Exodus 36

This chapter belongs to the section in the latter half of Exodus that records the construction of the Tabernacle (chapters 35–40). After the offerings are gathered and the workers appointed in Exodus 35, the actual work of construction begins in this chapter. From verse 8 onward, the text repeats the instructions of Exodus 26 in nearly identical words, showing that the commands were carried out exactly as given.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 Moses calls Bezalel and Oholiab, along with everyone who had received wisdom from the LORD and was willing to do the work.
• Verses 3–7 Every morning the people bring freewill offerings, until there are more materials than needed. When the workers report this, Moses has it proclaimed throughout the camp that no more is to be brought.
• Verses 8–13 Ten curtains are made of fine twined linen and blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, worked with cherubim, and are joined into a single tabernacle with fifty loops and fifty clasps of gold.
• Verses 14–19 Eleven curtains of goats' hair are joined with fifty clasps of bronze, and a covering of rams' skins dyed red and an outer covering of tahash skins are made.
• Verses 20–30 Boards of shittim wood (generally identified as a kind of acacia) are made: twenty each for the south and north sides, six for the west side, and two for the corners, with two silver sockets under each board.
• Verses 31–34 Bars of shittim wood are made, five for each side, along with a middle bar, and the boards and bars are overlaid with gold.
• Verses 35–38 The veil embroidered with cherubim and its four pillars are made, as well as the hanging for the door of the tent and its five pillars.

Key Verses

• Exodus 36:5 "The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make" — offerings given with willing hearts overflow.
• Exodus 36:6 "Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary" — Moses acts so that no more is collected than is needed.

People and Places

• Bezalel and Oholiab: The craftsmen entrusted with building the Tabernacle.
• Moses: He summons the workers and brings the offerings to a halt.
• Tabernacle: The portable sanctuary that signified God's presence among His people in the wilderness.
• Cherubim: Figures of angelic beings embroidered on the curtains and the veil.

Points for Reflection

• The meaning of the Hebrew word tahash in verse 19 is uncertain, and translations render it in different ways; for example, the Korean Revised Version renders it "sea otter," while the New Korean Standard Version, among others, renders it "dolphin skins."
• One tradition interprets each of the Tabernacle's materials and colors as a type of Christ, while other interpreters caution against adding symbolism that the text itself does not state.
• The veil of verse 35 divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. The New Testament connects it with the tearing of the temple veil at Jesus' death (Matthew 27:51) and with "the veil, that is to say, his flesh" (Hebrews 10:20), and Hebrews 9 explains the Tabernacle by comparing it with the ministry of Christ.