(Exodus 26:1) “Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen, and blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with cherubim of cunning work you shall make them."
In the last chapter, God began giving Moses instructions about how exactly to build a tabernacle and its furnishings. He started with the Ark of the Covenant and the candlestand and table and its utensils in chapter 25, and now He continued with other furnishings. Ten curtains were to be made of fine woven linen, with blue, purple, and scarlet threads, used either to embroider cherubim on the curtains, or perhaps to be woven as a tapestry with cherubim depicted.
(2) “The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; and every one of the curtains shall have the same measurements."
A cubit being about 18 in., each of the ten curtains was to be fourteen yards long and two yards wide.
(3) “Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another."
Five of the curtains were to be sewn together to make one large curtain, and likewise the other five were to be sewn together to make another large curtain.
(4) “And you shall make loops of blue on the edge of the curtain on the selvedge of one set, and likewise you shall make in the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set. (5) Fifty loops you shall make in the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is on the end of the second set, that the loops may be clasped to one another."
The edge of each large curtain that had been sewn together from five curtains was to have fifty blue loops on the side edge so that the large curtains could be clasped together.
(6) “And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains together with the clasps, so that it may be one tabernacle."
Fifty clasps of gold were to be made in which to join the two large curtains together, so that the original ten curtains would then be one tent.
(7) "And you shall also make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering over the tabernacle; you shall make eleven curtains."
They were to make a tent or covering of goats' hair to go over the curtained tabernacle, I'm sure to protect the fine linen curtains from the weather. They were to make eleven curtains for the outside covering, one more than for the inside curtains, probably to be able to overlap and cover it well.
(8) “The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; and the eleven curtains shall all have the same measurements. (9) And you shall couple five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves, and you shall double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle."
The goats' hair curtains were to be fifteen yards long, a yard longer than the linen curtains, and two yards wide, the same width as the inside curtains. Thus the outer curtain would fit over the inner curtain with extra length to protect the inner curtain. Five goats' hair curtains would be sewn together as one large curtain, and six would be sewn together as one large curtain. The outer curtain would fit over the inner curtain with extra length to protect the inner curtain. The extra eleventh curtain would overlap at the front entrance of the tabernacle, again as extra protection over the inner curtain.
(10) "And you shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain of the second set. (11) And you shall make fifty brass clasps, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one."
They were to make fifty loops on the edges of each curtain and fifty brass clasps to fasten the curtains to each other so that it was one tent covering over the inner linen tent.
(12) "And the remnant that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. (13) And a cubit on one side and a cubit on the other side, of what remains of the length of the curtains of the tent, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and on that side, to cover it."
This is where these scriptures start to lose me. The outer goats' hair curtain was one curtain width wider, which was two yards wider, and it was a yard longer. Perhaps where I make my mistake is trying to picture this as one large wide curtain wrapped around a square area, whereas it was in reality laid over the whole top and sides. Although I still have difficulty picturing it, I will take Albert Barnes's word for it in his Notes on the Bible: "The measure of the entire tabernacle-cloth was about 60 ft. by 42; that of the tent-cloth was about 67 ft. by 45. When the latter was placed over the former, it spread beyond it at the back and front about 3 ft. (the “half-curtain”) and at the sides 18 inches."
(14) "And you shall make a covering for the tent of ram skins dyed red, and a covering of badger skins above that."
There appears to have been two additional covers for the tabernacle, a covering of red rams' skins to go over the goats' hair tent, and a covering of badger skins to go over the red rams' skin covering. These last two coverings were perhaps more like leather coverings, and some theologians have thought perhaps they were meant to be just over the top as roofs. Then again, they may have gone over the entire tabernacle to keep out the fine desert dust. All these layers would certainly make a temporary tent more solid.
(15) “And you shall make boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright. (16) Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the width of each board."
Speaking of solidity, there were also to be acacia wood boards made for walls or supports. Each board was to be 5 yards long and 27 inches wide.
(17) “Two tenons shall be in each board for binding one to another; thus you shall make for all the boards of the tabernacle."
I believe the meaning here is that each board was to be made with grooves or slots to fit the boards together. The dictionary more accurately defines a tenon as "a projection formed on the end of a timber or the like for insertion into a mortise of the same dimensions".
