Exodus 30, Altar, Taxes, Incense

We continue with details on building the tabernacle.

This passage uses some ancient units of measurement: a cubit is probably about 18 inches (half a meter), maybe a little less. A shekel is probably about 2/5 ounce, 12 grams. A hin is a bit more than a gallon.

Exodus 30:1-6, The altar

"Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense. It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high--its horns of one piece with it.

"Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. Make two gold rings for the altar below the molding--two on opposite sides--to hold the poles used to carry it. Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 

"Put the altar in front of the curtain that is before the ark of the Testimony--before the atonement cover that is over the Testimony--where I will meet with you.

The altar has a square base with sides half of a meter and height about one meter. Acacia wood is apparently long-lasting, chosen for its endurance.

Exodus 30:7-10, Daily and yearly sacrifices

"Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the LORD for the generations to come. Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it.

    

"Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the LORD."

It's not clear what the horns are.

Exodus 30:11-16, Sons of Israel

Then the LORD said to Moses,

    

"When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the LORD a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them.

    

"Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the LORD.    

    

"All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the LORD.

    

"The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives.

    

"Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD, making atonement for your lives."

This is the second set of instructions given to Moses. (The first begins in Exodus 25:1.) 

A census of Israel includes a temple tax.

Exodus 30:17-21, The bronze basin

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made to the LORD by fire, they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. 

    

"This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come."

This is the third speech by YHWH to Moses.

The priests will be perpetually reminded of the holiness, the terror of relating to the Creator of all life.

Exodus 30:22-29, Spices

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane, 500 shekels of cassia--all according to the sanctuary shekel--and a hin of olive oil.

    

"Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. Then use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense,  the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 

"You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy."

We have more reminders of the need for holiness. Each statement now comes with YHWH giving new instructions to Moses. If we are keeping count of these instructions, this is the fourth.

Exodus 30:30-33, Anointment of Aaron and his sons

"Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.

"Say to the Israelites, `This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come.

"Do not pour it on men's bodies and do not make any oil with the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from his people.'"

The anointing oil, with its fragrance, is reserved only for the temple.

Exodus 30:34-38, Holy incense

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Take fragrant spices--gum resin, onycha and galbanum--and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you.   

   

"Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the LORD. Whoever makes any like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from his people."

The worship includes both sacrifice and incense.  (Is it possible that the smell of sacrifices necessitates incense?)

First published April 4, 2023; updated April 3, 2026

Exodus 29, Preparing Priests to Meet God

The garments for the priests have been described. Now YHWH instructs Moses on the consecration of the priests, so that they may approach YHWH and acts as mediators for Israel.

Exodus 29:1-9, Consecrating priests

"This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so they may serve me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without defect. And from fine wheat flour, without yeast, make bread, and cakes mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil. Put them in a basket and present them in it--along with the bull and the two rams.

    

"Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband. Put the turban on his head and attach the sacred diadem to the turban. Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head.

     

"Bring his sons and dress them in tunics and put headbands on them. Then tie sashes on Aaron and his sons. 

The priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance. In this way you shall ordain Aaron and his sons."

This passage describes the consecration of Aaron and his sons to act as priests. In every step, the priests are to be as perfect as possible, clean, well-dressed, anointed.

(NIV footnotes. In verse 9, the Septuagint  has the sashes tied on Aaron and "on them" instead of "his sons".)

Exodus 29:10-14, Slaughter the bull

"Bring the bull to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. Slaughter it in the LORD's presence at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

    

"Take some of the bull's blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. Then take all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar.

    

"But burn the bull's flesh and its hide and its offal outside the camp. It is a sin offering."

A bull is slaughtered at the entrance to the Tent. Part of the bull is burned on the altar and part is burned outside the tent.

Exodus 29:15-21, Sacrifice two rams

"Take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. Slaughter it and take the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides.

    

"Cut the ram into pieces and wash the inner parts and the legs, putting them with the head and the other pieces.  Then burn the entire ram on the altar. 

    

"It is a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the LORD by fire.

    

"Take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. Slaughter it, take some of its blood and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then sprinkle blood against the altar on all sides. And take some of the blood on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated."

Instruction are given on slaughtering the two rams. In this case, some of the blood is dabbed on the right ears of Aaron and his sons and on their big toes. (Presumably these two extremities represent all of the individual.) Then both oil and blood are sprinkled on the priests and their garments.

