Shemot 27

1 7 And thou shalt build the Mizbe’ach of acacia wood, five cubits long, and five cubits wide; the Mizbe’ach shall be foursquare; and the height thereof shall be shalosh cubits.

2 And thou shalt make the karnot of it upon the four corners thereof; its karnot shall be of one piece with it; and thou shalt overlay it with nechoshet.

3 And thou shalt make its pots to receive its ashes, and its shovels, and its basins, and its meat forks, and its firepans; all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of nechoshet.

4 And thou shalt build for it a mikhbar (grate), a strainer reshet (mesh, netting) of nechoshet; and upon the meshwork shalt thou make four taba’ot (rings) of nechoshet in the four corners thereof.

5 And thou shalt put it under the karkov ([surrounding] border, ledge) of the Mizbe’ach from below, that the meshwork may be half the height of the Mizbe’ach.

6 And thou shalt make badim (carrying poles) designed for the Mizbe’ach, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with nechoshet.

7 And the badim shall be put into the taba’ot, and the badim shall be upon the two sides of the Mizbe’ach, to carry it.

8 Hollow, with luchot (planks, boards, panels), shalt thou make as it was showed thee on HaHar, so shall they make it.

9 And thou shalt make the Khatzer (Courtyard) of the Mishkan; for the south side southward there shall be kela’im (curtains, hangings) for the Khatzer (Courtyard) of twisted linen of a hundred cubits long for one side;

10 And the twenty ammudim thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of nechoshet; the hooks of the ammudim and their bands shall be of kesef.

11 And likewise for the north side in length there shall be kela’im (curtains, hangings) of a hundred cubits long, and its twenty ammudim and their twenty sockets of nechoshet; the hooks of the ammudim and their bands of kesef.

12 And for the width of the Khatzer (Courtyard) on the west side shall be kela’im (curtains, hangings) of fifty cubits; their ammudim ten, and their sockets ten.

13 And the width of the Khatzer (Courtyard) on the east side mizrachah (eastward, toward sunrise) shall be fifty cubits.

14 The kela’im (curtains, hangings) of one shoulder [of the entrance] shall be fifteen cubits; their ammudim shloshah, and their sockets shloshah.

15 And on the other shoulder [of the entrance] shall be hangings fifteen cubits; their ammudim shloshah, and their sockets shloshah.

16 And for the sha’ar (gate) of the Khatzer (Courtyard) shall be a Masach (Screen) of twenty cubits, of turquoise, and purple, and scarlet, and twisted linen, wrought with ma’aseh rokem (craft or work of embroidering); and their ammudim shall be four, and their sockets four.

17 All the ammudim around the Khatzer (Courtyard) shall be banded with kesef; their hooks shall be of kesef, and their sockets of nechoshet.

18 The length of the Khatzer (Courtyard) shall be a hundred cubits, and the width fifty by fifty, and the height five cubits of twisted linen, and their sockets of nechoshet.

19 All the vessels of the Mishkan in all the avodah (service) thereof, and all the pegs thereof, and all the pegs of the Khatzer (Courtyard), shall be of nechoshet.

20 And thou shalt command the Bnei Yisroel, that they bring thee pure pressed [ T.N. not pounded, that the oil would be pure] shemen zayit (olive oil) for the ohr, to kindle the Ner Tamid (Perpetual Lamp).

21 In the Ohel Moed outside the Parochet, which is before the Edut, Aharon and his banim shall arrange it from eved to boker before Hashem; it shall be a chukkat olam unto their dorot from the Bnei Yisroel.

Shemot 27 Commentary

Chapter 27

The altar of burnt offerings. (1-8) The court of the tabernacle. (9-19) The oil for the lamps. (20,21)

Verses 1-8 In the court before the tabernacle, where the people attended, was an altar, to which they must bring their sacrifices, and on which their priests must offer them to God. It was of wood overlaid with brass. A grate of brass was let into the hollow of the altar, about the middle of which the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burnt. It was made of net-work like a sieve, and hung hollow, that the ashes might fall through. This brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins. The wood had been consumed by the fire from heaven, if it had not been secured by the brass: nor could the human nature of Christ have borne the wrath of God, if it had not been supported by Divine power.

Verses 9-19 The tabernacle was enclosed in a court, about sixty yards long and thirty broad, formed by curtains hung upon brazen pillars, fixed in brazen sockets. Within this enclosure the priests and Levites offered the sacrifices, and thither the Jewish people were admitted. These distinctions represented the difference between the visible nominal church, and the true spiritual church, which alone has access to God, and communion with him.

Verses 20-21 The pure oil signified the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which all believers receive from Christ, the good Olive, and without which our light cannot shine before men. The priests were to light the lamps, and tend them. It is the work of ministers, by preaching and expounding the Scriptures, which are as a lamp, to enlighten the church, God's tabernacle upon earth. Blessed be God, this light is not now confined to the Jewish tabernacle, but is a light to lighten the gentiles, and for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 27

This chapter treats of the altar of burnt offering, and of all things relative to it, Ex 27:1-8, of the court of the tabernacle, its hangings on each side, with pillars, sockets, and hooks for them, Ex 27:9-19 and it is concluded with an order to the Israelites to bring oil olive for the lamp of the sanctuary, Ex 27:20,21.