Exodus 26

Make the tabernacle itself with ten curtains of fine twisted linen, worked with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn. Have a skilled worker weave figures of cherubim into them.

1Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them.

NoteThe tabernacle was a portable tent-shrine that the Israelites carried with them and set up wherever they camped. The Hebrew word means "dwelling place." Cherubim are winged composite creatures, familiar from the art of the ancient Near East, where such figures were shown guarding thrones and sanctuaries; the singular is cherub, and the King James "cherubims" is a double plural. The King James "cunning work" does not mean sly or crafty: in 1611 "cunning" meant skillful, and the Hebrew term refers to a designer-weaver, the most highly regarded of the textile crafts. Blue, purple, and scarlet were expensive dyes (the first two from a Mediterranean sea snail, the third from a scale insect) and their use signals costly, prestige cloth.

2Each curtain is to be twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide. All the curtains are to be the same size.

2The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure.

NoteA cubit was roughly eighteen inches, about the length of a forearm from elbow to fingertip. Twenty-eight cubits is about forty-two feet; four cubits about six feet.

3Join five of the curtains to one another, and join the other five to one another as well.

3The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other five curtains shall be coupled one to another.

4Make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain of the first set, at its finished border where the sets join. Do the same along the outer edge of the end curtain of the second set.

4And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of another curtain, in the coupling of the second.

NoteA selvedge is the self-finished edge that runs down the side of a piece of woven cloth and does not fray or need hemming.

5Make fifty loops on the one curtain, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain in the second set, so that the loops line up across from one another.

5Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another.

6Make fifty gold clasps, and join the curtains together with the clasps, so that the tabernacle becomes one whole.

6And thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle.

Note"Taches" is an old English word for clasps or fasteners, related to the modern word "attach."

7Make curtains of goat hair to form a tent over the tabernacle. Make eleven of these curtains.

7And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make.

NoteThe Hebrew keeps two words apart here that both sound like "tent" in English: the tabernacle proper is the inner structure of linen curtains and framed boards, while the goat-hair layer over it is called the tent. Goat hair was the standard material for the black nomad tents of the region, hard-wearing and weatherproof.

8Each curtain is to be thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. All eleven curtains are to be the same size.

8The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure.

9Join five of the curtains together as one set and the other six as another set. Fold the sixth curtain double at the front of the tent.

9And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle.

NoteThe extra curtain doubled over at the entrance made a folded flap hanging at the front, where the covering took the most wear.

10Make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain of the first set, and fifty loops along the edge of the curtain that joins the second set.

10And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second.

11Make fifty bronze clasps, put the clasps into the loops, and join the tent together so that it becomes one whole.

11And thou shalt make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one.

NoteWhere the King James says "brass," the metal is bronze, an alloy of copper and tin; brass in the modern sense, copper and zinc, was not in use at this period. Note the change of metal: gold clasps for the inner linen layer, bronze for the outer goat-hair one, with costlier materials used the closer you get to the inside.

12As for what is left over of the tent curtains, the extra half curtain is to hang down over the back of the tabernacle.

12And the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle.

13The tent curtains will also be a cubit longer on each side. That extra length is to hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on the one side and on the other, to cover it.

13And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.

14Make a covering for the tent out of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of badger skins.

14And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers’ skins.

NoteThe second skin is uncertain. The Hebrew word tachash is used almost nowhere else and its meaning was already lost by ancient times; guesses have included badger, dolphin or sea-cow hide, and a kind of fine tanned or dyed leather. Translations differ, and no one knows.

15Make upright boards of acacia wood for the tabernacle.

15And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up.

NoteAcacia is a hard, dense desert hardwood, resistant to insects and rot, and the main timber available in the Sinai region. The King James "shittim" is simply the Hebrew word carried over untranslated. Whether these uprights were solid planks or open frames is debated: the Hebrew word means something like "standing thing," and solid boards of these dimensions would be extremely heavy to transport.

16Each board is to be ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.

16Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board.

NoteTen cubits is about fifteen feet; a cubit and a half about twenty-seven inches.

17Each board is to have two pegs at the bottom, set side by side and matching each other. Make all the boards of the tabernacle this way.

17Two tenons shall there be in one board, set in order one against another: thus shalt thou make for all the boards of the tabernacle.

