Exodus27

Exodus 27 details the construction of the brazen altar for burnt offerings and the design of the tabernacle's outer court. The altar, made of shittim wood overlaid with brass, was foursquare with horns and specific brass vessels for its service. The court was enclosed by hangings of fine linen, supported by brass pillars with silver fittings, and featured a gate of richly colored linen. Finally, the chapter commands the Israelites to provide pure olive oil for the perpetual lamp tended by Aaron and his sons.

Instructions for the Bronze Altar

1
"You are to make the altar of acacia-wood, seven-and-a-half feet long and seven-and-a-half feet wide - the altar is to be square and four-and-a-half feet high. ​
2
Make horns for it on its four corners; the horns are to be of one piece with it; and you are to overlay it with bronze. ​
3
"Make its pots for removing ashes, and its shovels, basins, meat-hooks and fire pans; all its utensils you are to make of bronze. ​
4
Make for it a grate of bronze netting; and on the four corners of the netting, make four bronze rings.
5
Put it under the rim of the altar, so that the netting reaches halfway up the altar.
6
Make poles of acacia-wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze.
7
Its poles are to be put into the rings; the poles are to be on both sides of the altar for carrying it.
8
The altar is to be made of planks and hollow inside. They are to make it just as you were shown on the mountain. ​

Design of the Tabernacle Court

9
"Here is how you are to make the courtyard of the tabernacle. On the south side, facing southward, are to be tapestries for the courtyard made of finely woven linen, 150 feet for one side, ​
10
supported on twenty posts in twenty bronze sockets; the hooks on the posts and the attached rings for hanging are to be of silver.
11
Likewise, along the north side are to be tapestries 150 feet long, hung on twenty posts in twenty bronze sockets, with silver hooks and rings for the posts.
12
Across the width of the courtyard on the west side are to be tapestries seventy-five feet long, hung on ten posts in ten sockets.
13
The width of the courtyard on the east side, facing east, will be seventy-five feet.
14
The tapestries for one side [of the gateway] will be twenty-two-and-a-half feet long, hung on three posts in three sockets;
15
for the other side there will be tapestries twenty-two-and-a-half feet long on three posts in three sockets.
16
"For the gateway of the courtyard there is to be a screen thirty feet long made of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely woven linen. It should be in colors, the work of a weaver. It is to be on four posts in four sockets. ​
17
All the posts all the way around the courtyard are to be banded with silver and to stand in sockets of bronze.
18
The length of the courtyard is to be 150 feet and the width seventy-five feet everywhere; with the height seven-and-a-half feet. The tapestries and screen are to be of finely woven linen, and the sockets are to be of bronze. ​
19
"All the equipment needed for every kind of service in the tabernacle, as well as the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, are to be of bronze. ​

Oil for the Perpetual Lamp

20
"You are to order the people of Isra'el to bring you pure oil of pounded olives for the light, and to keep a lamp burning continually. ​
21
Aharon and his sons are to put it in the tent of meeting, outside the curtain in front of the testimony, and keep it burning from evening until morning before ADONAI. This is to be a permanent regulation through all the generations of the people of Isra'el. ​

Study Notes for Exodus 27

Verse 1

This is the Altar of Burnt Offering, the central piece of furniture for the court. Its construction of shittim wood overlaid with bronze (brass) symbolizes the judgment and endurance required for atonement.

Verse 2

The horns were crucial for applying the blood of sin offerings and were sometimes grasped by those seeking sanctuary, symbolizing the protective and effective power of the altar (1 Kings 1:50).

Verse 3

All implements associated with the fire, ashes, and waste were made of brass, maintaining the consistent theme of judgment and separation established by the bronze altar.

Verse 8

The instruction that the altar must be constructed exactly 'as it was shewed thee in the mount' emphasizes the divine origin and required precision of the entire sacrificial system.

Verse 9

The surrounding court, defined by hangings of fine linen, established the boundary between the holy space and the common camp, regulating access to the presence of God.

Verse 16

The gate was the single entry point, marked by expensive, colored curtains (blue, purple, scarlet). This highlights that access to God's presence is limited and requires a specific, costly, and divinely ordained path.

Verse 18

The dimensions (100 cubits long, 50 cubits wide) made the court large enough to handle the daily sacrificial schedule, reinforcing the Tabernacle’s role as the center of Israel’s communal life.

Verse 19

The use of brass (bronze) for all the pins and vessels of the court reinforces the consistent theme of judgment and sacrifice associated with the outer area of the sanctuary.

Verse 20

The requirement for 'pure oil olive beaten' signifies the high quality and purity necessary for the service of the lampstand, which symbolized the light of God's presence and revelation.

Verse 21

This establishes the perpetual responsibility of Aaron and his sons to maintain the light (the Menorah) from evening to morning, symbolizing the enduring presence and continuous guidance of God among his people.

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