Exodus 37

Bezaleel made the ark out of acacia wood. It was two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.

1And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it:

NoteBezaleel (Bezalel) is the craftsman appointed to lead the work in Exodus 31. The "ark" here is a chest or box, not a boat, Hebrew *aron*, an ordinary word for a container. The KJV's "shittim wood" is acacia, a hard, dense desert tree available in Sinai. A cubit was roughly eighteen inches, about the length of a forearm from elbow to fingertip, so the chest was about 45 inches long and 27 inches wide and high. This chapter retells, as work completed, what chapters 25–30 had given as instructions.

2He covered it with pure gold, both inside and outside, and he made a gold molding that ran all the way around it.

2And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about.

NoteThe "crown" of the KJV is not a headpiece: the Hebrew means a raised rim or decorative border running around the top edge, what a modern carpenter would call a molding.

3He cast four gold rings for it, to be attached at its four corners, two rings on one side of it and two rings on the other side.

3And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it.

4He made poles of acacia wood and covered them with gold.

4And he made staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold.

5He put the poles through the rings on the sides of the ark, so the ark could be carried.

5And he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark.

6He made the mercy seat out of pure gold. It was two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide.

6And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

Note"Mercy seat" (Hebrew *kapporet*) is not a chair. It is the solid gold lid of the chest, and the Hebrew word is related to the verb for covering over or wiping away wrongdoing; some translators render it simply "cover" or "atonement cover." Its measurements match the top of the ark exactly.

7He made two cherubim out of gold, hammering them out of one piece, and set them at the two ends of the mercy seat.

7And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat;

NoteCherubim (singular cherub; the KJV's "cherubims" is a double plural) are winged figures of the heavenly court, not the plump infants of later European art. Comparable images from the ancient Near East show composite creatures, winged animal bodies with human faces, often flanking a throne.

8One cherub was at the end on one side, and the other cherub was at the end on the other side. He made the cherubim as part of the mercy seat itself, at its two ends.

8One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof.

9The cherubim spread their wings upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings. Their faces were turned toward each other, looking down toward the mercy seat.

9And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims.

10He made the table out of acacia wood. It was two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high.

10And he made the table of shittim wood: two cubits was the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof:

NoteThis is the table that held the "bread of the Presence" (Exodus 25:30), twelve loaves kept continually before God. It was about three feet long, eighteen inches wide, and just over two feet high.

11He covered it with pure gold and made a gold molding that ran all the way around it.

11And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made thereunto a crown of gold round about.

12He also made a rim around it, a handbreadth wide, and made a gold molding for the rim, running all the way around.

12Also he made thereunto a border of an handbreadth round about; and made a crown of gold for the border thereof round about.

NoteA handbreadth is the width of four fingers, roughly three inches.

13He cast four gold rings for the table and attached the rings at the four corners, by its four legs.

13And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings upon the four corners that were in the four feet thereof.

14The rings were placed close to the rim. They held the poles that were used to carry the table.

14Over against the border were the rings, the places for the staves to bear the table.

15He made the poles out of acacia wood and covered them with gold, so the table could be carried.

15And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table.

16He made the things that went on the table out of pure gold: its plates, its dishes, its bowls, and its pitchers for pouring.

16And he made the vessels which were upon the table, his dishes, and his spoons, and his bowls, and his covers to cover withal, of pure gold.

NoteThe last item, KJV "covers to cover withal," is disputed: the Hebrew suggests either lids for the vessels or jugs used to pour out wine offerings. The rendering follows the second reading.

17He made the lampstand out of pure gold. He hammered the lampstand into shape, and its base, its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its flowers were all one piece with it.

17And he made the candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work made he the candlestick; his shaft, and his branch, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, were of the same:

NoteThe "candlestick" is a lampstand (Hebrew *menorah*): it held oil lamps, not candles. It stood in the outer room of the tent and burned continually. "Beaten work" means hammered from a single ingot rather than cast or assembled from parts.

18Six branches came out from its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side.

18And six branches going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side thereof:

19On one branch there were three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a bud and a flower, and on the next branch three more cups shaped like almonds, each with a bud and a flower. It was the same for all six branches coming out of the lampstand.

19Three bowls made after the fashion of almonds in one branch, a knop and a flower; and three bowls made like almonds in another branch, a knop and a flower: so throughout the six branches going out of the candlestick.

NoteThe "bowls" are the cups of a flower: the whole lampstand is shaped like a stylised almond tree, with almond blossoms, buds, and open petals. The almond is the first tree to flower in the Israelite spring.

20On the lampstand itself there were four cups shaped like almonds, with their buds and their flowers.

20And in the candlestick were four bowls made like almonds, his knops, and his flowers:

21There was a bud under one pair of branches that came from it, a bud under the second pair, and a bud under the third pair, matching the six branches that came out of it.

21And a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches going out of it.

22Their buds and their branches were one piece with the lampstand. The whole thing was a single piece of pure gold, hammered into shape.

22Their knops and their branches were of the same: all of it was one beaten work of pure gold.

23He made its seven lamps, its wick trimmers, and its trays out of pure gold.

23And he made his seven lamps, and his snuffers, and his snuffdishes, of pure gold.

NoteThe snuffers are tongs for trimming the burnt ends of the lamp wicks; the snuffdishes are trays for carrying away the trimmings.

24He made the lampstand and all the tools that went with it out of one talent of pure gold.

24Of a talent of pure gold made he it, and all the vessels thereof.

NoteA talent was the largest weight unit in use, about seventy-five pounds (roughly thirty-four kilograms).

25He made the incense altar out of acacia wood. It was one cubit long and one cubit wide, so it was square, and it was two cubits high. Its horns were one piece with it.

25And he made the incense altar of shittim wood: the length of it was a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same.

NoteThis altar was for burning incense only, not for animal sacrifice; it was small, about eighteen inches square and three feet high. The "horns" were upward projections at the four top corners, a standard feature of altars in the region.

26He covered it with pure gold, both the top and the sides all the way around, and the horns as well. He also made a gold molding that ran all the way around it.

26And he overlaid it with pure gold, both the top of it, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns of it: also he made unto it a crown of gold round about.

27He made two gold rings for it, below the molding, at its two corners on opposite sides, to hold the poles used to carry it.

27And he made two rings of gold for it under the crown thereof, by the two corners of it, upon the two sides thereof, to be places for the staves to bear it withal.

28He made the poles out of acacia wood and covered them with gold.

28And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold.

29He made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of sweet-smelling spices, made the way a perfume maker works.

29And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary.

NoteThe recipes for both the anointing oil and the incense are given in Exodus 30:22–38, and both were reserved for use in the sanctuary. "Apothecary" in 1611 English meant a maker of perfumes and compounded ointments, not a modern pharmacist.