Exodus 38

Bezalel and his helpers finish the bronze altar, the bronze washing basin and the walled courtyard around the tabernacle. The chapter then gives a careful account of all the gold, silver and bronze the people gave. Everything was made as the LORD commanded, and the people’s gifts, large and small, built God’s dwelling.

Exodus 38:1

Bezalel builds the altar of burnt offering, a square wooden box about seven and a half feet on each side and four and a half feet high. It stood just inside the courtyard gate. Sinners could only approach God through sacrifice, and this altar was the first thing every worshiper met.

BSA: acacia wood (“shittim wood, a thorny tree”): The wood came from a hardy desert tree, durable enough to hold up under daily use.

Hebrew: מִזְבַּח (mizbeach, H4196) — “altar, place of slaughter.” The Hebrew word comes from the verb ’to slaughter a sacrifice.’ It reminds us that this was a place where a life was given.

See also: Exodus 27:1-2.

Exodus 38:2

A horn rose from each corner. The horns were carved as part of the altar itself, not added on. Bronze covered the wood so that fire could not destroy it. Horns often stood for strength, and a person in need could cling to them for mercy.

BSA: of one piece (“unified, whole”): The horns were joined to the altar so they could never be separated from it.

See also: 1 Kings 1:50.

Exodus 38:3

All the tools for the daily work of sacrifice were bronze, which could stand the heat. They included pots for ashes, shovels, bowls to catch blood, forks for handling meat, and pans for coals. Nothing was left to improvisation. Each tool had its place in the service of worship.

BSA: utensils (“articles, vessels”): Even the smallest instruments were counted as part of God’s service. firepans (“censers, metal pans for holding live coals”): These carried burning coals, so the fire from the altar could be moved safely.

Exodus 38:4

A bronze grate, a net of mesh, was set below the altar’s ledge, about halfway up. It probably let air in and ash fall out, and it helped keep the fire burning. Even this hidden part was made exactly as God directed.

BSA: grate (“lattice-work, network”): It was an open weave of bronze, built to let fire breathe and ashes fall through.

Exodus 38:5

Four bronze rings were cast at the corners of the grate. They held the carrying poles. The altar was meant to travel with Israel, since God’s people were on a journey and worship went with them.

BSA: holders (“or places”): The rings were fixed places where the poles could be set so the altar could be lifted.

Exodus 38:6

The poles were acacia wood covered in bronze, like the altar itself. Wood alone would have scorched near the fire. Bronze made the poles strong, so the priests could carry the altar safely.

BSA: overlaid (“to cover, plate, or overlay”): A thin layer of metal shielded the wood while keeping its strength.

Exodus 38:7

The poles slid through the rings on the altar’s sides, so it could be carried without being touched. The altar was a hollow frame of boards. It was probably filled with earth or stones when set up, though the text only says it was hollow.

BSA: carrying (“to lift, to bear”): The poles meant that people bore the altar on their shoulders, not by touching it.

See also: Exodus 27:8.

Exodus 38:8

The bronze basin, where priests washed before serving, was made from women’s polished bronze mirrors. They were valuable personal things, given freely. Women who served at the tent door gave them up for God’s house. The basin reminds us that cleansing comes before service.

BSA: mirrors (“looking-glasses, polished brass”): These were polished metal plates used for seeing oneself, so the gift was personal. served (“assembled, ministered”): These women had a recognized place of service at the tent entrance.

Hebrew: כִּיּוֹר (kiyyor, H3595) — “basin, washing bowl.” The word means a round bowl or pot used for water. Here it is set apart for the priests’ washing.

See also: Exodus 30:18-21; 1 Samuel 2:22.

Exodus 38:9

Next comes the courtyard, an enclosed space around the tabernacle. Its walls were hangings of white twisted linen. The south side was a hundred cubits long, about 150 feet. The white fence marked off holy ground from the camp around it.

BSA: finely spun (“twined, twisted”): The linen threads were twisted together, making fabric that was smooth and strong.

Hebrew: חָצֵר (chatser, H2691) — “courtyard, enclosure.” The word means an enclosed open space. The courtyard was a place where people met God by drawing near, with a boundary around it.

See also: Exodus 27:9-19.

Exodus 38:10

Twenty posts stood on bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands holding the curtains. Bronze, the stronger metal, sat on the ground. Silver was above. The posts were not left plain, even though they were only a fence.

BSA: bases (“sockets, foundations”): Each post stood in its own bronze socket, which steadied the whole fence.

Exodus 38:11

The north side matches the south exactly: a hundred cubits, twenty posts, twenty bronze bases, and silver hooks and bands. The tabernacle was laid out with care and balance, not carelessly.

BSA: hooks (“pegs or nails”): The silver hooks held the linen hangings up on the posts.

Exodus 38:12-13

The west end, behind the tabernacle, was fifty cubits wide with ten posts. The east end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide. The entrance was on the east side, so worshipers entered facing the tabernacle, which stood toward the west.

See also: Exodus 27:12-13.

Exodus 38:14-15

On the east side the entrance was flanked by two fifteen-cubit sections of curtain, each with three posts and three bases. That left a gap of twenty cubits for the gate. The way in was one single, wide entrance, not many.

Exodus 38:16

All the courtyard curtains were fine twisted linen. Pure white, they showed a plain, clean boundary around God’s dwelling. Everyone outside could see that this space was set apart.

