Historical

Chapter 36

¹ “Bezalel, therefore, will set to work with Oholiab and with all the artisans whom the Lord has endowed with skill and understanding in knowing how to do all the work for the service of the sanctuary, just as the Lord has commanded.”^(A)

² Moses then called Bezalel and Oholiab and all the other artisans whom the Lord had endowed with skill, men whose hearts moved them to come and do the work. ³ They received from Moses all the contributions which the Israelites had brought for the work to be done for the sanctuary service. Still, morning after morning the people continued to bring their voluntary offerings to Moses. ⁴ Thereupon all the artisans who were doing the work for the sanctuary came from the work each was doing, ⁵ and told Moses, “The people are bringing much more than is needed to carry out the work which the Lord has commanded us to do.” ⁶ Moses, therefore, ordered a proclamation to be made throughout the camp: “Let neither man nor woman make any more contributions for the sanctuary.” So the people stopped bringing their offerings; ⁷ there was already enough at hand, and more than enough, to complete the work to be done.

The Tent Cloth and Coverings. ^8 (B)The various artisans who were doing the work made the tabernacle with its ten sheets woven of fine linen twined, having cherubim embroidered on them with violet, purple, and scarlet yarn. ⁹ The length of each sheet was twenty-eight cubits, and the width four cubits; all the sheets were the same size. ¹⁰ Five of the sheets were joined together, edge to edge; and the other five sheets likewise, edge to edge. ¹¹ Loops of violet yarn were made along the edge of the end sheet in the first set, and the same along the edge of the end sheet in the second set. ¹² Fifty loops were thus put on one inner sheet, and fifty loops on the inner sheet in the other set, with the loops directly opposite each other. ¹³ Then fifty clasps of gold were made, with which the sheets were joined so that the tabernacle formed one whole.

¹⁴ Sheets of goat hair were also woven as a tent over the tabernacle. Eleven such sheets were made. ¹⁵ The length of each sheet was thirty cubits and the width four cubits; all eleven sheets were the same size. ¹⁶ Five of these sheets were joined into one set, and the other six sheets into another set. ¹⁷ Fifty loops were made along the edge of the end sheet in one set, and fifty loops along the edge of the corresponding sheet in the other set. ¹⁸ Fifty bronze clasps were made with which the tent was joined so that it formed one whole. ¹⁹ A covering for the tent was made of rams’ skins dyed red and, above that, a covering of tahash skins.

The Framework. ^20 (C)Frames were made for the tabernacle, acacia-wood uprights. ²¹ The length of each frame was ten cubits, and the width one and a half cubits. ²² Each frame had two arms, fastening them one to another. In this way all the frames of the tabernacle were made. ²³ The frames for the tabernacle were made as follows: twenty frames on the south side, ²⁴ with forty silver pedestals under the twenty frames, two pedestals under each frame for its two arms; ²⁵ twenty frames on the other side of the tabernacle, the north side, ²⁶ with their forty silver pedestals, two pedestals under each frame. ²⁷ At the rear of the tabernacle, to the west, six frames were made, ²⁸ and two frames were made for the corners of the tabernacle, at its rear. ²⁹ These were double at the bottom, and likewise double at the top, to the first ring. That is how both corner frames were made. ³⁰ Thus, there were eight frames, with their sixteen silver pedestals, two pedestals under each frame. ³¹ Bars of acacia wood were also made, five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, ³² five for those on the other side, and five for those at the rear, to the west. ³³ The center bar, at the middle of the frames, was made to reach across from end to end. ³⁴ The frames were plated with gold, and gold rings were made on them as holders for the bars, which were also plated with gold.

The Veil. ^35 (D)The veil was made of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of fine linen twined, with cherubim embroidered on it. ³⁶ Four gold-plated columns of acacia wood, with gold hooks, were made for it, and four silver pedestals were cast for them.

³⁷ The curtain for the entrance of the tent was made of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of fine linen twined, woven in a variegated manner. ³⁸ Its five columns, with their hooks as well as their capitals and bands, were plated with gold; their five pedestals were of bronze.

Chapter 37

The Ark. ¹ Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. ² The inside and outside were plated with gold, and a molding of gold was put around it. ³ Four gold rings were cast for its four supports, two rings on one side and two on the opposite side. ⁴ Poles of acacia wood were made and plated with gold; ⁵ these poles were put through the rings on the sides of the ark, for carrying it.

⁶ The cover was made of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. ⁷ Two cherubim of beaten gold were made for the two ends of the cover; ⁸ one cherub was at one end, the other at the other end, made of one piece with the cover, at each end. ⁹ The cherubim had their wings spread out above, sheltering the cover. They faced each other, with their faces looking toward the cover.^(E)

The Table. ^10 (F)The table was made of acacia wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high. ¹¹ It was plated with pure gold, and a molding of gold was put around it. ¹² A frame a handbreadth high was also put around it, with a molding of gold around the frame. ¹³ Four rings of gold were cast for it and fastened at the four corners, one at each leg. ¹⁴ The rings were alongside the frame as holders for the poles to carry the table. ¹⁵ These poles for carrying the table were made of acacia wood and plated with gold. ¹⁶ The vessels that were set on the table, its plates and cups, as well as its pitchers and bowls for pouring libations, were made of pure gold.

