Worthy.Bible » Parallel » Exodus » Chapter 36 » Verse 20-34

Exodus 36:20-34 King James Version (KJV)

20 And he made boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood, standing up.

21 The length of a board was ten cubits, and the breadth of a board one cubit and a half.

22 One board had two tenons, equally distant one from another: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle.

23 And he made boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward:

24 And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons.

25 And for the other side of the tabernacle, which is toward the north corner, he made twenty boards,

26 And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.

27 And for the sides of the tabernacle westward he made six boards.

28 And two boards made he for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides.

29 And they were coupled beneath, and coupled together at the head thereof, to one ring: thus he did to both of them in both the corners.

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

31 And he made bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,

32 And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the sides westward.

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

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.


Exodus 36:20-34 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

20 And he made H6213 boards H7175 for the tabernacle H4908 of shittim H7848 wood, H6086 standing up. H5975

21 The length H753 of a board H7175 was ten H6235 cubits, H520 and the breadth H7341 of a board H7175 one H259 cubit H520 and a half. H2677

22 One H259 board H7175 had two H8147 tenons, H3027 equally distant H7947 one H259 from H413 another: H259 thus did he make H6213 for all the boards H7175 of the tabernacle. H4908

23 And he made H6213 boards H7175 for the tabernacle; H4908 twenty H6242 boards H7175 for the south H5045 side H6285 southward: H8486

24 And forty H705 sockets H134 of silver H3701 he made H6213 under the twenty H6242 boards; H7175 two H8147 sockets H134 under one H259 board H7175 for his two H8147 tenons, H3027 and two H8147 sockets H134 under another H259 board H7175 for his two H8147 tenons. H3027

25 And for the other H8145 side H6763 of the tabernacle, H4908 which is toward the north H6828 corner, H6285 he made H6213 twenty H6242 boards, H7175

26 And their forty H705 sockets H134 of silver; H3701 two H8147 sockets H134 under one H259 board, H7175 and two H8147 sockets H134 under another H259 board. H7175

27 And for the sides H3411 of the tabernacle H4908 westward H3220 he made H6213 six H8337 boards. H7175

28 And two H8147 boards H7175 made H6213 he for the corners H4742 of the tabernacle H4908 in the two sides. H3411

29 And they were coupled H8382 beneath, H4295 and coupled H8382 together H3162 at the head H7218 thereof, to one H259 ring: H2885 thus he did H6213 to both H8147 of them in both H8147 the corners. H4740

30 And there were eight H8083 boards; H7175 and their sockets H134 were sixteen H8337 H6240 sockets H134 of silver, H3701 under every H259 board H7175 two H8147 H8147 sockets. H134 H134

31 And he made H6213 bars H1280 of shittim H7848 wood; H6086 five H2568 for the boards H7175 of the one H259 side H6763 of the tabernacle, H4908

32 And five H2568 bars H1280 for the boards H7175 of the other H8145 side H6763 of the tabernacle, H4908 and five H2568 bars H1280 for the boards H7175 of the tabernacle H4908 for the sides H3411 westward. H3220

33 And he made H6213 the middle H8484 bar H1280 to shoot H1272 through H8432 the boards H7175 from the one end H7097 to the other. H7097

34 And he overlaid H6823 the boards H7175 with gold, H2091 and made H6213 their rings H2885 of gold H2091 to be places H1004 for the bars, H1280 and overlaid H6823 the bars H1280 with gold. H2091


Exodus 36:20-34 American Standard (ASV)

20 And he made the boards for the tabernacle, of acacia wood, standing up.

21 Ten cubits was the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board.

22 Each board had two tenons, joined one to another: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle.

23 And he made the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards for the south side southward.

24 And he made forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons.

25 And for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty boards,

26 and their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.

27 And for the hinder part of the tabernacle westward he made six boards.

28 And two boards made he for the corners of the tabernacle in the hinder part.

29 And they were double beneath; and in like manner they were entire unto the top thereof unto one ring: thus he did to both of them in the two corners.