BSA: finely spun (“exquisitely, with great skill”): The fabric took real skill to make, not just ordinary weaving.

Exodus 38:17

Bronze bases, silver hooks and bands, and silver caps on the post tops pulled the fence together. Silver here is the silver of the atonement money (see verse 25-28). Everyone had a share in what held up the courtyard.

BSA: banded (“filleted, connected”): Silver bands joined the posts to one another and tied the fence into a single whole.

Exodus 38:18

The gate curtain was different from the plain white walls. It was embroidered in blue, purple and scarlet, with linen, and was twenty cubits wide. It stood out as the one way into the courtyard, and it was far more colorful than the walls beside it.

BSA: entrance (“gate, doorway”): It was the single opening in the fence, and it was hung with the finest colors. blue (“violet”): The color was a deep blue-violet dye, costly and striking.

See also: Exodus 27:16.

Exodus 38:19

The gate had four posts on four bronze bases, with silver hooks, bands and post tops just like the rest. The gate was built as carefully as the walls. Nothing about the way into God’s presence was careless.

BSA: plating (“overlaying with metal”): The tops of the posts were covered with silver, giving a finished look.

Exodus 38:20

Every tent peg, for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, was bronze. These pegs held the structures against desert wind. Small and easy to overlook, they were just as necessary as the great pieces.

BSA: tent pegs (“nails, pins”): These were small stakes that anchored the tent and fence to the ground.

Exodus 38:21

Now comes the inventory, a careful record of what had gone into the tabernacle. Moses ordered it, the Levites did the counting, and Ithamar, Aaron’s son, oversaw it. The tabernacle held the Testimony, the stone tablets of the covenant, and the record was kept honestly.

BSA: inventory (“sum, total count”): It was a full tally of what had been given and used. Testimony (“God’s witness, covenant”): The tablets inside the ark were God’s own witness to his covenant with Israel.

Hebrew: מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan, H4908) — “dwelling place.” The word comes from a verb meaning ’to dwell.’ The tabernacle was where God chose to live among his people.

See also: Exodus 25:8.

Exodus 38:22

Bezalel, of the tribe of Judah, made everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses. The man was gifted, but the pattern was God’s. Faithful work means building what God has asked for.

BSA: Bezalel (“in the shadow of God, skilled artisan”): His name means ‘in the shadow of God,’ fitting a man who worked under God’s covering and gifting.

Hebrew: בְצַלְאֵל (betsal’el, H1212) — “in the shadow of God.” His name speaks of living under God’s protection. Bezalel’s skill was a gift from God, not just his own.

See also: Exodus 31:1-5.

Exodus 38:23

Oholiab of Dan worked beside Bezalel. He was an engraver, a designer and an embroiderer of fine colored cloth. God had chosen a man from a different tribe, so the work involved more than one family. Skills of many kinds served God’s house.

BSA: embroiderer (“weaver, needleworker”): He made the colored fabrics of the gate and the hangings, work that took patience and skill.

See also: Exodus 31:6.

Exodus 38:24

Now the totals begin. The gold given as a wave offering came to a little over twenty-nine talents, counted by the sanctuary shekel. A talent was about 75 pounds. The offering was lifted up to God, which shows the gold was his, given back by the people.

BSA: wave offering (“lifted up to God”): The gifts were presented and lifted before the LORD as given to him.

Hebrew: תְּנוּפָה (tenufah, H8573) — “wave offering, a lifted or waved gift.” The word comes from a verb for lifting or waving. The gold was offered up to God before it was used.

Exodus 38:25-26

The silver came from the census. Each man twenty or older gave half a shekel, so rich and poor gave the same. The total was 603,550 men, which accounts for the silver. This was the ransom money of Exodus 30, a reminder that each person belonged to God.

BSA: numbered (“reckoned, counted”): Each man was counted and each paid his share, so none was overlooked. crossed over (“passed from one state to another, transitioned”): A man ‘crossed over’ into the counted ranks when he reached twenty.

See also: Exodus 30:11-16.

Exodus 38:27

A hundred talents of silver were cast into a hundred bases, one talent each. These sockets held up the frames of the tent and the posts that bore the veil. The whole sanctuary stood on the silver of the people’s redemption.

BSA: veil (“curtain, partition”): The veil separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, where God’s presence rested.

Exodus 38:28

The remaining 1,775 shekels of silver became the hooks, post caps and bands for the courtyard posts. Not one shekel was lost or kept back. The record shows every piece accounted for.

BSA: overlaid (“covered, plated”): The post tops were covered over with silver for protection and beauty.

Exodus 38:29

The bronze offering came to about seventy talents and 2,400 shekels. Bronze was the metal of the outer court, the place of sacrifice and cleansing. It was less costly than silver or gold, but it was needed, and the people gave it freely.

BSA: wave offering (“lifted up to God”): Even the bronze was lifted up as a gift to the LORD.

Exodus 38:30-31

The bronze went into the bases at the tent door, the bronze altar with its grating and tools, the bases of the courtyard and its gate, and all the tent pegs. The account closes by showing that every gift was used for the work. God’s house was built from what the people offered.

BSA: grating (“lattice-work, screen”): The woven bronze grate was part of the altar and was paid for from the same offering.