Exodus

In verses 9 and 40, Yahweh tells Moses that the tabernacles and all of its furniture He describes are "patterns" of what was shown to him. These items are not intended to be understood as the original items but rather the representations of the ones that already exist in heaven. Three items are described in detail here as God starts from the center and works outward. Beginning with the holiest of all places in the Tabernacle, God describes to Moses the Ark of the Covenant/Testimony (vv10-22). The dimensions are two and ¼ feet wide and tall by three and ¾ feet long. The gold of the mercy seat placed atop the Ark would have weighed approximately 750 pounds. The Table of Shewbread/Bread of Presence (vv23-30) is the same height as the Ark but slightly less wide and long. The twelve loaves of bread that would have remained on it at all times would represent each of the tribes of Israel and would be eaten by the Levites/Priests when replaced by fresh bread each week. The Golden Lampstand (vv31-39) was to be made of 75 pounds of gold (v39) with 22 individual cups (blossom, bulb, flower x 6 branches, plus four cups on the lampstand center staff) made from the same piece of metal (v36). Seven lamps were mounted, atop each of the six branches plus one more atop the center supporting shaft. This was all made of a contribution from the sons of Israel, "from every man whose heart is willing" (v2).

Having described the furnishings of the Tabernacle in the previous chapter (with the exception of the altar of incense which will be described in chapter 30), the instructions now follow with the details for how the Tabernacle itself is to be constructed. The details in Exodus 25-31 are repeated in chapters 35-40 in almost the same words. The structure is supported on a series of wooden frames covered with red rams and porpoise leather (v14). The complete structure is three independent sections. The first two described here are for the holy of holies (containing the ark of the covenant) and for the holy place (containing the table for the bread of presence, the golden lampstand, and the altar of incense). One estimate of the materials required to build the complete structure totals three tons of bronze, four tons of silver, and one & ¼ tons of gold, along with precious stones, fine fabrics, leather, acacia wood, and more. According to Numbers 4:24, it required 8,580 Levites to staff the Tabernacle once completed.

As with the descriptions of the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place in Exodus 26, this description of the outer court begins with the description of the furnishings. Known as the Court of the Tabernacle, it is distinct for the altar where the sacrifices consumed by fire would be offered, necessarily performed in the open because of the clouds of smoke and fumes from the sacrifices. As God had commanded that His altar be made of unhewn/unworked stone (20:25), the Bronze Altar (vv1-8) is less of an altar as it is an altar case. As the Israelites moved from place to place over the following 40 years, the square wooden altar overlayed with bronze, with a network of bronze grates (v4), would cover or be filled with earth at each location when the people relocated. The bronze horns were of the same piece of bronze that covered the acacia wood (v1) of the altar and was sometimes where criminals would cling when seeking sanctuary (1 Kings 1:50, 2:28). Following this, the description of the dimensions and construction of the court walls (approximately 150 feet x 75 feet) included the opening at one end (vv15-16) and closed with instructions for the sons of Aaron to maintain the Tabernacle perpetually "throughout their generations for the sons of Israel" (v21).

The priest's garments described here are first those to be worn by Aaron and then those to be worn by his sons. These garments will eventually be worn by the subsequent High Priests of Israel, but this text addresses how Aaron and his sons are to approach the altar to minister in the holy place (v43). Their purposes are for glory and beauty (v2), to set the priest apart (v3), and to cover bare flesh to prevent the incursion of guilt in their nakedness (vv42-43). A great many precious stones and significant weight in precious metal are committed to the skillful craftsmanship of the garments and ephod of the priest's raiment. Because the sons of Israel are not named when assigning to them the specific stones of the breastplate (vv17-21), there is no clear consensus on either the list of sons (only including the actual offspring of Jacob/Israel versus a list that includes the sons of Joseph and eliminates others of the sons of Jacob), nor which of the stones would be assigned to each. Neither is there a definitive clarity for which order, left to right or right to left, the rows of stones would be assigned to the sons, even though the text states, "the stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel" (v21). Our best resources will be those closest to the truth from antiquity. First-century Jewish Historian Josephus (who came from a priestly family) states that the names were placed according to birth order (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 3, Chapter 7, Verse 5). Ancient Hebrew wrote and read in the direction starting on the right side of a particular line of text going left (and still does today). The most reasonable rendition, therefore, of these gems and their assignment to a tribe is pictured here accordingly. Discerning the accurate translation for the gemstones is another discussion.