Exodus 27:18-20

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Exodus 27:18 tn Heb “100 cubits.”
2. Exodus 27:18 tn Heb “fifty.” The text has “and the width 50 [cubits] with 50.” This means that it is 50 cubits wide on the western end and 50 cubits wide on the eastern end.
3. Exodus 27:18 tn Here “hangings” has been supplied.
4. Exodus 27:18 tn Here the phrase “is to be” has been supplied.
5. Exodus 27:19 tn Heb “to all”; for use of the preposition ל (lamed) to show inclusion (“all belonging to”) see GKC 458 §143.e.
6. Exodus 27:19 tn Here “used” has been supplied.
7. Exodus 27:19 sn The tabernacle is an important aspect of OT theology. The writer’s pattern so far has been: ark, table, lamp, and then their container (the tabernacle); then the altar and its container (the courtyard). The courtyard is the place of worship where the people could gather—they entered God’s courts. Though the courtyard may not seem of much interest to current readers, it did interest the Israelites. Here the sacrifices were made, the choirs sang, the believers offered their praises, they had their sins forgiven, they came to pray, they appeared on the holy days, and they heard from God. It was sacred because God met them there; they left the “world” (figuratively speaking) and came into the very presence of God.
8. Exodus 27:20 tn The form is the imperfect tense with the vav showing a sequence with the first verb: “you will command…that they take.” The verb “take, receive” is used here as before for receiving an offering and bringing it to the sanctuary.
9. Exodus 27:20 tn Heb “lamp,” which must be a collective singular here.
10. Exodus 27:20 tn The verb is unusual; it is the Hiphil infinitive construct of עָלָה (ʿalah), with the sense here of “to set up” to burn, or “to fix on” as in Exod 25:37, or “to kindle” (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 370).
11. Exodus 27:20 sn The word can mean “continually,” but in this context, as well as in the passages on the sacrifices, “regularly” is better, since each morning things were cleaned and restored.