The Building of the Ark of the Covenant and Furnishings and Courtyard of the Tabernacle

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 37:1) And Bezaleel made the ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits was its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height.

Chapter 36 told of how Bezaleel, Aholiab, and the other skilled workers began working on the tabernacle according to the specifications the Lord had given Moses on the mount.  The work continued in chapter 37 with Bezaleel making the ark of acacia wood.  It measured 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.

(2) And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold all around it.

Bezaleel overlaid the wooden ark with pure gold inside and out, and made a crown molding of gold all around the top of the chest.

(3) And he cast for it four rings of gold to be set in its four corners, two rings on one side, and two rings on the other side of it.

He made a gold ring on each corner which made for two rings on one side and two rings on the other side.

(4) And he made staves of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold. (5) And he put the staves into the rings at the sides of the ark, to bear the ark.

He made poles or rods of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.  He put the staves into the rings on each side of the ark so that the ark might be carried by them.  All this work on the ark was being done just as instructed by God in Exodus chapter 25.

(6) And he made the mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits was its length and a cubit and a half its width.

Bezaleel made the mercy seat that was both a lid for the ark and a seat on top of it.  He made it of pure gold and it was 45 inches long and 27 inches wide.

(7) And he made two cherubim of gold, beaten out of one piece on the two ends of the mercy seat; (8) One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side; out of the mercy seat he made the cherubim on its two ends. (9) And the cherubim spread out their wings above, and covered the mercy seat with their wings; with their faces one to the other, the faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat.

He made the mercy seat with two cherubim, hammered and formed one with the seat, on each side of it.  The cherubim were made on each end facing each other with their wings spread above and covering the mercy seat.

(10) And he made the table of acacia wood; two cubits was its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height. (11) And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a crown of gold all around it.

Bezaleel then made a table of acacia wood, 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high. He overlaid it with pure gold with a crown molding of gold all around it.

(12) Also he made a border of a handbreadth all around it, and made a crown of gold for the border all around it.

He made another border or frame about the width of a hand to go all around the table, and it, too, had a crown molding of gold all around it.  As first discussed when God gave Moses these instructions in chapter 25, most theologians figured this was a separate border from the one on top that may have gone from table leg to table leg all around, and acted as a brace around the middle or bottom of the table legs.

(13) And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four corners that were in its four feet. (14) The rings were over against the border as places for the staves to bear the table. (15) And he made the staves of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table.

He made four rings of gold placed on the four corners of the table at the table legs at the border that was to be made all around from leg to leg.  The rings were to be where poles were inserted with which to lift and carry the table.  He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

(16) And he made the vessels which were on the table, its dishes, its spoons, its bowls, and its covers of pure gold.

Bezaleel made all the dishes and utensils that would be used on the table out of pure gold.

(17) And he made the candlestick of pure gold; of hammered work he made the candlestick; its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its knobs, and its flowers were of the same piece.

He made a candlestand of pure gold, and rather than poured into a mold, it was hammered and worked from one piece with branches, bowls, knobs, and flowers.

(18) And six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the candlestick out of one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side.

The original word for candlestick in the scripture above is "menorah" and the seven-branched candelabrum that word brings to mind is more likely what is meant in this scripture rather than a single candlestick.  Bezaleel made it with three branches on one side of the main stick or shaft and three branches on the other side, making seven places for oil lamps, including the shaft in the middle. 

(19) There were three bowls made like almond blossoms on one branch, with a knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almonds in another branch, with a knob and a flower, and so throughout the six branches going out of the candlestick. (20) And in the candlestick were four bowls made like almonds, each with its knobs and its flowers.

The bowls for the oil lamps on each of the branches that extended from each side of the main candlestick were made as almond blossoms, each with an ornamental knob and flower.  The main shaft of the candlestick was made with four bowls made like almond blossoms, each with an ornamental knob and flower.

(21) And a knob under two branches of the same, and a knob under two branches of the same, and a knob under two branches of the same, according to the six branches going out of it. (22) Their knobs and their branches were of one piece; all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold.

