Exodus 40:17–38

¹⁷So on the first day of the first month of the second year after they left Egypt, the Tent of the Lord’s presence was set up. ¹⁸Moses put down its bases, set up its frames, attached its crossbars, and put up its posts. ¹⁹He spread out the covering over the Tent and put the outer covering over it, just as the Lord had commanded. ²⁰Then he took the two stone tablets and put them in the Covenant Box. He put the poles in the rings of the box and put the lid on it. ²¹Then he put the box in the Tent and hung up the curtain. In this way he screened off the Covenant Box, just as the Lord had commanded.

²²He put the table in the Tent, on the north side outside the curtain, ²³and placed on it the bread offered to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded. ²⁴He put the lamp-stand in the Tent, on the south side, opposite the table, ²⁵and there in the Lord’s presence he lit the lamps, just as the Lord had commanded. ²⁶He put the gold altar in the Tent, in front of the curtain, ²⁷and burnt the sweet-smelling incense, just as the Lord had commanded. ²⁸He hung the curtain at the entrance of the Tent, ²⁹and there in front of the curtain he placed the altar for burning offerings. On it he sacrificed the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the Lord had commanded. ³⁰He put the washbasin between the Tent and the altar and filled it with water. ³¹Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and their feet there ³²whenever they went into the Tent or to the altar, just as the Lord had commanded. ³³Moses set up the enclosure round the Tent and the altar and hung the curtain at the entrance of the enclosure. So he finished all the work.

The Cloud over the Tent of the ’s Presence

^34*Then the cloud covered the Tent and the dazzling light of the Lord’s presence filled it. ³⁵Because of this, Moses could not go into the Tent. ³⁶The Israelites moved their camp to another place only when the cloud lifted from the Tent. ³⁷As long as the cloud stayed there, they did not move their camp. ³⁸During all their wanderings they could see the cloud of the Lord’s presence over the Tent during the day and a fire burning above it during the night.