Exo 25:8-27:9

EXO 25

8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.

Rashi’s Commentary

And let them make me a sanctuary—And let them make in my name a house of sanctity.

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.” 2CO 6:16

but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. HEB 3:6

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” REV 21:3

The Ark of the Covenant

10 They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.

Rashi’s Commentary

They shall make an ark—Like the chests that are made without feet, made like a sort of chest called escrin in Old French, ecrin in modern French, (i.e., a chest or box), which rests on its bottom without being raised off the floor by the attachment of legs.

having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. HEB 9:4

Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. REV 11:19

17 You shall make an ark cover of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.

Rashi’s Commentary

An ark cover—Heb. כַפֹּרֶת a cover over the ark, which was open from above. He Moses placed it the cover over it the ark like a board.

Two cubits and a half shall be its length—Like the length of the ark. Its width was like the width of the ark, and it lay on the thickness of the four walls. Although Scripture does not give a measure for its thickness, our Rabbis explained that it was a handbreadth thick.

whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. ROM 3:25

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. HEB 4:16

Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. HEB 9:5

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1JN 2:2

20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.

Rashi’s Commentary

Spread out their wings—This means that you shall not make their wings lying down resting next to their bodies, but spread high alongside their heads, so that there should be ten handbreadths in the space between the wings and the mercy seat.

And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. MAT 24:31

And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” JOH 1:51

For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 1CO 4:9

That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 1CO 11:10

so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. EPH 3:10

and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. COL 2:10

Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? HEB 1:14

It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. 1PE 1:12

who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. 1PE 3:22

11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,

12 saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,

to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might

and honor and glory and blessing!” REV 5:11-12

The Table for Bread

23 You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.

Rashi’s Commentary

Its height—The height of its legs together with the thickness of the table top.

33 three decorated cups on one branch, each with calyx and flower, and three decorated cups on the other branch, each with calyx and flower—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand.

Rashi’s Commentary

Decorated—Heb. מְשֻׁקָּדִים, as the Targum Onkelos renders מְצַיְירִין. They were decorated in the manner that silver and gold vessels are made, which is called nieler in Old French, nieller in modern French, niello in English.

Each with calyx and flower—Were on each branch.

And three decorated cups—Protruding from each branch.

39 It shall be made, with all these utensils, out of a talent of pure gold.

Rashi’s Commentary

A talent of pure gold—Heb. כִּכַּר. This means that its weight along with all its utensils shall be nothing but a talent, no less and no more. The talent used for mundane matters was sixty maneh, and the one used for holy matters was double, thus one hundred twenty maneh. The maneh is the litra with which silver is weighed according to the weight used in Cologne, which is the equivalent of one hundred gold pieces or twenty-five selas, for the sela is equivalent to four gold pieces. This is the equivalent of sixty-four pounds.

EXO 26

3 Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another.

Rashi’s Commentary

Shall be coupled—He Bezalel would sew them with a needle, one curtain alongside the other, five separately and the other five separately.

To one another—Lit., a woman to her sister. It is customary for Scripture to speak this way concerning a noun in the feminine gender, and concerning a noun in the masculine gender, a man to his brother, as it is said concerning the cherubim (Exo 25:20).

7 You shall also make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains shall you make.

Rashi’s Commentary

Curtains of goats’ hair—Heb. עִזִים, goats, from the hair of goats.

For a tent over the tabernacle—To spread them over the lower curtains.

but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 1PE 3:4

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1PE 5:5

30 Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.

Rashi’s Commentary

Then you shall erect the tabernacle—After it is completed, erect it.

You were shown on the mountain—Prior to this, for I am destined to teach you and show you the order of its erection.

Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. ACT 7:44

2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.

5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” HEB 8:2, 5

Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. HEB 9:23

35 And you shall place the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall place the table on the north side.

Rashi’s Commentary

And you shall place the table—The table was in the north, drawn away from the north wall of the tabernacle by two and one-half cubits. The lampstand was placed in the south, drawn away from the south wall by two and one-half cubits. The golden altar was placed opposite the space between the table and the lampstand, drawn a short distance toward the east. They the table, lampstand, and golden altar were all situated in the inner half of the tabernacle. How was this? The length of the tabernacle from the entrance to the veil was twenty cubits. The altar, the table, and the lampstand were drawn away from the entrance toward the western side ten cubits.

2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place.

8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing

9 (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, HEB 9:2, 8-9

EXO 27

4 You 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.

Rashi’s Commentary

Grating—Heb. מִכְבָּר, a word meaning a sieve (כְּבָרָה), which is called crible in French, meaning a sort of garment made for the altar, made with holes like a sort of net. This verse is inverted, and this is its meaning: You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze.

The Court of the Tabernacle

9 You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side.

Rashi’s Commentary

Hangings—Heb. קְלָעִים. Made like the sails of a ship, with many holes, braided, and not the work of a weaver. Its Aramaic translation is סְרָדִין a sieve, like the Aramaic translation of מִכְבָּר, which is סְרָדָא, because they were both perforated like a sieve.

For one side—The entire side is called פֵּאָה. Although פֵּאָה usually means a corner, in this case it refers to the entire side.