The making of this part is no clearer to me than the description of how it should be made in chapter 25.  It sounds as if there was to be another knob made underneath connecting two branches, and connecting another two and the other two, making six branches with three knobs underneath, but since I thought the branches were to be arranged three on one side and three on the other, it does not make sense to me.  I had to refer back to my notes on the initial instructions for this in verse 25 to get any help in explaining it.  Even back there none of the old commentaries I read bothered to explain this, but Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, did mention an interpretation of Jarchi, who was a medieval French rabbi and Torah commentator.  The previous scripture had just spoken of the bowls that were each to have a knob and a flower, and then the next verse speaks of "a knob under two branches of the same".  If "the same" is still referencing each bowl with its knob and flower, then verse 21's "knob" is speaking of the same knob, and what Dr. Gill said Jarchi wrote about it makes sense.  According to him, the knob was like a pomegranate (or an apple), and "two branches were drawn from the two sides of it...this clause is repeated twice in this verse, signifying there should be a knop under each of the three branches on one side, and three on the other side."  Once again these knobs and branches were to be hammered from one mass of gold, and not poured into molds and soldered together.

(23) And he made its seven lamps, its snuffers, and its snuff dishes of pure gold. (24) Of a talent of pure gold he made it, and all its vessels.

He made seven lamps, snuffers, and snuff dishes for each of the bowls at the end of each of the branches (three on each side) and one for the middle shaft.  He made the candlestick and all its utensils from a full talent of gold.  The old theologians and commentators that I read varied greatly in their opinions about exactly how much gold this was, but as discussed in chapter 25, I gathered that generally a talent was understood to be about the weight of a person, and was considered to be roughly 120 pounds.

(25) And he made the incense altar of acacia wood; the length of it was a cubit and the width of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two cubits was the height of it; its horns were of the same.

"He", I assume Bezaleel is the one still making these items, made an incense altar of acacia wood.  It was square, 18 inches on each side, and 36 inches high.  It was made with horns, or some similar projections pointing upward that resembled horns, from the same acacia wood as the altar, probably carved from the same piece of wood.

(26) And he overlaid it with pure gold, the top of it and its sides all around, and its horns; he also made for it a crown of gold all around it.

He overlaid the incense altar with pure gold on its top and sides and on the horns of it.  He also made for it a crown molding of gold.

(27) And he made two rings of gold for it under its crown, by its two corners on both sides, to be places for the staves with which to bear it. (28) And he made the staves of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold.

Two golden rings were made for the altar under the crown molding on each side, into which poles or bars would be placed in order to carry the altar.  The poles were also made of acacia wood like the altar itself, and overlaid with gold.

(29) And he made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary.

It was said that he made the holy anointing oil and the incense of sweet spices, "according to the work of the apothecary".  An apothecary was one who pounded and mixed drugs and perfumes.  There was an art to making the perfect anointing oil and pure incenses, and he had the talent for it.

(Exodus 38:1) And he made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood; five cubits was its length and five cubits its width, it was square, and its height was three cubits.

"He" still refers to Bezaleel from chapter 37.  Either he personally made the altar of burnt offering, or it was made under his direction.  He made it of acacia wood, square, 7 1/2 feet on each side, and 4 1/2 feet high.

(2) And he made its horns on its four corners; the horns were of the same piece; and he overlaid it with brass.

He made horns or some similar projections on the four corners of the altar, of the same piece of wood as the altar, not made separately and applied to the altar.  The altar was then overlaid with brass.

(3) And he made all the vessels for the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the firepans; all its vessels he made of brass.

He made all the vessels and utensils for the altar from brass.  As discussed when God first gave Moses the instructions for these in chapter 27, there were 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 for the burning embers or coals of fire.

(4) And he made a grate of brass network for the altar, under its rim, in the midst of it. (5) And he cast four rings for the four corners of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves.

He made a brass grate for the altar probably over a hollowed area in the middle of the altar, where the fire would burn. As discussed in chapter 27, in the "midst" meant the "middle".  Exodus 27:5 expressed it with a little more detail:  "And you shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath, that the network may be even to the midst of the altar."  He made four rings in the four corners of the grate in which to put poles or bars to move it.

(6) And he made the staves of acacia wood, and overlaid them with brass. (7) And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to bear it; he made the altar hollow with boards.

He made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with brass.  He put the poles into the rings on the side of the altar with which to carry it.  As I had confusion when I first read the description of this altar's poles in chapter 27, I still have it.  I originally thought the rings were on the brass grate and that poles would remove the grate, not carry the entire altar.  Perhaps the brass grate was one piece with the entire overlay of brass and therefore poles through those rings would carry the entire altar.  For the first time I am picturing this altar a little differently; maybe instead of the brass being on top and going down to the middle of the sides, perhaps it was on the bottom going halfway up to the middle.  It does say the altar was hollow.  Perhaps it was open at the top and the ashes would fall through the sides.  If the brass grate was on the sides and under the top, it could be carried by rings on the corners of the brass.  I got no help from the old commentaries that I read, so I was on my own to try to imagine this!  :-)

(8) And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, from the mirrors of the women assembling, who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

He made a brass basin with a brass foot or stand.  He made them from the mirrors of the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle.  We can assume these were devoted women, attending more consistently at the place of public worship than others.  Their mirrors were likely highly reflective brass rather than glass with brass handles as we might picture today.

