Chapter Summary
Chapter 38 details the final construction phases of the Tabernacle and its courtyard, specifically focusing on the bronze altar for offerings, the bronze washing basin, and the surrounding fence for the sacred area. It meticulously describes the dimensions and materials used for these structures, including the pillars, curtains, and various tools needed for worship. The chapter concludes by listing the exact quantities of gold, silver, and bronze donated by the Israelite community and used in the entire Tabernacle project, acknowledging Bezaleel and Aholiab as the master craftsmen who carried out all of God's instructions.
Bible:Essence Verses
- He constructed the special altar for burnt offerings using wood from acacia trees. It measured five cubits long and five cubits wide, making it a perfect square, and its height was three cubits.
- He fashioned projections resembling horns on each of its four corners; these horns were made from the same wood and were securely attached. Then, he covered the entire altar with bronze.
- He also crafted all the necessary tools for the altar, including the ash containers, shovels, sprinkling bowls, large forks for handling meat, and pans for carrying hot coals. Every one of these items was made of bronze.
- For the altar, he made a bronze grill that looked like a net, placing it underneath the altar's rim, extending halfway down from the top.
- He cast four bronze rings, attaching them to the four corners of this grate, to serve as holders for the carrying poles.
- The carrying poles themselves were made from acacia wood and then covered with bronze.
- He inserted these poles into the rings on the altar's sides, so it could be lifted and transported. He built the altar to be hollow inside, using wooden boards.
- He created the bronze basin (or laver) and its bronze stand from the polished bronze mirrors that had belonged to the women who served and gathered at the entrance of the meeting tent.
- Next, he constructed the courtyard. Along the south side, the boundary curtains, woven from fine twisted linen, stretched for one hundred cubits.
- This section was supported by twenty pillars, each resting in a bronze base. The hooks on the pillars and the decorative bands connecting them were made of silver.
- For the north side, the curtains were also one hundred cubits long, supported by twenty pillars with twenty bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were silver.
- On the west side, the curtains measured fifty cubits, held up by ten pillars with ten bases. Their hooks and bands were silver.
- The east side, facing the sunrise, also measured fifty cubits in total.
- The curtains for one section of the courtyard gate were fifteen cubits long, supported by three pillars with three bases.
- For the other section of the courtyard gate, on the opposite side, the curtains were also fifteen cubits long, held up by three pillars with three bases.
- All the curtains enclosing the entire courtyard were made from fine twisted linen.
- The bases for all the courtyard pillars were made of bronze, while the hooks on the pillars and their connecting bands were silver. The decorative tops of the pillars were also covered with silver, and all the courtyard pillars had silver bands around them.
- The main curtain for the courtyard gate was a beautiful piece of needlework, crafted with blue, purple, and scarlet yarns, and fine twisted linen. It was twenty cubits long and five cubits high, matching the height of the other courtyard curtains.
- This gate curtain was supported by four pillars, each with a bronze base. Their hooks, the silver coverings for their tops, and their decorative bands were all made of silver.
- Every peg used for securing the sacred tent and the surrounding courtyard was made of bronze.
- This is an inventory of the materials used for the Tent of the Covenant, compiled as commanded by Moses, for the work performed by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, who was Aaron the priest's son.
- Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah, diligently completed every task the LORD had instructed Moses to do.
- Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, from the tribe of Dan, worked alongside him. Aholiab was skilled in engraving, a master craftsman, and an expert embroiderer using blue, purple, and scarlet threads, as well as fine linen.
- The total amount of gold used for the construction of all the holy items and the sacred place, which was received as offerings, came to twenty-nine talents and seven hundred thirty shekels, according to the official weight of the sanctuary.
- The silver collected from the Israelites who were counted in the census amounted to one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred seventy-five shekels, based on the sanctuary's official weight.
- Each man who was counted, specifically those twenty years old and above, paid a bekah, which is half a shekel by the sanctuary standard. The total number of men counted was six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty.
- Out of the one hundred talents of silver, the bases for the sacred tent and the curtain separating the holy places were cast. One hundred bases were made from one hundred talents, meaning one talent of silver for each base.
- With the remaining one thousand seven hundred seventy-five shekels of silver, he crafted hooks for the pillars, covered the tops of the pillars, and made the bands for them.
- The bronze that was offered totaled seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels.
- With this bronze, he made the bases for the entrance of the meeting tent, the bronze altar, its bronze grate, and all the tools for the altar.
- He also used the bronze for all the bases around the courtyard, the bases for the courtyard gate, and all the pegs for both the sacred tent and the surrounding courtyard.