Keluaran 34:1--38:31
Konteks34:1 1 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out 2 two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write 3 on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you smashed. 34:2 Be prepared 4 in the morning, and go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and station yourself 5 for me there on the top of the mountain. 34:3 No one is to come up with you; do not let anyone be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks or the herds may graze in front of that mountain.” 34:4 So Moses 6 cut out two tablets of stone like the first; 7 early in the morning he went up 8 to Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him, and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.
34:5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name. 9 34:6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: 10 “The Lord, the Lord, 11 the compassionate and gracious 12 God, slow to anger, 13 and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, 14 34:7 keeping loyal love for thousands, 15 forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression 16 of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”
34:8 Moses quickly bowed 17 to the ground and worshiped 34:9 and said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord 18 go among us, for we 19 are a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
34:10 He said, “See, I am going to make 20 a covenant before all your people. I will do wonders such as have not been done 21 in all the earth, nor in any nation. All the people among whom you live will see the work of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I am doing with you. 22
34:11 “Obey 23 what I am commanding you this day. I am going to drive out 24 before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 34:12 Be careful not to make 25 a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it become a snare 26 among you. 34:13 Rather you must destroy their altars, smash their images, and cut down their Asherah poles. 27 34:14 For you must not worship 28 any other god, 29 for the Lord, whose name 30 is Jealous, is a jealous God. 34:15 Be careful 31 not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when 32 they prostitute themselves 33 to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you, 34 you will eat from his sacrifice; 34:16 and you then take 35 his daughters for your sons, and when his daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will make your sons prostitute themselves to their gods as well. 34:17 You must not make yourselves molten gods.
34:18 “You must keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days 36 you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you; do this 37 at the appointed time of the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt.
34:19 “Every firstborn of the womb 38 belongs to me, even every firstborn 39 of your cattle that is a male, 40 whether ox or sheep. 34:20 Now the firstling 41 of a donkey you may redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then break its neck. 42 You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons.
“No one will appear before me empty-handed. 43
34:21 “On six days 44 you may labor, but on the seventh day you must rest; 45 even at the time of plowing and of harvest 46 you are to rest. 47
34:22 “You must observe 48 the Feast of Weeks – the firstfruits of the harvest of wheat – and the Feast of Ingathering at the end 49 of the year. 34:23 At three times 50 in the year all your men 51 must appear before the Lord God, 52 the God of Israel. 34:24 For I will drive out 53 the nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one will covet 54 your land when you go up 55 to appear before the Lord your God three times 56 in the year.
34:25 “You must not offer the blood of my sacrifice with yeast; the sacrifice from the feast of Passover must not remain until the following morning. 57
34:26 “The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.
You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.” 58
34:27 The Lord said to Moses, “Write down 59 these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 34:28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; 60 he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. 61
34:29 62 Now when Moses came down 63 from Mount Sinai with 64 the two tablets of the testimony in his hand 65 – when he came down 66 from the mountain, Moses 67 did not know that the skin of his face shone 68 while he talked with him. 34:30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone; 69 and they were afraid to approach him. 34:31 But Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and Moses spoke to them. 34:32 After this all the Israelites approached, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. 34:33 When Moses finished 70 speaking 71 with them, he would 72 put a veil on his face. 34:34 But when Moses went in 73 before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. 74 Then he would come out and tell the Israelites what he had been commanded. 75 34:35 When the Israelites would see 76 the face of Moses, that 77 the skin of Moses’ face shone, Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with the Lord. 78
35:1 Moses assembled the whole community of the Israelites and said to them, “These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do. 79 35:2 In six days 80 work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a holy day 81 for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. 82 Anyone who does work on it will be put to death. 35:3 You must not kindle a fire 83 in any of your homes 84 on the Sabbath day.” 85
35:4 86 Moses spoke to the whole community of the Israelites, “This is the word that the Lord has commanded: 35:5 ‘Take 87 an offering for the Lord. Let everyone who has a willing heart 88 bring 89 an offering to the Lord: 90 gold, silver, bronze, 35:6 blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, fine linen, goat’s hair, 35:7 ram skins dyed red, fine leather, 91 acacia wood, 35:8 olive oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 35:9 onyx stones, and other gems 92 for mounting 93 on the ephod and the breastpiece. 35:10 Every skilled person 94 among you is to come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 35:11 the tabernacle with 95 its tent, its covering, its clasps, its frames, its crossbars, its posts, and its bases; 35:12 the ark, with its poles, the atonement lid, and the special curtain that conceals it; 35:13 the table with its poles and all its vessels, and the Bread of the Presence; 35:14 the lampstand for 96 the light and its accessories, its lamps, and oil for the light; 35:15 and the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense; the hanging for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; 35:16 the altar for the burnt offering with its bronze grating that is on it, its poles, and all its utensils; the large basin and its pedestal; 35:17 the hangings of the courtyard, its posts and its bases, and the curtain for the gateway to the courtyard; 35:18 tent pegs for the tabernacle and tent pegs for the courtyard and their ropes; 35:19 the woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister as priests.”
35:20 So the whole community of the Israelites went out from the presence of Moses. 35:21 Everyone 97 whose heart stirred him to action 98 and everyone whose spirit was willing 99 came and brought the offering for the Lord for the work of the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. 100 35:22 They came, men and women alike, 101 all who had willing hearts. They brought brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments, all kinds of gold jewelry, 102 and everyone came who waved 103 a wave offering of gold to the Lord.
35:23 Everyone who had 104 blue, purple, or 105 scarlet yarn, fine linen, goats’ hair, ram skins dyed red, or fine leather 106 brought them. 107 35:24 Everyone making an offering of silver or bronze brought it as 108 an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood 109 for any work of the service brought it. 110 35:25 Every woman who was skilled 111 spun with her hands and brought what she had spun, blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, or fine linen, 35:26 and all the women whose heart stirred them to action and who were skilled 112 spun goats’ hair.
