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Exodus 38

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And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof.

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And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass.

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And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.

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And he made for the altar a brasen grate of network under the compass thereof beneath unto the midst of it.

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And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves.

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And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass.

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And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards.

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And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

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And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits:

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Their pillars were twenty, and their brasen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.

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And for the north side the hangings were an hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

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And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

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And for the east side eastward fifty cubits.

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The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

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And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

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All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen.

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And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.

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And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court.

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And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets of silver.

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And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass.

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This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest.

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And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses.

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And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.

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All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.

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And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:

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A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men.

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And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket.

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And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them.

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And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels.

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And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brasen altar, and the brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar,

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And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.

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Exodus 38

Exodus 38 completes the construction of the outdoor furnishings: the altar of burnt offering, the bronze basin, and the tabernacle courtyard. The altar, five cubits square and three cubits high, was overlaid with bronze and equipped with all its utensils — pots, shovels, basins, forks, and fire pans. The bronze used for the basin and its stand came specifically from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting — a detail that appears only here and raises intriguing questions about the role of these women in Israel's early worship. The courtyard of linen curtains on bronze posts with silver bands and hooks is constructed, one hundred cubits by fifty cubits, with a screen at the entrance. The chapter closes with a detailed account of materials used: how much gold, silver, and bronze was contributed and applied to which elements. The silver came entirely from the census tax — one beka per person — totaling 100 talents and 1,775 shekels. The accounting is remarkable: nothing was given without record, and nothing donated was used carelessly. The careful stewardship of sacred resources reflects the character of the God in whose service they are used. Luke 16:10 captures the principle: whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much.

Exodus 38:1

They built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. The altar of burnt offering — the first object encountered in the courtyard, the primary site of sacrifice — is built exactly as Exodus 27:1 specified. The altar where Israel's daily sacrifices, Passover lambs, and atonement offerings will be presented for the next forty years is built from the same desert wood as the tabernacle's frames. Hebrews 13:10 says we have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat — the altar of Exodus 38 is the type of the altar of Christ's sacrifice.

Exodus 38:2

They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid it with bronze. The four integral horns overlaid with bronze — exactly as Exodus 27:2 specified. The horns that will receive the blood of atonement offerings and serve as a place of refuge (1 Kings 1:50–51) are built into the altar's structure from the beginning. The bronze overlay communicates the altar's place in the material hierarchy: bronze for the outer courtyard. But the bronze of the altar is not inferior — it is appropriate to the altar's function as the site of fire and blood in the open-air courtyard.

Exodus 38:3

They made all the utensils of the altar — its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans — from bronze. All bronze — consistent throughout the altar's service equipment. Every act of the daily sacrifice has its designated tool: pots for ashes, shovels for coals, bowls for blood, forks for meat, firepans for carrying coals. The thoroughness of the equipment reflects the thoroughness of the service: nothing in the covenant worship system is improvised. The tools that serve the altar are as carefully specified and built as the altar they serve.

Exodus 38:4

They made a grating for the altar, a bronze network, and attached it to a ledge halfway up the altar. The bronze grating that sits inside the altar — exactly as Exodus 27:4–5 specified — creates the shelf where the sacrifice rests above the ash. The halfway placement means the fire burns above the grating while the ash falls below for easier removal. The engineering solution that makes the altar's daily operation sustainable: the altar that must receive twice-daily sacrifices for forty years requires a design that can be maintained without constant shutdown.

Exodus 38:5

They cast bronze rings for the four corners of the bronze grating to hold the poles. The four bronze rings at the corners of the grating give the grating its own portable mechanism within the altar. The grating that sits inside the altar can be removed for cleaning or transport via its own poles. The layered portability of the tabernacle system — the altar with its grating, the grating with its own rings — is the engineering of a worship system designed for a mobile community. Every element can move when God moves.

Exodus 38:6

He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. The carrying poles for the grating — acacia overlaid with bronze — are consistent with the bronze-and-acacia construction of the altar itself. The material consistency of the altar system communicates the integrated nature of the outer courtyard's construction: everything at the courtyard level is acacia and bronze. The same material that covers the altar covers its grating's poles.

Exodus 38:7

He inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it. The altar is hollow. The insertion of the poles completes the transport mechanism. The hollow construction reduces weight and provides interior space for the grating. The hollow altar that can be carried by four people is the altar that travels with Israel through forty years of wilderness. The God who travels with His people lives in a portable dwelling served by portable furniture.