(9) And he made the court; on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, one hundred cubits long. (10) There were twenty pillars for them, with twenty brass sockets; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.

"He" would still seem to be Bezaleel, but I am beginning to believe more certainly that he alone didn't personally do all this work, but that it was done under his direction.  As I assumed that the "he" in chapter 36 referred back to "every wise hearted man among them who worked on the tabernacle" (Exodus 36:8), I believe all this work being discussed now must be done by other talented and skilled workers than just Bezaleel.  After all, we did read that he was more than a talented craftsman; he had the ability to teach others (Exodus 35:4).

They now made the courtyard for the tabernacle, enclosed on the south side with hangings of fine woven linen, fifty yards long.  The hangings hung on twenty pillars set in brass sockets.  As discussed in chapter 27 when God first gave Moses these instructions, the silver fillets were probably some 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 hooks on the fillets or rods.

(11) And for the north side the hangings were one hundred cubits long, with twenty pillars and their twenty brass sockets; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. (12) And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, with ten pillars and their ten sockets; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were silver. (13) And for the east side fifty cubits.

The north side was made identical to the south side, with hangings fifty yards long on twenty pillars set in sockets of brass, with silver rods and hooks.  On the east and west sides the hangings were made 25 yards long set on ten pillars set in ten sockets, with silver rods and hooks.

(14) The hangings of one side of the gate were fifteen cubits long, with their three pillars and their three sockets, (15) And for the other side of the court gate, on this side and that were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets.

At the gate or entrance to the court they made hangings 7 1/2 yards long hanging on three pillars in three sockets on both sides of the entrance.

(16) All the hangings of the court all around were of fine woven linen.  (17) And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were silver; and the overlaying of their capitals were silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.

All the hangings of the courtyard were made from fine woven linen.  All the sockets for the pillars were made of brass, the hooks and rods were made of silver, and the capitals or tops of the pillars were overlaid with silver.  All the pillars were banded with silver, or perhaps this referred to the rods upon which hung the silver hooks.  

(18) And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and of fine woven linen; twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the width was five cubits, corresponding to the hangings of the court.

Hangings or curtains were made for the gate itself of the courtyard of fine woven linen embroidered in blue, purple, and scarlet.  They were ten yards long and 7 1/2 feet high like the hangings of the courtyard walls.

(19) And there were four pillars with their four sockets of brass; their hooks were silver, and the overlay of their capitals and their fillets was silver. (20) And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court all around, were of brass.

There were four pillars on which the hangings of the gate itself hung.  They stood in brass sockets, their capitals were overlaid with silver, and they had bands or rods of silver and silver hooks.  All the tent pins or pegs were made of brass.

(21) This is the inventory of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, which was counted according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest.

The preceding account contained a detail of all the articles which had been commanded by Moses (from commandment of the Lord)  for the tabernacle for the service of the Levites, over whom Ithamar, the son of Aaron, apparently presided.

(22) And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses. (23) And with him was Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer, and an embroiderer of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.

Bezaleel and Aholiab, men gifted and chosen by God (Exodus 35), had done and overseen the work.

(24) All the gold that was used in all the work of the holy place, that is, the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.

The gold that was used in the work of the tabernacle, the gold that had been offered freely by the people, amounted to 29 talents and 730 shekels.  A talent was 3000 shekels.  What the exact weight of a talent of gold was varies from "expert" to "expert", some saying 60 pounds and some saying as much as 120 pounds; regardless, we are talking about hundreds, even thousands, of pounds of gold!

(25) And the silver from those who were numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary: (26) A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for everyone included in the numbering from twenty years old and above, for six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men.

The silver that was counted here appears to be the silver that was collected in numbering the people, where everyone of twenty years old and upwards (603,550 men) paid half a shekel (Exodus 30:12-14).  The silver amounted to 100 talents and 1775 shekels.  The measuring of weight of silver may have varied a little from the weight of gold (again I get conflicting reports), but again, we are talking about hundreds, actually thousands, of pounds of silver!

(27) And from the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary and the sockets of the veil; one hundred sockets from the hundred talents, one talent for each socket.

The hundred talents of silver were used for the sockets of the sanctuary and for the veil, one talent of silver for each socket.  I didn't personally count each of the sockets, but according to this scripture there were a hundred, and Dr. John Gill wrote, "there were ninety six sockets for the sanctuary or tabernacle, and four for the vail".  A talent being from 50 to 100 pounds of silver, there was a lot of value in the bases of the pillars!

