Exodus 36

Construction Begins

¹“Bezalel and Oholiab shall work with every wise-hearted man, in whom the LORD has put wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD has commanded.”

²Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to the work to do it.

³They received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, with which to make it. They kept bringing free will offerings to him every morning.

⁴All the wise men, who performed all the work of the sanctuary, each came from his work which he did.

⁵They spoke to Moses, saying, “The people have brought much more than enough for the service of the work which the LORD commanded to make.”

⁶Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman make anything else for the offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing.

⁷For the stuff they had was sufficient to do all the work, and too much.

Making the Tabernacle

⁸All the wise-hearted men among those who did the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, blue, purple, and scarlet. They made them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.

⁹The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains had one measure.

¹⁰He coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another.

¹¹He made loops of blue on the edge of the one curtain from the edge in the coupling. Likewise he made in the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second coupling.

¹²He made fifty loops in the one curtain, and he made fifty loops in the edge of the curtain that was in the second coupling. The loops were opposite to one another.

¹³He made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains to one another with the clasps: so the tabernacle was a unit.

¹⁴He made curtains of goats’ hair for a covering over the tabernacle. He made them eleven curtains.

¹⁵The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits the width of each curtain. The eleven curtains had one measure.

¹⁶He coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves.

¹⁷He made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the coupling, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain which was outermost in the second coupling.

¹⁸He made fifty clasps of bronze to couple the tent together, that it might be a unit.

¹⁹He made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of sea cow hides above.

²⁰He made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing up.

²¹Ten cubits was the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the width of each board.

²²Each board had two tenons, joined to one another. He made all the boards of the tabernacle this way.

²³He made the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side southward.

²⁴He made forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards: two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons.

²⁵For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty boards

²⁶and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.

²⁷For the far part of the tabernacle westward he made six boards.

²⁸He made two boards for the corners of the tabernacle in the far part.

²⁹They were double beneath, and in the same way they were all the way to its top to one ring. He did this to both of them in the two corners.

³⁰There were eight boards and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets—under every board two sockets.

³¹He made bars of acacia wood: five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,

³²and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the hinder part westward.

³³He made the middle bar to pass through in the middle of the boards from the one end to the other.

³⁴He overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold as places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.

³⁵He made the veil of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cherubim. He made it the work of a skillful workman.

³⁶He made four pillars of acacia for it, and overlaid them with gold. Their hooks were of gold. He cast four sockets of silver for them.

³⁷He made a screen for the door of the tent, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer;

³⁸and the five pillars of it with their hooks. He overlaid their capitals and their fillets with gold, and their five sockets were of bronze.

Previous Exodus 35

Next Exodus 37

Exodus 36 records the beginning of the tabernacle's construction under the skilled leadership of Bezalel and Oholiab. The Israelites' generosity proves so overwhelming that Moses must command them to stop bringing offerings, as they have provided more than enough materials. The chapter then details the meticulous craftsmanship of the tabernacle's curtains, coverings, and wooden framework, emphasizing the precise adherence to God's specifications given in earlier chapters.

Context

This chapter begins the actual construction phase following God's detailed instructions in chapters 25-31 and the covenant renewal after the golden calf incident.

Key Themes

Outline

1-2
Calling the Craftsmen Moses summons Bezalel, Oholiab, and all skilled workers whom God has equipped with wisdom for the sanctuary work.
3-7
Overwhelming Generosity The people bring so many offerings that Moses must command them to stop, as they have provided more than sufficient materials.
8-13
The Inner Curtains Skilled craftsmen create ten fine linen curtains with cherubim designs, joined together with gold clasps to form the tabernacle proper.
14-19
The Outer Coverings Workers construct protective coverings of goat hair, ram skins, and sea cow hides to shield the tabernacle.
20-38
The Wooden Framework Craftsmen build the tabernacle's structural frame from acacia wood boards with silver bases and connecting bars.

Construction Begins

36:1–36:7

narrative narration joyful

The Israelites bring so many offerings for the tabernacle construction that Moses must command them to stop giving because they have more than enough. This shows extraordinary generosity and God's abundant provision through willing hearts.

person_contrast

Moses uniquely commands the Israelites to *stop* giving offerings—the only instance in Exodus where abundance, not scarcity, requires divine intervention through leadership.

Making the Tabernacle

36:8–36:38

narrative narration solemn

Detailed account of the construction of the tabernacle curtains, coverings, and framework by skilled craftsmen following God's specifications. This passage emphasizes the careful obedience to divine instructions in creating a holy dwelling place.

structural

The Hebrew verb "asah" (made/did) appears 23 times in these 31 verses, creating an emphatic drumbeat of human craftsmanship mirroring divine creation.

Insight Character Study

Moses uniquely commands the Israelites to *stop* giving offerings—the only instance in Exodus where abundance, not scarcity, requires divine intervention through leadership.

Insight Literary Structure

The Hebrew verb "asah" (made/did) appears 23 times in these 31 verses, creating an emphatic drumbeat of human craftsmanship mirroring divine creation.

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Exodus 36:1 5 references

Lexicals 5

Exodus 31:6 Lexical

Behold, I myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the heart of all who…

Exodus 36

Construction Begins

Making the Tabernacle

Construction Begins

Making the Tabernacle

Insights

Cross-References

Exodus 36:1 5 references

Exodus 36:2 1 reference

Exodus 36:3 5 references

Exodus 36:6 1 reference

Exodus 36:8 5 references

Exodus 36:9 5 references

Exodus 36:10 2 references

Exodus 36:11 3 references

Exodus 36:12 3 references

Exodus 36:13 2 references

Exodus 36:14 5 references

Exodus 36:15 5 references

Exodus 36:16 2 references

Exodus 36:17 3 references

Exodus 36:18 2 references

Exodus 36:19 5 references

Exodus 36:20 2 references

Exodus 36:21 5 references

Exodus 36:22 1 reference

Exodus 36:23 5 references

Exodus 36:24 5 references

Exodus 36:25 5 references

Exodus 36:26 3 references

Exodus 36:27 3 references

Exodus 36:28 3 references

Exodus 36:29 1 reference

Exodus 36:30 5 references

Exodus 36:31 5 references

Exodus 36:32 5 references

Exodus 36:33 1 reference

Exodus 36:34 1 reference

Exodus 36:35 5 references

Exodus 36:36 5 references

Exodus 36:37 5 references

Exodus 36:38 5 references

Interlinear