35:27 The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted 113 for the ephod and the breastpiece, 35:28 and spices and olive oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense.
35:29 The Israelites brought a freewill offering to the Lord, every man and woman whose heart was willing to bring materials for all the work that the Lord through 114 Moses had commanded them 115 to do.
35:30 Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen 116 Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 35:31 He has filled him with the Spirit of God – with skill, with understanding, with knowledge, and in all kinds of work, 35:32 to design artistic designs, to work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, 35:33 and in cutting stones for their setting, 117 and in cutting wood, to do work in every artistic craft. 118 35:34 And he has put it in his heart 119 to teach, he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35:35 He has filled them with skill 120 to do all kinds of work 121 as craftsmen, as designers, as embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and in fine linen, and as weavers. They are 122 craftsmen in all the work 123 and artistic designers. 124 36:1 So Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person 125 in whom the Lord has put skill 126 and ability 127 to know how 128 to do all the work for the service 129 of the sanctuary are to do the work 130 according to all that the Lord has commanded.”
36:2 Moses summoned 131 Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in whom 132 the Lord had put skill – everyone whose heart stirred him 133 to volunteer 134 to do the work, 36:3 and they received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to do 135 the work for the service of the sanctuary, and they still continued to bring him a freewill offering each morning. 136 36:4 So all the skilled people who were doing all the work on the sanctuary came from the work 137 they were doing 36:5 and told Moses, “The people are bringing much more than 138 is needed for the completion 139 of the work which the Lord commanded us to do!” 140
36:6 Moses instructed them to take 141 his message 142 throughout the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman do any more work for the offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing any more. 143 36:7 Now the materials were more than enough 144 for them to do all the work. 145
36:8 All the skilled among those who were doing the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet; they were made with cherubim that were the work of an artistic designer. 36:9 The length of one curtain was forty-two feet, and the width of one curtain was six feet – the same size for each of the curtains. 36:10 He joined 146 five of the curtains to one another, and the other 147 five curtains he joined to one another. 36:11 He made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in the first set; he did the same along the edge of the end curtain in the second set. 36:12 He made fifty loops on the first curtain, and he made fifty loops on the end curtain that was in the second set, with the loops opposite one another. 36:13 He made fifty gold clasps and joined the curtains together to one another with the clasps, so that the tabernacle was a unit. 148
36:14 He made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains. 149 36:15 The length of one curtain was forty-five feet, and the width of one curtain was six feet – one size for all eleven curtains. 36:16 He joined five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. 36:17 He made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in the first set and fifty loops along the edge of the curtain that joined the second set. 36:18 He made fifty bronze clasps to join the tent together so that it might be a unit. 150 36:19 He made a covering for the tent out of ram skins dyed red and over that a covering of fine leather. 151
36:20 He made the frames 152 for the tabernacle of acacia wood 153 as uprights. 154 36:21 The length of each 155 frame was fifteen feet, the width of each 156 frame was two and a quarter feet, 36:22 with 157 two projections per frame parallel one to another. 158 He made all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. 36:23 So he made frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side. 36:24 He made forty silver bases under the twenty frames – two bases under the first frame for its two projections, and likewise 159 two bases under the next frame for its two projections, 36:25 and for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, he made twenty frames 36:26 and their forty silver bases, two bases under the first frame and two bases under the next 160 frame. 36:27 And for the back of the tabernacle on the west he made six frames. 36:28 He made two frames for the corners of the tabernacle on the back. 36:29 At the two corners 161 they were doubled at the lower end and 162 finished together at the top in one ring. So he did for both. 36:30 So there were eight frames and their silver bases, sixteen bases, two bases under each frame.
36:31 He made bars of acacia wood, five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle 36:32 and five bars for the frames on the second side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the tabernacle for the back side on the west. 36:33 He made the middle bar to reach from end to end in the center of the frames. 36:34 He overlaid the frames with gold and made their rings of gold to provide places 163 for the bars, and he overlaid the bars with gold.
36:35 He made the special curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen; he made 164 it with cherubim, the work of an artistic designer. 36:36 He made for it four posts of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, with gold hooks, 165 and he cast for them four silver bases.
36:37 He made a hanging for the entrance of the tent of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer, 36:38 and its five posts and their hooks. He overlaid their tops 166 and their bands with gold, but their five bases were bronze. 167
37:1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was three feet nine inches, its width two feet three inches, and its height two feet three inches. 37:2 He overlaid it with pure gold, inside and out, and he made a surrounding border 168 of gold for it. 37:3 He cast four gold rings for it that he put 169 on its four feet, with 170 two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 37:4 He made poles of acacia wood, overlaid them with gold, 37:5 and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark.
37:6 He made 171 an atonement lid of pure gold; its length was three feet nine inches, and its width was two feet three inches. 37:7 He made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid, 37:8 one cherub on one end 172 and one cherub on the other end. 173 He made the cherubim from the atonement lid on its two ends. 37:9 The cherubim were spreading their wings 174 upward, overshadowing the atonement lid with their wings. The cherubim 175 faced each other, 176 looking toward the atonement lid. 177
37:10 He made the table of acacia wood; its length was three feet, its width one foot six inches, and its height two feet three inches. 37:11 He overlaid it with pure gold, and he made a surrounding border of gold for it. 37:12 He made a surrounding frame for it about three inches wide, and he made a surrounding border of gold for its frame. 37:13 He cast four gold rings for it and attached the rings at the four corners where its four legs were. 37:14 The rings were close to the frame to provide places for the poles to carry the table. 37:15 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table. 37:16 He made the vessels which were on the table out of pure gold, its 178 plates, its ladles, its pitchers, and its bowls, to be used in pouring out offerings.
37:17 He made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered metal; its base and its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its blossoms were from the same piece. 179 37:18 Six branches were extending from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it. 37:19 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on the first branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on the next 180 branch, and the same 181 for the six branches that were extending from the lampstand. 37:20 On the lampstand there were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms, 37:21 with a bud under the first two branches from it, and a bud under the next two branches from it, and a bud under the third two branches from it; according to the six branches that extended from it. 182 37:22 Their buds and their branches were of one piece; 183 all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold. 37:23 He made its seven lamps, its trimmers, and its trays of pure gold. 37:24 He made the lampstand 184 and all its accessories with seventy-five pounds of pure gold.
37:25 He made the incense altar of acacia wood. Its length was a foot and a half and its width a foot and a half – a square – and its height was three feet. Its horns were of one piece with it. 185 37:26 He overlaid it with pure gold – its top, 186 its four walls, 187 and its horns – and he made a surrounding border of gold for it. 188 37:27 He also made 189 two gold rings for it under its border, on its two sides, on opposite sides, 190 as places 191 for poles to carry it with. 37:28 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
37:29 He made the sacred anointing oil and the pure fragrant incense, the work of a perfumer.
38:1 He made the altar for the burnt offering of acacia wood seven feet six inches long and seven feet six inches wide – it was square – and its height was four feet six inches. 38:2 He made its horns on its four corners; its horns were part of it, 192 and he overlaid it with bronze. 38:3 He made all the utensils of the altar – the pots, the shovels, the tossing bowls, the meat hooks, and the fire pans – he made all its utensils of bronze. 38:4 He made a grating for the altar, a network of bronze under its ledge, halfway up from the bottom. 38:5 He cast four rings for the four corners of the bronze grating, to provide places for the poles. 38:6 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. 38:7 He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it. He made the altar 193 hollow, out of boards.
38:8 He made the large basin of bronze and its pedestal of bronze from the mirrors of the women who served 194 at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
38:9 He made the courtyard. For the south side 195 the hangings of the courtyard were of fine twisted linen, one hundred fifty feet long, 38:10 with 196 their twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. 38:11 For the north side the hangings were 197 one hundred fifty feet, with their twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. 38:12 For the west side there were 198 hangings seventy-five feet long, with 199 their ten posts and their ten bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. 38:13 For the east side, toward the sunrise, it was seventy-five feet wide, 200 38:14 with hangings on one side 201 of the gate that were twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases, 38:15 and for the second side of the gate of the courtyard, just like the other, 202 the hangings were twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases. 38:16 All the hangings around the courtyard were of fine twisted linen. 38:17 The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks of the posts and their bands were silver, their tops were overlaid with silver, and all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands. 203 38:18 The curtain 204 for the gate of the courtyard was of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer. It was thirty feet long, and like the hangings in the courtyard, it was seven and a half feet high, 38:19 with four posts and their four bronze bases. Their hooks and their bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. 38:20 All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the courtyard all around were bronze.
38:21 This is the inventory 205 of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, which was counted 206 by the order 207 of Moses, being the work 208 of the Levites under the direction 209 of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. 38:22 Now Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that the Lord had commanded Moses; 38:23 and with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an artisan, a designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen.
38:24 All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary 210 (namely, 211 the gold of the wave offering) was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels, 212 according to the sanctuary shekel.
38:25 The silver of those who were numbered of the community was one hundred talents and 1,775 shekels, 213 according to the sanctuary shekel, 38:26 one beka per person, that is, a half shekel, 214 according to the sanctuary shekel, for everyone who crossed over to those numbered, from twenty years old or older, 215 603,550 in all. 216 38:27 The one hundred talents of silver were used for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the special curtain – one hundred bases for one hundred talents, one talent per base. 38:28 From the remaining 1,775 shekels 217 he made hooks for the posts, overlaid their tops, and made bands for them.
38:29 The bronze of the wave offering was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels. 218 38:30 With it he made the bases for the door of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grating for it, and all the utensils of the altar, 38:31 the bases for the courtyard all around, the bases for the gate of the courtyard, all the tent pegs of the tabernacle, and all the tent pegs of the courtyard all around. 219
[34:1] 1 sn The restoration of the faltering community continues in this chapter. First, Moses is instructed to make new tablets and take them to the mountain (1-4). Then, through the promised theophany God proclaims his moral character (5-8). Moses responds with the reiteration of the intercession (8), and God responds with the renewal of the covenant (10-28). To put these into expository form, as principles, the chapter would run as follows: I. God provides for spiritual renewal (1-4), II. God reminds people of his moral standard (5-9), III. God renews his covenant promises and stipulations (10-28).
[34:1] 2 tn The imperative is followed by the preposition with a suffix expressing the ethical dative; it strengthens the instruction for Moses. Interestingly, the verb “cut out, chisel, hew,” is the same verb from which the word for a “graven image” is derived – פָּסַל (pasal).
[34:1] 3 tn The perfect tense with vav consecutive makes the value of this verb equal to an imperfect tense, probably a simple future here.
[34:1] sn Nothing is said of how God was going to write on these stone tablets at this point, but in the end it is Moses who wrote the words. This is not considered a contradiction, since God is often credited with things he has people do in his place. There is great symbolism in this command – if ever a command said far more than it actually said, this is it. The instruction means that the covenant had been renewed, or was going to be renewed, and that the sanctuary with the tablets in the ark at its center would be built (see Deut 10:1). The first time Moses went up he was empty-handed; when he came down he smashed the tablets because of the Israelites’ sin. Now the people would see him go up with empty tablets and be uncertain whether he would come back with the tablets inscribed again (B. Jacob, Exodus, 977-78).
[34:2] 4 tn The form is a Niphal participle that means “be prepared, be ready.” This probably means that Moses was to do in preparation what the congregation had to do back in Exod 19:11-15.
[34:2] 5 sn The same word is used in Exod 33:21. It is as if Moses was to be at his post when Yahweh wanted to communicate to him.
[34:4] 6 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified here and the name “Moses,” which occurs later in this verse, has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”), both for stylistic reasons.
[34:4] 7 sn Deuteronomy says that Moses was also to make an ark of acacia wood before the tablets, apparently to put the tablets in until the sanctuary was built. But this ark may not have been the ark built later; or, it might be the wood box, but Bezalel still had to do all the golden work with it.
[34:4] 8 tn The line reads “and Moses got up early in the morning and went up.” These verbs likely form a verbal hendiadys, the first one with its prepositional phrase serving in an adverbial sense.
[34:5] 9 tn Some commentaries wish to make Moses the subject of the second and the third verbs, the first because he was told to stand there and this verb suggests he did it, and the last because it sounds like he was worshiping Yahweh (cf. NASB). But it is clear from v. 6 that Yahweh was the subject of the last clause of v. 5 – v. 6 tells how he did it. So if Yahweh is the subject of the first and last clauses of v. 5, it seems simpler that he also be the subject of the second. Moses took his stand there, but God stood by him (B. Jacob, Exodus, 981; U. Cassuto, Exodus, 439). There is no reason to make Moses the subject in any of the verbs of v. 5.
[34:6] 10 tn Here is one of the clearest examples of what it means “to call on the name of the Lord,” as that clause has been translated traditionally (וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יְהוָה, vayyiqra’ vÿshem yÿhvah). It seems more likely that it means “to make proclamation of Yahweh by name.” Yahweh came down and made a proclamation – and the next verses give the content of what he said. This cannot be prayer or praise; it is a proclamation of the nature or attributes of God (which is what his “name” means throughout the Bible). Attempts to make Moses the subject of the verb are awkward, for the verb is repeated in v. 6 with Yahweh clearly doing the proclaiming.
[34:6] 11 sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 439) suggests that these two names be written as a sentence: “Yahweh, He is Yahweh.” In this manner it reflects “I am that I am.” It is impossible to define his name in any other way than to make this affirmation and then show what it means.
[34:6] 12 tn See Exod 33:19.
[34:6] 13 sn This is literally “long of anger.” His anger prolongs itself, allowing for people to repent before punishment is inflicted.
[34:6] 14 sn These two words (“loyal love” and “truth”) are often found together, occasionally in a hendiadys construction. If that is the interpretation here, then it means “faithful covenant love.” Even if they are left separate, they are dual elements of a single quality. The first word is God’s faithful covenant love; the second word is God’s reliability and faithfulness.
[34:7] 15 tn That is, “for thousands of generations.”
[34:7] 16 sn As in the ten commandments (20:5-6), this expression shows that the iniquity and its punishment will continue in the family if left unchecked. This does not go on as long as the outcomes for good (thousands versus third or fourth generations), and it is limited to those who hate God.
[34:8] 17 tn The first two verbs form a hendiadys: “he hurried…he bowed,” meaning “he quickly bowed down.”
[34:9] 18 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” two times here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[34:9] 19 tn Heb “it is.” Hebrew uses the third person masculine singular pronoun here in agreement with the noun “people.”
[34:10] 20 tn Here again is a use of the futur instans participle; the deictic particle plus the pronoun precedes the participle, showing what is about to happen.
[34:10] 21 tn The verb here is בָּרָא (bara’, “to create”). The choice of this verb is to stress that these wonders would be supernaturally performed, for the verb is used only with God as the subject.
[34:10] 22 sn The idea is that God will be doing awesome things in dealing with them, i.e., to fulfill his program.
[34:11] 23 tn The covenant duties begin with this command to “keep well” what is being commanded. The Hebrew expression is “keep for you”; the preposition and the suffix form the ethical dative, adding strength to the imperative.
[34:11] 24 tn Again, this is the futur instans use of the participle.
[34:12] 25 tn The exact expression is “take heed to yourself lest you make.” It is the second use of this verb in the duties, now in the Niphal stem. To take heed to yourself means to watch yourself, be sure not to do something. Here, if they failed to do this, they would end up making entangling treaties.
[34:12] 26 sn A snare would be a trap, an allurement to ruin. See Exod 23:33.
[34:13] 27 tn Or “images of Asherah”; ASV, NASB “their Asherim”; NCV “their Asherah idols.”
[34:13] sn Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
[34:14] 29 sn In Exod 20:3 it was “gods.”
[34:14] 30 sn Here, too, the emphasis on God’s being a jealous God is repeated (see Exod 20:5). The use of “name” here is to stress that this is his nature, his character.
[34:15] 31 tn The sentence begins simply “lest you make a covenant”; it is undoubtedly a continuation of the imperative introduced earlier, and so that is supplied here.
[34:15] 32 tn The verb is a perfect with a vav consecutive. In the literal form of the sentence, this clause tells what might happen if the people made a covenant with the inhabitants of the land: “Take heed…lest you make a covenant…and then they prostitute themselves…and sacrifice…and invite…and you eat.” The sequence lays out an entire scenario.
[34:15] 33 tn The verb זָנָה (zanah) means “to play the prostitute; to commit whoredom; to be a harlot” or something similar. It is used here and elsewhere in the Bible for departing from pure religion and engaging in pagan religion. The use of the word in this figurative sense is fitting, because the relationship between God and his people is pictured as a marriage, and to be unfaithful to it was a sin. This is also why God is described as a “jealous” or “impassioned” God. The figure may not be merely a metaphorical use, but perhaps a metonymy, since there actually was sexual immorality at the Canaanite altars and poles.
[34:15] 34 tn There is no subject for the verb. It could be rendered “and one invites you,” or it could be made a passive.
[34:16] 35 tn In the construction this verb would follow as a possible outcome of the last event, and so remain in the verbal sequence. If the people participate in the festivals of the land, then they will intermarry, and that could lead to further involvement with idolatry.