(18) “And you shall make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side."
There were to be twenty boards for the south side wall. This would make the wall about 45 feet long, assuming the tenons didn't overlap in a manner that would deduct any from the width of the boards.
(19) "And you shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards, two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons."
These silver sockets were to be placed under the boards, a socket for each tenon. They were described in the old commentaries I study as the mortises for the two tenons of each board to be placed in, and would act as the base or foundation of the entire structure.
(20) “And for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, there shall be twenty boards. (21) And their forty sockets of silver, two sockets under one board and two sockets under the other board."
Likewise for the north wall, there were to be twenty boards made with forty silver sockets.
(22) "And for the sides of the tabernacle westward you shall make six boards. (23) And you shall make two boards for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides."
Twenty boards were to be made for the north and south sides, and just six for the western or back side. Two boards were to be made for the two back corners at the end of each of the north and south sides where they joined the back west side. The boards being a cubit and a half in width made the tabernacle about nine cubits wide, or about 4 1/2 yards wide. However, the boards in the back corners would have added to the width.
(24) "And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the top by one ring; thus shall it be for both of them; they shall be for the two corners."
At first, I thought this meant that the back corner boards were to be joined to the north and south sides by rings that fastened each back board to its side board. However, the original word translated as "coupled together" in verse 24 means "be doubled" or "twins"; therefore, the probable meaning is that two boards were doubled together for extra strength at the corners, and the rings were holding the two boards together as one thick board. The same would be made for each back corner.
(25) "And there shall be eight boards and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under the other board."
With the doubled corner boards, there would be eight boards across the back western wall. Each board was to have two silver sockets as described above for the twenty boards on the northern and southern sides, for a total of sixteen sockets for the eight boards.
(26) “And you shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle, (27) And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward. (28) And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end."
Five bars of acacia wood were to be made to go across the boards on each side, probably two at the top, two at the bottom, and one across the middle of the boards to act as stabilizers. "The two sides westward" must mean the two corners at the west end, the southwest corner and the northwest corner. The middle bar reached from one end to the other, which I would assume all five bars would do, so this is where I cease to understand what is meant. Even the old commentators made it clear as mud! Dr. John Gill's explanations seemed plausible and were the easiest for me to understand. It may be that the middle board was the only one that in one piece reached from end to end, whereas the others may have been pieced together. Additionally, it is said that the middle bar was in "the midst of the boards", which might have meant that while the other bars were in rings, the middle one was just in the midst of the boards, perhaps bored straight into the boards. There were objections to that idea, too, so I suppose it is anyone's speculation as to what exactly is meant.
(29) "And you shall overlay the boards with gold, make their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold."
All the boards, rings, and bars were to be overlaid with gold. Perhaps it was only gilded or gold leafed, as some have pointed out how very heavy the boards would have been to take down and carry from place to place. Then again some have objected and said that merely gilding would have been to short-change, and figure that they must have been covered in very thin sheets of gold.
(30) "And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to the pattern which you were shown on the mountain."
When everything was made and completed, they were to raise up the tabernacle. Dr. John Gill pointed out that this was the third time that Moses had been warned to make the tabernacle just as God had shown him. It was even made mention of in Hebrews 8:5 when it was said that Moses had been admonished by God to see that he made everything according to the pattern that he had been shown on the mount.
(31) "And you shall make a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine woven linen of cunning work; it shall be made with cherubim. (32) And you shall hang it upon four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold; their hooks shall be gold, upon the four sockets of silver. (33) And you shall hang up the veil under the clasps, that you may bring in there within the veil the Ark of the Testimony; and the veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the most holy."
A veil was to be made, it seems, in the same fashion of the ten curtains in verse 1, of fine woven linen, with blue, purple, and scarlet threads, used either
to embroider cherubim on the curtains or woven as a
tapestry with cherubim. The veil was to be hung upon four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold upon golden hooks at the top of the pillars, and each pillar upon four silver sockets which probably acted as feet or pedestals for the pillars. The veil was to be hung up under the clasps mentioned in verse 6 which coupled the two large curtains. It's hard for me to picture this, but it seems that wherever the two curtains met and were clasped, under that was to be where the veil hung. The Ark of the Testimony was to be brought within the veil, the veil acting as a divider between the most holy place where the ark was and the rest of the holy place. The original word translated as "veil" was "poreketh" and literally meant "separatrix", something that divides or separates.
