And thou shalt make curtains of goats' hair
Jarchi calls it the flower or down of goats, the softer and finer
part of their hair, which was spun by women, as appears from (
Exodus
35:26 ) , and was made up into a stuff somewhat like our
camelot; these curtains were coarser than the former, and were
made to be put over them, to preserve them from the weather, as
it follows:
to be a covering upon the tabernacle:
which, by the curtains of linen coupled together, became one
tabernacle, as in the preceding verse: and these curtains were to
be a tent or covering over them: they were somewhat like, being
made of the same matter, with the coverings with which the
ancient Arabs covered their tents, which were made of goats'
hair, as were the tents of Kedar alluded to in ( Song of
Solomon 1:5 ) , these curtains of goats' hair denote the
outward appearance of Christ in human nature, who, attended with
all human infirmities, excepting sin, was in the form of a
servant, in great meanness and poverty, covered with reproach,
and had in the greatest contempt, and especially at the time of
his sufferings and death; though all rich and glorious within,
full of grace, and of all the blessings of grace, of
righteousness and life, of light, joy, peace, and comfort for his
people; and may also denote the mean appearance of the church and
people of God outwardly; being, generally speaking, a poor and an
afflicted people, subject to the scorn, reproach, and
persecutions of men, but all glorious within, enriched with the
grace of God and righteousness of Christ; and so, in one respect,
like these curtains of goats' hair, and, in another respect, like
the curtains of fine linen:
eleven curtains shalt thou make;
one more than the other; the reason of which was, that there
might be one at the entrance of the tabernacle, there being no
linen curtain there, see ( Exodus 26:9 ) .