Exodus27

American Standard Version · Public Domain

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¹And thou shalt make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.

²And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof; the horns thereof shall be of one piece with it: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.

³And thou shalt make its pots to take away its ashes, and its shovels, and its basins, and its flesh-hooks, and its firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.

⁴And thou shalt make for it a grating of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen rings in the four corners thereof.

⁵And thou shalt put it under the ledge round the altar beneath, that the net may reach halfway up the altar.

⁶And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with brass.

⁷And the staves thereof shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, in bearing it.

⁸Hollow with planks shalt thou make it: as it hath been showed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.

⁹And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side:

¹⁰and the pillars thereof shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.

¹¹And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, and the pillars thereof twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.

¹²And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits; their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.

¹³And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.

¹⁴The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

¹⁵And for the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

¹⁶And for the gate of the court shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer; their pillars four, and their sockets four.

¹⁷All the pillars of the court round about shall be filleted with silver; their hooks of silver, and their sockets of brass.

¹⁸The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits, of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.

¹⁹All the instruments of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.

²⁰And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.

²¹In the tent of meeting, without the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before Jehovah: it shall be a statute for ever throughout their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

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Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Exodus 27.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: The altar of burnt offerings. (1–8). The court of the tabernacle. (9–19). The oil for the lamps. (20, 21).

vv1-8

In the court before the tabernacle, where the people attended, was an altar, to which they must bring their sacrifices, and on which their priests must offer them to God. It was of wood overlaid with brass. A grate of brass was let into the hollow of the altar, about the middle of which the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burnt. It was made of net-work like a sieve, and hung hollow, that the ashes might fall through. This brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins. The wood had been consumed by the fire from heaven, if it had not been secured by the brass: nor could the human nature of Christ have borne the wrath of God, if it had not been supported by Divine power.

vv9-19

The tabernacle was enclosed in a court, about sixty yards long and thirty broad, formed by curtains hung upon brazen pillars, fixed in brazen sockets. Within this enclosure the priests and Levites offered the sacrifices, and thither the Jewish people were admitted. These distinctions represented the difference between the visible nominal church, and the true spiritual church, which alone has access to God, and communion with him.

vv20-21

The pure oil signified the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which all believers receive from Christ, the good Olive, and without which our light cannot shine before men. The priests were to light the lamps, and tend them. It is the work of ministers, by preaching and expounding the Scriptures, which are as a lamp, to enlighten the church, God's tabernacle upon earth. Blessed be God, this light is not now confined to the Jewish tabernacle, but is a light to lighten the gentiles, and for salvation unto the ends of the earth.