(34) "And you shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the most holy place."
They were to put the mercy seat with the cherubim covering it upon the ark acting as a lid for it, and put the entire ark and seat into the most holy place within the veil.
(35) "And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the candlestick across from the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side."
The table was to be placed outside the veil, in the holy place, but not inside the most holy. The table was to be put on the north side, and the candlestick across from it toward the south side.
(36) "And you shall make a hanging for the door of the tabernacle, of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, wrought with needlework."
They were to make a curtain to hang as a door for the tabernacle, of the same blue, purple, and scarlet threads, and fine woven linen, as the other curtains and the veil. "Wrought with needlework" probably means embroidered by hand, rather than woven in a loom, which may have been the case for the curtains in verse 1. Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed forward to Exodus 35:35 to show that both an embroiderer and a weaver were used. This curtain would be referred to as the first veil, and the second veil was the one that separated the holy place from the most holy and held the ark within it.
(37) "And you shall make for the hanging five pillars of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold; and their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five sockets of brass for them."
They were to make five pillars of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, for the first veil. Albert Barnes explained that these pillars belonged just to the entrance of the tabernacle and were not part of the tabernacle itself. I am imagining it as a covered porch area, but it didn't have a floor, so it was just a covered entrance area. Dr. John Gill helped provide an image for me of how it must have looked. He said there would have been one pillar at each corner of the entrance into the tabernacle, and the other three set out front "at a proper distance from each other, so as to make four ways for the priests to enter in at..." I am imagining a pentagon pattern for the pillars, making four places in between each of the pillars to come into the fifth or main opening of the tabernacle. There were to be hooks of gold on which to hang the veil. Sockets of brass were to be made for bases for these pillars, not silver as were the sockets for the second veil of the most holy place.
(Exodus 27:1) "And you shall make an altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be foursquare, and its height shall be three cubits."
An altar was to be made from acacia wood, and it was to be square in shape, about 7 1/2 feet long on each of the four sides. It was to be about 4 1/2 feet tall.
(2) "And you shall make the horns of it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay it with brass."
Horns, or some similar projections pointing upward that resembled horns, were to be made on the four corners of the altar, of the same piece of wood as the altar, not made separately and applied to the altar. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, said that these horns probably had three purposes: for ornament, to tie sacrificial animals in place, and to prevent them from falling off the altar. The altar was to be overlaid with brass.
(3) "And you shall make its pans to receive its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of brass."
All the vessels and utensils for the altar were to be made from brass. There were to be pans for receiving the ashes of the burnt sacrifices, basins for the blood, shovels and forks for handling the pieces of flesh and animal parts, and fire pans that have been described by theologians much more learned than me, as vessels for the burning embers or coals of fire that were taken off the altar of burnt offering, and carried to the altar of incense.
(4) "And you shall make a grate for it, a network of brass; and on the network you shall make four brazen rings in its four corners."
There was to be a brass grate, probably over a hollowed area in the middle of the altar, where the fire would burn. On the grate there were to be four brass rings in its four corners, I imagine to aid in removing the grate.
(5) "And you shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath, that the network may be even to the middle of the altar."
This refers to the placement of the grate. "Under the rim of the altar beneath" is rather difficult language, but I believe what this verse is trying to convey is that the grated area was a lower area in the middle of the altar that was about midway up the height of the altar. Considering the altar was 4 1/2 feet high, that would be a fairly deep grated area for a sacrificial animal.
(6) “And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with brass. (7) And the poles shall be put into the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar to bear it."
They were to make poles of acacia wood, overlaid with brass, with which to carry the altar. I am lost as to how this looked, and didn't get any help from the old commentaries I read. The only rings I know of were the ones on the grate, and I had imagined them for the purpose of raising the grate, but perhaps the brass grate was one piece with the entire overlay of brass and therefore poles through those rings would carry the entire altar. Dr. John Gill was the only one to suggest that these must have been separate rings from the ones on the grate, but that takes speculation, so I just don't know. We do know from the passage above that the poles were used on two opposite sides of the altar to carry it.