Exodus 29:22-26, A wave offering

"Take from this ram the fat, the fat tail, the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. (This is the ram for the ordination.)

    

"From the basket of bread made without yeast, which is before the LORD, take a loaf, and a cake made with oil, and a wafer. Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before the LORD as a wave offering. Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the LORD, an offering made to the LORD by fire. 

    

"After you take the breast of the ram for Aaron's ordination, wave it before the LORD as a wave offering, and it will be your share."

What is a "wave offering"?  Apparently by waving the loaf and cake before YHWH, the priests were symbolically offering this material to YHWH, consecrating it, before later eating it. (The meat could be eaten after it was burnt, but the bread and cake were not to be burned.)

Exodus 29:27-30, The ordination ram and Aaron's garments

"Consecrate those parts of the ordination ram that belong to Aaron and his sons: the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. This is always to be the regular share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. It is the contribution the Israelites are to make to the LORD from their fellowship offerings.

    

"Aaron's sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them. The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days.

Aaron's garments are to be passed on to his descendants, and so passed on to future priests.

Exodus 29:31-34, Finishing the ram of ordination

"Take the ram for the ordination and cook the meat in a sacred place. At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket. They are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration. But no one else may eat them, because they are sacred.

    

"And if any of the meat of the ordination ram or any bread is left over till morning, burn it up. It must not be eaten, because it is sacred."

 

The meat of the ram has a special role. None of the sacrifice is to be saved or hoarded.

Exodus 29:35-37, Final instructions on ordaining Aaron and his sons

"Do for Aaron and his sons everything I have commanded you, taking seven days to ordain them.  

    

"Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.

 

Seven days shows up again -- the ordination is to take a week. A bull is to be sacrificed every day.

Exodus 29:38-41, Sacrificing the lambs

"This is what you are to offer on the altar regularly each day: two lambs a year old. Offer one in the morning and the other at twilight.

    

With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives, and a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering.

    

Sacrifice the other lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and its drink offering as in the morning--a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the LORD by fire.

The bloody sacrifice is an integral part of the ancient Jewish worship system, emphasizing the peoples' inadequacies when facing YHWH.

An ephah is probably about five gallons so a tenth of an ephah would be about half a gallon. A hin was about 1 1/2 gallons so a quarter of a hin would be between one and two quarts.

Exodus 29:42-43, Regular meeting

`"For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD. There I will meet you and speak to you; there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory.

These sacrifices allow future generations to regularly meet with God.

Exodus 29:44-46, Dwelling place of YHWH 

"So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.

Once the priests have been consecrated, have been made holy, they can then serve God and He will physically and visibly live among the Israelites.

I find this chapter a bit of a struggle. The tedious (but rigorous) emphasis on getting the priests ready to meet God is written to the ancient Hebrews, in order to stress the holiness of God and their inadequacy before Him. But that culture is so ancient and that sacrificial system long gone, so that Christians in this century are but distant observers of these expectations and requirements.

First published April 3, 2023; updated April 2, 2026

Exodus 28, Garments for the Priests

The ornate structure of the temple has been described. Now we move on the the garments of the priests. All of this is designed to create an elegant, beautiful environment for the presence and worship of YHWH.

Exodus 28:1-5, Elegant clothes for my priests

"Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests.

    

Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor. Tell all the skilled men to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as priest.

    

These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests. Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.

The garments are to display dignity and honor. The use of ornate colors and gems is part of this "dignity" and "honor". Imes, in her course on Exodus, points out that in those days dyes were expensive and hard to make. We tend to notice the appearance of gold, silver and precious gems but the ancients would have also noticed the very expensive colors of blue, purple and scarlet.

A variety of webpages have drawings that attempt to replicate these garments. Here is one image that shows up in a variety of places:

Exodus 28:6-8, Description of the ephod

"Make the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen--the work of a skilled craftsman. It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so it can be fastened. Its skillfully woven waistband is to be like it--of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen.

An ephod is some type of apron. It will involve very colorful weaves, requiring a "skilled craftsman".

Exodus 28:9-14, Stones on the shoulders of the ephod

"Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel in the order of their birth--six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the LORD.

    

Make gold filigree settings and two braided chains of pure gold, like a rope, and attach the chains to the settings.

There are to be twelve small stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel.

Exodus 28:15-21, The breastpiece

"Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions--the work of a skilled craftsman. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.  It is to be square--a span long and a span wide--and folded double.