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

31 And he made bars of acacia wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,

32 and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the hinder part westward.

33 And he made the middle bar to pass through in the midst of the boards from the one end to the other.

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


Exodus 36:20-34 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

20 And he maketh the boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood, standing up;

21 ten cubits `is' the length of the `one' board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of the `one' board;

22 two handles `are' to the one board, joined one unto another; so he hath made for all the boards of the tabernacle.

23 And he maketh the boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward;

24 and forty sockets of silver he hath made under the twenty boards, two sockets under the one board for its two handles, and two sockets under the other board for its two handles.

25 And for the second side of the tabernacle, for the north side, he hath made twenty boards,

26 and their forty sockets of silver, two sockets under the one board, and two sockets under the other board;

27 and for the sides of the tabernacle, westward, hath he made six boards;

28 and two boards hath he made for the corners of the tabernacle, in the two sides;

29 and they have been twins below, and together they are twins at its head, at the one ring; so he hath done to both of them at the two corners;

30 and there have been eight boards; and their sockets of silver `are' sixteen sockets, two sockets under the one board.

31 And he maketh bars of shittim wood, five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,

32 and five bars for the boards of the second side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle, for the sides westward;

33 and he maketh the middle bar to enter into the midst of the boards from end to end;

34 and the boards he hath overlaid with gold, and their rings he hath made of gold, places for bars, and he overlayeth the bars with gold.


Exodus 36:20-34 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

20 And he made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia-wood, standing up;

21 ten cubits the length of the boards, and one cubit and a half the breadth of one board;

22 two tenons in one board, connected one with the other: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle.

23 And he made the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards for the south side southward;

24 and he made forty bases of silver under the twenty boards, two bases under one board, for its two tenons, and two bases under another board for its two tenons.

25 And for the other side of the tabernacle, on the side toward the north, he made twenty boards,

26 and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one board, and two bases under another board.

27 And at the rear of the tabernacle, westward, he made six boards;

28 and he made two boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the rear;

29 and they were joined beneath, and were coupled together at the top thereof into one ring: thus he did to both of them in both the corners;

30 and there were eight boards, and their silver bases: sixteen bases, under every board two bases.

31 -- And he made bars of acacia-wood: five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,

32 and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle at the rear, westward.

33 And he made the middle bar in the midst of the boards reach from one end to the other.

34 And he overlaid the boards with gold; and made their rings of gold [as] receptacles for the bars; and overlaid the bars with gold.


Exodus 36:20-34 World English Bible (WEB)

20 He made the boards for the tent of acacia wood, standing up.

21 Ten cubits was the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board.

22 Each board had two tenons, joined one to another. He made all the boards of the tent this way.

23 He made the boards for the tent: twenty boards for the south side southward.

24 He made forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons.

25 For the second side of the tent, on the north side, he made twenty boards,

26 and their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.

27 For the far part of the tent westward he made six boards.

28 He made two boards for the corners of the tent in the far part.

29 They were double beneath, and in like manner they were all the way to the top of it to one ring. He did thus to both of them in the two corners.

30 There were eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; under every board two sockets.

31 He made bars of acacia wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tent,

32 and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tent, and five bars for the boards of the tent for the hinder part westward.

33 He made the middle bar to pass through in the midst of the boards from the one end to the other.

34 He overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold for places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.


