 1:5 the account of this, its horns, vessels, rings, and staves, is carried on to Ex 38:2-7 of which \\see Gill on "Ex 27:1"\\ \\see Gill on "Ex 27:2"\\ \\see Gill on "Ex 27:3"\\ \\see Gill on "Ex 27:4"\\ \\see Gill on "Ex 27:5"\\ \\see Gill on "Ex 27:6"\\ \\see Gill on "Ex 27:7"\\ \\see Gill on "Ex 27:8"\\. 10593-941108-1338-Ex38.2