Exodus 26:31

31 “Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker.

Exodus 26:31 in Other Translations

31 And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:

31 "And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it.

31 “For the inside of the Tabernacle, make a special curtain of finely woven linen. Decorate it with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skillfully embroidered cherubim.

31 "Make a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. Have a design of angel-cherubim woven into it by a skilled craftsman.

31 "You are to make a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen with a design of cherubim worked into it.

Exodus 26:31 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 26:31

And thou shalt make a vail
The use of this, as follows, was to divide the holy place from the most holy place in the tabernacle; it has its name from hardness, it being very stiff and strong, for it was made of thread six times doubled, and was four fingers thick, as the Jewish writers say: this vail may represent the sin of man, which separates between God and man, was removed by the death of Christ when the vail was rent, and so the way to heaven opened; or the obscurity of the legal dispensation, the Gospel being veiled under the shadows of the law, and the way into the holiest of all then not so manifest, and particularly the ceremonial law, which separated between Jew and Gentile, and is now abolished by the death of Christ; or rather it was typical of the human nature of Christ, his flesh, called in allusion to it the vail of his flesh, ( Hebrews 10:20 ) . This vail was made of

blue, and purple, and scarlet, of fine twined linen of cunning work;
it seems to have been made of the same materials, and in the same curious manner of workmanship with the curtains of the tabernacle, ( Exodus 26:1 ) , and was itself no other than a curtain, and so it is interpreted by some Jewish writers ^F24. It being made of "fine linen" denotes the purity of Christ, of his nature, life, and righteousness; of "twined linen", his strength, courage and steadiness; "of blue, purple, and scarlet", the several graces of the Spirit, with which his human nature was adorned, his flaming zeal for his Father's glory and the good of his people, his bloody wounds, sufferings, and death, the preciousness of his blood, the dignity of his person, and his glorious exaltation, purple and scarlet being the colours wore by kings:

with cherubim shall it be made;
signifying either the ministration of angels to him in his incarnate state, or the mission of Gospel ministers by him, see ( Psalms 139:15 Psalms 139:16 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 Vid. R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 37. 2.

Exodus 26:31 In-Context

29 Overlay the frames with gold and make gold rings to hold the crossbars. Also overlay the crossbars with gold.

30 “Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain.

31 “Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker.

32 Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases.

33 Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the covenant law behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.

Cross References

• 1. Numbers 4:5; 2 Chronicles 3:14; Matthew 27:51; Luke 23:45; Hebrews 9:3
• 2. S Exodus 25:18; Exodus 36:35