1Y Jehovah (el Eterno) habló a Moisés, al decir: 2Habla a los hijos de IsraeL que tomen para mi ofrenda: de a todo varón que le impulse su corazón, tomaréis mi ofrenda. 3Y esta será la ofrenda que tomaréis de ellos: Oro, y plata, y bronce; 4Y cárdeno, y púrpura, y carmesí de gusano, y lino fino, y pelos de cabras; 5Y cueros enrojecidos de carneros, y cueros de tejones, y madera de acacias; 6Aceite para la luz, especias para el aceite de la unción y para el sahumerio aromático; 7Piedras de berilo, y piedras de encajes para el efod, y para el pectoral. 8Y me harán lugar santo, y yo habitaré entre ellos. 9Conforme a todo lo que yo te mostraré, es a saber, la semejanza del tabernáculo, y la semejanza de todos sus vasos; así haréis. 10Construirán también un arca de madera de acacias; la largura de ella será de dos codos y medio; y su anchura de codo y medio; y su altura de codo y medio: 11Y cubrirla has de oro puro, de dentro y de fuera la cubrirás: y harás sobre ella una corona de oro al derredor: 12Y para ella harás de fundición cuatro sortijas de oro, que pongas a sus cuatro esquinas; las dos sortijas a un lado de ella, y las otras dos sortijas al otro lado. 13Y harás unas barras de madera de acacias, las cuales cubrirás de oro. 14Y meterás las barras por las sortijas a los lados del arca, para llevar el arca con ellas. 15Las barras se estarán en las sortijas del arca; no se quitarán de ella. 16Y pondrás en el arca el testimonio que yo te daré. 17Y harás un expiatorio de oro fino: la largura de ella será de dos codos y medio, y su anchura de codo y medio. 18Harás también dos querubines de oro, lo harás de martillo, a los dos extremos del expiatorio. 19Y harás un querubín a un cabo de la una parte, y el otro querubín al otro cabo de la otra parte del expiatorio, harás los querubines a sus dos cabos. 20Y los querubines extenderán por encima las alas, con sus alas cubriendo el expiatorio, las caras de ellos, la una hacia la otra, estarán las caras de los querubines hacia el expiatorio. 21Y pondrás el expiatorio sobre encima del arca, y en el arca pondrás el testimonio, que yo te daré. 22Y de allí me testificaré a ti, y hablaré contigo desde sobre el expiatorio, de entre los dos querubines que estarán sobre el arca del testimonio, todo lo que yo te mandaré para los hijos de IsraeL. 23Harás asimismo una mesa de madera de acacias: su largura será de dos codos, y de un codo su anchura; y su altura de codo y medio. 24Y cubrirla has de oro puro, y le harás una corona de oro al rededor. 25Le harás también una moldura al derredor de palmo corto, a la cual moldura harás una corona de oro al rededor. 26Y le harás cuatro sortijas de oro, las cuales pondrás a las cuatro esquinas que estarán a sus cuatro pies. 27Las sortijas estarán delante de la moldura por lugares para las barras, para llevar la mesa. 28Y harás las barras de madera de acacias, y las cubrirás de oro, y con ellas será llevada la mesa. 29Harás también sus platos y sus cucharones, y sus jarras, y sus tazones con que se verterá: de oro fino las harás. 30Y pondrás sobre la mesa el pan de la proposición delante de mí continuamente. 31También, harás un candelero de oro puro; de martillo se hará el candelero: su pie, y su caña, sus copas, sus manzanas y sus flores, serán de los mismo. 32Y saldrán seis cañas de sus lados; las tres cañas del candelero del un lado suyo; y las otras tres cañas del candelero del otro su lado. 33Tres copas almendradas en la una caña, una manzana y una flor; y tres copas almendradas en la otra caña, una manzana y una flor; y así en las seis cañas que salen del candelero: 34Y en el candelero cuatro copas almendradas, sus manzanas, y sus flores. 35Una manzana debajo de las dos cañas, de lo mismo; otra manzana debajo de las otras dos cañas, de lo mismo; otra manzana debajo de las otras dos cañas, de lo mismo, en las seis cañas que salen del candelero. 36Sus manzanas y sus cañas serán de lo mismo; todo ello de martillo de una pieza, de puro oro. 37Y le harás siete candilejas, las cuales encenderás para que alumbren a la parte de su delantera. 38Y sus pinzas y sus platillos, de oro puro. 39De un kikar de oro fino lo harás, con todos estos vasos. 40Y mira, y haz conforme a su semejanza, que te ha sido mostrada en el monte.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 CONCERNING AN OFFERING. (Exo. 25:1-40)
the Lord spake unto Moses, &c.--The business that chiefly occupied Moses on the mount, whatever other disclosures were made to him there, was in receiving directions about the tabernacle, and they are here recorded as given to him.
2 bring me an offering of every man that giveth it willingly, &c.--Having declared allegiance to God as their sovereign, they were expected to contribute to His state, as other subjects to their kings; and the "offering" required of them was not to be imposed as a tax, but to come from their own loyal and liberal feelings.
3 this is the offering which ye shall take of them--the articles of which the offerings should consist.
brass--rather copper, brass being a composite metal.
4 goats' hair--or leather of goats' skin.
5 badgers' skins--The badger was an unclean animal, and is not a native of the East--rather some kind of fish, of the leather of which sandals are made in the East. [See on
Exod 39:34 and
Ezek 16:10.]
shittim wood--or Shittah (
Isa 41:19), the acacia, a shrub which grows plentifully in the deserts of Arabia, yielding a light, strong, and beautiful wood, in long planks.
