8Moreover, he made the laver of bronze with its base of bronze, from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

      9Then he made the court: for the south side the hangings of the court were of fine twisted linen, one hundred cubits; 10their twenty pillars, and their twenty sockets, made of bronze; the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver. 11For the north side there were one hundred cubits; their twenty pillars and their twenty sockets were of bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver. 12For the west side there were hangings of fifty cubits with their ten pillars and their ten sockets; the hooks of the pillars and their bands were of silver. 13For the east side fifty cubits. 14The hangings for the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets, 15and so for the other side. On both sides of the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets. 16All the hangings of the court all around were of fine twisted linen. 17The sockets for the pillars were of bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands, of silver; and the overlaying of their tops, of silver, and all the pillars of the court were furnished with silver bands. 18The screen of the gate of the court was the work of the weaver, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. And the length was twenty cubits and the height was five cubits, corresponding to the hangings of the court. 19Their four pillars and their four sockets were of bronze; their hooks were of silver, and the overlaying of their tops and their bands were of silver. 20All the pegs of the tabernacle and of the court all around were of bronze.

The Cost of the Tabernacle

      21This is the number of the things for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were numbered according to the command of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 22Now Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD had commanded Moses. 23With him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and a skillful workman and a weaver in blue and in purple and in scarlet material, and fine linen.

      24All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the wave offering, was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 25The silver of those of the congregation who were numbered was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; 26a beka a head (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for each one who passed over to those who were numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men. 27The hundred talents of silver were for casting the sockets of the sanctuary and the sockets of the veil; one hundred sockets for the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. 28Of the 1,775 shekels, he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid their tops and made bands for them. 29The bronze of the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels. 30With it he made the sockets to the doorway of the tent of meeting, and the bronze altar and its bronze grating, and all the utensils of the altar, 31and the sockets of the court all around and the sockets of the gate of the court, and all the pegs of the tabernacle and all the pegs of the court all around.

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
He made all the utensils of the altar, the pails and the shovels and the basins, the flesh hooks and the firepans; he made all its utensils of bronze.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
He made all the utensils out of bronze: pots, shovels, bowls, forks, and incense burners.

King James Bible
And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And for the uses thereof, he prepared divers vessels of brass, cauldrons, tongs, fleshhooks, pothooks, and firepans.

Darby Bible Translation
And he made all the utensils of the altar: the pots, and the shovels, and the bowls, the forks, and the firepans; all its utensils made he of copper.

English Revised Version
And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.

Webster's Bible Translation
And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basins, and the flesh-hooks, and the fire-pans: all the vessels of it he made of brass.

World English Bible
He made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the fire pans. He made all its vessels of brass.

Young's Literal Translation
and he maketh all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the sprinkling-pans, the forks, and the fire-pans; all its vessels he hath made of brass.

Cross References

Exodus 27:3 "You shall make its pails for removing its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze.

Exodus 38:2 He made its horns on its four corners, its horns being of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze.

Exodus 38:4 He made for the altar a grating of bronze network beneath, under its ledge, reaching halfway up.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

Chapter 38

Here is an account, I. Of the making of the brazen altar (v. 1-7), and the laver (v. 8). II. The preparing of the hangings for the enclosing of the court in which the tabernacle was to stand (v. 9-20). III. A summary of the gold, silver, and brass, that was contributed to, and used in, the preparing of the tabernacle (v. 21, etc.).

Verses 1-8

Bezaleel having finished the gold-work, which, though the richest, yet was ordered to lie most out of sight, in the tabernacle itself, here goes on to prepare the court, which lay open to the view of all. Two things the court was furnished with, and both made of brass:-

I. An altar of burnt-offering, v. 1-7. On this all their sacrifices were offered, and it was this which, being sanctified itself for this purpose by the divine appointment, sanctified the gift that was in faith offered on it. Christ was himself the altar to his own sacrifice of atonement, and so he is to all our sacrifices of acknowledgment. We must have an eye to him in offering them, as God has in accepting them.

II. A laver, to hold water for the priests to wash in when they went in to minister, v. 8. This signified the provision that is made in the gospel of Christ for the cleansing of our souls from the moral pollution of sin by the merit and grace of Christ, that we may be fit to serve the holy God in holy duties. This is here said to be made of the looking-glasses (or mirrors) of the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle.

