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Exodus 38

Exodus38

English Standard Version

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Tap any underlined word for the original Hebrew or Greek.

1 He the of of . was its , and its . It was , and was its .

2 He for it on its . Its were of one piece with , and he it with .

3 And he the of the , the , the , the , the , and the . He its of .

4 And he for the a , a of , under its , .

5 He on the of the as for the .

6 He the of and them with .

7 And he the through the the of the to it with them. He it , with .

8 He the of and its of , from the of the who in the of the of .

9 And he the . For the the of the were of , a ;

10 their and their were of , but the of the and their were of .

11 And for the there were hangings of a , their , their were of , but the of the and their were of .

12 And for the were of , their , and their ; the of the and their were of .

13 And for the to the , .

14 The for of the gate were , with their and .

15 And so for the . On both sides of the of the were of , with their and their .

16 the the were of .

17 And the for the were of , but the of the and their were of . The of their was also of , and the of the were with .

18 And the for the of the was with in and and yarns and . It was and in its , to the of the .

19 And their were in number. Their were of , their of , and the of their and their of .

20 And the for the and for the all were of .

21 are the of the , the of the , they were at the of , the of the under the of the of the .

22 the of , of , of the of , the Lord ;

23 and with him was the of , of the of , an and and in and and yarns and fine twined .

24 the that was for the , in the of the , the from the , was and , by the of the .

25 The from those of the who were was a and , by the of the :

26 a a (that is, a , by the of the ), for who was in the , from and , for men.

27 The of were for the of the and the of the ; a for the , a a .

28 And of the shekels he for the and their and for them.

29 The that was was and ;

30 with it he the for the of the of , the and the for it and the of the ,

31 the the , and the of the of the , all the of the , and the the .

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Exodus 38

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Exodus 38. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.

Chapter Summary

In this chapter: The brazen altar and laver. (1–8). The court. (9–20). The offerings of the people. (21–31).

vv1-8

In all ages of the church there have been some persons more devoted to God, more constant in their attendance upon his ordinances, and more willing to part even with lawful things, for his sake, than others. Some women, devoted to God and zealous for the tabernacle worship, expressed zeal by parting with their mirrors, which were polished plates of brass. Before the invention of looking-glasses, these served the same purposes. (Ex 38:9-20)

vv9-20

The walls of the court being of curtains only, intimated that the state of the Jewish church itself was movable and changeable; and in due time to be taken down and folded up, when the place of the tent should be enlarged, and its cords lengthened, to make room for the Gentile world.

vv21-31

The foundation of massy pieces of silver showed the solidity and purity of the truth upon which the church is founded. Let us regard the Lord Jesus Christ while reading of the furniture of the tabernacle. While looking at the altar of burnt-offering, let us see Jesus. In him, his righteousness, and salvation, is a full and sufficient offering for sin. In the laver of regeneration, by his Holy Spirit, let our souls be washed, and they shall be clean; and as the people offered willingly, so may our souls be made willing. Let us be ready to part with any thing, and count all but loss to win Christ.

Cross References

Exodus 38
v1Exodus 27:1-8thematic

The exact instructions for constructing the altar of burnt offering which are here executed.

Supported by John Calvin, JFB

v8Exodus 30:18-21thematic

The divine command for making the brass laver and its specific ritual purpose.

Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin

v81 Samuel 2:22thematic

Historical record of the dedicated women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v9Exodus 27:9-19thematic

The original architectural pattern and dimensions for constructing the outer court.

Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin

v25Exodus 30:12thematic

The commandment for the census and the half-shekel ransom money used for building.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v8Job 37:18thematic

Poetic description of the sky being strong like a molten looking glass (polished brass mirror).

Supported by Matthew Poole

v8Luke 2:37thematic

New Testament parallel of a devoted woman serving God continually at the temple.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v22Exodus 35:30-35thematic

The calling and divine endowment of Bezaleel and Aholiab for the work.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v4Exodus 27:4thematic

The specific pattern for the bronze grate of network under the altar's compass.

Supported by John Calvin

v20Exodus 27:19thematic

The command that all the pins of the tabernacle and court must be made of brass.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v24Exodus 30:13thematic

The standard definition of the shekel of the sanctuary used for valuation.

Supported by Matthew Poole

v2Exodus 27:2thematic

The instruction to make the horns on the four corners of the altar.

Supported by John Calvin

v3Exodus 27:3thematic

The command to make all the altar's vessels of brass.

Supported by John Calvin

v17Numbers 4:32thematic

The specific inventory and assignment of the pillars, sockets, and pins to the Levites.

Supported by Matthew Poole