(28) And of the one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, overlaid their capitals, and filleted them.

From the remaining 1775 shekels of silver, the hooks, fillets, and overlaying of the capitals for the pillars of the court were made.

(29) And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand four hundred shekels. (30) And with it he made the sockets for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, the brazen altar, the brazen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar, (31) And the sockets of the court all around, the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins for the tabernacle, and all the pins for the court all around.

The brass from the freewill offerings totaled 70 talents and 2400 shekels.  Once again, I didn't find a definitive answer as to exactly how much brass this was, but it would be in the thousands of pounds.  With this brass were made the brass altar and grate, the vessels and utensils for the altar, the sockets for the courtyard and its gate, and the tent pegs.

In these two chapters, we see how generous the people were in giving for the building of the tabernacle, and how faithful the workmen were in following the instructions of God given to them by Moses.

The People's Freewill Offerings and Work Started on the Tabernacle

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 35:1) And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the words which the LORD has commanded you to do: (2) Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD; whoever does work on it shall be put to death."

In the last chapter, Moses had just come back down the mount a second time from receiving a second set of stone tablets with the Ten Commandments from the Lord, and he now addressed the congregation. He picked up with what the Lord had last told him to tell the children of Israel before the interruption of the golden calf (Exodus 31:12-18), that they were to keep the Sabbath.  This was a repeat of one of the Ten Commandments that the people had heard from the Lord Himself, but as the Lord had re-emphasized it after giving instructions on how to build the tabernacle, Moses now began with this law of the Sabbath before continuing with instructions on construction.  The people had six days in which to do their work, but there was to be strict observance of the Sabbath day.  The seventh day was to be a holy day set aside for rest in the Lord and any violators would be put to death.

(3) “You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day.”

There was a particular prohibition against kindling fires in their personal dwellings on the Sabbath day.  Most all the old commentaries spoke of this being a temporary prohibition that was not long continued.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed out that this law had been implied as far back as Exodus 16:23 when the people were told they were to bake and boil their manna the day before the Sabbath.  It was suggested that maybe this was a prohibition against doing work at home as might be done by smiths or plumbers.  It may have been intended to stress to the people that no work at all was to be done, occupational or personal.  However, it was said that the Jews understood this to be only a prohibition against kindling fire for the purpose of doing work and cooking, but not for light and warmth for rest.

(4) And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, (5) Take from among you an offering to the LORD; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and brass, (6) And blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, (7) And rams' skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood, (8) And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil and for the sweet incense, (9) And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate."

Moses continued telling all the people what the Lord had commanded.  Whoever was willing was to bring to Moses a voluntary offering to the Lord.  Because the items were needed for the building of a tabernacle dedicated to God, there were specific items that were needed, and the people who willingly gave them were said to be offering them to the Lord.  Then began and continued in the next few verses a long list of the items needed as the Lord had first told Moses in chapter 25:  gold, silver, brass, blue, purple, and scarlet threads, fine linen, goats' hair, rams' and badger skins, acacia wood, oil, spices, onyx, and other precious stones.

(10) "And every wise hearted among you shall come and make all that the LORD has commanded:"

The original word for "wise" was "chakam" and it also meant "skilled or artful"; and "hearted" was "leb" referring more completely to the inner part of a man, his intelligence, wisdom, or talents.  The rich who were able and willing were to supply the materials, and those skilled artisans with the talent for working with the particular materials were asked to do the work.

(11) "The tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets, (12) The ark and its poles, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering, (13) The table and its poles, all its utensils, and the showbread, (14) The candlestick also for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light, (15) And the incense altar, its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle, (16) The altar of burnt offering with its brass grating, its poles, all its utensils, the laver and its base, (17) The hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court, (18) The pins of the tabernacle, the pegs of the court, and their cords, (19) The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office."

The next several verses were a list of all the items to be made for the tabernacle.  All were discussed in more detail when the Lord first told them to Moses (Exodus chapters 25-28).  Moses probably didn't give the details at this time, but rather wanted to impress upon them just how much work was to be done and give them an idea of how much material and what skills were needed.

(20) And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. (21) And they came, every one whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all its service, and for the holy garments.

After Moses had told the people what the Lord had told him to tell them, they left from his presence.  It appears that they quickly returned, those whose hearts were stirred by what Moses had told them, and they brought the items they had been told were needed for the work on the tabernacle and its furnishings and garments.