    

Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz and a beryl  in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald; in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings.

    

There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

The breastpiece presumably covers the ephod. It too is to carry precious stones representing the twelve tribes.

A "span" (verse 15) is probably about 9 inches? In verse 18, the Hebrew term sappir (סַפִּיר) could be translated "lapis lazuli". Sapphire is apparently too hard to engrave (see here) and so lapis lazuli, a softer blue stone, is most likely the gem named.

The names of the jewels in the ephod involve Hebrew words that are relatively rare in the Old Testament and so exact identification is uncertain. Terms like sapphire, onyx (and so on) are our best attempts to translate those rare words.

Exodus 28:22-28, Decorating the breastpiece

"For the breastpiece make braided chains of pure gold, like a rope.

      

"Make two gold rings for it and fasten them to two corners of the breastpiece. Fasten the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. Make two gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. The rings of the breastpiece are to be tied to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband, so that the breastpiece will not swing out from the ephod."

The breastpiece is to have, hanging from it, chains of pure gold. The chains of gold are attached to gold rings.

Exodus 28:29-30, Aaron's entrance to the Holy Place

"Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the LORD. Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron's heart whenever he enters the presence of the LORD. 

    

Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD.

The Urim and Thummim were apparently used for seeking answers, almost like tossing a coin. They were in the breastpiece, covering the ephod. In later chapters of the Old Testament, we will see individuals, such as David, consulting "the ephod" of the priest. This may mean that the individual is consulting the Urim/Thummim.

Exodus 28:31-35,

"Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening, so that it will not tear. Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe.

    

Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the LORD and when he comes out, so that he will not die.

It is not clear the value of the bells. But myths abound -- one myth said that the high priest was to have a rope around him (see here for a rebuttal.)

The meaning of the Hebrew interpreted "collar" in verse 32 is uncertain.

Exodus 28:36-39, Seal on Aaron's forehead

"Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD. Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban. It will be on Aaron's forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron's forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the LORD.

    

"Weave the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen. The sash is to be the work of an embroiderer."

Aaron is to wear some type of cap or turban on his head.  The garments are to be of "fine linen".

Exodus 28:40-43, Aaron's sons

"Make tunics, sashes and headbands for Aaron's sons, to give them dignity and honor. After you put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.

    

"Make linen undergarments as a covering for the body, reaching from the waist to the thigh. Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they wiin vll not incur guilt and die. "This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants.

Just as Aaron is to be heavily dressed, there are similar expectations for the other serving priests.

Some Random Thoughts

In the Ancient Near East (ANE) the colors purple and scarlet would have involved expensive dyes and represented elegance and wealth. Blue was a popular rich color in the ANE and is prevalent throughout the Islamic art of central Asia.

In 2025, my wife and I enjoyed a visit to Uzbekistan. In the city of Bukhara, the bright blue lapis lazuli appeared to show up everywhere, even in our elegant hotel room. One picture is below.

I am told that sometimes the blue color represented protection from demons or evil spirits; it often had a spiritual significance. The beautiful color was intended to bring peace. It is no surprise that it is one of the colors in the priests' dress (in verse 18, above.)

First published April 1, 2023; updated April 1, 2026

Exodus 27, The Altar and Courtyard

Instructions for the building of the Tabernacle continue.

Exodus 27:1-8, Altar

"Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze.    

    

Make all its utensils of bronze--its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans.

    

Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network. Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar.

    

Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried.

    

Make the altar hollow, out of boards. 

    

It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.

In verse 1, since a cubit is estimated to be about 1.5 feet then the height of the altar is about 4.5 feet (a little over a meter) and its width is about 7.5 feet, just over 2 meters.

There is an interesting phrase at the end of this paragraph, in a reference to designs shown to Moses up on the mountain. The author of the New Testament letter to the Hebrews will use this to suggest (Hebrews 8: 5) that there is a real heavenly tabernacle of which the earthly one is merely a copy. 

Exodus 27:9-11, Courtyard

"Make a courtyard for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 

    

"The north side shall also be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.  The west end of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits wide and have curtains, with ten posts and ten bases. On the east end, toward the sunrise, the courtyard shall also be fifty cubits wide."

The courtyard is about 150 feet by 75 feet, larger than a basketball court but slightly smaller than half a football field.

           

Exodus 27:14-15, Curtains

Curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, and curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on the other side, with three posts and three bases.

The curtains are over 20 feet long.

