HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  26.24 Separate, rather “congruent” (“twinned”); the spaces on each side of the rear planks are to be symmetrical. But joined, rather “and identically (in the same pattern) will they end” (a Hebrew play on “congruent”). First ring, or “one ring,” a single band holding the planks together around the top of the perimeter.

  26.25 Eight, the six planks plus the two corners.

  26.26 Bars, to stabilize the planks in the middle. Side, “flank,” different from side in vv. 18, 20.

  26.28 Halfway up, “in the middle” (cognate to middle). Pass through, cognate to bar. The other bars, surely to be arranged in parallel above and below the middle, do not extend all the way across.

  26.30 Plan, rendered ordinance in 21.1 and “rule” in (see note on) 21.9. Cf. 25.40.

  26.31 Curtain, close in sound to mercy seat (25.17), referred to in v. 34. Cherubim. Cf. 26.1. Skillfully worked. See note on 26.1. The curtain matches the draped walls and ceiling of the most holy place (v. 34).

  26.32 The construction is the same as the tabernacle framework.

  26.33 Under the clasps, i.e., under the ceiling drape; see 26.6.

  26.34 Most holy place, “holy of holies,” the 10-cubit cube on the western end of the tabernacle proper, where the divine presence rests. Symmetry of space signifies holiness; cf. 27.1.

  26.36 Embroidered, not woven in like the curtain (v. 31) since it is farther from the divine presence.

  EXODUS 27

  The Altar of Burnt Offering

  1You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and it shall be three cubits high. 2You shall make horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze. 3You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and forks and firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze. 4You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze; and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. 5You shall set it under the ledge of the altar so that the net shall extend halfway down the altar. 6You shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze; 7the poles shall be put through the rings, so that the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8You shall make it hollow, with boards. They shall be made just as you were shown on the mountain.

  The Court and Its Hangings

  9You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twisted linen one hundred cubits long for that side; 10its twenty pillars and their twenty bases shall be of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver. 11Likewise for its length on the north side there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, their pillars twenty and their bases twenty, of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be of silver. 12For the width of the court on the west side there shall be fifty cubits of hangings, with ten pillars and ten bases. 13The width of the court on the front to the east shall be fifty cubits. 14There shall be fifteen cubits of hangings on the one side, with three pillars and three bases. 15There shall be fifteen cubits of hangings on the other side, with three pillars and three bases. 16For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen, embroidered with needlework; it shall have four pillars and with them four bases. 17All the pillars around the court shall be banded with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their bases of bronze. 18The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, the width fifty, and the height five cubits, with hangings of fine twisted linen and bases of bronze. 19All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, and all its pegs and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.

  The Oil for the Lamp

  20You shall further command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, so that a lamp may be set up to burn regularly. 21In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that is before the covenant,a Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the LORD. It shall be a perpetual ordinance to be observed throughout their generations by the Israelites.

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  a Or treaty, or testimony; Heb eduth

  27.1–8 The courtyard altar, the altar of burnt offering (38.1), is bronze (cf. 30.3; note on 25.3); also cf. 20.24–25.

  27.1 Square. See note on 26.34; the altar is called most holy (29.37).

  27.2 Horns, a symbol of God (cf. Num 23.22 and note that the Canaanite god Baal is depicted with horns on his helmet) or the animals offered; cf. 1 Kings 1.50–53; 2.28–34. Stone altars with “horns” at the four corners have been excavated at several Israelite sites.

  27.4 Grating, to support the ledge (v. 5), on which the officiating priests presumably stood.

  27.5 Down, lit. “up” from the ground.

  27.8 Boards, panels, the same word translated tablets (e.g., 24.12). Shown. Cf. 25.40; 26.30.

  27.9–19 The 50-by-100-cubit rectangular court, a topless tent, surrounds the tabernacle in its western half and the bronze altar in its eastern half; it is assumed that the ark and altar were situated at the centers of their respective squares, in which case the eastern edge of the tabernacle proper lies on the line that bisects the court’s length.

  27.10 Bases, sockets. Hooks, for holding the hangings. Bands, decoration encircling the pillars; see v. 17; 38.17, which also mentions capitals.

  27.13 Oriented eastward, the tabernacle fills with sunlight in the morning.

  27.16 The gate stands in front of an open entryway in the middle of the eastern edge. Screen, like the one in 26.36 but narrower.

  27.19 Use, a term for cultic “service” (cognate to worship in 4.23). Pegs, tent pins whose cords (35.18) stabilize the pillars.

  27.20 To burn, not in the Hebrew. Regularly, every evening (v. 21). The instructions return to service within the tabernacle itself.