(22) And they came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and ornaments, all jewels of gold, and every man who made an offering offered an offering of gold to the LORD.

Both men and women came, those with willing hearts, none forced to give, and brought all kinds of gold jewelry.  All who brought these items of gold jewelry were said to have made an offering of gold to the Lord.

(23) And every man, with whom was found blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badger skins, brought them. (24) Everyone who offered an offering of silver or brass brought the LORD’s offering; and every man, with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it.

It is stated that every man who possessed the desired royal colored threads, fine linen, goats' hair, and ram and badger skins, brought those things as an offering.  Likewise, every man, with whom was found acacia wood, brought the wood as an offering.  I'm not sure if it was a deliberate distinction, but of the silver and brass offerings, it says that those who did offer silver or brass did bring the Lord's offering; it didn't say every man with whom silver and brass was found.  It was the same way with the gold offered; everyone who did offer it, offered an offering to the Lord, but it didn't say that every man, with whom gold, silver, or brass was found, brought it to the Lord.  These were all definitely freewill offerings brought by people whose hearts were inclined to offer them.

(25) And all the women who were wise hearted spun yarn with their hands, and brought what they had spun, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and of fine linen. (26) And all the women whose hearts stirred with wisdom spun goats’ hair.

All the women who were skilled in spinning brought what they had spun of blue, purple, and scarlet threads, and fine linen.  All the women who were skilled in spinning goats' hair, likewise spun, and we can assume brought their wares.

(27) And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate; (28) And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

The rulers were said to have brought the precious stones, spices, and oils, they being the ones who could afford to possess and offer them.

(29)  The children of Israel brought a willing offering to the LORD, all the men and women whose hearts made them willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the LORD, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.

The children of Israel brought freewill offerings to the Lord, those whose hearts were willing.  All walks of the people offered; those who owned possessions needed, offered them, and those who had skills needed, offered those services for the work to be done for the Lord.

(30) And Moses said to the children of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; (31) And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; (32) And to devise plans to work in gold and silver and brass, (33) And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work."

Moses told the children of Israel that God had called a specific craftsman by the name of Bezaleel, grandson of Hur, who may have been the same Hur that was sometimes third in charge after Moses and Aaron.  God had filled Bezaleel with special knowledge and talents in all kinds of workmanship.  He was able to come up with the design plans and was able also to perform the work of cutting and setting stones and carving wood to make any manner of work imaginable.  It is interesting to note that the original word I translated as "plans" in verse 32 is the same word translated as "cunning work" in verse 33.  The word was "machashebeth", and it meant and was most often used as "contrivance, invention, plan, imagination, thought, purpose".  The KJV used "curious works" and "cunning work".  The other translations used a multitude of other words like "skilled, artistic, craftsman, workmanship, inventive".  I believe the idea is that he had the God-given gift to imagine and design all kinds of beautiful work and he had the skills to make what he imagined.

(34) “And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, both him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. (35) He has filled them with wisdom of heart to work all manner of work, of the engraver, of the designer, of the embroiderer, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver, those who do any work, and those who design artistic works."

Not only could Bezaleel design and do the work, but he also had the ability to teach others, as did Aholiab.  God had filled both men with the wisdom, knowledge, and talents to do all kinds of craftsmanship from designing, to engraving, embroidering, weaving, or any artistic works that surely included precious metals, wood, and stone.  They were able to both design and carry out their designs with their hands.

(Exodus 36:1) Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded.

By this verse, it appears Bezaleel, Aholiab, and all skilled men, in whom God had put the wisdom and gifts to do the work for the sanctuary, began working and doing just as the Lord had commanded them to do.  However, because the verses following speak of Moses calling the men to him and giving them the people's gifts with which they would be working, some commentators believed that verse 1 should have actually been the last verse in chapter 35, and should read in the future tense, rather than the past.  Perhaps Moses was concluding his speech to the people that Bezaleel, Aholiab, and every gifted and talented man, in whom God had given the wisdom and understanding to carry out His plans for the sanctuary, would do the work according to all that He had commanded.  Then again, maybe the men, answering their call by God, began their planning immediately.

(2) And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work.

Here the second verse said that Moses called the men, every skilled man blessed by talents from the Lord whose heart was stirred to help, to come and do the work.  It's either as speculated after the first verse, that this is the proper first verse of the next chapter and Moses now called the men after saying they would do the work.  However, it's just as plausible that verses 1 and 2 were to be read together, stating that the men started right away after Moses's call.  It doesn't make much difference, as the main point stays the same--the workmen started without delay.

