The Second Book of Moses: Exodus

⭑ Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 36 -

Therefore, Bezalel, and Oholiab, and every wise man, to whom the Lord gave wisdom and intelligence, so as to know how to work skillfully, made that which was necessary for the uses of the Sanctuary and which the Lord had instructed.

And when Moses had called them and every man of learning, to whom the Lord had given wisdom, and who, of their own accord, had offered themselves in order to accomplish this work,

he handed over to them all the donations of the sons of Israel. And while they were pursuing this work, the people offered what they had vowed each day, in the morning.

The artisans were compelled by this to go

to Moses and to say, “The people offer more than is needed.”

Therefore, Moses ordered this to be recited, with a voice of proclamation: “Let neither man nor woman offer anything further for the work of the Sanctuary.” And so they ceased from offering gifts,

because what was offered was sufficient and was more than an abundance.

The Ten Curtains for the Tabernacle

(Exodus 26:1–6)

And all those who were wise of heart, in order to accomplish the work of the tabernacle, made ten curtains of fine twisted linen, and hyacinth, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, with diverse workmanship by the art of embroidery.

Each of these was twenty-eight cubits in length, and in width, four. All the curtains were of one measure.

And he joined five curtains to one another, and the other five he coupled to one another.

He also made loops of hyacinth along the edge of one curtain on both sides, and similarly along the edge of the other curtain,

so that the loops might meet against one another and might be joined together.

For these, he also cast fifty gold rings, which would retain the loops of the curtains and so make the tabernacle one.

The Eleven Curtains of Goat Hair

(Exodus 26:7–14)

He also made eleven canopies from the hair of goats, in order to cover the roof of the tabernacle:

one canopy held in length thirty cubits, and in width four cubits. All the canopies were of one measure.

Five of these he joined by themselves, and the other six separately.

And he made fifty loops along the edge of one canopy, and fifty along the edge of the other canopy, so that they might be joined to one another,

and fifty buckles of brass, with which the roof might be woven together, so that from all the canopies there would be made one covering.

He also made a covering for the tabernacle from the skins of rams, dyed-red; and another cover above it, from violet skins.

The Frames and Bases

(Exodus 26:15–30)

He also made the standing panels of the tabernacle, from setim wood.

Ten cubits was the length of one panel, and one and one half cubits comprised the width.

There were two dovetails along every panel, so that one might be joined to the other. Thus did he make all the panels of the tabernacle.

Of these, twenty were toward the meridian area, opposite the south,

with forty bases of silver. Two bases were set under one panel at each of two sides at the corners, where the joints of the sides terminate in corners.

Likewise, at that side of the tabernacle which looks toward the north, he made twenty panels,

with forty bases of silver, two bases for each board.

Yet truly, opposite the west, that is, toward that part of the tabernacle which looks out toward the sea, he made six panels,

and two others at each corner of the tabernacle at the back,(a)

which were joined from bottom to top and held together by one joint. So did he make both corners on that side.

So then, there were altogether eight panels, and they had sixteen bases of silver, with, of course, two bases under each panel.

He also made bars from setim wood: five to hold together the panels at one side of the tabernacle,

and five others to fit together the panels of the other side, and, in addition to these, five other bars toward the western area of the tabernacle, opposite the sea.

He also made another bar, which came through the middle of the panels from corner to corner.

But the panels themselves he overlaid with gold, casting silver bases for them. And he made their rings from gold, through which the bars might be able to be drawn. And he covered the bars themselves with layers of gold.

The Veil

(Exodus 26:31–35)

He also made a veil from hyacinth, and purple, from vermillion as well as fine twisted linen, with varied and distinctive embroidery,

and four columns of setim wood, which, along with their heads, he overlaid with gold, casting silver bases for them.

The Curtain for the Entrance

(Exodus 26:36–37)

He also made a tent at the entrance of the tabernacle from hyacinth, purple, vermillion, and fine twisted linen, wrought with embroidery,

and five columns with their heads, which he covered with gold, and he cast their bases from brass.

Footnotes

(a)36:28 The word ‘retro’ refers to the back of the Tabernacle, which was toward the west. This end had two more panels than the east. Therefore, the entrance was at the east and was two panels (three royal cubits or just over 5 feet) in width, which is wide enough for two men to enter side by side.(Conte)

“Bezalel and Oholiab shall work with every wise-hearted man, in whom the LORD has put wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD has commanded.”

Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to the work to do it.

They received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, with which to make it. They kept bringing free will offerings to him every morning.

All the wise men, who performed all the work of the sanctuary, each came from his work which he did.

They spoke to Moses, saying, “The people have brought much more than enough for the service of the work which the LORD commanded to make.”

Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman make anything else for the offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing.

For the stuff they had was sufficient to do all the work, and too much.

The Ten Curtains for the Tabernacle

(Exodus 26:1–6)

All the wise-hearted men among those who did the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, blue, purple, and scarlet. They made them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.

The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits,(a) and the width of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains had one measure.

He coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another.

He made loops of blue on the edge of the one curtain from the edge in the coupling. Likewise he made in the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second coupling.

He made fifty loops in the one curtain, and he made fifty loops in the edge of the curtain that was in the second coupling. The loops were opposite to one another.

He made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains to one another with the clasps: so the tabernacle was a unit.

The Eleven Curtains of Goat Hair

(Exodus 26:7–14)

He made curtains of goats’ hair for a covering over the tabernacle. He made them eleven curtains.

The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits the width of each curtain. The eleven curtains had one measure.

He coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves.

He made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the coupling, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain which was outermost in the second coupling.

He made fifty clasps of bronze to couple the tent together, that it might be a unit.

He made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of sea cow hides above.

The Frames and Bases

(Exodus 26:15–30)

He made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing up.

Ten cubits was the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the width of each board.

Each board had two tenons, joined to one another. He made all the boards of the tabernacle this way.

He made the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side southward.

He made forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards: two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons.

For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty boards

and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.

For the far part of the tabernacle westward he made six boards.

He made two boards for the corners of the tabernacle in the far part.

They were double beneath, and in the same way they were all the way to its top to one ring. He did this to both of them in the two corners.

There were eight boards and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets—under every board two sockets.

He made bars of acacia wood: five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,

and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the hinder part westward.

He made the middle bar to pass through in the middle of the boards from the one end to the other.

He overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold as places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

The Veil

(Exodus 26:31–35)

He made the veil of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cherubim. He made it the work of a skillful workman.

He made four pillars of acacia for it, and overlaid them with gold. Their hooks were of gold. He cast four sockets of silver for them.

The Curtain for the Entrance

(Exodus 26:36–37)

He made a screen for the door of the tent, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer;

and the five pillars of it with their hooks. He overlaid their capitals and their fillets with gold, and their five sockets were of bronze.

Footnotes

(a)36:9 A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters.