1.
And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.
1, 2. altar of shittim wood—The
dimensions of this altar which was placed at the entrance of the
sanctuary were nearly three yards square, and a yard and a half in
height. Under the wooden frame of this chest-like altar the inside
was hollow, and each corner was to be terminated by "horns"—angular
projections, perpendicular or oblique, in the form of horns. The
animals to be sacrificed were bound to these (), and part of the blood was applied to them.
2.
And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.
3.
And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.
3. shovels—fire shovels for
scraping together any of the scattered ashes.
basons—for receiving
the blood of the sacrifice to be sprinkled on the people.
fleshhooks—curved,
three-pronged forks (1 Samuel 2:13;
1 Samuel 2:14).
fire-pans—A large sort
of vessel, wherein the sacred fire which came down from heaven (1 Samuel 2:14) was kept burning, while they cleaned the altar and the
grate from the coals and ashes, and while the altar was carried from
one place to another in the wilderness [PATRICK,
SPENCER, LE
CLERC].
4.
And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof.
4. a grate of network of brass—sunk
latticework to support the fire.
four brazen rings—by
which the grating might be lifted and taken away as occasion required
from the body of the altar.
5.
And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar.
5. put it under the compass of the
altar beneath—that is, the grating in which they were carried
to a clean place (Leviticus 4:12).
6.
And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass.
6, 7. staves . . . rings—Those
rings were placed at the side through which the poles were inserted
on occasions of removal.
7.
And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it.
8.
Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.
9.
And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side:
9-19. the court of the
tabernacle—The enclosure in which the edifice stood was a
rectangular court, extending rather more than fifty yards in length
and half that space in breadth, and the enclosing parapet was about
three yards or half the height of the tabernacle. That parapet
consisted of a connected series of curtains, made of fine twined
linen yarn, woven into a kind of network, so that the people could
see through; but that large curtain which overhung the entrance was
of a different texture, being embroidered and dyed with variegated
colors, and it was furnished with cords for pulling it up or drawing
it aside when the priests had occasion to enter. The curtains of this
enclosure were supported on sixty brazen pillars which stood on
pedestals of the same metal, but their capitals and fillets were of
silver, and the hooks on which they were suspended were of silver
also.
10.
And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.
11.
And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.
12.
And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.
13.
And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.
14.
The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.
15.
And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.
16.
And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.
17.
All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass.
18.
The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.
19.
All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.
19. pins—were designed to hold
down the curtains at the bottom, lest the wind should waft them
aside.
20.
And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.
20, 21. pure oil olive beaten—that
is, such as runs from the olives when bruised and without the
application of fire.
for the light . . . Aaron and
his sons—were to take charge of lighting it in all time coming.
21.
In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.
21. shall order it from evening to
morning—The tabernacle having no windows, the lamps required to
be lighted during the day. JOSEPHUS
says that in his time only three were lighted; but his were
degenerate times, and there is no Scripture authority for this
limitation. But although the priests were obliged from necessity to
light them by day, they might have let them go out at night had it
not been for this express ordinance.