[34:18] 36 tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.
[34:18] 37 tn The words “do this” have been supplied.
[34:19] 38 tn Heb “everything that opens the womb.”
[34:19] 39 tn Here too: everything that “opens [the womb].”
[34:19] 40 tn The verb basically means “that drops a male.” The verb is feminine, referring to the cattle.
[34:20] 41 tn Heb “and the one that opens [the womb of] the donkey.”
[34:20] 42 sn See G. Brin, “The Firstling of Unclean Animals,” JQR 68 (1971): 1-15.
[34:20] 43 tn The form is the adverb “empty.”
[34:21] 44 tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.
[34:21] 45 tn Or “cease” (i.e., from the labors).
[34:21] 46 sn See M. Dahood, “Vocative lamed in Exodus 2,4 and Merismus in 34,21,” Bib 62 (1981): 413-15.
[34:21] 47 tn The imperfect tense expresses injunction or instruction.
[34:22] 48 tn The imperfect tense means “you will do”; it is followed by the preposition with a suffix to express the ethical dative to stress the subject.
[34:22] 49 tn The expression is “the turn of the year,” which is parallel to “the going out of the year,” and means the end of the agricultural season.
[34:23] 50 tn “Three times” is an adverbial accusative.
[34:23] 51 tn Heb “all your males.”
[34:23] 52 tn Here the divine name reads in Hebrew הָאָדֹן יְהוָה (ha’adon yÿhvah), which if rendered according to the traditional scheme of “
[34:23] sn The title “Lord” is included here before the divine name (translated “
[34:24] 53 tn The verb is a Hiphil imperfect of יָרַשׁ (yarash), which means “to possess.” In the causative stem it can mean “dispossess” or “drive out.”
[34:24] 54 sn The verb “covet” means more than desire; it means that some action will be taken to try to acquire the land that is being coveted. It is one thing to envy someone for their land; it is another to be consumed by the desire that stops at nothing to get it (it, not something like it).
[34:24] 55 tn The construction uses the infinitive construct with a preposition and a suffixed subject to form the temporal clause.
[34:24] 56 tn The expression “three times” is an adverbial accusative of time.
[34:25] 57 sn See M. Haran, “The Passover Sacrifice,” Studies in the Religion of Ancient Israel (VTSup), 86-116.
[34:26] 58 sn See the note on this same command in 23:19.
[34:27] 59 tn Once again the preposition with the suffix follows the imperative, adding some emphasis to the subject of the verb.
[34:28] 60 tn These too are adverbial in relation to the main clause, telling how long Moses was with Yahweh on the mountain.
[34:28] 61 tn Heb “the ten words,” though “commandments” is traditional.
[34:29] 62 sn Now, at the culmination of the renewing of the covenant, comes the account of Moses’ shining face. It is important to read this in its context first, holding off on the connection to Paul’s discussion in 2 Corinthians. There is a delicate balance here in Exodus. On the one hand Moses’ shining face served to authenticate the message, but on the other hand Moses prevented the people from seeing more than they could handle. The subject matter in the OT, then, is how to authenticate the message. The section again can be subdivided into three points that develop the whole idea: I. The one who spends time with God reflects his glory (29-30). It will not always be as Moses; rather, the glory of the
[34:29] 63 tn The temporal clause is composed of the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), followed by the temporal preposition, infinitive construct, and subjective genitive (“Moses”).
[34:29] 64 tn The second clause begins with “and/now”; it is a circumstantial clause explaining that the tablets were in his hand. It repeats the temporal clause at the end.
[34:29] 65 tn Heb “in the hand of Moses.”
[34:29] 66 tn The temporal clause parallels the first temporal clause; it uses the same infinitive construct, but now with a suffix referring to Moses.
[34:29] 67 tn Heb “and Moses.”
[34:29] 68 tn The word קָרַן (qaran) is derived from the noun קֶרֶן (qeren) in the sense of a “ray of light” (see Hab 3:4). Something of the divine glory remained with Moses. The Greek translation of Aquila and the Latin Vulgate convey the idea that he had horns, the primary meaning of the word from which this word is derived. Some have tried to defend this, saying that the glory appeared like horns or that Moses covered his face with a mask adorned with horns. But in the text the subject of the verb is the skin of Moses’ face (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 449).
[34:30] 69 tn This clause is introduced by the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh); it has the force of pointing to something surprising or sudden.
[34:33] 70 tn Heb “and Moses finished”; the clause is subordinated as a temporal clause to the next clause.
[34:33] 71 tn The Piel infinitive construct is the object of the preposition; the whole phrase serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
[34:33] 72 tn Throughout this section the actions of Moses and the people are frequentative. The text tells what happened regularly.
[34:34] 73 tn The construction uses a infinitive construct for the temporal clause; it is prefixed with the temporal preposition: “and in the going in of Moses.”
[34:34] 74 tn The temporal clause begins with the temporal preposition “until,” followed by an infinitive construct with the suffixed subjective genitive.
[34:34] 75 tn The form is the Pual imperfect, but since the context demands a past tense here, in fact a past perfect tense, this is probably an old preterite form without a vav consecutive.
[34:35] 76 tn Now the perfect tense with vav consecutive is subordinated to the next clause, “Moses returned the veil….”
[34:35] 77 tn Verbs of seeing often take two accusatives. Here, the second is the noun clause explaining what it was about the face that they saw.
[34:35] 78 tn Heb “with him”; the referent (the
[35:1] 79 tn Heb “to do them”; this is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.
[35:2] 80 tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.
[35:2] 81 tn The word is קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh, “holiness”). S. R. Driver suggests that the word was transposed, and the line should read: “a sabbath of entire rest, holy to Jehovah” (Exodus, 379). But the word may simply be taken as a substitution for “holy day.”