(3) And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. And they brought to him freewill offerings every morning.

Moses gave the workers the offerings of the people for the work on the sanctuary, the gold, silver, brass, wood, threads, linen, skins, precious stones, spices, and oil (Exodus 35:22-27).  The people continued to bring freewill offerings every morning.

(4) And all the wise men who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, (5) And they spoke to Moses, saying, “The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the LORD commanded us to do.”

All the different skilled workers came together from the work each was doing to tell Moses that the people were bringing more materials than they needed to do the work the Lord had commanded them to do.  Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, pointed out that this proved what men of integrity they were.  It would have been a perfect opportunity for them to enrich themselves with the surplus of offerings, but these honest men did not consider that.

(6) And Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” And the people were restrained from bringing. (7) For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to be done, and too much.

Moses then gave the commandment and had it proclaimed throughout the camp that the people were to stop doing any more work or bringing any other offerings for the sanctuary, for there was more than enough for all the work that needed to be done.  It was said that the people were restrained from bringing.  So strong was their desire to offer to the Lord's sanctuary that they looked at it as a restraint upon them not to be allowed to do more for it.

(8) And every wise hearted man among them who worked on the tabernacle made ten curtains woven of fine linen, and of blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with cherubim of cunning work he made them.

I would assume that not every single one of the skilled workers made curtains, but that those among them most skilled in this type of work made ten curtains.  They made them with fine linen, and either embroidered cherubim with blue, purple, and scarlet threads, or perhaps wove the threads into a tapestry depicting cherubim.

(9) The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the curtains were all the same size.

The curtains were all made to be 42 feet long and six feet wide.

(10) And he coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another. (11) And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain on the selvedge of one set of curtains; likewise he did on the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set. (12) Fifty loops he made on one curtain, and fifty loops he made on the edge of the curtain on the end of the second set; the loops held one curtain to another. (13) And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains to one another with the clasps, so it became one tabernacle.

Five curtains were attached one to the other, and the other five were attached together, making two long curtains.  Fifty loops of blue were made on the edge of each set of curtains, and with fifty gold clasps, the two large curtains were fastened together to make one large tabernacle.

(14) And he made curtains of goats' hair for the tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains. (15) The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the width of each curtain; the eleven curtains were the same size.

Each of the skilled workers working on the curtains then made eleven curtains of goats' hair, each measuring 45 feet long and six feet wide.

(16) And he coupled five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. (17) And he made fifty loops on the outermost edge of the curtain in one set, and fifty loops he made on the edge of the curtain of the second set. (18) And he made fifty clasps of brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one.

With these curtains, meant to cover and protect the inner fine linen curtain, there were two sets of curtains attached together, one having five curtains, and the other having six.  The workers made fifty loops on the edge of each of the larger curtains they had sewn together, and they made fifty brass clasps to couple the two curtains together to make it one.  The inner fine linen curtain had gold clasps, but this outer curtain had brass clasps.

(19) And he made a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins above that.

Then a covering of rams' skins dyed red were made for the tent, and another covering of badgers' skins was made to go over that.

(20) And he made boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright. (21) The length of each board was ten cubits, and the width of each board a cubit and a half.

I noticed some speculation in the old commentaries about who "he" was who made each of these items.  Moses or Bezaleel were suggested, but I believe "he" refers back to verse 8 with "every wise hearted man among them who worked on the tabernacle", where "he" began being referred to in that very verse.  After the curtains, or perhaps simultaneously, by a different set of workers, boards of acacia wood were made for the tabernacle.  Each board was fifteen feet high and 27 inches wide, standing upright.

(22) Each board had two tenons, equally distant one from another; thus he made for all the boards of the tabernacle.

The original word translated as "tenons" was "yad", and that word was most often translated as "hands" in all kinds of figurative ways.  Each board was made with two tenons, equidistant from one another, so cut and shaped as if hands to fit into and fasten to each other.

(23) And he made boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side. (24) And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards, two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons.

The workers made twenty boards for the south side of the tabernacle.  They made forty silver sockets, so that each board had a socket for each of its two tenons.  As discussed in Exodus 26:19, where we first read of God's description of how the tabernacle should be built, these were to be mortises for the two tenons of each board to be placed in, and would act as the base or foundation of the entire structure.

(25) And for the other side of the tabernacle, the north side, he made twenty boards, (26) And their forty sockets of silver, two sockets under each board.

They also made twenty boards for the north side with forty silver sockets, each board having two sockets for its two tenons.

(27) And for the west side of the tabernacle he made six boards. (28) And two boards he made for the two back corners of the tabernacle.