NoteA tenon is a projecting tongue cut at the end of a piece of wood, shaped to drop into a matching socket and hold the joint steady.

18Make the boards for the tabernacle this way: twenty boards for the south side, facing south.

18And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward.

19Make forty silver bases to go under the twenty boards, two bases under one board for its two pegs, and two bases under the next board for its two pegs.

19And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons.

NoteThese bases were sockets, blocks of cast silver with a hollow that the pegs dropped into, heavy enough to hold the uprights steady and keep them from sinking into sand. Exodus 38:27 says each weighed a talent, on the order of seventy-five pounds.

20For the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, there are to be twenty boards,

20And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty boards:

21along with their forty silver bases, two bases under one board and two bases under the next board.

21And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.

22For the rear of the tabernacle, on the west, make six boards.

22And for the sides of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards.

23Make two more boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the rear.

23And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides.

NoteHow the corner boards fitted is one of the most obscure passages in the chapter; the Hebrew is compressed and interpreters have reconstructed the joint in several different ways.

24These two are to be joined together at the bottom and joined together at the top, fitted into a single ring. Both of them are to be made this way, and they will form the two corners.

24And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of it unto one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners.

25So there will be eight boards with their silver bases, sixteen bases in all, two bases under one board and two bases under the next board.

25And they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.

26Make crossbars of acacia wood: five for the boards on the one side of the tabernacle,

26And thou shalt make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,

NoteThe crossbars ran horizontally through gold rings on the outside of the uprights, bracing the whole wall so it stood as one rigid unit rather than a row of separate boards.

27five crossbars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five crossbars for the boards at the rear of the tabernacle, on the west side.

27And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward.

28The middle crossbar, in the midst of the boards, is to run from one end to the other.

28And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end.

29Overlay the boards with gold, and make gold rings on them to hold the crossbars. Overlay the crossbars with gold as well.

29And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold.

30Set up the tabernacle according to the plan for it that was shown to you on the mountain.

30And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount.

NoteThis refers back to Exodus 25:9 and 25:40, where Moses is told he is being shown a pattern or model on Mount Sinai and must build to match it.

31Make a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of a skilled weaver, with figures of cherubim worked into it.

31And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:

NoteThe "veil" here is not a face covering but a heavy hanging curtain used as an interior partition, the same idea as a stage curtain. The Hebrew word, paroket, is used almost exclusively for this one screen.

32Hang it on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks are to be of gold, and the posts are to stand on four silver bases.

32And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver.

33Hang the veil under the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place for you.

33And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.

NoteThe clasps mentioned are the row of gold clasps from verse 6, which fell at a fixed point along the roof and so marked where the partition hung. The ark is the gilded chest described in Exodus 25; "the testimony" is the pair of inscribed stone tablets kept inside it, so "ark of the testimony" means the chest that holds them. "Most Holy" translates a Hebrew phrase that literally reads "holy of holies," a way of forming a superlative in Hebrew, the holiest place of all.

34Put the mercy seat on top of the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place.

34And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.

NoteThe mercy seat was the solid gold lid of the ark, with two cherubim worked at its ends (Exodus 25:17–22). "Mercy seat" is William Tyndale's coinage; the Hebrew word kapporet is related to a root meaning both "cover" and "wipe away, atone," and translators have never agreed which sense governs, hence renderings ranging from "cover" to "atonement lid."

35Set the table outside the veil, and put the lampstand across from the table on the south side of the tabernacle. Put the table on the north side.

35And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side.

NoteThe table and the lampstand are the two objects described in Exodus 25:23–40: a gold-overlaid table for the bread set out before God, and a seven-branched lamp of hammered gold. The King James "candlestick" is misleading: it burned olive oil in lamps, not candles. "Over against" means opposite, facing.

36For the doorway of the tent, make a screen of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, decorated with needlework.

36And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework.

NoteThe Hebrew distinguishes two grades of textile work. The veil inside (verse 31) is the work of the designer-weaver, with cherubim worked in; this outer entrance screen is the work of an embroiderer, plainer, with no figures. As with the metals, the workmanship becomes finer the further in you go.

37For that screen, make five posts of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. Their hooks are to be of gold, and cast five bronze bases for them.

37And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.