^37:1Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was three feet nine inches, its width two feet three inches, and its height two feet three inches. ^37:2He overlaid it with pure gold, inside and out, and he made a surrounding border¹ of gold for it. ^37:3He cast four gold rings for it that he put² on its four feet, with³ two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. ^37:4He made poles of acacia wood, overlaid them with gold, ^37:5and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark.

^37:6He made⁴ an atonement lid of pure gold; its length was three feet nine inches, and its width was two feet three inches. ^37:7He made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid, ^37:8one cherub on one end⁵ and one cherub on the other end.⁶ He made the cherubim from the atonement lid on its two ends. ^37:9The cherubim were spreading their wings⁷ upward, overshadowing the atonement lid with their wings. The cherubim⁸ faced each other,⁹ looking toward the atonement lid.¹⁰

The Making of the Table

^37:10He made the table of acacia wood; its length was three feet, its width one foot six inches, and its height two feet three inches. ^37:11He overlaid it with pure gold, and he made a surrounding border of gold for it. ^37:12He made a surrounding frame for it about three inches wide, and he made a surrounding border of gold for its frame. ^37:13He cast four gold rings for it and attached the rings at the four corners where its four legs were. ^37:14The rings were close to the frame to provide places for the poles to carry the table. ^37:15He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table. ^37:16He made the vessels which were on the table out of pure gold, its¹¹ plates, its ladles, its pitchers, and its bowls, to be used in pouring out offerings.

The Making of the Lampstand

^37:17He made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered metal; its base and its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its blossoms were from the same piece.¹²^37:18Six branches were extending from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it. ^37:19Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on the first branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on the next¹³ branch, and the same¹⁴ for the six branches that were extending from the lampstand. ^37:20On the lampstand there were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms, ^37:21with a bud under the first two branches from it, and a bud under the next two branches from it, and a bud under the third two branches from it; according to the six branches that extended from it.¹⁵^37:22Their buds and their branches were of one piece;¹⁶ all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold. ^37:23He made its seven lamps, its trimmers, and its trays of pure gold. ^37:24He made the lampstand¹⁷ and all its accessories with seventy-five pounds of pure gold.

The Making of the Altar of Incense

^37:25He made the incense altar of acacia wood. Its length was a foot and a half and its width a foot and a half—a square—and its height was three feet. Its horns were of one piece with it.¹⁸^37:26He overlaid it with pure gold—its top,¹⁹ its four walls,²⁰ and its horns—and he made a surrounding border of gold for it.²¹^37:27He also made²² two gold rings for it under its border, on its two sides, on opposite sides,²³ as places²⁴ for poles to carry it with. ^37:28He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

^37:29He made the sacred anointing oil and the pure fragrant incense, the work of a perfumer.

The Making of the Altar for the Burnt Offering

^38:1He made the altar for the burnt offering of acacia wood seven feet six inches long and seven feet six inches wide—it was square—and its height was four feet six inches. ^38:2He made its horns on its four corners; its horns were part of it,¹ and he overlaid it with bronze. ^38:3He made all the utensils of the altar—the pots, the shovels, the tossing bowls, the meat hooks, and the fire pans—he made all its utensils of bronze. ^38:4He made a grating for the altar, a network of bronze under its ledge, halfway up from the bottom. ^38:5He cast four rings for the four corners of the bronze grating, to provide places for the poles. ^38:6He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. ^38:7He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it. He made the altar² hollow, out of boards.

^38:8He made the large basin of bronze and its pedestal of bronze from the mirrors of the women who served³ at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

The Construction of the Courtyard

^38:9He made the courtyard. For the south side⁴ the hangings of the courtyard were of fine twisted linen, one hundred fifty feet long, ^38:10with⁵ their twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. ^38:11For the north side the hangings were⁶ one hundred fifty feet, with their twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. ^38:12For the west side there were⁷ hangings seventy-five feet long, with⁸ their ten posts and their ten bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. ^38:13For the east side, toward the sunrise, it was seventy-five feet wide,⁹^38:14with hangings on one side¹⁰ of the gate that were twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases, ^38:15and for the second side of the gate of the courtyard, just like the other,¹¹ the hangings were twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases. ^38:16All the hangings around the courtyard were of fine twisted linen. ^38:17The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks of the posts and their bands were silver, their tops were overlaid with silver, and all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.¹²^38:18The curtain¹³ for the gate of the courtyard was of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer. It was thirty feet long, and like the hangings in the courtyard, it was seven and a half feet high, ^38:19with four posts and their four bronze bases. Their hooks and their bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. ^38:20All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the courtyard all around were bronze.