For the west side they made six boards with two additional boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle.

(29) And they were coupled beneath and coupled together at the top by one ring; thus he did to both of them in both the corners.

As first discussed in Exodus 26, I believe the meaning is that the corner boards were coupled or doubled with twin boards coupled together with a ring at the top for extra strength at the corners.

(30) And there were eight boards and their sockets, sixteen sockets of silver, two sockets under every board.

The six boards made for the west side plus the two corner boards made eight boards across the back west side.  Each board had two silver sockets, totaling sixteen sockets for the eight boards.

(31) And he made bars of acacia wood, five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle, (32) And five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the sides westward.

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.

(33)  And he made the middle bar to shoot through the boards from one end to the other.

As I didn't totally understand when God first gave Moses these directions in chapter 26, I still don't understand how the middle board was any different than the other four boards.  Dr. John Gill gave a plausible explanation in his notes from chapter 26.  Exodus 26:28 spoke of "the middle bar in the midst of the boards" reaching from end to end.  Here it speaks of the middle bar shooting through the boards from one end to the other.  Perhaps the other boards were placed across or on top of the vertical boards, whereas the middle board was made to go through the vertical boards, literally bored through inside the vertical boards.

(34) And he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold to be places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

"He", the skilled worker, overlaid each of the boards with gold.  He made rings of gold to hold the bars in place, with the exception of the middle bar which may have been bored through the vertical boards rather than hung in rings over them.  He also overlaid the bars with gold.

(35) And he made a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine woven linen; with cherubim he made it of cunning work.

He made a veil in the same fashion as the ten curtains in verse 8 above, 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.

(36) And he made for it four pillars of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold, with their hooks of gold; and he cast four sockets of silver for them.

The worker or workers made four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold upon which to hang the veil.  They made golden hooks to hang the veil and silver sockets which may have acted as feet for the pillars.

(37) And he made a hanging for the tabernacle door of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine woven linen, of needlework; (38) And the five pillars of it with their hooks; and he overlaid their capitals and their rings with gold, but their five sockets were of brass.

They made 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.  "Of needlework", or "wrought with needlework"as it was described in Exodus 26:36, probably meant embroidered by hand, rather than woven in a loom.  This "door" had five pillars of acacia wood probably in a pentagon shape that acted as a covered entrance to the tabernacle.  They also made hooks and overlaid capitals and rings with gold, but for the sockets, they used brass instead of silver as with the indoor pillars.

Most everything recorded in chapter 36 was touched upon in chapter 26 when God first gave Moses explicit instructions on how to build the tabernacle.  In those initial instructions God told Moses repeatedly to make sure they built the tabernacle "according to the pattern which you were shown on the mountain" (Exodus 26:30).  Moses recorded the execution of the plans to show that the work was indeed done according to the directions given and the pattern shown to Moses.

God Gives Moses the Tablets of Stone

Continuing a Bible study in a chronological order set forth by Skip Andrews here:

(Exodus 31:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah."

In the previous chapters, God had been telling Moses how to build a tabernacle, how to make the various altars and utensils that would be used in the tabernacle, and how to clothe and anoint the priests.  He now told him that he had called a specific craftsman by the name of Bezaleel to do some of the work.  Bezaleel was from the tribe of Judah, the grandson of Hur, who was probably the same Hur that was with Moses and Aaron and helped support Moses's hands during the battle with Amalek (Exodus 17:10-12), and who was left in charge with Aaron while Moses was on the mountain (Exodus 24:14).

(3) "And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, (4) To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, (5) And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship."

God said He had filled Bezaleel with His own Spirit in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in all sorts of workmanship, to be able to create and construct designs in gold, silver, brass, as well as the cutting and setting of jewels, and wood carving.  This shows how the "natural talents" of a person are gifts from God.  We all have seen the difference between someone who reads and studies to do something, and one who seems to have been born with a natural talent to do the same thing.  That "natural" talent is God-given and God-inspired by His own spirit, and we should be ever thankful to Him for the talents we possess.

(6) “And I, behold I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all who are wise hearted, that they may make all that I have commanded you:"

God also called Aholiab, who was from a different tribe, to work with Bezaleel.  The commentaries that I study suggest in so many words that this was to keep one tribe from getting too prideful.  All parts of the body of Christ are needed and have honor (1 Corinthians, chapter 12).  God once again said that He was the One who put wisdom in all who are wise, and He had put the talents in these two men to carry out all He had commanded Moses to make.

