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Exodus 25

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Call for Offerings for the Sanctuary 1–9

1
And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
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Speak unto the children of Israel, that they take for me an offering: of every man whose heart maketh him willing ye shall take my offering. ​
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And this is the offering which ye shall take of them: gold, and silver, and brass,
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and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, ​
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and rams’ skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia wood,
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oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,
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onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate.
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And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. ​
9
According to all that I show thee, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the furniture thereof, even so shall ye make it. ​

Instructions for the Ark of the Covenant 10–22

10
And they shall make an ark of acacia wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. ​
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And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.
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And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four feet thereof; and two rings shall be on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.
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And thou shalt make staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
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And thou shalt put the staves into the rings on the sides of the ark, wherewith to bear the ark.
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The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. ​
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And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. ​
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And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. ​
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And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold; of beaten work shalt thou make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat.
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And make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end: of one piece with the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim on the two ends thereof.
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And the cherubim shall spread out their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. ​
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And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
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And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. ​

Instructions for the Table of Showbread 23–30

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And thou shalt make a table of acacia wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. ​
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And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about.
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And thou shalt make unto it a border of a handbreadth round about; and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.
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And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.
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Close by the border shall the rings be, for places for the staves to bear the table.
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And thou shalt make the staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.
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And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and the spoons thereof, and the flagons thereof, and the bowls thereof, wherewith to pour out: of pure gold shalt thou make them.
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And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me alway. ​

Instructions for the Golden Lampstand (Menorah) 31–40

31
And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made, even its base, and its shaft; its cups, its knops, and its flowers, shall be of one piece with it: ​
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and there shall be six branches going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side thereof:
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three cups made like almond-blossoms in one branch, a knop and a flower; and three cups made like almond-blossoms in the other branch, a knop and a flower: so for the six branches going out of the candlestick: ​
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and in the candlestick four cups made like almond-blossoms, the knops thereof, and the flowers thereof;
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and a knop under two branches of one piece with it, and a knop under two branches of one piece with it, and a knop under two branches of one piece with it, for the six branches going out of the candlestick.
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Their knops and their branches shall be of one piece with it; the whole of it one beaten work of pure gold. ​
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And thou shalt make the lamps thereof, seven: and they shall light the lamps thereof, to give light over against it.
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And the snuffers thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.
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Of a talent of pure gold shall it be made, with all these vessels.
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And see that thou make them after their pattern, which hath been showed thee in the mount. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Exodus 25

Verse 2

giveth it willingly with his heart — Terumah, offering, is a contribution lifted up for the LORD; 'willingly' is nadab, to volunteer, and 'heart' (leb) is the source of the gift. The people brought a 'willing offering' (Ex 35:29), until they reported 'much more than enough' and were 'restrained from bringing' (Ex 36:5–6).

Verse 4

blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen — The same dyed threads run through the tabernacle curtains (Ex 26:1) and the priestly garments (Ex 28:5–6). 'Blue' is tekeleth, 'purple' argaman, and 'scarlet' renders two words, tola' (the crimson-grub) and shani. 'Fine linen' is shesh, and 'goats' hair' ez, goat.

Verse 8

that I may dwell among them — Miqdash, sanctuary, comes from qadash, to be holy; shakan is to dwell. 'Among them' is literally 'in the midst of them' (tavek), as the LORD repeats in Ex 29:45, 'I will dwell among the children of Israel'. John writes that the Word 'dwelt among us' (John 1:14), and Rev 21:3 says 'the tabernacle of God is with men'.

Verse 9

the pattern of the tabernacle — Tabnith is a structure or model, from banah, to build; in Exodus it stands only here and in v.40. Mishkan, tabernacle, shares its root with shakan, 'dwell', in v.8. David likewise gave Solomon a pattern for the temple and said the LORD made him understand it 'in writing by his hand upon me' (1 Chr 28:11–19).

Verse 10

an ark of shittim wood — Aron is a chest or box; shittah is the acacia, the wood of the wilderness. The ark is two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half in breadth and height. Bezaleel made it (Ex 37:1). Heb 9:4 names what it held: 'the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant'.

Verse 15

shall not be taken from it — Sur is to turn aside or remove. The staves stay in the rings 'that the ark may be borne with them' (v.14), so that it is carried by the poles. The Kohathites bore holy things 'upon their shoulders' (Num 7:9), and 'shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die' (Num 4:15).

Verse 16

the testimony — Edut is witness. It is the two 'tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God' (Ex 31:18), which the LORD says he 'shall give'. 'There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone' (1 Kgs 8:9); the book of the law was placed 'in the side of the ark' (Deut 31:26).

Verse 17

a mercy seat of pure gold — Kapporeth is the lid of the ark, from kaphar, to cover or atone. It has the same length and breadth as the ark (v.10). On the day of atonement the high priest sprinkled blood upon it (Lev 16:14–15). The Greek of Heb 9:5, 'the mercyseat', is the word Paul uses of Christ as 'a propitiation' (Rom 3:25).

Verse 20

covering the mercy seat with their wings — Cherub is the name of the winged beings that guarded Eden (Gen 3:24). Their wings 'cover' (sakak, to screen) the lid, and their faces look to one another and toward it. Heb 9:5 calls them 'the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat', and Ps 80:1 addresses the LORD as 'thou that dwellest between the cherubims'.

Verse 22

there I will meet with thee — Yaad is to meet by appointment, the root of mo'ed, the 'congregation' of the 'tabernacle of the congregation'. The LORD speaks 'from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims'. Moses heard the voice 'from off the mercy seat' (Num 7:89); Hezekiah prays to him who 'dwellest between the cherubims' (2 Kgs 19:15).

Verse 23

a table of shittim wood — Shulchan is a table, two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high, of the same acacia as the ark. It is set 'on the north side' of the tabernacle, with the candlestick across from it (Ex 26:35). Hebrews lists 'the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread' as the furniture of the first tabernacle (Heb 9:2).

Verse 30

shewbread — The Hebrew is lechem panim, bread of the face, and panim is also the word translated 'before me'; the loaves are set in his presence 'alway' (tamid, continually). Twelve cakes were set 'every sabbath' and afterwards eaten by Aaron and his sons in the holy place (Lev 24:5–9). Christ cites David's eating of it (Matt 12:4).

Verse 31

a candlestick of pure gold — Menorah is a lampstand. 'Beaten work' is miqshah, hammered; the 'shaft' is yarek, literally thigh or side, from which the branches spring. It carries bowls, 'knops' (kaphtor, ornamental knobs) and 'flowers' (perach, blossoms). It is made from a talent of pure gold, with all its vessels (v.39).

Verse 33

bowls made like unto almonds — The verb shaqad is formed from the almond tree's name. Three bowls shaped as almonds sit on each of the six branches, which with the shaft hold the seven lamps (v.37). The tree is the one whose fruit Aaron's rod bore: it 'budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds' (Num 17:8).

Verse 36

one beaten work of pure gold — Miqshah, hammered work: the knops and branches are 'of the same', one piece with the shaft rather than parts joined. Num 8:4 says it was made 'according unto the pattern which the LORD had shewed Moses'. Aaron and his sons were to order its lamps 'from evening to morning' (Ex 27:21), with 'pure oil olive' (Ex 27:20).

Verse 40

after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount — Tabnith, as in v.9, closes the chapter with the same charge: 'look' (raah, see) and make. Hebrews quotes it: 'See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount' (Heb 8:5), and Stephen recalls it in Acts 7:44.