God's New Bible

The Second Book of Moses: Exodus

Catholic Public Domain Version 2009

- Chapter 36 -

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Therefore, Bezalel, and Oholiab, and every wise man, to whom the Lord gave wisdom and intelligence, so as to know how to work skillfully, made that which was necessary for the uses of the Sanctuary and which the Lord had instructed.
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And when Moses had called them and every man of learning, to whom the Lord had given wisdom, and who, of their own accord, had offered themselves in order to accomplish this work,
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he handed over to them all the donations of the sons of Israel. And while they were pursuing this work, the people offered what they had vowed each day, in the morning.
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The artisans were compelled by this to go
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to Moses and to say, “The people offer more than is needed.”
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Therefore, Moses ordered this to be recited, with a voice of proclamation: “Let neither man nor woman offer anything further for the work of the Sanctuary.” And so they ceased from offering gifts,
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because what was offered was sufficient and was more than an abundance.

The Ten Curtains for the Tabernacle

(Exodus 26:1–6)
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And all those who were wise of heart, in order to accomplish the work of the tabernacle, made ten curtains of fine twisted linen, and hyacinth, and purple, and twice-dyed scarlet, with diverse workmanship by the art of embroidery.
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Each of these was twenty-eight cubits in length, and in width, four. All the curtains were of one measure.
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And he joined five curtains to one another, and the other five he coupled to one another.
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He also made loops of hyacinth along the edge of one curtain on both sides, and similarly along the edge of the other curtain,
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so that the loops might meet against one another and might be joined together.
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For these, he also cast fifty gold rings, which would retain the loops of the curtains and so make the tabernacle one.

The Eleven Curtains of Goat Hair

(Exodus 26:7–14)
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He also made eleven canopies from the hair of goats, in order to cover the roof of the tabernacle:
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one canopy held in length thirty cubits, and in width four cubits. All the canopies were of one measure.
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Five of these he joined by themselves, and the other six separately.
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And he made fifty loops along the edge of one canopy, and fifty along the edge of the other canopy, so that they might be joined to one another,
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and fifty buckles of brass, with which the roof might be woven together, so that from all the canopies there would be made one covering.
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He also made a covering for the tabernacle from the skins of rams, dyed-red; and another cover above it, from violet skins.

The Frames and Bases

(Exodus 26:15–30)
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He also made the standing panels of the tabernacle, from setim wood.
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Ten cubits was the length of one panel, and one and one half cubits comprised the width.
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There were two dovetails along every panel, so that one might be joined to the other. Thus did he make all the panels of the tabernacle.
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Of these, twenty were toward the meridian area, opposite the south,
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with forty bases of silver. Two bases were set under one panel at each of two sides at the corners, where the joints of the sides terminate in corners.
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Likewise, at that side of the tabernacle which looks toward the north, he made twenty panels,
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with forty bases of silver, two bases for each board.
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Yet truly, opposite the west, that is, toward that part of the tabernacle which looks out toward the sea, he made six panels,
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and two others at each corner of the tabernacle at the back,(a)
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which were joined from bottom to top and held together by one joint. So did he make both corners on that side.
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So then, there were altogether eight panels, and they had sixteen bases of silver, with, of course, two bases under each panel.
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He also made bars from setim wood: five to hold together the panels at one side of the tabernacle,
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and five others to fit together the panels of the other side, and, in addition to these, five other bars toward the western area of the tabernacle, opposite the sea.
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He also made another bar, which came through the middle of the panels from corner to corner.
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But the panels themselves he overlaid with gold, casting silver bases for them. And he made their rings from gold, through which the bars might be able to be drawn. And he covered the bars themselves with layers of gold.

The Veil

(Exodus 26:31–35)
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He also made a veil from hyacinth, and purple, from vermillion as well as fine twisted linen, with varied and distinctive embroidery,
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and four columns of setim wood, which, along with their heads, he overlaid with gold, casting silver bases for them.

The Curtain for the Entrance

(Exodus 26:36–37)
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He also made a tent at the entrance of the tabernacle from hyacinth, purple, vermillion, and fine twisted linen, wrought with embroidery,
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and five columns with their heads, which he covered with gold, and he cast their bases from brass.

Footnotes

(a)36:28 The word ‘retro’ refers to the back of the Tabernacle, which was toward the west. This end had two more panels than the east. Therefore, the entrance was at the east and was two panels (three royal cubits or just over 5 feet) in width, which is wide enough for two men to enter side by side.(Conte)