[35:2] 82 sn See on this H. Routtenberg, “The Laws of the Sabbath: Biblical Sources,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 41-43, 99-101, 153-55, 204-6; G. Robinson, “The Idea of Rest in the Old Testament and the Search for the Basic Character of Sabbath,” ZAW 92 (1980): 32-43.
[35:3] 83 sn Kindling a fire receives special attention here because the people thought that kindling a fire was not work, but only a preparation for some kind of work. The Law makes sure that this too was not done. But see also G. Robinson, “The Prohibition of Strange Fire in Ancient Israel: A Look at the Case of Gathering Wood and Kindling Fire on the Sabbath,” VT 28 (1978): 301-17.
[35:3] 84 tn Heb “dwelling places”; KJV, ASV “habitations.”
[35:3] 85 sn The presence of these three verses in this place has raised all kinds of questions. It may be that after the renewal of the covenant the people needed a reminder to obey God, and obeying the sign of the covenant was the starting point. But there is more to it than this; it is part of the narrative design of the book. It is the artistic design that puts the filling of the Spirit section (31:1-11) prior to the Sabbath laws (31:12-18) before the idolatry section, and then after the renewal there is the Sabbath reminder (35:1-3) before the filling of the Spirit material (35:4-36:7).
[35:4] 86 sn The book now turns to record how all the work of the sanctuary was done. This next unit picks up on the ideas in Exod 31:1-11. But it adds several features. The first part is the instruction of God for all people to give willingly (35:4-19); the next section tells how the faithful brought an offering for the service of the tabernacle (35:20-29); the next section tells how God set some apart with special gifts (35:30-35), and finally, the narrative reports how the faithful people of God enthusiastically began the work (36:1-7).
[35:5] 87 tn Heb “from with you.”
[35:5] 88 tn “Heart” is a genitive of specification, clarifying in what way they might be “willing.” The heart refers to their will, their choices.
[35:5] 89 tn The verb has a suffix that is the direct object, but the suffixed object is qualified by the second accusative: “let him bring it, an offering.”
[35:5] 90 tn The phrase is literally “the offering of Yahweh”; it could be a simple possessive, “Yahweh’s offering,” but a genitive that indicates the indirect object is more appropriate.
[35:7] 91 tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.
[35:9] 92 tn Heb “and stones.”
[35:10] 94 tn Heb “wise of heart”; here also “heart” would be a genitive of specification, showing that there were those who could make skillful decisions.
[35:11] 95 tn In Hebrew style all these items are typically connected with a vav (ו) conjunction, but English typically uses commas except between the last two items in a series or between items in a series that are somehow related to one another. The present translation follows contemporary English style in lists such as this.
[35:14] 96 tn “for” has been supplied.
[35:21] 98 tn The verb means “lift up, bear, carry.” Here the subject is “heart” or will, and so the expression describes one moved within to act.
[35:21] 99 tn Heb “his spirit made him willing.” The verb is used in Scripture for the freewill offering that people brought (Lev 7).
[35:21] 100 tn Literally “the garments of holiness,” the genitive is the attributive genitive, marking out what type of garments these were.
[35:22] 101 tn The expression in Hebrew is “men on/after the women,” meaning men with women, to ensure that it was clear that the preceding verse did not mean only men. B. Jacob takes it further, saying that the men came after the women because the latter had taken the initiative (Exodus, 1017).
[35:22] 102 tn Heb “all gold utensils.”
[35:22] 103 tn The verb could be translated “offered,” but it is cognate with the following noun that is the wave offering. This sentence underscores the freewill nature of the offerings people made. The word “came” is supplied from v. 21 and v. 22.
[35:23] 104 tn The text uses a relative clause with a resumptive pronoun for this: “who was found with him,” meaning “with whom was found.”
[35:23] 105 tn The conjunction in this verse is translated “or” because the sentence does not intend to say that each person had all these things. They brought what they had.
[35:23] 106 tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.
[35:23] 107 tn Here “them” has been supplied.
[35:24] 108 tn This translation takes “offering” as an adverbial accusative explaining the form or purpose of their bringing things. It could also be rendered as the direct object, but that would seem to repeat without much difference what had just been said.
[35:24] 109 sn U. Cassuto notes that the expression “with whom was found” does not rule out the idea that these folks went out and cut down acacia trees (Exodus, 458). It is unlikely that they had much wood in their tents.
[35:24] 110 tn Here “it” has been supplied.
[35:25] 111 tn Heb “wisdom of heart,” which means that they were skilled and could make all the right choices about the work.
[35:26] 112 tn The text simply uses a prepositional phrase, “with/in wisdom.” It seems to be qualifying “the women” as the relative clause is.
[35:27] 113 tn Heb “and stones of the filling.”
[35:29] 114 tn Heb “by the hand of.”
[35:29] 115 tn Here “them” has been supplied.
[35:30] 116 tn Heb “called by name” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV). This expression means that the person was specifically chosen for some important task (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 342). See the expression with Cyrus in Isa 45:3-4.
[35:33] 118 tn Heb “in every work of thought,” meaning, every work that required the implementation of design or plan.
[35:34] 119 sn The expression means that God has given them the ability and the desire to teach others how to do the work. The infinitive construct “to teach” is related to the word Torah, “instruction, guide, law.” They will be able to direct others in the work.
[35:35] 120 tn The expression “wisdom of heart,” or “wisdom in heart,” means artistic skill. The decisions and plans they make are skilled. The expression forms a second accusative after the verb of filling.
[35:35] 121 tn The expression “all the work” means “all kinds of work.”
[35:35] 122 tn Here “They are” has been supplied.
[35:35] 123 tn Heb “doers of all work.”
[35:35] 124 tn Heb “designers of designs.”
[36:1] 125 tn Heb “wise of [in] heart.”