1. It should seem these women were eminent and exemplary for devotion, attending more frequently and seriously at the place of public worship than others did; and notice is here taken of it to their honour. Anna was such a one long afterwards, who departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day, Lu. 2:37. It seems in every age of the church there have been some who have thus distinguished themselves by their serious zealous piety, and they have thereby distinguished themselves; for devout women are really honourable women (Acts 13:50), and not the less so for their being called, by the scoffers of the latter days, silly women. Probably these women were such as showed their zeal upon this occasion, by assisting in the work that was now going on for the service of the tabernacle. They assembled by troops, so the word is; a blessed sight, to see so many, and those so zealous and so unanimous, in this good work.

2. These women parted with their mirrors (which were of the finest brass, burnished for that purpose) for the use of the tabernacle. Those women that admire their own beauty, are in love with their own shadow, and make the putting on of apparel their chief adorning by which they value and recommend themselves, can but ill spare their looking-glasses; yet these women offered them to God, either, (1.) In token of their repentance for the former abuse of them, to the support of their pride and vanity; now that they were convinced of their folly, and had devoted themselves to the service of God at the door of the tabernacle, they thus threw away that which, though lawful and useful in itself, yet had been an occasion of sin to them. Thus Mary Magdalene, who had been a sinner, when she became a penitent wiped Christ's feet with her hair. Or, (2.) In token of their great zeal for the work of the tabernacle; rather than the workmen should want brass, or not have of the best, they would part with their mirrors, though they could not do well without them. God's service and glory must always be preferred by us before any satisfactions or accommodations of our own. Let us never complain of the want of that which we may honour God by parting with.

3. These mirrors were used for the making of the laver. Either they were artfully joined together, or else molten down and cast anew; but it is probable that the laver was so brightly burnished that the sides of it still served for mirrors, that the priests, when they came to wash, might there see their faces, and so discover the spots, to wash them clean. Note, In the washing of repentance, there is need of the looking-glass of self-examination. The word of God is a glass, in which we may see our own faces (see Jam. 1:23); and with it we must compare our own hearts and lives, that, finding out our blemishes, we may wash with particular sorrow, and application of the blood of Christ to our souls. Usually the more particular we are in the confession of sin the more comfort we have in the sense of the pardon.

Calvin's Commentary

1. And he made the altar of burnt-offering of shittim-wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof, (it was foursquare,) and three cubits the height thereof.

1. Fecit quoque altare holocausti e lignis sittim, quinque cubitorum latitudo ejus, et quinque cubitorum latitudo ejus, quadratum: et trium cubitorum altitudo ejus.

2. And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass.

2. Et fecit cornua ejus in quatuor angulis ejus, ex ipso erant cornua ejus, et texit illud aere.

3. And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the flesh-hooks, and the fire-pans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.

3. Fecit insuper omnia vasa altaris, lebetes scilicet, et scopas, et crateras, et tridentes, et receptacula: omnia vasa ejus fecit aerea.

4. And he made for the altar a brasen grate of net-work, under the compass thereof, beneath unto the midst of it.

4. Fecit praeterea altari cribrum opere reticulato aeneum sub ambitu ejus inferne usque ad medium ejus.

5. And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves.

5. Fudit item quatuor annulos in quatuor extremitatibus cribro aeneo, in quos inducerentur vectes.

6. And he made the staves of shittim-wood, and overlaid them with brass.

6. Et fecit vectes e lignis sittim, quos texit aere.

7. And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal; he made the altar hollow with boards.

7. Introduxitque vectes ipsos in annulos illos per latera altaris ad ferendum illud illis: vacuum tabularum fecit illud.

8. And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the looking-glasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

8. Fecit similiter concham aeneam, et basim ejus aeneam ex speculis mulierum convenientium, quae conveniebant ad ostium tabernaeuli conventionis.

9. And he made the court: on the south side southward, the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits:

9. Fecit postremo atrium ad plagam austri ad meridiem: cortinae atrii e bysso retorta centum cubitorum.

10. Their pillars were twenty, and their brasen sockets twenty: the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.

10. Columnae earum viginti, et bases earum viginti ex aere: capitella columnarum, et fila eas cingentia, ex argento.

11. And for the north side the hangings were an hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty: the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

11. Et ad plagam aquilonis cortinae centum cubitorum: columnae earum viginti, et bases earum viginti ex aere: capitella columnarum, et fila eas cingentia, ex argento.

12. And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten: the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

12. Ad plagam vero occidentis cortinae quinquaginta cubitorum: columnae earum decem, et bases earum decem: capitella columnarum, et fila eas cingentia, ex argento.