Exodus 38:8

They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. The bronze basin and stand are constructed from the mirrors of the women who served at the tent's entrance. This unique detail — the mirrors of women who served — appears only here. Their personal possessions used for self-reflection are given for the construction of the basin where priests will wash. The basin that prevents the priests' death through cleansing is made from what the serving women gave. The gift of the personal for the sacred is as valid for the serving women as for the craftsmen.

Exodus 38:9

Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits long and had curtains of finely twisted linen. The construction of the courtyard enclosure begins with the south wall — exactly as Exodus 27:9 specified. The hundred cubits of fine linen on the south side is the same fine linen as the innermost tabernacle curtains: the boundary of the sacred space is made of the same fabric as the most holy interior. The courtyard that defines the boundary is as carefully constructed as the sanctuary itself.

Exodus 38:10

With twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. The twenty posts on bronze bases with silver hooks and bands — exactly as Exodus 27:10 specified. Bronze at the ground, silver at the connections: the material gradation that moves from bronze at the courtyard level toward silver approaching the sanctuary. The worshipper approaching the tabernacle sees a visual ascent from the least to the more precious material.

Exodus 38:11

The north side was the same — a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. The north side mirrors the south exactly — hundred cubits, twenty posts, twenty bases, silver hooks and bands. The bilateral symmetry of the long walls creates the uniform enclosure surrounding the tabernacle. The God whose covenant is equally available to north and south is surrounded by equal walls on every side.

Exodus 38:12

The west end was fifty cubits wide and had ten posts and ten bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. The west end — the back of the courtyard, where the Most Holy Place is located — is fifty cubits wide with ten posts and ten bases. The proportional relationship of the courtyard dimensions (2:1) is maintained at every scale. The mathematical regularity is the material expression of the covenant's internal consistency.

Exodus 38:13

The east end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide. The east end — the entrance end — is fifty cubits wide, matching the west. The orientation toward the sunrise is noted for the second time (after Exodus 27:13). The sanctuary faces the direction of the rising light. The entrance that faces the sunrise is the entrance that the worshipper approaches from the direction of the new day.

Exodus 38:14

Curtains fifteen cubits long were on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases. The fifteen-cubit curtain sections flanking the entrance — exactly as Exodus 27:14 specified — create the frame for the twenty-cubit gateway opening. Three posts and three bases per curtain section provides the structural support for the entrance flanking. The entrance panels communicate both boundary and welcome: the sacred space is clearly defined and the twenty-cubit opening is wide enough for the community to approach freely.

Exodus 38:15

And curtains fifteen cubits long were on the other side of the entrance to the courtyard, with three posts and three bases. The matching fifteen-cubit curtain section on the other side completes the symmetric gateway frame. The symmetry of the gateway communicates the equal access of all who approach: no favored side, no privileged direction. The community approaches through the same twenty-cubit opening regardless of which tribe they belong to.

Exodus 38:16

All the curtains around the courtyard were of finely twisted linen. The material confirmation for all courtyard curtains — fine linen throughout. The consistency of material across all the courtyard's curtains communicates the unified enclosure: from south to north to west to the entrance flanking, the boundary is one continuous material. The community gathered within the fine linen courtyard is gathered within the same material that surrounds the ark inside the tabernacle.

Exodus 38:17

The bases for the posts were bronze; the hooks and bands on the posts were silver; and their tops were overlaid with silver. So all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands. The complete material specification: bronze bases, silver hooks and bands, silver-overlaid tops. The visual result is a courtyard with the bottom of every post anchored in bronze but the visible portions gleaming with silver. The hierarchy of materials rises from earth level to eye level: bronze at the ground, silver in the sight.

Exodus 38:18

The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was embroidered with blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen. It was twenty cubits long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits high. The entrance screen — embroidered with the covenant colors in fine linen, twenty cubits wide — is the final boundary object. The embroidered entrance screen bearing the full covenant color vocabulary welcomes the worshipper. Psalm 100:4 says enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise — the embroidered gate of Exodus 38 is the gate the psalm invites the community to enter with joy.

Exodus 38:19

With four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. Four posts for the entrance screen — exactly as Exodus 27:16 specified — with bronze bases and silver hooks, bands, and tops. The entrance screen's posts follow the same silver-and-bronze material language as the courtyard walls. The worshipper approaching the gate sees the consistent visual language that surrounds the entire courtyard. The sanctuary's aesthetics are unified from entrance to enclosure.