Exodus 27:16-19, Entrance to the courtyard

"For the entrance to the courtyard, provide a curtain twenty cubits long, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen--the work of an embroiderer--with four posts and four bases. All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands and hooks, and bronze bases.

    

The courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with curtains of finely twisted linen five cubits high, and with bronze bases.  All the other articles used in the service of the tabernacle, whatever their function, including all the tent pegs for it and those for the courtyard, are to be of bronze.

Intricate details of the beauty of the courtyard are described here.

Exodus 27:20-21, Keep the lamps burning

"Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning. In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the LORD from evening till morning. 

    

"This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come."

The lamps of the Tent of Meeting are to burn perpetually. One might notice that there are lots of times in the future where the Tent of Meeting seems to be in disrepair or abandoned, much less the lamps!

First published Match 31, 2023; updated Match 31, 2026

Exodus 26, The Tabernacle

God continues to give Moses precise instructions on constructing the tabernacle.  Artists' rendition of this tabernacle are at this Wikipedia site.

Exodus 26:1-6, Ten curtains

"Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman. All the curtains are to be the same size--twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide. 

    

"Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five. Make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and do the same with the end curtain in the other set. Make fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other.  Then make fifty gold clasps and use them to fasten the curtains together so that the tabernacle is a unit."

Presumably these curtains form walls for the tabernacle.  In verse 2, the curtains are about 42 feet long and 6 feet wide.

Exodus 26:7-13, And an eleventh curtain

"Make curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle--eleven altogether. All eleven curtains are to be the same size--thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. Join five of the curtains together into one set and the other six into another set. Fold the sixth curtain double at the front of the tent. Make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. Then make fifty bronze clasps and put them in the loops to fasten the tent together as a unit.

     

"As for the additional length of the tent curtains, the half curtain that is left over is to hang down at the rear of the tabernacle. The tent curtains will be a cubit longer on both sides; what is left will hang over the sides of the tabernacle so as to cover it."

The curtains for the tent over the tabernacle are a little bit longer than the curtains mentioned previously in verse 2. Instead of being 28 cubits in length (about 42 feet) hey are 30 cubits in length (about 45 feet.)

Exodus 26:14-25, Tent covering

Make for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of hides of sea cows.

    

"Make upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. Each frame is to be ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide, with two projections set parallel to each other. Make all the frames of the tabernacle in this way.    

    

"Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle and make forty silver bases to go under them--two bases for each frame, one under each projection. For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, make twenty frames and forty silver bases--two under each frame. Make six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle, and make two frames for the corners at the far end. At these two corners they must be double from the bottom all the way to the top, and fitted into a single ring; both shall be like that. So there will be eight frames and sixteen silver bases--two under each frame."

The frames are about 15 feet long and a little over two feet wide.

Exodus 26:26-30, Crossbars

"Also make crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. The center crossbar is to extend from end to end at the middle of the frames.

    

"Overlay the frames with gold and make gold rings to hold the crossbars. Also overlay the crossbars with gold."

Everything is rich and elegant, overlaid with gold.

Exodus 26:30, Reminder

 "Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain.

The instructions for this traveling worship center are intricate and precise.  We see, again, an emphasis of "get the pattern right!"

Exodus 26:31-33, The curtain that separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place

"Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman. Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases. Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.

Beautiful curtains separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (the Holy of Holies.) In the ancient Near East, colorful yarn would have been expensive.

Exodus 26:34-37, The Holy of Holies

"Put the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place. Place the table outside the curtain on the north side of the tabernacle and put the lampstand opposite it on the south side.

    

"For the entrance to the tent make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen--the work of an embroiderer. Make gold hooks for this curtain and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. And cast five bronze bases for them."

Here we read additional emphasis on separating the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place.

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is yam,

יָם

a masculine noun meaning "sea." Since the Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, was west of Canaan, the word also came to mean "west" and it is used this way in verses 22 and 26 to describe the west side of the tabernacle.

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First published March 30, 2023; updated March 30, 2026

The Gospel according to Exodus

In among the Vacation-Bible-School stories of a burning bush, of ten miraculous plagues, of a path through the sea, of drowned Egyptian soldiers and pillars of fire and cloud, the book of Exodus includes considerable dialogue between YHWH, the Creator of the universe, and our reluctant hero Moses.  It took numerous readings (and some suggestions from commentators) before I realized how remarkable those conversations are!