(8) “You shall make it hollow with boards; as it was shown you on the mountain, so shall they make it."
The altar was to be made hollow, not solid, perhaps just a framework of planks covered with the brass grating at the top. Albert Barnes pointed out in his Notes on the Bible that the original word for "boards" in verse 8, "luach", is not the same word used for "boards" in Exodus 26:15 when discussing the boards for the tabernacle. That word was "qeresh", and indeed means "boards" or "planks". The word used here can also indicate boards or planks, but is most often used to mean "tables (tablets), plates, or slabs". It comes from a root word meaning "to glisten", so it seems to indicate something with a more polished finish. Mr. Barnes pointed out that the word used here is the same word used for the stone tablets of the law. Also important to note, this is the fourth time that God referred to what "was shown" to Moses on the mountain. It seems as if Moses actually saw a model of how all these things were to be made and look, and is again instructed to make it just as he was shown.
(9) "And you shall make the court of the tabernacle; for the south side there shall be hangings for the court made of fine twined linen of a hundred cubits long for one side. (10) And its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver."
There was to be a courtyard for the tabernacle, enclosed on the south side with hangings of fine woven linen, fifty yards long. The hangings hung on silver hooks upon twenty pillars set in brass sockets. The silver fillets were probably a sort of connecting rods between the pillars. The rods probably went across the top of the pillars as a sort of curtain rod upon which the hooks holding the hangings were attached. Since there were only twenty pillars in a length of fifty yards, the hangings couldn't have hung on the pillars alone, so surely hung on the fillets or rods.
(11) "And likewise along the length of the north side there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, with its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass, and the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver."
The north side was to be made as the south side, with linen hangings fifty yards long upon twenty pillars set in sockets of brass, with silver rods and hooks.
(12) “And for the width of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits, with their ten pillars and their ten sockets. (13) And the width of the court on the east side shall be fifty cubits."
The width of the court was to be 25 yards with hangings upon ten pillars and ten sockets on each of the east and west sides.
(14) “The hangings on one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets. (15) And on the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets."
At the gate or entrance to the court there were to be hangings 7 1/2 yards long hanging on three pillars in three sockets on both sides of the entrance.
(16) "And for the gate of the court there shall be a hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework; its pillars shall be four, and its sockets four."
The gate itself of the courtyard was to be made with hangings ten yards long. These were of fine woven linen and hand embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet threads. The hangings on the entrance door or gate would hang on four pillars in four sockets.
(17) “All the pillars around the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass. (18) The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits, made of fine woven linen, and its sockets of brass."
All the pillars around the court were to be made with rods of silver with silver hooks, and were to stand in sockets of brass. The length of the court was to be fifty yards long, 25 yards wide, and 7 1/2 feet high, made with fine woven hangings.
(19) “All the vessels of the tabernacle in all its service, all its pins, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass."
At first, I assumed the vessels referred to here were the ones to be used at the altar and inside the tabernacle. The altar vessels were indeed to be made of brass. However, the utensils used inside the tabernacle were to be made with gold, so I believe some of the old commentators may be right who suggested these particular vessels may actually refer to the instruments or tools used in making, and subsequently setting up, taking down, and repairing the tabernacle, and were to be of brass. Likewise, the tent pins were to be of brass.
(20) “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually."
The children of Israel were to bring only oil of the best kind, from beaten olives, as opposed to cooked with heat, for the lamp of the candlestand to burn continually. The original word translated as "burn" is "alah" and does not mean burning as in consuming, but rather means "going up" or "ascending", and expresses the action of fire going up to heaven, and this was to be continual.
(21) “In the tabernacle of the congregation outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the LORD; it shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel."
In the tabernacle of the congregation or the tent of meeting or assembly of the people to worship, outside the veil that held the Ark of the Testimony within, there Aaron and his sons were to tend the lamps all night long. Therefore, "continually" may just mean continually all night long. There is a scripture later on which refers to Aaron lighting the lamps at night (Ex. 30:8); they wouldn't have to be lit if they were burning continually 24 hours a day, unless he was just lighting ones that had gone out. This was to be a statute forever that oil be provided for the lamps and that the lamps of the Testimony be lighted and tended this way. This is illustrative of the word of God, which shines as a light in the dark, and is a lamp to the feet, and a light to the path, and enlightens men in all ages forever until the end of the world.
