Exodus 38 - Prayer Tents

Exodus 38

New Living Translation

Building the Altar of Burnt Offering

38Next Bezalel[1] used acacia wood to construct the square altar of burnt offering. It was 7 1/2 feet wide, 7 1/2 feet long, and 4 1/2 feet high[2].

2He made horns for each of its four corners so that the horns and altar were all one piece. He overlaid the altar with bronze.

3Then he made all the altar utensils of bronze - the ash buckets, shovels, basins, meat forks, and firepans.

4Next he made a bronze grating and installed it halfway down the side of the altar, under the ledge.

5He cast four rings and attached them to the corners of the bronze grating to hold the carrying poles.

6He made the poles from acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.

7He inserted the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar. The altar was hollow and was made from planks.

Building the Washbasin

8Bezalel made the bronze washbasin and its bronze stand from bronze mirrors donated by the women who served at the entrance of the Tabernacle[3].

Building the Courtyard

9Then Bezalel made the courtyard, which was enclosed with curtains made of finely woven linen. On the south side the curtains were 150 feet long[4].

10They were held up by twenty posts set securely in twenty bronze bases. He hung the curtains with silver hooks and rings.

11He made a similar set of curtains for the north side - 150 feet of curtains held up by twenty posts set securely in bronze bases. He hung the curtains with silver hooks and rings.

12The curtains on the west end of the courtyard were 75 feet long[5], hung with silver hooks and rings and supported by ten posts set into ten bases.

13The east end, the front, was also 75 feet long.

14The courtyard entrance was on the east end, flanked by two curtains. The curtain on the right side was 22 1/2 feet long[6] and was supported by three posts set into three bases.

15The curtain on the left side was also 22 1/2 feet long and was supported by three posts set into three bases.

16All the curtains used in the courtyard were made of finely woven linen.

17Each post had a bronze base, and all the hooks and rings were silver. The tops of the posts of the courtyard were overlaid with silver, and the rings to hold up the curtains were made of silver.

18He made the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard of finely woven linen, and he decorated it with beautiful embroidery in blue, purple, and scarlet thread. It was 30 feet long, and its height was 7 1/2 feet[7], just like the curtains of the courtyard walls.

19It was supported by four posts, each set securely in its own bronze base. The tops of the posts were overlaid with silver, and the hooks and rings were also made of silver.

20All the tent pegs used in the Tabernacle and courtyard were made of bronze.

Inventory of Materials

21This is an inventory of the materials used in building the Tabernacle of the Covenant[8]. The Levites compiled the figures, as Moses directed, and Ithamar son of Aaron the priest served as recorder.

22Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

23He was assisted by Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, a craftsman expert at engraving, designing, and embroidering with blue, purple, and scarlet thread on fine linen cloth.

24The people brought special offerings of gold totaling 2,193 pounds[9], as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. This gold was used throughout the Tabernacle.

25The whole community of Israel gave 7,545 pounds[10] of silver, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel.

26This silver came from the tax collected from each man registered in the census. (The tax is one beka, which is half a shekel[11], based on the sanctuary shekel.) The tax was collected from 603,550 men who had reached their twentieth birthday.

27The hundred bases for the frames of the sanctuary walls and for the posts supporting the inner curtain required 7,500 pounds of silver, about 75 pounds for each base[12].

28The remaining 45 pounds[13] of silver was used to make the hooks and rings and to overlay the tops of the posts.

29The people also brought as special offerings 5,310 pounds[14] of bronze,

30which was used for casting the bases for the posts at the entrance to the Tabernacle, and for the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all the altar utensils.

31Bronze was also used to make the bases for the posts that supported the curtains around the courtyard, the bases for the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard, and all the tent pegs for the Tabernacle and the courtyard.

[1] Exodus 38:1Hebrew he; also in 38.8, 9
[2] Exodus 38:1Hebrew 5 cubits [2.3 meters] wide, 5 cubits long, a square, and 3 cubits [1.4 meters] high
[3] Exodus 38:8Hebrew Tent of Meeting; also in 38.30
[4] Exodus 38:9Hebrew 100 cubits [46 meters]; also in 38.11
[5] Exodus 38:12Hebrew 50 cubits [23 meters]; also in 38.13
[6] Exodus 38:14Hebrew 15 cubits [6.9 meters]; also in 38.15
[7] Exodus 38:18Hebrew 20 cubits [9.2 meters] long and 5 cubits [2.3 meters] high
[8] Exodus 38:21Hebrew the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle of the Testimony
[9] Exodus 38:24Hebrew 29 talents and 730 shekels [994 kilograms]. Each shekel weighed about 0.4 ounces
[10] Exodus 38:25Hebrew 100 talents and 1,775 shekels [3,420 kilograms]
[11] Exodus 38:26Or 0.2 ounces, or 6 grams
[12] Exodus 38:27Hebrew 100 talents [3,400 kilograms] of silver, 1 talent [34 kilograms] for each base
[13] Exodus 38:28Hebrew 1,775 shekels [20.2 kilograms]
[14] Exodus 38:29Hebrew 70 talents and 2,400 shekels [2,407 kilograms]