Exodus 36:6-25

6 Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more,
7 because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

The Tabernacle

8 All those who were skilled among the workers made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by expert hands.
9 All the curtains were the same size—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.[a]
10 They joined five of the curtains together and did the same with the other five.
11 Then they made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and the same was done with the end curtain in the other set.
12 They also made fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other.
13 Then they made fifty gold clasps and used them to fasten the two sets of curtains together so that the tabernacle was a unit.
14 They made curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether.
15 All eleven curtains were the same size—thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.[b]
16 They joined five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another set.
17 Then they made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set.
18 They made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the tent together as a unit.
19 Then they made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather.[c]
20 They made upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle.
21 Each frame was ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,[d]
22 with two projections set parallel to each other. They made all the frames of the tabernacle in this way.
23 They made twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle
24 and made forty silver bases to go under them—two bases for each frame, one under each projection.
25 For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, they made twenty frames

Exodus 36:6-25 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 36

Bezaleel and Aholiab, with the artificers under them, having a call as well as qualifications for the service of the sanctuary, and having received from Moses the materials for it, set about it, Ex 36:1-3 but the people bringing more than was necessary, they acquaint Moses with it, who by a proclamation restrained from it, Ex 36:4-7 and next an account is given of the several things that were wrought by them, as first the curtains for the tabernacle, both of linen and goats' hair, and the coverings of them, Ex 36:8-19 next the boards for the tabernacle, and the sockets they were set in, and the bars for the boards, Ex 36:20-34 and then the vail which parted the most holy place from the holy place, and the hanging which divided between the holy place and the court, Ex 36:35-38.

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Cross References 3

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. That is, about 42 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 13 meters long and 1.8 meters wide
  • [b]. That is, about 45 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 14 meters long and 1.8 meters wide
  • [c]. Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals (see 35:7)
  • [d]. That is, about 15 feet long and 2 1/4 feet wide or about 4.5 meters long and 68 centimeters wide
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