13. And for the east side eastward, fifty cubits.

13. Et ad plagam orientis ad ortum cortinae quinquaginta cubitorum.

14. The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, their pillars three, and their sockets three.

14. Cortinae quindecim cubitorum erant in uno latere: columnae earum tres et bases earum tres.

15. And for the other side of the court-gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits, their pillars three, and their sockets three.

15. Et in latere altero hinc et inde portae atrii, cortinae quindecim cubitorum: columnae earum tres, et bases earum tres.

16. All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen:

16. Omnes cortinae atrii per circuitum erant ex bysso retorta.

17. And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters of silver: and all the pillars of the court were filled with silver.

17. Bases vero columnarum ex aere: capitella columnarum, et fila eas cingentia, ex argento: et operimenta capitellorum earum ex argento: ipsae etiam omnes columnae atrii cinctae erant argento.

18. And the hanging for the gate of the court was needle-work, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court.

18. Velum autem portae atrii opere phrygionis ex hyacintho, et purpura, et vermiculo cocci, et bysso retorta: cujus longitudo erat viginti cubitorum, altitudo vero in latitudine quinque cubitorum ad cortinas atrii.

19. And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets of silver.

19. Et columnae earum quatuor, basesque earum quatuar ex aere, uncini earum ex argento: et operimenta capitellorum earum, et fila eas cingentia, ex argento.

20. And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass.

20. Omnes veto clavi tabernaculi et atrii in circuitu erant ex aere.

21. This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest.

21. Ista sunt numerata tabernaculi, tabernaculi, inquam, testimonii, quae numerata sunt ad jussum Mosis, per manum Ithamar filii Aharon sacerdotis, in ministerium Levitarum.

22. And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses.

22. Besaleel autem filius Uri filii Hur, de tribu Jehudah, fecit omnia illa quae praeceperat Jehova Mosi.

23. And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.

23. Et cum eo Aholiab filius Ahisamach, de tribu Dan, artifex, et acupictor et phrygio, in hyacintho, et purpura, et vermiculo cocci, et bysso.

24. All the gold that was occupied for the work, in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.

24. Universum aurum insumptum in ipso opere, id est in toto opere sanctuarii (fuit autem aurum oblationis) fuit novem et viginti talentorum, et septingentorum triginta siclorum, secundum siclum sanctuarii.

25. And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:

25. Et argentum numeratorum in coetu erat centum talenta et mille septingenti septuaginta quinque sicli, secundum siclum sanctuarii.

26. A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand, and three thousand, and five hundred and fifty men

26. Semissis in singula capita, id est dimidium sicli, secundum siclum sanctuarii omnibus transeuntibus ad numeratos, ab eo qui natus erat viginti annos et supra, in sexcentis tribus millibus quingentis et quinquaginta.

27. And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket.

27. Fueruntque centum talenta argenti ad fundandas bases sanctuarii, et bases veli: centum bases ex centum talentis, talentum pro basi.

28. And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them.

28. Et ex mille septingentis septuaginta quinque siclis fecit epistylia columnis, et texit capita ipsarum, et texit eas.

29. And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels.

29. Aes autem oblationis fuit septuaginta talentorum, et duorum millium, et quadringentorum siclorum,

30. And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brasen altar, and the brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar,

30. Et fecit ex eo bases ostii tabernaculi conventionis, et altare aereum, et cribrum ejus aereum, omniaque vasa altaris.

31. And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court-gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.

31. Et bases atrii per circuitum, et bases portae atrii, praeterea omnes palos tabernaculi, omnesque palos atrii per circuitum.