The table was to be placed outside the veil, in the holy place, but not inside the most holy. The table was to be put on the north side, and the candlestick across from it toward the south side.
(36) "And you shall make a hanging for the door of the tabernacle, of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, wrought with needlework."
They were to make a curtain to hang as a door for the tabernacle, of the same blue, purple, and scarlet threads, and fine woven linen, as the other curtains and the veil. "Wrought with needlework" probably means embroidered by hand, rather than woven in a loom, which may have been the case for the curtains in verse 1. Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed forward to Exodus 35:35 to show that both an embroiderer and a weaver were used. This curtain would be referred to as the first veil, and the second veil was the one that separated the holy place from the most holy and held the ark within it.
(37) "And you shall make for the hanging five pillars of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold; and their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five sockets of brass for them."
They were to make five pillars of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, for the first veil. Albert Barnes explained that these pillars belonged just to the entrance of the tabernacle and were not part of the tabernacle itself. I am imagining it as a covered porch area, but it didn't have a floor, so it was just a covered entrance area. Dr. John Gill helped provide an image for me of how it must have looked. He said there would have been one pillar at each corner of the entrance into the tabernacle, and the other three set out front "at a proper distance from each other, so as to make four ways for the priests to enter in at..." I am imagining a pentagon pattern for the pillars, making four places in between each of the pillars to come into the fifth or main opening of the tabernacle. There were to be hooks of gold on which to hang the veil. Sockets of brass were to be made for bases for these pillars, not silver as were the sockets for the second veil of the most holy place.
(Exodus 27:1) "And you shall make an altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be foursquare, and its height shall be three cubits."
An altar was to be made from acacia wood, and it was to be square in shape, about 7 1/2 feet long on each of the four sides. It was to be about 4 1/2 feet tall.
(2) "And you shall make the horns of it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay it with brass."
Horns, or some similar projections pointing upward that resembled horns, were to be made on the four corners of the altar, of the same piece of wood as the altar, not made separately and applied to the altar. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, said that these horns probably had three purposes: for ornament, to tie sacrificial animals in place, and to prevent them from falling off the altar. The altar was to be overlaid with brass.
(3) "And you shall make its pans to receive its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of brass."
All the vessels and utensils for the altar were to be made from brass. There were to be pans for receiving the ashes of the burnt sacrifices, basins for the blood, shovels and forks for handling the pieces of flesh and animal parts, and fire pans that have been described by theologians much more learned than me, as vessels for the burning embers or coals of fire that were taken off the altar of burnt offering, and carried to the altar of incense.
(4) "And you shall make a grate for it, a network of brass; and on the network you shall make four brazen rings in its four corners."
There was to be a brass grate, probably over a hollowed area in the middle of the altar, where the fire would burn. On the grate there were to be four brass rings in its four corners, I imagine to aid in removing the grate.
(5) "And you shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath, that the network may be even to the middle of the altar."
This refers to the placement of the grate. "Under the rim of the altar beneath" is rather difficult language, but I believe what this verse is trying to convey is that the grated area was a lower area in the middle of the altar that was about midway up the height of the altar. Considering the altar was 4 1/2 feet high, that would be a fairly deep grated area for a sacrificial animal.
(6) “And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with brass. (7) And the poles shall be put into the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar to bear it."
They were to make poles of acacia wood, overlaid with brass, with which to carry the altar. I am lost as to how this looked, and didn't get any help from the old commentaries I read. The only rings I know of were the ones on the grate, and I had imagined them for the purpose of raising the grate, but perhaps the brass grate was one piece with the entire overlay of brass and therefore poles through those rings would carry the entire altar. Dr. John Gill was the only one to suggest that these must have been separate rings from the ones on the grate, but that takes speculation, so I just don't know. We do know from the passage above that the poles were used on two opposite sides of the altar to carry it.
(8) “You shall make it hollow with boards; as it was shown you on the mountain, so shall they make it."
