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38 Bezalel made the altar for burnt offerings out of acacia wood. He made it square—seven and a half feet long by seven and a half feet wide—and four and a half feet high. He constructed it with horns on each of the four corners so that the top formed one piece and overlaid it with bronze. He fashioned all the tools and accessories needed for the altar out of bronze—the buckets and shovels for the ashes, basins, forks, and fire pans. He made a grate out of bronze and attached it beneath the ledge of the altar, halfway up from the base. He cast four bronze rings and attached them at the four corners of the bronze grating in order to hold the poles. He made poles out of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. He then slid the poles through the rings on both sides of the altar so that it could be carried. He made the altar out of wooden planks and made it hollow so that it would be easier to move.

Bezalel made the bronze basin and its stand from the mirrors donated by the women who served at the entrance of the congregation tent.

In Moses’ day mirrors are a luxury. They are made from good-quality bronze that is polished to a shine. These mirrors were likely gifts from the Egyptians.

Bezalel then made fabric panels out of finely woven linen to enclose the courtyard in front of the congregation tent. On the south side, he hung a series of panels for 150 feet 10 on 20 bronze posts set securely into 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands used to attach the panels to the posts were made out of silver. 11 On the north side, he hung a series of panels for 150 feet on 20 bronze posts set securely into 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands used to attach them to the posts were made out of silver. 12 On the west end, he hung panels for 75 feet on 10 bronze posts set securely into 10 bronze bases. The hooks and bands used to attach them to the posts were made out of silver. 13 For the front, which faced the east, he hung panels for 75 feet. 14-15 On both sides of the entrance, he hung panels that were 22½ feet wide on three posts set into three bases. 16 All the fabric panels enclosing the courtyard were made of finely woven linen.

17 The bases for the posts were all crafted out of bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were all made out of silver, and the tops of each post were overlaid with silver. All the rings which attached the panels to the posts were made of silver.

18 The fabric screen that served as the entrance to the courtyard was made of finely woven linen richly embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet thread. It was 30 feet long and seven and a half feet high, the same height as the rest of the panels around the court. 19 It was held up by four bronze posts set into four bronze bases. The hooks and the rings which attached the panels to the posts were crafted out of silver, and the tops of each post were overlaid with silver. 20 Every peg which anchored the congregation tent and the courtyard enclosure to the ground was made out of bronze.

21 Here is an account of everything used to construct the congregation tent—the tent of witness—recorded exactly as Moses instructed. The Levites, under the supervision of Aaron’s son Ithamar, were in charge of keeping track of the materials. 22 Bezalel (son of Uri the son of Hur, a Judahite) built everything according to the instructions the Eternal One had given Moses. 23 Oholiab (son of Ahisamach the Danite) assisted Bezalel. He was an expert engraver, designer, and embroiderer with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and fine linen.

24 The total weight of gold donated by the Israelites and used in the construction of the congregation tent was about 2,200 pounds[a] (according to the official standards used in the sanctuary). 25 The total weight of silver collected from the people to be used for the congregation tent was about 7,600 pounds[b] (according to the official standards used in the sanctuary). 26 For every person counted in the census—603,550 men age 20 and older—this amounts to two-tenths of an ounce[c] per person (according to the official standards used in the sanctuary). 27 The 100 bases used for the sanctuary and for the veil were cast out of 7,500 pounds of silver, that is 75 pounds per base. 28 He used the remaining silver, about 45 pounds, to make the hooks and bands for the posts and to overlay the tops of each post. 29 The Israelites had also donated about 5,300 pounds of bronze.[d] 30 From it he crafted the bases at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grating, all the tools for the altar, 31 the bases around the courtyard and the entrance, and all the tent pegs for the congregation tent and courtyard.

Footnotes

  1. 38:24 Or 29 talents and 730 shekels
  2. 38:25 Or 100 talents and 1,775 shekels
  3. 38:26 A Hebrew beka is ⅕ of an ounce or 5.5 grams.
  4. 38:29 Or 70 talents and 2,400 shekels

The Altar of Burnt Offering(A)

38 They[a] built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits[b] high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.[c] They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid the altar with bronze.(B) They made all its utensils(C) of bronze—its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. They made a grating for the altar, a bronze network, to be under its ledge, halfway up the altar. They cast bronze rings to hold the poles for the four corners of the bronze grating. They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. They inserted the poles into the rings so they would be on the sides of the altar for carrying it. They made it hollow, out of boards.

The Basin for Washing

They made the bronze basin(D) and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women(E) who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

The Courtyard(F)

Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits[d] long and had curtains of finely twisted linen, 10 with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 11 The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

12 The west end was fifty cubits[e] wide and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 13 The east end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide. 14 Curtains fifteen cubits[f] long were on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, 15 and curtains fifteen cubits long were on the other side of the entrance to the courtyard, with three posts and three bases. 16 All the curtains around the courtyard were of finely twisted linen. 17 The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver; so all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands.

18 The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was made of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer. It was twenty cubits[g] long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits[h] high, 19 with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. 20 All the tent pegs(G) of the tabernacle and of the surrounding courtyard were bronze.

The Materials Used

21 These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the covenant law,(H) which were recorded at Moses’ command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar(I) son of Aaron, the priest. 22 (Bezalel(J) son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses; 23 with him was Oholiab(K) son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan—an engraver and designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.) 24 The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary(L) was 29 talents and 730 shekels,[i] according to the sanctuary shekel.(M)

25 The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census(N) was 100 talents[j] and 1,775 shekels,[k] according to the sanctuary shekel— 26 one beka per person,(O) that is, half a shekel,[l] according to the sanctuary shekel,(P) from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more,(Q) a total of 603,550 men.(R) 27 The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases(S) for the sanctuary and for the curtain—100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base. 28 They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands.

29 The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels.[m] 30 They used it to make the bases for the entrance to the tent of meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all its utensils, 31 the bases for the surrounding courtyard and those for its entrance and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and those for the surrounding courtyard.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 38:1 Or He; also in verses 2-9
  2. Exodus 38:1 That is, about 4 1/2 feet or about 1.4 meters
  3. Exodus 38:1 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters long and wide
  4. Exodus 38:9 That is, about 150 feet or about 45 meters
  5. Exodus 38:12 That is, about 75 feet or about 23 meters
  6. Exodus 38:14 That is, about 22 feet or about 6.8 meters
  7. Exodus 38:18 That is, about 30 feet or about 9 meters
  8. Exodus 38:18 That is, about 7 1/2 feet or about 2.3 meters
  9. Exodus 38:24 The weight of the gold was a little over a ton or about 1 metric ton.
  10. Exodus 38:25 That is, about 3 3/4 tons or about 3.4 metric tons; also in verse 27
  11. Exodus 38:25 That is, about 44 pounds or about 20 kilograms; also in verse 28
  12. Exodus 38:26 That is, about 1/5 ounce or about 5.7 grams
  13. Exodus 38:29 The weight of the bronze was about 2 1/2 tons or about 2.4 metric tons.