7 ephod--a square cloak, hanging down from the shoulders, and worn by priests.
8 a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them--In one sense the tabernacle was to be a palace, the royal residence of the King of Israel, in which He was to dwell among His people, receive their petitions, and issue His responses. But it was also to be a place of worship, in which God was to record His name and to enshrine the mystic symbols of His presence.
9 According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle--The proposed erection could be, in the circumstances of the Israelites, not of a fixed and stable but of a temporary and movable description, capable of being carried about with them in their various sojournings. It was made after "the pattern" shown to Moses, by which is now generally understood, not that it was an unheard-of novelty, or an entirely original structure, for it is ascertained to have borne resemblance in form and arrangements to the style of an Egyptian temple, but that it was so altered, modified, and purified from all idolatrous associations, as to be appropriated to right objects, and suggestive of ideas connected with the true God and His worship.
10 an ark--a coffer or chest, overlaid with gold, the dimensions of which, taking the cubit at eighteen inches, are computed to be three feet nine inches in length, two feet three inches in breadth.
11 a crown--a rim or cornice.
12 rings--staples for the poles, with which it was to be carried from place to place.
15 staves shall be in the rings of the ark--that is, always remain in the rings, whether the ark be at rest or in motion.
16 the testimony--that is, the two tables of stone, containing the ten commandments, and called "the testimony," because by it God did testify His sovereign authority over Israel as His people, His selection of them as the guardians of His will and worship, and His displeasure in the event of their transgressing His laws; while on their part, by receiving and depositing this law in its appointed place, they testified their acknowledgment of God's right to rule over them, and their submission to the authority of His law. The superb and elaborate style of the ark that contained "the testimony" was emblematic of the great treasure it held; in other words, the incomparable value and excellence of the Word of God, while its being placed in this chest further showed the great care which God has ever taken for preserving it.
17 thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold--to serve as a lid, covering it exactly. It was "the propitiatory cover," as the term may be rendered, denoting that Christ, our great propitiation [
1John 2:2;
1John 4:10], has fully answered all the demands of the law, covers our transgressions, and comes between us and the curse of a violated law.
18 two cherubim--The real meaning of these figures, as well as the shape or form of them, is not known with certainty--probably similar to what was afterwards introduced into the temple, and described in
Ezek 10:8-
Ezek 10:22. They stretched out their wings, and their faces were turned towards the mercy seat [
Exod 25:20], probably in a bowing attitude. The prevailing opinion now is, that those splendid figures were symbolical not of angelic but of earthly and human beings--the members of the Church of God interested in the dispensation of grace, the redeemed in every age--and that these hieroglyphic forms symbolized the qualities of the true people of God--courage, patience, intelligence, and activity.
22 there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat--The Shekinah, or symbol of the Divine Presence, rested on the mercy seat, and was indicated by a cloud, from the midst of which responses were audibly given when God was consulted on behalf of His people. Hence God is described as "dwelling" or "sitting" between the cherubim.
23 table of shittim wood--of the same material and decorations as the ark [see on
Exod 25:5], and like it, too, furnished with rings for the poles on which it was carried [
Exod 25:26]. The staves, however, were taken out of it when stationary, in order not to encumber the priests while engaged in their services at the table. It was half a cubit less than the ark in length and breadth, but of the same height. [See on
Exod 25:10.]
24 crown--the moulding or ornamental rim, which is thought to have been raised above the level of the table, to prevent anything from falling off.
29 dishes--broad platters.
spoons--cups or concave vessels, used for holding incense.
covers--both for bread and incense.
bowls--cups; for though no mention is made of wine, libations were undoubtedly made to God, according to JOSEPHUS and the rabbins, once a week, when the bread was changed.
to cover withal--rather, "to pour out withal."
30 showbread--literally, presence bread, so called because it was constantly exhibited before the Lord, or because the bread of His presence, like the angel of His presence, pointed symbolically to Christ. It consisted of twelve unleavened loaves, said traditionally to have been laid in piles of six each. This bread was designed to be a symbol of the full and never-failing provision which is made in the Church for the spiritual sustenance and refreshment of God's people.
31 candlestick--literally, "a lamp bearer." It was so constructed as to be capable of being taken to pieces for facility in removal. The shaft or stock rested on a pedestal. It had seven branches, shaped like reeds or canes--three on each side, with one in the center--and worked out into knobs, flowers, and bowls, placed alternately [
Exod 25:32-
Exod 25:36]. The figure represented on the arch of Titus gives the best idea of this candlestick.
33 knops--old spelling for "knobs"--bosses.
37 they shall light the lamps . . . that they may give light--The light was derived from pure olive oil, and probably kept continually burning (compare
Exod 30:7;
Lev 24:2).
38 tongs--snuffers.
39 a talent of pure gold--in weight equivalent to 125 lbs. troy.
40 look that thou make them after their pattern--This caution, which is repeated with no small frequency in other parts of the narrative, is an evidence of the deep interest taken by the Divine King in the erection of His palace or sanctuary; and it is impossible to account for the circumstance of God's condescending to such minute details, except on the assumption that this tabernacle was to be of a typical character, and eminently subservient to the religious instruction and benefit of mankind, by shadowing forth in its leading features the grand truths of the Christian Church.