Exodus 36:20-34 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

20 And for the uprights of the House they made boards of hard wood.

21 The boards were ten cubits long and one cubit and a half wide.

22 Every board had two tongues fixed into it; all the boards were made in this way.

23 They made twenty boards for the south side of the House:

24 And for these twenty boards, forty silver bases, two bases under every board, to take its tongues.

25 And for the second side of the House, on the north, they made twenty boards,

26 With their forty silver bases, two bases for every board.

27 And for the west side of the House, at the back, they made six boards,

28 And two boards for the angles at the back.

29 These were joined together at the base and at the top to one ring, so forming the two angles.

30 So there were eight boards with sixteen bases of silver, two bases under every board.

31 And they made rods of hard wood; five for the boards on one side of the House,

32 And five for the boards on the other side of the House, and five for the boards at the back, on the west.

33 The middle rod was made to go right through the rings of all the boards from one end to the other.

34 All the boards were plated with gold, and the rings through which the rods went were of gold, and the rods were plated with gold.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 36

Commentary on Exodus 36 Matthew Henry Commentary


Chapter 36

In this chapter,

  • I. The work of the tabernacle is begun (v. 1-4).
  • II. A stop is put to the people's contributions (v. 5-7).
  • III. A particular account is given of the making of the tabernacle itself; the fine curtains of it (v. 8-13). The coarse ones (v. 14-19). The boards (v. 20-30). The bars (v. 31-34). The partition veil (v. 35, 36). And the hanging for the door (v. 37, etc.).

Exd 36:1-7

  • I. The workmen set in without delay. Then they wrought, v. 1. When God had qualified them for the work, then they applied themselves to it. Note, The talents we are entrusted with must not be laid up, but laid out; not hid in a napkin, but traded with. What have we all our gifts for, but to do good with them? They began when Moses called them, v. 2. Even those whom God has qualified for, and inclined to, the service of the tabernacle, yet must wait for a regular call to it, either extraordinary, as that of prophets and apostles, or ordinary, as that of pastors and teachers. And observe who they were that Moses called: Those in whose heart God had put wisdom for this purpose, beyond their natural capacity, and whose heart stirred them up to come to the work in good earnest. Note, Those are to be called to the building of the gospel tabernacle whom God has by his grace made in some measure fit for the work and free to engage in it. Ability and willingness (with resolution) are the two things to be regarded in the call of ministers. Has God given them not only knowledge, but wisdom? (for those that would win souls must be wise, and have their hearts stirred up to come to the work, and not to the honour only; to do it, and not to talk of it only), let them come to it with full purpose of heart to go through with it. The materials which the people had contributed were delivered by Moses to the workmen, v. 3. They could not create a tabernacle, that is, make it out of nothing, nor work, unless they had something to work upon; the people therefore brought the materials and Moses put them into their hands. Precious souls are the materials of the gospel tabernacle; they are built up a spiritual house, 1 Pt. 2:5. To this end they are to offer themselves a free-will offering to the Lord, for his service (Rom. 15:16), and they are then committed to the care of his ministers, as builders, to be framed and wrought upon by their edification and increase in holiness, till they all come, like the curtains of the tabernacle, in the unity of the faith, to be a holy temple, Eph. 2:21, 22; 4:12, 13.
  • II. The contributions restrained. The people continued to bring free offerings every morning, v. 3. Note, We should always make it our morning's work to bring our offerings unto the Lord; even the spiritual offerings of prayer and praise, and a broken heart surrendered entirely to God. This is that which the duty of every day requires. God's compassions are new every morning, and so must our duty to him be. Probably there were some that were backward at first to bring their offering, but their neighbours' forwardness stirred them up and shamed them. The zeal of some provoked many. There are those who will be content to follow who yet do not care for leading in a good work. It is best to be forward, but better late than never. Or perhaps some who had offered at first, having pleasure in reflecting upon it, offered more; so far were they from grudging what they had contributed, that they doubled their contribution. Thus, in charity, give a portion to seven, and also to eight; having given much, give more. Now observe,
    • 1. The honesty of the workmen. When they had cut out their work, and found how their stuff held out, and that the people were still forward to bring in more, they went in a body to Moses to tell him that there needed no more contributions, v. 4, 5. Had they sought their own things, they had now a fair opportunity of enriching themselves by the people's gifts; for they might have made up their work, and converted the overplus to their own use, as perquisites of their place. But they were men of integrity, that scorned to do so mean a thing as to sponge upon the people, and enrich themselves with that which was offered to the Lord. Those are the greatest cheats that cheat the public. If to murder many is worse than to murder one, by the same rule to defraud communities, and to rob the church or state, is a much greater crime than to pick the pocket of a single person. But these workmen were not only ready to account for all they received, but were not willing to receive more than they had occasion for, lest they should come either into the temptation or under the suspicion of taking it to themselves. These were men that knew when they had enough.
    • 2. The liberality of the people. Though they saw what an abundance was contributed, yet they continued to offer, till they were forbidden by proclamation, v. 6, 7. A rare instance! Most need a spur to quicken their charity; few need a bridle to check it, yet these did. Had Moses aimed to enrich himself, he might have suffered them still to bring in their offerings; and when the work was finished might have taken the remainder to himself: but he also preferred the public before his own private interest, and was therein a good example to all in public trusts. It is said (v. 6), The people were restrained from bringing; they looked upon it as a restraint upon them not to be allowed to do more for the tabernacle; such was the zeal of those people, who gave to their power, yea, and beyond their power, praying the collectors with much entreaty to receive the gift, 2 Co. 8:3, 4. These were the fruits of a first love; in these last-days charity has grown too cold for us to expect such things from it.