For example, after the gross idolatry of the golden calf, while Moses is still on the mountain, YHWH says, "I see what these people are doing! Leave me alone so that I can destroy them and then start all over with you, Moses, to make a great nation out of you." (This is Exodus 32:9-10, loosely translated.)

Moses responds, "Wait! You brought these people out of Egypt with your 'mighty hand' and 'outstretched arm'. You showed Yourself to the Egyptians! But what will the Egyptians say if now you destroy this people?"

And so YHWH, responding to the plea of Moses, relents and decides not to destroy the people. (Exodus 32:11-14.)  

Then Moses went down the mountain and saw, for himself, what the people were really doing, and he lost his temper! (Exodus 32:19-20.) Moses agrees that the people have grievously sinned against YHWH. It is clear that YHWH will not put up with this rebellion and sinfulness. After more conversation with Moses, YHWH orders the people into the desert, to led by an angel (Exodus 33: 1-6), but states that He, YHWH, will not go with them, lest he destroy them because of their stubbornness. YHWH will not condescend to their rebellion!  It is He Who created the universe, not them!  

When the people realize the consequence of this statement, they weep and take off their jewelry. They realize that they do not really want to be abandoned.

Then YHWH says to Moses, "Let's talk." (Exodus 33:7-11.) 

At this point we have a remarkable conversation, even an argument. (Exodus 33:12-13.) Moses says, "Wait a minute!  You have, all along, told me to lead this people! You have said, 'I know you by name' and that you are pleased with me. I beg you, please, teach me your ways so that I may find favor with you!"  Moses then adds, "Remember, this nation is Your people!" He essentially repeats the earlier argument that YHWH has made promises to create a great nation in the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

God responds (Exodus 33:14-18), "OK, my Presence will go with you and give you rest."

Moses says, "If You don't go with us, don't send us on!"  He adds, a moment later, "How else will the nations be able to distinguish us from the other peoples of the earth?" In this remark, he reminds YHWH of YHWH's plan to create a special people who will be a blessing to all the earth.

To this God responds, "Yes, I will do the very thing you ask. I am pleased with you and know you by name."

To which Moses responds, "Show me your glory!"

After that, YHWH starts all over again with a covenant with Moses and the broken people of Israel. Moses, in his persistence, has caused YHWH to "relent" from His plan to begin again with just Moses. In Exodus 34:8-10, as Moses intercedes for the people of Israel, YHWH agrees to a covenant with "these stiff-necked people". With these people, YHWH says, "I will do wonders never done in any nation before! The people around you will see how awesome is the work that I, YHWH, do for you!"

We then have the covenant given, again, with its sacrificial system, to this "stiff-necked" broken people.

There is a lot here. As described throughout the book of Genesis, YHWH has a plan to bless all nations through descendants of Abraham.  But (as is also clear in Genesis), humans are broken, selfish and stubborn. YHWH will not overlook this and ignore it. This stubbornness ("sin") is egregious and deadly.  So YHWH creates a covenant with the people of Israel, a path towards redemption (and Eden.) Yet in so doing, YHWH listens to -- even argues with -- Moses! This conversation is face to face, speaking as friend to friend. This communication is so remarkable that Moses's face glows!  (Exodus 34: 33-35.)

Before modern Christians interrupt this passage with "theology", arguing that God does not relent/repent, that God does not change His mind and that all events are "predestined" for all time, I want to do a bit of meditation on the conversations of Exodus 32-34. We Christians believe in "prayer" (that is, conversing with God and making requests of Him), yet much theology has taught me, indirectly, that God always has His plan and that making requests of Him are only asking Him to do what He already planned to do. So why pray? Why make requests of YHWH at all?

Yet Moses (and later David) very boldly went to YHWH and said, "Remember your plan and please do the following..."  And YHWH said, "Yes, I will do the very thing you ask. I am pleased with you and know you by name."

Indeed, in the New Testament, the author of the letter to Hebrews insists that, through Messiah Yeshua, each of us, ourselves, can enter the Most Holy Place and make direct requests to YHWH. (Hebrews 10:19-22 and Hebrews 12: 18-24.) 

Much earlier, on a mountain at Sinai, a reluctant, stuttering Moses showed us the way.

Exodus 25, A Sanctuary for YHWH

Moses spends forty days with YHWH on Mount Sinai.  There are then seven conversations with Moses. Here is the first.

Exodus 25:1-7, Offerings for the Tabernacle

The LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.    