[36:1] 127 tn Heb “understanding, discernment.”
[36:1] 128 tn The relative clause includes this infinitive clause that expresses either the purpose or the result of God’s giving wisdom and understanding to these folk.
[36:1] 129 tn This noun is usually given an interpretive translation. B. Jacob renders the bound relationship as “the holy task” or “the sacred task” (Exodus, 1019). The NIV makes it “constructing,” so read “the work of constructing the sanctuary.”
[36:1] 130 tn The first word of the verse is a perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it is singular because it agrees with the first of the compound subject. The sentence is a little cumbersome because of the extended relative clause in the middle.
[36:2] 131 tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) plus the preposition “to” – “to call to” someone means “to summon” that person.
[36:2] 132 tn Here there is a slight change: “in whose heart Yahweh had put skill.”
[36:2] 133 tn Or “whose heart was willing.”
[36:2] 134 sn The verb means more than “approach” or “draw near”; קָרַב (qarav) is the word used for drawing near the altar as in bringing an offering. Here they offer themselves, their talents and their time.
[36:3] 135 tn In the Hebrew text the infinitive “to do it” comes after “sanctuary”; it makes a smoother rendering in English to move it forward, rather than reading “brought for the work.”
[36:3] 136 tn Heb “in the morning, in the morning.”
[36:4] 137 tn Heb “a man, a man from his work”; or “each one from his work.”
[36:5] 138 tn The construction uses the verbal hendiadys: מַרְבִּים לְהָבִיא (marbim lÿhavi’) is the Hiphil participle followed (after the subject) by the Hiphil infinitive construct. It would read, “they multiply…to bring,” meaning, “they bring more” than is needed.
[36:5] 139 tn Heb “for the service” (so KJV, ASV).
[36:5] 140 tn The last clause is merely the infinitive with an object – “to do it.” It clearly means the skilled workers are to do it.
[36:6] 141 tn The verse simply reads, “and Moses commanded and they caused [a voice] to cross over in the camp.” The second preterite with the vav may be subordinated to the first clause, giving the intent (purpose or result).
[36:6] 143 tn The verse ends with the infinitive serving as the object of the preposition: “from bringing.”
[36:7] 144 tn This part of the sentence comes from the final verb, the Hiphil infinitive – leave over, meaning, have more than enough (see BDB 451 s.v. יָתַר).
[36:7] 145 tn Heb “for all the work, to do it.”
[36:7] sn This lengthy section (35:1-36:7) forms one of the most remarkable sections in the book. Here there is a mixture of God’s preparation of people to do the work and their willingness to give and to serve. It not only provides insight into this renewed community of believers, but it also provides a timeless message for the church. The point is clear enough: In response to God’s commission, and inspired by God’s Spirit, the faithful and willing people rally to support and participate in the
[36:10] 146 tn The verb is singular since it probably is referring to Bezalel, but since he would not do all the work himself, it may be that the verbs could be given a plural subject: “they joined.”
[36:10] 147 tn The words “the other” have been supplied.
[36:14] 149 tn Heb “eleven curtains he made them.”
[36:18] 150 tn The construction uses the infinitive construct from the verb “to be” to express this purpose clause: “to be one,” or, “so that it might be a unit.”
[36:19] 151 tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.
[36:20] 152 tn There is debate whether the word הַקְּרָשִׁים (haqqÿrashim) means “boards” or “frames” or “planks” (see Ezek 27:6) or “beams,” given the size of them. The literature on this includes M. Haran, “The Priestly Image of the Tabernacle,” HUCA 36 (1965): 192; B. A. Levine, “The Description of the Tabernacle Texts of the Pentateuch,” JAOS 85 (1965): 307-18; J. Morgenstern, “The Ark, the Ephod, and the Tent,” HUCA 17 (1942/43): 153-265; 18 (1943/44): 1-52.
[36:20] 153 tn “Wood” is an adverbial accusative.
[36:20] 154 tn The plural participle “standing” refers to how these items will be situated; they will be vertical rather than horizontal (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 354).
[36:21] 155 tn Heb “the frame.”
[36:22] 157 tn Heb “two hands to the one frame.”
[36:22] 158 tn Heb “joined one to one.”
[36:24] 159 tn The clause is repeated to show the distributive sense; it literally says, “and two bases under the one frame for its two projections.”
[36:26] 160 tn Heb “under the one frame” again.
[36:29] 161 tn This is the last phrase of the verse, moved forward for clarity.
[36:29] 162 tn This difficult verse uses the perfect tense at the beginning, and the second clause parallels it with יִהְיוּ (yihyu), which has to be taken here as a preterite without the consecutive vav (ו). The predicate “finished” or “completed” is the word תָּמִּים (tammim); it normally means “complete, sound, whole,” and related words describe the sacrifices as without blemish.
[36:34] 163 tn Literally “houses”; i.e., places to hold the bars.
[36:35] 164 tn The verb is simply “he made” but as in Exod 26:31 it probably means that the cherubim were worked into the curtain with the yarn, and so embroidered on the curtain.
[36:36] 165 tn Heb “and their hooks gold.”
[36:38] 166 tn The word is “their heads”; technically it would be “their capitals” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV). The bands were bands of metal surrounding these capitals just beneath them. These are not mentioned in Exod 26:37, and it sounds like the posts are to be covered with gold. But the gradation of metals is what is intended: the posts at the entrance to the Most Holy Place are all of gold; the posts at the entrance to the tent are overlaid with gold at the top; and the posts at the entrance to the courtyard are overlaid with silver at the top (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 387, citing Dillmann without reference).
[36:38] 167 sn For a good summary of the differences between the instruction section and the completion section, and the reasons for the changes and the omissions, see B. Jacob, Exodus, 1022-23.
[37:3] 169 tn “that he put” has been supplied.
