Exodus 39

1 Of the blue, purple, and scarlet thread they made garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
2 He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen.
3 And they beat the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads, to work it in with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread and the fine linen, into artistic designs.
4 They made shoulder straps for it to couple it together; it was coupled together at its two edges.
5 And the intricately woven band of his ephod that was on it was of the same workmanship, woven of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
6 And they set onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold; they were engraved, as signets are engraved, with the names of the sons of Israel.
7 He put them on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
8 And he made the breastplate, artistically woven like the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen.
9 They made the breastplate square by doubling it; a span was its length and a span its width when doubled.
10 And they set in it four rows of stones: a row with a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald was the first row;
11 the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond;
12 the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
13 the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold in their mountings.
14 There were twelve stones according to the names of the sons of Israel: according to their names, engraved like a signet, each one with its own name according to the twelve tribes.
15 And they made chains for the breastplate at the ends, like braided cords of pure gold.
16 They also 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 braided chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate.
18 The two ends of the two braided chains they fastened in the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front.
19 And they made two rings of gold and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which was on the inward side of the ephod.
20 They made two other gold rings and put them on the two shoulder straps, underneath the ephod toward its front, right at the seam above the intricately woven band of the ephod.
21 And they bound the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would be above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate would not come loose from the ephod, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
22 He made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.
23 And there was an opening in the middle of the robe, like the opening in a coat of mail, with a woven binding all around the opening, so that it would not tear.
24 They made on the hem of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, and of fine woven linen.
25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates on the hem of the robe all around between the pomegranates:
26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe to minister in, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
27 They made tunics, artistically woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons,
28 a turban of fine linen, exquisite hats of fine linen, short trousers of fine woven linen,
29 and a sash of fine woven linen with blue, purple, and scarlet thread, made by a weaver, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
30 Then they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription like the engraving of a signet: HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
31 And they tied to it a blue cord, to fasten it above on the turban, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished. And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; so they did.
33 And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings: its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets;
34 the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of badger skins, and the veil of the covering;
35 the ark of the Testimony with its poles, and the mercy seat;
36 the table, all its utensils, and the showbread;
37 the pure gold lampstand with its lamps (the lamps set in order), all its utensils, and the oil for light;
38 the gold altar, the anointing oil, and the sweet incense; the screen for the tabernacle door;
39 the bronze altar, its grate of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the laver with its base;
40 the hangings of the court, its pillars and its sockets, the screen for the court gate, its cords, and its pegs; all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting;
41 and the garments of ministry, to minister in the holy place: the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, to minister as priests.
42 According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work.
43 Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, just so they had 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 1

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

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.