The Menorah. ^17 (G)The menorah was made of pure beaten gold—its shaft and branches—with its cups and knobs and petals springing directly from it. ¹⁸ Six branches extended from its sides, three branches on one side and three on the other. ¹⁹ On one branch there were three cups, shaped like almond blossoms, each with its knob and petals; on the opposite branch there were three cups, shaped like almond blossoms, each with its knob and petals; and so for the six branches that extended from the menorah. ²⁰ On the menorah there were four cups, shaped like almond blossoms, with their knobs and petals. ²¹ The six branches that went out from the menorah had a knob under each pair. ²² The knobs and branches so sprang from it that the whole formed but a single piece of pure beaten gold. ²³ Its seven lamps, as well as its trimming shears and trays, were made of pure gold. ²⁴ A talent of pure gold was used for the menorah and its various utensils.

The Altar of Incense. ^25 (H)The altar of incense was made of acacia wood, on a square, a cubit long, a cubit wide, and two cubits high, having horns that sprang directly from it. ²⁶ Its grate on top, its walls on all four sides, and its horns were plated with pure gold; and a gold molding was put around it. ²⁷ Underneath the molding gold rings were placed, two on one side and two on the opposite side, as holders for the poles used in carrying it. ²⁸ The poles, too, were made of acacia wood and plated with gold.

²⁹ The sacred anointing oil and the fragrant incense were prepared in their pure form by a perfumer.^(I)

Chapter 38

The Altar for Burnt Offerings. ¹ The altar for burnt offerings^(J) was made of acacia wood, on a square, five cubits long and five cubits wide; its height was three cubits. ² At the four corners horns were made that sprang directly from the altar. It was then plated with bronze. ³ All the utensils of the altar, the pots, shovels, basins, forks and fire pans, were likewise made of bronze. ⁴ A grating, a bronze network, was made for the altar and placed around it, on the ground, half as high as the altar itself. ⁵ Four rings were cast for the four corners of the bronze grating, as holders for the poles, ⁶ which were made of acacia wood and plated with bronze. ⁷ The poles were put through the rings on the sides of the altar for carrying it. The altar was made in the form of a hollow box.

⁸ The bronze basin,^(K) with its bronze stand, was made from the mirrors of the women who served^[a] at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

The Court of the Tabernacle. ^9 (L)The court was made as follows. On the south side the hangings of the court were of fine linen twined, a hundred cubits long, ¹⁰ with twenty columns and twenty pedestals of bronze, the hooks and bands of the columns being of silver. ¹¹ On the north side there were similar hangings, a hundred cubits long, with twenty columns and twenty pedestals of bronze; the hooks and bands of the columns were of silver. ¹² On the west side there were hangings, fifty cubits long, with ten columns and ten pedestals; the hooks and bands of the columns were of silver. ¹³ On the east side the court was fifty cubits. ¹⁴ On one side there were hangings to the extent of fifteen cubits, with three columns and three pedestals; ¹⁵ on the other side, beyond the gate of the court, there were likewise hangings to the extent of fifteen cubits, with three columns and three pedestals. ¹⁶ The hangings on all sides of the court were woven of fine linen twined. ¹⁷ The pedestals of the columns were of bronze, while the hooks and bands of the columns were of silver; the capitals were silver-plated, and all the columns of the court were banded with silver.

¹⁸ At the gate of the court there was a variegated curtain, woven of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn and of fine linen twined, twenty cubits long and five cubits wide, in keeping with the hangings of the court. ¹⁹ There were four columns and four pedestals of bronze for it, while their hooks were of silver, and their capitals and their bands silver-plated. ²⁰ All the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the court around it were of bronze.

Amount of Metal Used. ²¹ The following is an account of the various amounts used on the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant, drawn up at the command of Moses by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. ²² However, it was Bezalel, son of Uri,^(M) son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, who made all that the Lord commanded Moses, ²³ and he was assisted by Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, who was an engraver, an embroiderer, and a weaver of variegated cloth of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn and of fine linen.

²⁴ All the gold used in the entire construction of the sanctuary, having previously been given as an offering, amounted to twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel. ²⁵ The silver of those of the community who were enrolled was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel; ²⁶ one bekah apiece, that is, a half-shekel, according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel, was received from everyone who was enrolled, of twenty years or more, namely, six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty men.^{(N) 27} One hundred talents of silver were used for casting the pedestals of the sanctuary and the pedestals of the veil, one talent for each pedestal, or one hundred talents for the one hundred pedestals. ²⁸ The remaining one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels were used for making the hooks on the columns, for plating the capitals, and for banding them with silver. ²⁹ The bronze, given as an offering, amounted to seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels. ³⁰ With this were made the pedestals at the entrance of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze gratings, and all the utensils of the altar, ³¹ the pedestals around the court, the pedestals at the gate of the court, and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the court around it.