Exd 36:8-13

The first work they set about was the framing of the house, which must be done before the furniture of it was prepared. This house was not made of timber or stone, but of curtains curiously embroidered and coupled together. This served to typify the state of the church in this world, the palace of God's kingdom among men.

  • 1. Though it is upon the earth, yet its foundation is not in the earth, as that of a house is; no, Christ's kingdom is not of this world, nor founded in it.
  • 2. It is mean and mutable, and in a militant state; shepherds dwelt in tents, and God is the Shepherd of Israel; soldiers dwelt in tents, and the Lord is a man of war, and his church marches through an enemy's country, and must fight its way. The kings of the earth enclose themselves in cedar (Jer. 22:15), but the ark of God was lodged in curtains only.
  • 3. Yet there is a beauty in holiness; the curtains were embroidered, so is the church adorned with the gifts and graces of the Spirit, that raiment of needle-work, Ps. 45:14.
  • 4. The several societies of believers are united in one, and, as here, all become one tabernacle; for there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.

Exd 36:14-34

Here,

  • 1. The shelter and special protection that the church is under are signified by the curtains of hair-cloth, which were spread over the tabernacle, and the covering of rams' skins and badgers' skins over them, v. 14-19. God has provided for his people a shadow from the heat, and a covert from storm and rain, Isa. 4:6. They are armed against all weathers; the sun and the moon shall not smite them: and they are protected from the storms of divine wrath, that hail which will sweep away the refuge of lies, Isa. 28:17. Those that dwell in God's house shall find, be the tempest ever so violent, or the dropping ever so continual, it does not rain in.
  • 2. The strength and stability of the church, though it is but a tabernacle, are signified by the boards and bars with which the curtains were borne up, v. 20-34. The boards were coupled together and joined by the bars which shot through them; for the union of the church, and the hearty agreement of those that are its stays and supporters, contribute abundantly to its strength and establishment.

Exd 36:35-38

In the building of a house there is a great deal of work about the doors and partitions. In the tabernacle these were answerable to the rest of the fabric; there were curtains for doors, and veils for partitions.

  • 1. There was a veil made for a partition between the holy place, and the most holy, v. 35, 36. This signified the darkness and distance of that dispensation, compared with the New Testament, which shows us the glory of God more clearly and invites us to draw near to it; and the darkness and distance of our present state, in comparison with heaven, where we shall be ever with the Lord and see him as he is.
  • 2. There was a veil made for the door of the tabernacle, v. 37, 38. At this door the people assembled, though forbidden to enter; for, while we are in this present state, we must get as near to God as we can.