Exodus 38:20

All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the surrounding courtyard were bronze. The tent pegs — the most ordinary and most invisible components — are all bronze. The consistency of the courtyard-level material even in the most hidden components communicates the principle: every element is specified, every material is appropriate, nothing is left to chance. The tent peg driven into the desert floor to hold the most sacred dwelling place of God is as carefully specified as the gold that covers the mercy seat. Invisible faithfulness and visible glory are both part of the covenant community's service.

Exodus 38:21

These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant law, which were recorded at Moses' command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest. The accounting section begins with the formal identification of who kept the records: the Levites under Ithamar. The record-keeping is itself a covenant act: the materials that Israel gave from willing hearts are documented so stewardship can be verified. The tabernacle's construction is transparent. What the community gave generously, the leadership accounts for faithfully.

Exodus 38:22

Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses. The summary statement of Bezalel's commission fulfilled: made everything the Lord commanded Moses. The everything is the standard — not most things, but everything. The Spirit-filled craftsman appointed by God and announced to the community has done what he was commissioned to do with complete fidelity. The divine appointment and the human faithfulness frame the entire construction.

Exodus 38:23

With him was Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan — an engraver and designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen. Oholiab's specific skills are noted in the final accounting: engraver, designer, embroiderer in the covenant colors and fine linen. Bezalel's comprehensive craftsmanship and Oholiab's specific artisanal skills together cover the complete range of what the tabernacle's construction required. The partnership that God appointed — one from Judah, one from Dan, covering all skills — is the partnership that built everything the Lord commanded.

Exodus 38:24

The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. The accounting of gold: 29 talents and 730 shekels. The sanctuary shekel standard is maintained: the weight measurements use the official covenant standard, not variable commercial weights. The precision of the accounting is the precision of the stewardship: the community's gold was received, used, and documented with complete accountability.

Exodus 38:25

The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. The silver accounting: 100 talents and 1,775 shekels — the census tax collected from the counted Israelites. The silver came from the ransom of every life counted: half a shekel per person. Every man over twenty who was counted contributed equally; the total is the sum of all their equal contributions. The accounting confirms that the silver foundation of the tabernacle represents the ransom of every member of the community.

Exodus 38:26

One beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more, a total of 603,550 men. The census count: 603,550 men twenty years old or more. The same number appears in Numbers 1:46. The beka per person multiplied by 603,550 produces the silver total of verse 25. The mathematical precision of the accounting confirms the completeness of the census: every counted man contributed, and the total materials match the expected total. The tabernacle built on the ransom of 603,550 lives stands on a foundation of comprehensive atonement.

Exodus 38:27

The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases for the sanctuary and for the curtain — 100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base. One hundred talents for one hundred bases — the math is exact and the symbolism is clear. Each base that grounds one frame of the sanctuary is funded by one talent of silver from the ransom of many. Atonement literally supports the presence of God. The weight of the silver that ransomed Israel's lives is the weight that grounds the sanctuary where God meets them.

Exodus 38:28

They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands. The remaining silver — 1,775 shekels beyond the 100 talents — is used for the hooks, tops, and bands of the courtyard posts. From the ground-level foundations to the eye-level connections, the courtyard's silver is the silver of the community's atonement. The boundary of the sacred space is marked with the material of redemption at every level.

Exodus 38:29

The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels. The bronze accounting: 70 talents and 2,400 shekels — the total bronze contributed from the freewill offerings. The bronze that will be fashioned into the instruments of sacrifice and the boundary of the courtyard was given willingly by the community that it will serve. The sacrificial system is funded by the community whose sacrifices it receives.

Exodus 38:30

They used it to make the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all its utensils. The bronze distributed across its uses: the tent entrance bases, the altar, the grating, and all the utensils. The comprehensive allocation of the bronze to specific functions confirms that the accounting tracks material to use. This much bronze for this purpose, that much for that purpose. The transparency of the accounting is the transparency of trustworthy leadership.

Exodus 38:31

The bases for the surrounding courtyard and those for its entrance and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and those for the surrounding courtyard. The final allocation of bronze: the courtyard bases, entrance bases, and all the tent pegs. The tent pegs listed last in the accounting, as they were in the material list of Exodus 27:19. The comprehensiveness of the accounting, from the most sacred to the most ordinary, communicates the consistent principle: nothing in the service of God's dwelling is beneath careful documentation. Stewardship of the sacred extends to the most ordinary components.