    

"These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

Are these instruction given while Moses is within the cloud?

Gold, silver, bronze and other valuable materials will be used to create a sanctuary, a "tabernacle" that will represent a place that YHWH resides.  

NIV footnotes say that "sea cows" could be translated "dugongs". A dugong is a large sea animal similar to the manatee. But Robert Alter argues that the Hebrew word tehashim (singular tachash, תַּחַשׁ) is close to an Arkadian term for a yellow or orange dye. If this is a loan word from Arkadian, this term fits with the colors and dyes described earlier in the sentence.

  

Exodus 25:8-9, Follow the pattern given!

"Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.

The people are to follow these instructions completely. Presumably this structure will be with the people of Israel for centuries.

As we read further in the text, it helps to have an image of the tabernacle before us.  A Wikipedia page on the tabernacle includes this sketch.

The main items in the outer courtyard were an altar of burnt offering and a washbasin (here "lavar".) Inside the Holy Place, where only priests could enter, was the altar of incense, the lampstand (here "golden candlestick") and the table of shewbread.  In the Holy of Holy, only, was the Ark of the Covenant.

Exodus 25:10-15, A chest

"Have them make a chest of acacia wood--two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it. The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed.

It is strange to me to imagine an ancient Hebrew text which is (here) a construction manual! (NIV footnotes translate the measurements in verse 10 as a chest "about 3 3/4 feet long and 2 1/4 feet wide and high.")

The poles are to be a permanent part of the ark, so that the ark can be transported. YHWH will not stay on Mt. Sinai but will travel with His people.

Exodus 25:16-22, The ark and cherubim

"Then put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you."

     

"Make an atonement cover of pure gold--two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover.

    

"Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.

This is the most significant part of the tabernacle. This is to be a place where YHWH physically appears to communicate to the Israelites.  

What is a cherubim?  It is described here briefly: a creature with wings, but that does not give a lot of detail. We are to think back to Genesis 3:24. (Much of these instructions will have echoes of Creation.)

(NIV footnotes: In verse 17, an atonement cover is traditionally called "a mercy seat".)

Exodus 25:23-30, A table

"Make a table of acacia wood--two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high.  Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it.  Also make around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim. Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners, where the four legs are. The rings are to be close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table.  Make the poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold and carry the table with them. And make its plates and dishes of pure gold, as well as its pitchers and bowls for the pouring out of offerings.

    

"Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before me at all times.

On this beautiful table sits bread (near the lampstand.) The bread of the Presence has traditionally been called the "shewbread".

Exodus 25:31-40, The lampstand

"Make a lampstand of pure gold and hammer it out, base and shaft; its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms shall be of one piece with it. Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand--three on one side and three on the other. Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand.    

"And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair--six branches in all.  The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.

"Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it.  Its wick trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold. A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lampstand and all these accessories.

    

"See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."

This is an elegant lampstand, with crafted branches and buds.  (Does this remind us of Day 3 of Creation? See Genesis 1:9-12.) The seven lamps light the space in front of them, possibly lighting the shewbread.

In the New Testament, in Hebrews 8:5, this last verse will be quoted to emphasize the importance of the ancient tabernacle, now replaced by the actions of the Messiah.

(NIV footnotes: in verse 39, a talent is apparently about 75 pounds.)

Some Hebrew vocabulary

Our Hebrew word for the day is kerub,

כְּרוּב

a masculine noun for an angelic being or an order of angelic beings. These were not cute little babylike creatures often drawn in medieval paintings, but frightening supernatural beings, the first of which we see in Genesis 3 (as mentioned above) guarding (with flaming sword) the way to the Tree of Life. This angelic being, cherubim in the plural, towers over the Ark of the Covenant in verse 22. It is described there briefly as a creature with wings, but that does not give a lot of detail. They would, most likely, have represented God's supernatural servants, surrounding and worshiping Him, as He sat above the mercy seat, watching the worship at the altar.

Some Random Thoughts

The instructions for the building of the sanctuary are intricate and a bit tedious to a modern reader like me. But from the point of view of the Old Testament, from the point of view of the Torah, the sanctuary allowed a dramatic entrance of an infinite God into a finite, physical realm close to the people of Israel. The details of the construction of the sanctuary, of the Ark and the temple, are intended to emphasize this unique physical presence. We will see this emphasis throughout the book of Leviticus.

First published Match 29, 2023; updated Match 28, 2026