  27.21 Tent of meeting, the tabernacle proper (see note on 25.1–31.18). Covenant, elliptical for ark of the covenant (25.22). Aaron and his sons, whoever of Aaron’s lineage is the chief priest at the time (see Lev 24.3). Tend, lit. “arrange,” fill the lamp every evening with enough fuel to burn till daybreak (cf. 1 Sam 3.3). Perpetual, and not the one time implied by 25.1–7. To be observed, added for clarity.

  This plan approximates the court of the tabernacle as it is described in Exodus 27. The 50-by-100-cubit rectangular court, a topless tent, surrounds the tabernacle in its western half and the bronze courtyard altar, the altar of burnt offering, in its eastern half. (From S. R. Driver, The Book of Exodus.)

  EXODUS 28

  Vestments for the Priesthood

  1Then bring near to you your brother Aaron, and his sons with him, from among the Israelites, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2You shall make sacred vestments for the glorious adornment of your brother Aaron. 3And you shall speak to all who have ability, whom I have endowed with skill, that they make Aaron’s vestments to consecrate him for my priesthood. 4These are the vestments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a checkered tunic, a turban, and a sash. When they make these sacred vestments for your brother Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests, 5they shall use gold, blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and fine linen.

  The Ephod

  6They shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen, skillfully worked. 7It shall have two shoulder-pieces attached to its two edges, so that it may be joined together. 8The decorated band on it shall be of the same workmanship and materials, of gold, of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen. 9You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. 11As a gem-cutter engraves signets, so you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; you shall mount them
in settings of gold filigree. 12You shall set the two stones on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for remembrance. 13You shall make settings of gold filigree, 14and two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; and you shall attach the corded chains to the settings.

  The Breastplate

  15You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work; you shall make it in the style of the ephod; of gold, of blue and purple and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen you shall make it. 16It shall be square and doubled, a span in length and a span in width. 17You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of carnelian,a chrysolite, and emerald shall be the first row; 18and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire,b and a moonstone; 19and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be set in gold filigree. 21There shall be twelve stones with names corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel; they shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. 22You shall make for the breastpiece chains of pure gold, twisted like cords; 23and you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 24You shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece; 25the two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings, and so attach it in front to the shoulder-pieces of the ephod. 26You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 27You shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod, at its joining above the decorated band of the ephod. 28The breastpiece shall be bound by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it may lie on the decorated band of the ephod, and so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. 29So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart when he goes into the holy place, for a continual remembrance before the LORD. 30In the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the LORD; thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the Israelites on his heart before the LORD continually.

  Other Priestly Vestments

  31You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a coat of mail,c so that it may not be torn. 33On its lower hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, all around the lower hem, with bells of gold between them all around—34a golden bell and a pomegranate alternating all around the lower hem of the robe. 35Aaron shall wear it when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the holy place before the LORD, and when he comes out, so that he may not die.

  36You shall make a rosette of pure gold, and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the LORD.” 37You shall fasten it on the turban with a blue cord; it shall be on the front of the turban. 38It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall take on himself any guilt incurred in the holy offering that the Israelites consecrate as their sacred donations; it shall always be on his forehead, in order that they may find favor before the LORD.

  39You shall make the checkered tunic of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash embroidered with needlework.

  40For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics and sashes and headdresses; you shall make them for their glorious adornment. 41You shall put them on your brother Aaron, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, so that they may serve me as priests. 42You shall make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh; they shall reach from the hips to the thighs; 43Aaron and his sons shall wear them when they go into the tent of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place; or they will bring guilt on themselves and die. This shall be a perpetual ordinance for him and for his descendants after him.

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  a The identity of several of these stones is uncertain

  b Or lapis lazuli

  c Meaning of Heb uncertain

  28.1–43 The description up to v. 40 concerns the vestments worn only by the chief priest (Aaron) and only when officiating inside the tabernacle.

  28.1 Cf. 6.23.

  28.3 To all who have ability, lit. “to all wise of heart,” cognate to skill. To consecrate. See 29.5–6; Lev 8.6–13. For my priesthood, meaning to serve me as priest (vv. 1, 4).

  28.4 Checkered, or “fringed,” cognate to filigree (e.g., v. 11).

  28.6 Ephod, a long vest (1 Sam 2.18; 2 Sam 6.14) made of the same materials as the curtain (26.31), open at the bottom and fastened at the top; it is possibly derived from the questionable cult object of the same name (e.g., Judg 8.27; 17.5; 1 Sam 21.9; Hos 3.4) used as an oracle (1 Sam 23.9–12; 30.7–8).

  28.7 Attached, permanently (sewn on). The Hebrew is unclear; to its two edges may modify it may be joined, i.e., it is to be fastened at the top corner edges, on the shoulders.

  28.8 Decorated band, a girdle around the middle, perhaps more precisely “the band of the vest.” Decorated is a play on skillfully worked (v. 6); band is cognate to ephod (v. 6) .