[37:3] 170 tn This is taken as a circumstantial clause; the clause begins with the conjunction vav.
[37:6] 171 tn Heb “and he made.”
[37:8] 172 tn Heb “from/at [the] end, from this.”
[37:8] 173 tn The repetition of the expression indicates it has the distributive sense.
[37:9] 174 tn The construction is a participle in construct followed by the genitive “wings” – “spreaders of wings.”
[37:9] 175 tn “The cherubim” has been placed here instead of in the second clause to produce a smoother translation.
[37:9] 176 tn Heb “and their faces a man to his brother.”
[37:9] 177 tn Heb “to the atonement lid were the faces of the cherubim.”
[37:16] 178 tn The suffixes on these could also indicate the indirect object (see Exod 25:29).
[37:17] 179 tn Heb “from it”; the referent (“the same piece” of wrought metal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[37:19] 180 tn Heb “the one branch.” But the repetition of “one…one” means here one after another, or the “first” and then the “next.”
[37:19] 181 tn Heb “thus for six branches….”
[37:21] 182 tn As in Exod 26:35, the translation of “first” and “next” and “third” is interpretive, because the text simply says “under two branches” in each of three places.
[37:22] 183 tn Heb “were from it.”
[37:24] 184 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the lampstand) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[37:25] 185 tn Heb “from it were its horns,” meaning that they were made from the same piece.
[37:26] 187 tn Heb “its walls around.”
[37:26] 188 tn Heb “and he made for it border gold around.”
[37:27] 189 tn Heb “and he made.”
[37:27] 190 sn Since it was a small altar, it needed only two rings, one on either side, in order to be carried. The second mention of their location clarifies that they should be on the sides, the right and the left, as one approached the altar.
[37:27] 191 tn Heb “for houses.”
[38:2] 192 tn Heb “its horns were from it,” meaning from the same piece.
[38:7] 193 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the altar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[38:8] 194 sn The word for “serve” is not the ordinary one. It means “to serve in a host,” especially in a war. It appears that women were organized into bands and served at the tent of meeting. S. R. Driver thinks that this meant “no doubt” washing, cleaning, or repairing (Exodus, 391). But there is no hint of that (see 1 Sam 2:22; and see Ps 68:11 [12 Hebrew text]). They seem to have had more to do than what Driver said.
[38:9] 195 tn Heb “south side southward.”
[38:10] 196 tn While this verse could be translated as an independent sentence, it is probably to be subordinated as a circumstantial clause in line with Exod 27:10-12, as well as v. 12 of this passage.
[38:11] 197 tn Here the phrase “the hangings were” has been supplied.
[38:12] 198 tn The phrase “there were” has been supplied.
[38:12] 199 tn The text simply has “their posts ten and their bases ten”; this may be added here as a circumstantial clause with the main sentence in order to make sense out of the construction.
[38:13] 200 tn The text simply says “seventy-five feet.”
[38:14] 201 tn The word literally means “shoulder.” The next words, “of the gate,” have been supplied here. The east end contained the courtyard’s entry with a wall of curtains on each side of the entry (see v. 15).
[38:15] 202 tn Heb “from this and from this” (cf, 17:12; 25:19; 26:13; 32:15; Josh 8:22, 33; 1 Kgs 10:19-20; Ezek 45:7).
[38:17] 203 tn Heb “they were banded with silver.”
[38:18] 204 tn This word is different from the word for hangings; it has more of the idea of a screen, shielding or securing the area.
[38:21] 205 tn The Hebrew word is פְּקוּדֵי (pÿqude), which in a slavishly literal way would be “visitations of” the tabernacle. But the word often has the idea of “numbering” or “appointing” as well. Here it is an accounting or enumeration of the materials that people brought, so the contemporary term “inventory” is a close approximation. By using this Hebrew word there is also the indication that whatever was given, i.e., appointed for the tabernacle, was changed forever in its use. This is consistent with this Hebrew root, which does have a sense of changing the destiny of someone (“God will surely visit you”). The list in this section will also be tied to the numbering of the people.
[38:21] 206 tn The same verb is used here, but now in the Pual perfect tense, third masculine singular. A translation “was numbered” or “was counted” works. The verb is singular because it refers to the tabernacle as a unit. This section will list what made up the tabernacle.
[38:21] 207 tn Heb “at/by the mouth of.”
[38:21] 208 tn The noun is “work” or “service.” S. R. Driver explains that the reckonings were not made for the Levites, but that they were the work of the Levites, done by them under the direction of Ithamar (Exodus, 393).
[38:21] 209 tn Heb “by the hand of.”
[38:24] 210 tn These words form the casus pendens, or independent nominative absolute, followed by the apodosis beginning with the vav (ו; see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 469).
[38:24] 211 tn Heb “and it was.”
[38:24] 212 sn There were 3000 shekels in a talent, and so the total weight here in shekels would be 87,730 shekels of gold. If the sanctuary shekel was 224 grs., then this was about 40,940 oz. troy. This is estimated to be a little over a ton (cf. NCV “over 2,000 pounds”; TEV “a thousand kilogrammes”; CEV “two thousand two hundred nine pounds”; NLT “about 2,200 pounds”), although other widely diverging estimates are also given.
[38:25] 213 sn This would be a total of 301,775 shekels (about 140,828 oz), being a half shekel exacted per person from 605,550 male Israelites 20 years old or more (Num 1:46). The amount is estimated to be around 3.75 tons.
[38:26] 214 sn The weight would be about half an ounce.
[38:26] 216 tn The phrase “in all” has been supplied.
[38:28] 217 tn Here the word “shekels” is understood; about 45 pounds.
[38:29] 218 sn The total shekels would have been 212,400 shekels, which would be about 108,749 oz. This would make about 2.5 to 3 tons.
[38:31] 219 sn The bronze altar is the altar for the burnt offering; the large bronze basin is not included here in the list.