(7) "The tabernacle of the congregation, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, (8) And the table and its utensils, the pure gold candlestick with all its utensils, the altar of incense, (9) And the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base, (10) And the cloths of service, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office, (11) And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place; according to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”

God then gave Moses a recap of all that He had commanded him that these two men should make--the tabernacle itself, the ark with its mercy seat, all the furnishings and utensils of the tabernacle, the candlestick, the altars, the wash basin, the holy garments to be worn by the priests, the incense, and the anointing oil.  All the instructions that God had given Moses in the previous several chapters, He now instructed to be carried out by Bezaleel and Aholiab.

(12) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (13) “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Verily My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. (14) You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you; everyone who defiles it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. (15) Six days may work be done, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.'"

In their work on the tabernacle and its furnishings, God told Moses to warn the people that they were to observe the Sabbaths of the Lord.  That was a sign between God and His people that He had given them as one of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, that was to be observed throughout their generations, and was not to be skipped even in their zeal to do God's work on the tabernacle.  It was Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, who pointed out in the last chapter that here was where there was a distinction between being put to death and being cut off from his people.  If you read verse 14 alone, you might assume there was a difference between defiling the Sabbath and working on the Sabbath.  Perhaps defiling it was to do evil on the day or to worship idols on the day set aside for God.  It was Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, who referred to Isaiah 56:2, where God said that the man was blessed who kept his hand from doing any evil on the Sabbath.  Defiling, doing evil, on the Sabbath was punishable by death, but perhaps disobeying in one's zeal for God and neglecting the Sabbath, was still disobedience and punishable by excommunication, but perhaps was distinguished from the evil act deserving of death.  However, when you read the verse in context along with verse 15, scripture clearly states that doing work on the Sabbath does defile it, and that act alone was punishable by death.  The Sabbath was a holy day set aside for rest and devoted entirely to God.  Ignoring it was defiling that holy day and was punishable by death.

(16) "‘Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. (17) It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”

The children of Israel were admonished to always observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant between them and God, at least as long as the Mosaic law continued until the coming of the Messiah.  It was a sign between God and His children, patterned after His creation week when the Lord made heaven and earth in six days, and then rested on the seventh.  Not only did He rest, but He was refreshed.  That is a remarkable statement regarding the God of the universe!  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, pointed out that this word "refreshed" was not applied to God anywhere else in the Bible.  Indeed, I found it in only two other verses, one in Exodus 23:12 where it referred to the people being refreshed on the Sabbath day, and one in 2nd Samuel 16:14, where the king and the people refreshed themselves.  Obviously, God did not have need of a rest to be refreshed, but wanted His people to imitate His example because mere humans indeed did need rest.  Jesus Himself said in Mark 2:27 that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man made for the Sabbath.  God made the Sabbath to be a rest and refreshment for man, and He patterned it after His creation week.  In observing the Sabbath, the children of Israel declared to the world that they worshiped the one true God who created the world in six days and rested on the seventh.  It was a sign that they were His people, and He was their Lord. 

(18) And He gave to Moses, when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, two tablets of testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

At the end of God's conversation with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two stone tablets, incredibly written with His own finger, a lasting record of testimony that represented the covenant between God and His people.  Some theologians have suggested that God didn't actually write the tablets Himself; "with the finger of God" meant it was done instantaneously, by His will and power immediately, without the use of any instrument.  Others, like Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, citing Dr. Henry Winder in his History of Knowledge, believed that not only did God write the tablets Himself, but that until He did, there had been no writing in alphabetical characters, but only marks or symbols or hieroglyphics.  I don't see that that is confirmed by scripture.  Back in Exodus 17:14, God told Moses to write a memorial in a book.  True, it could have been written with symbols, but I see no need to prove that God invented the alphabet.  I do believe it is confirmed in scripture that God Himself wrote the tablets.  In Exodus 24:12, God told Moses to come up to Him on the mountain where He would give him tablets of stone which He had written.  A little later in Exodus 32:16, it will refer to the writing on the tablets being the writing of God.  As He always does to surely establish a fact (Deu. 19:15, Matt 18:16, 2 Cor 13:1), this was confirmed at least three times in scripture, so I believe that God did indeed write the tablets.  Whether He took the time to painstakingly chisel them into stone, or spoke them and they were instantly written, I don't see that it makes a difference.  God wrote the tablets so that His people would have a permanent record of His Testimony, that is, the written laws of His will concerning His people.  This permanent record written by their Lord Himself emphasized the supreme importance His law was to play in their lives.  I believe the stone tablets "written with the finger of God" is illustrative and representative of the fact that these laws were to be ultimately and even more permanently written on our hearts (2 Corinthians 3:3).