  28.10 In the order of their birth (see Gen 29–30; 35), or “according to their lineages,” in order by mother (cf. Gen 46; Num 1).

  28.12 Remembrance, to call Israel, the covenant partner the priest represents, to the Lord’s attention; cf. v. 29; 2.24; 30.16; Num 10.10; 31.54.

  28.13 Settings, in the shoulder-pieces of the ephod (v. 7).

  28.14 Chains, to attach the breastpiece (vv. 22–28) to the ephod.

  28.15 Breastpiece, or “pouch.” Judgment, in the sense of divine messages (cf. 22.9) mediated by the Urim and Thummim (v. 30; see note on 28.30).

  28.16 Square. Cf. 27.1. Doubled, to form the pouch (see note on 28.15).

  28.17 In it. The Hebrew adds “settings of stone.” Stones. The gems in all but row three (v. 19) are said by Ezekiel (28.13) to adorn “Eden, the garden of God” (cf. Gen 2.12) and the king of Tyre; cf. Rev 21.19–20.

  28.23 On the…edges, at the shoulders (cf. note on 28.7).

  28.25 Settings. See v. 13. In front, more precisely “opposite the face (front)” the ephod will double under (v. 26).

  28.26 On…ephod, more precisely “on its lip (hemmed edge) (running) along the ephod on the inside.”

  28.27 See notes on 28.7; 28.8.

  28.28 Bound, linked. Blue. See note on 25.4; cf. Num 15.38. Lie on, more precisely “be (right) over.”

  28.29 In, or “on.” Holy place, the outer part of the tabernacle proper, location of the lampstand and table. Continual, rendered regularly in 27.20. Remembrance. Cf. v. 12.

  28.30 Urim and Thummim, according to comparative evidence, light and dark stones extracted from the pouch for the purposes of divination (see 1 Sam 14.41; cf. Num 27.21; Deut 33.8; 1 Sam 28.6; Ezra 2.63). Bear the judgment, carry the divining medium (cf. note on 28.15).

  28.31 The robe is worn underneath the ephod; it is woven (39.22). All, or “of one piece of,” in Hebrew plays on the sound of blue. Blue. See note on 25.4.

  28.33 Hem, of fine twisted linen (39.24). Pomegranates, a common decorative pattern; cf. the almond blossoms in 25.33–34.

  28.34 Alternating, lit. “a golden bell and a pomegranate,” which rhyme in Hebrew, creating euphony; the rhythmic and sound patterns that adorn the descriptions are lost in translation.

  28.35 The sound of the bells shows courtesy to the deity, who, like a monarch, may not be approached without announcement; cf. note on 25.10–22. So that he may not die, an admonition accompanying various cultic instructions (e.g., 30.20, 21; Lev 8.35; 10.9).

  28.36 Rosette, lit. “flower,” but more probably “shiny plate” (some Hebrew verbs for sprouting denote shining too) on which an inscription could be engraved; cf.
39.30. Holy to, or “sacred property of” (singular in Hebrew of sacred donations in v. 38).

  28.37 Blue cord. Cf. v. 28.

  28.38 On, or “above, over.” Incurred. Cf. Lev 22.3, 9, 15–16. The head-plate may act like a lightning rod, mitigating divine reaction against unwitting desecrations (cf. notes on 19.13; 19.21). Always, regularly (27.20), when he enters the holy place (v. 35). They, the sacred donations (cf., e.g., Lev 22.20).

  28.39 Checkered. See note on 28.4. Tunic, woven of one cloth (39.27). Turban, worn by at least one Judean king (Ezek 21.26). Sash, worn by nobility (Isa 22.21). With needlework, added for clarity. The sash exhibits the royal hues that adorn the chief priest’s vestments; see 39.29.

  28.40 The headdresses are apparently wound on like a turban into a conical shape. See 29.9, where the headdresses are tied or lit. “wound” on. Glorious adornment. Cf. v. 2.

  28.41 Ordain, lit. “fill the hands” (“mandate”). The verse previews ch. 29.

  28.42 Undergarments, drawers; see note on 20.26.

  28.43 Tent of meeting. See note on 27.21. Holy place, here the tabernacle and its court, where the altar stands (e.g., 36.1). Die. See note on 28.35.

  EXODUS 29

  The Ordination of the Priests

  1Now this is what you shall do to them to consecrate them, so that they may serve me as priests. Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, 2and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil. You shall make them of choice wheat flour. 3You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, and bring the bull and the two rams. 4You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and wash them with water. 5Then you shall take the vestments, and put on Aaron the tunic and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the decorated band of the ephod; 6and you shall set the turban on his head, and put the holy diadem on the turban. 7You shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head and anoint him. 8Then you shall bring his sons, and put tunics on them, 9and you shall gird them with sashesa and tie headdresses on them; and the priesthood shall be theirs by a perpetual ordinance. You shall then ordain Aaron and his sons.