1. And he made the altar of burnt-offering. The purport of this chapter is the same as that of the last, except that the order of some parts of it is transposed, though not a word is changed. He begins with the altar of burnt-offering, which he states to have been made of the materials and the form prescribed by God, in order that the people might there offer with surer confidence their sacrifices for the expiation of sin, and for thanksgiving. One thing which had not been mentioned before, is here added respecting the laver of brass, or cauldron (concha,) from whence they took the water of sprinkling for expiation, viz., that this laver was ornamented with the mirrors of the women. Some explain this, [298] that the vessel was so bright that it might be easily discovered on every side whether there was any scandalous, or wanton, or indelicate act committed; for we know that impure and ungodly men sometimes conceal their iniquities under the cover of religion, even as it; is written that the women who frequented the tabernacle for religious exercises were defiled by the sons of Eli, the priests. (1 Samuel 2:22.) But there is another conjecture equally probable, that these mirrors were dedicated by holy women for the ornament of the Temple, and for sacred purposes; for, whereas women are only too much given to outward adornment and finery, they have been always very fond of mirrors, both for the purpose of painting their cheeks and arranging their hair, so that not a single hair should be out of place. Isaiah, therefore, (3:23,) enumerates mirrors amongst the luxuries [299] of the female world. Some, then, think that women, being devoted to God's service, laid aside this vanity, and consecrated their mirrors in testimony of their repentance. It might, however, have been that, amongst the other gifts before spoken of, they offered mirrors also, which were mounted as embossments in this brasen laver. Others suppose that they were carvings, by which the portraits of females were depicted, as if seen in mirrors. The simple notion is most approved by me, that they were votive offerings, wherewith pious women had desired to decorate the sanctuary, and that they had been applied to this use by the advice of the artificers; for he does not speak generally of all the women, but of those who warred or assembled by troops at the door of the tabernacle; for translators [300] variously explain this word tsv', tzaba, both in this passage and that from Samuel which I have just quoted. It is also applied to the Levites, who are said [301] "to war the warfare" of the sanctuary, whilst performing their appointed work. (Numbers 4:3; Numbers 8:24.) Indeed this metaphor is by no means unsuitable to watchings and long-continued prayers. The sum is, that the laver was cast of their materials, or, as I rather suppose, embossed with these mirrors, in order that it might be more splendid.

21. This is the sum of the tabernacle [302] As much as to say that this was the computation, or these the numbers; for he gives us to understand that not only was the tabernacle thus at once completed, but that its several parts were numerically distinguished, and consigned as it were to registers, [303] so as to be given in charge to the Levites, lest any part of it should be lost. For the reference here is not so much to the fabric, or the architecture of the tabernacle, as to its perpetual conservation, viz., that Ithamar the priest deposited its several parts with the Levites, and this in accordance with the command of Moses.

22. And Bezaleel, the son of Uri. He again impresses upon us that the whole work was divine, both because Moses faithfully delivered the commands of God, and the artificers followed them with precise accuracy. At the same time, he counts up the whole sum of gold and silver, and shews us on what it was consumed. Hence we gather that every one honestly discharged his duty, and that no one was corrupted or drawn aside by covetousness so as to fall from his integrity. We are also informed from whence the amount of silver was obtained, viz., from the census of the people; for a tax of a common shekel, which was half a shekel of the sanctuary, was imposed on every head, as we [304] have already seen. Moses now shews that this entire sum was collected and paid without fraud, and so applied as that none should be lost.

Footnotes:

[298] All the difficulties connected with this matter are set at rest by our increased acquaintance with Egyptian Antiquities. C., and almost all the earlier commentators, were evidently possessed with the idea that the mirrors of the women were literally looking-glasses; and hence arose the various solutions which are here given, and others which might be added. Sir G. Wilkinson, in his "Popular Account of the Ancient Egyptians," tells us; -- "One of the principal objects of the toilet was the mirror. It was of mixed metal, chiefly copper, most carefully wrought and highly polished; and so admirably did the Egyptians succeed in the composition of metals, that this substitute for our modern looking-glass was susceptible of a lustre which has even been partially revived at the present day, in some of those discovered at Thebes, though buried in the earth for many centuries. The same kind of metal-mirror was used by the Israelites, who doubtless brought them from Egypt." -- Vol. 2, p. 346.

[299] "Entre les bagages superflus des femmes." -- Fr.

[300] C. here affords the reader a curious proof that he composed this note with S M. under his eye, by employing Munster's word labrum for the Hebrew kyvr, which he had previously rendered concha in his own text. But whilst S M had translated tsv't 'sr tsv'v, (mulierum) militantium, quae militabant, C. had the sagacity to drop the metaphor, and render the words convenientium, quae conveniebant tsv', says Professor Robertson, to assemble for worship, or for war. Clav Pentat in loco. -- W

[301] Numbers 4:3, "All that enter into the host." -- A.V. Numbers 8:24, "They shall go in to wait upon the service," margin, "Heb., to war the warfare of the tabernacle." -- A.V.

[302] "These are the counted-things." -- Lat. So also Ainsworth.

[303] "Afin que les Levites sceussent ce qu'ils devoyent avoir en garde;" in order that the Levites might know what they ought to have in charge. -- Fr.

[304] See on Exodus 30:12, [36]vol. 1, p. 482.

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