The Materials of the Construction

^38:21This is the inventory¹⁴ of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, which was counted¹⁵ by the order¹⁶ of Moses, being the work¹⁷ of the Levites under the direction¹⁸ of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. ^38:22Now Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that the Lord had commanded Moses; ^38:23and with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an artisan, a designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen.

^38:24All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary¹⁹ (namely,²⁰ the gold of the wave offering) was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels,²¹ according to the sanctuary shekel.

^38:25The silver of those who were numbered of the community was one hundred talents and 1,775 shekels,²² according to the sanctuary shekel, ^38:26one beka per person, that is, a half shekel,²³ according to the sanctuary shekel, for everyone who crossed over to those numbered, from twenty years old or older,²⁴ 603,550 in all.²⁵^38:27The one hundred talents of silver were used for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the special curtain—one hundred bases for one hundred talents, one talent per base. ^38:28From the remaining 1,775 shekels²⁶ he made hooks for the posts, overlaid their tops, and made bands for them.

^38:29The bronze of the wave offering was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels.²⁷^38:30With it he made the bases for the door of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grating for it, and all the utensils of the altar, ^38:31the bases for the courtyard all around, the bases for the gate of the courtyard, all the tent pegs of the tabernacle, and all the tent pegs of the courtyard all around.²⁸

The Making of the Priestly Garments

^39:1From the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for serving in the sanctuary; they made holy garments that were for Aaron, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.¹

The Ephod

^39:2He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen. ^39:3They hammered the gold into thin sheets and cut it into narrow strips to weave² them into the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and into the fine linen, the work of an artistic designer. ^39:4They made shoulder pieces for it, attached to two of its corners, so it could be joined together. ^39:5The artistically woven waistband of the ephod that was on it was like it, of one piece with it,³ of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

^39:6They set the onyx stones in gold filigree settings, engraved as with the engravings of a seal⁴ with the names of the sons of Israel.⁵^39:7He put⁶ them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as stones of memorial for the Israelites, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Breastpiece of Decision

^39:8He made the breastpiece, the work of an artistic designer, in the same fashion as the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine twisted linen. ^39:9It was square—they made the breastpiece doubled, nine inches long and nine inches wide when doubled. ^39:10They set on it⁷ four rows of stones: a row with a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl—the first row; ^39:11and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald; ^39:12and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ^39:13and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in gold filigree settings. ^39:14The…