The altar was to be made hollow, not solid, perhaps just a framework of planks covered with the brass grating at the top. Albert Barnes pointed out in his Notes on the Bible that the original word for "boards" in verse 8, "luach", is not the same word used for "boards" in Exodus 26:15 when discussing the boards for the tabernacle. That word was "qeresh", and indeed means "boards" or "planks". The word used here can also indicate boards or planks, but is most often used to mean "tables (tablets), plates, or slabs". It comes from a root word meaning "to glisten", so it seems to indicate something with a more polished finish. Mr. Barnes pointed out that the word used here is the same word used for the stone tablets of the law. Also important to note, this is the fourth time that God referred to what "was shown" to Moses on the mountain. It seems as if Moses actually saw a model of how all these things were to be made and look, and is again instructed to make it just as he was shown.
(9) "And you shall make the court of the tabernacle; for the south side there shall be hangings for the court made of fine twined linen of a hundred cubits long for one side. (10) And its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver."
There was to be a courtyard for the tabernacle, enclosed on the south side with hangings of fine woven linen, fifty yards long. The hangings hung on silver hooks upon twenty pillars set in brass sockets. The silver fillets were probably a sort of connecting rods between the pillars. The rods probably went across the top of the pillars as a sort of curtain rod upon which the hooks holding the hangings were attached. Since there were only twenty pillars in a length of fifty yards, the hangings couldn't have hung on the pillars alone, so surely hung on the fillets or rods.
(11) "And likewise along the length of the north side there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, with its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass, and the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver."
The north side was to be made as the south side, with linen hangings fifty yards long upon twenty pillars set in sockets of brass, with silver rods and hooks.
(12) “And for the width of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits, with their ten pillars and their ten sockets. (13) And the width of the court on the east side shall be fifty cubits."
The width of the court was to be 25 yards with hangings upon ten pillars and ten sockets on each of the east and west sides.
(14) “The hangings on one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets. (15) And on the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets."
At the gate or entrance to the court there were to be hangings 7 1/2 yards long hanging on three pillars in three sockets on both sides of the entrance.
(16) "And for the gate of the court there shall be a hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework; its pillars shall be four, and its sockets four."
The gate itself of the courtyard was to be made with hangings ten yards long. These were of fine woven linen and hand embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet threads. The hangings on the entrance door or gate would hang on four pillars in four sockets.
(17) “All the pillars around the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass. (18) The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits, made of fine woven linen, and its sockets of brass."
All the pillars around the court were to be made with rods of silver with silver hooks, and were to stand in sockets of brass. The length of the court was to be fifty yards long, 25 yards wide, and 7 1/2 feet high, made with fine woven hangings.
(19) “All the vessels of the tabernacle in all its service, all its pins, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass."
At first, I assumed the vessels referred to here were the ones to be used at the altar and inside the tabernacle. The altar vessels were indeed to be made of brass. However, the utensils used inside the tabernacle were to be made with gold, so I believe some of the old commentators may be right who suggested these particular vessels may actually refer to the instruments or tools used in making, and subsequently setting up, taking down, and repairing the tabernacle, and were to be of brass. Likewise, the tent pins were to be of brass.
(20) “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually."
The children of Israel were to bring only oil of the best kind, from beaten olives, as opposed to cooked with heat, for the lamp of the candlestand to burn continually. The original word translated as "burn" is "alah" and does not mean burning as in consuming, but rather means "going up" or "ascending", and expresses the action of fire going up to heaven, and this was to be continual.
(21) “In the tabernacle of the congregation outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the LORD; it shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel."
In the tabernacle of the congregation or the tent of meeting or assembly of the people to worship, outside the veil that held the Ark of the Testimony within, there Aaron and his sons were to tend the lamps all night long. Therefore, "continually" may just mean continually all night long. There is a scripture later on which refers to Aaron lighting the lamps at night (Ex. 30:8); they wouldn't have to be lit if they were burning continually 24 hours a day, unless he was just lighting ones that had gone out. This was to be a statute forever that oil be provided for the lamps and that the lamps of the Testimony be lighted and tended this way. This is illustrative of the word of God, which shines as a light in the dark, and is a lamp to the feet, and a light to the path, and enlightens men in all ages forever until the end of the world.