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Footnotes

1 Or “molding.”
2 “that he put” has been supplied.
3 This is taken as a circumstantial clause; the clause begins with the conjunction vav.
4 Heb “and he made.”
5 Heb “from/at [the] end, from this.”
6 The repetition of the expression indicates it has the distributive sense.
7 The construction is a participle in construct followed by the genitive “wings”—“spreaders of wings.”
8 “The cherubim” has been placed here instead of in the second clause to produce a smoother translation.
9 Heb “and their faces a man to his brother.”
10 Heb “to the atonement lid were the faces of the cherubim.”
11 The suffixes on these could also indicate the indirect object (see Exod 25:29).
12 Heb “from it”; the referent (“the same piece” of wrought metal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 Heb “the one branch.” But the repetition of “one … one” means here one after another, or the “first” and then the “next.”
14 Heb “thus for six branches.…”
15 As in Exod 26:35, the translation of “first” and “next” and “third” is interpretive, because the text simply says “under two branches” in each of three places.
16 Heb “were from it.”
17 Heb “it”; the referent (the lampstand) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
18 Heb “from it were its horns,” meaning that they were made from the same piece.
19 Heb “roof.”
20 Heb “its walls around.”
21 Heb “and he made for it border gold around.”
22 Heb “and he made.”
23 Since it was a small altar, it needed only two rings, one on either side, in order to be carried. The second mention of their location clarifies that they should be on the sides, the right and the left, as one approached the altar.
24 Heb “for houses.”
1 Heb “its horns were from it,” meaning from the same piece.
2 Heb “it”; the referent (the altar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 The word for “serve” is not the ordinary one. It means “to serve in a host,” especially in a war. It appears that women were organized into bands and served at the tent of meeting. S. R. Driver thinks that this meant “no doubt” washing, cleaning, or repairing (Exodus, ). But there is no hint of that (see 1 Sam 2:22; and see Ps 68:11 [12 Hebrew text]). They seem to have had more to do than what Driver said.
4 Heb “south side southward.”
5 While this verse could be translated as an independent sentence, it is probably to be subordinated as a circumstantial clause in line with Exod 27:10–12, as well as v. 12 of this passage.
6 Here the phrase “the hangings were” has been supplied.
7 The phrase “there were” has been supplied.
8 The text simply has “their posts ten and their bases ten”; this may be added here as a circumstantial clause with the main sentence in order to make sense out of the construction.
9 The text simply says “seventy-five feet.”
10 The word literally means “shoulder.” The next words, “of the gate,” have been supplied here. The east end contained the courtyard’s entry with a wall of curtains on each side of the entry (see v. 15).
11 Heb “from this and from this” (cf, 17:12; 25:19; 26:13; 32:15; Josh 8:22, 33; 1 Kgs 10:19–20; Ezek 45:7).
12 Heb “they were banded with silver.”
13 This word is different from the word for hangings; it has more of the idea of a screen, shielding or securing the area.
14 The Hebrew word is פְּקוּדֵי (péqude), which in a slavishly literal way would be “visitations of” the tabernacle. But the word often has the idea of “numbering” or “appointing” as well. Here it is an accounting or enumeration of the materials that people brought, so the contemporary term “inventory” is a close approximation. By using this Hebrew word there is also the indication that whatever was given, i.e., appointed for the tabernacle, was changed forever in its use. This is consistent with this Hebrew root, which does have a sense of changing the destiny of someone (“God will surely visit you”). The list in this section will also be tied to the numbering of the people.
15 The same verb is used here, but now in the Pual perfect tense, third masculine singular. A translation “was numbered” or “was counted” works. The verb is singular because it refers to the tabernacle as a unit. This section will list what made up the tabernacle.
16 Heb “at/by the mouth of.”
17 The noun is “work” or “service.” S. R. Driver explains that the reckonings were not made for the Levites, but that they were the work of the Levites, done by them under the direction of Ithamar (Exodus, ).
18 Heb “by the hand of.”
19 These words form the casus pendens, or independent nominative absolute, followed by the apodosis beginning with the vav (ו; see U. Cassuto, Exodus, ).
20 Heb “and it was.”
21 There were 3000 shekels in a talent, and so the total weight here in shekels would be 87,730 shekels of gold. If the sanctuary shekel was 224 grs., then this was about 40,940 oz. troy. This is estimated to be a little over a ton (cf. “over 2,000 pounds”; “a thousand kilogrammes”; “two thousand two hundred nine pounds”; “about 2,200 pounds”), although other widely diverging estimates are also given.
22 This would be a total of 301,775 shekels (about 140,828 oz), being a half shekel exacted per person from 605,550 male Israelites 20 years old or more (Num 1:46). The amount is estimated to be around 3.75 tons.
23 The weight would be about half an ounce.
24 Heb “upward.”
25 The phrase “in all” has been supplied.
26 Here the word “shekels” is understood; about 45 pounds.
27 The total shekels would have been 212,400 shekels, which would be about 108,749 oz. This would make about 2.5 to 3 tons.
28 The bronze altar is the altar for the burnt offering; the large bronze basin is not included here in the list.
1 This chapter also will be almost identical to the instructions given earlier, with a few changes along the way.
2 The verb is the infinitive that means “to do, to work.” It could be given a literal rendering: “to work [them into] the blue.…” Weaving or embroidering is probably what is intended.
3 Heb “from it” or the same.
4 Or “as seals are engraved.”
5 The twelve names were those of Israel’s sons. The idea was not the remembrance of the twelve sons as such, but the twelve tribes that bore their names.
6 Or “attached.”
7 That is, they set in mountings.