Moses receives fifteen imperative verbs in rapid succession ("raise up," "put," "screen," "bring," "set"), transforming him from lawgiver into liturgical architect orchestrating Israel's sacred space.
Exodus 40
Setting Up the Tabernacle
1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2“On the first day of the first month you shall raise up the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting.
3You shall put the ark of the covenant in it, and you shall screen the ark with the veil.
4You shall bring in the table, and set in order the things that are on it. You shall bring in the lamp stand, and light its lamps.
5You shall set the golden altar for incense before the ark of the covenant, and put the screen of the door to the tabernacle.
6“You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting.
7You shall set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and shall put water therein.
8You shall set up the court around it, and hang up the screen of the gate of the court.
9“You shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and shall make it holy, and all its furniture, and it will be holy.
10You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering, with all its vessels, and sanctify the altar, and the altar will be most holy.
11You shall anoint the basin and its base, and sanctify it.
12“You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water.
13You shall put on Aaron the holy garments; and you shall anoint him, and sanctify him, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office.
14You shall bring his sons, and put tunics on them.
15You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office. Their anointing shall be to them for an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”
Moses Erects the Tabernacle
16Moses did so. According to all that the LORD commanded him, so he did.
17In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was raised up.
18Moses raised up the tabernacle, and laid its sockets, and set up its boards, and put in its bars, and raised up its pillars.
19He spread the covering over the tent, and put the roof of the tabernacle above on it, as the LORD commanded Moses.
20He took and put the covenant into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the mercy seat above on the ark.
21He brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the covenant, as the LORD commanded Moses.
22He put the table in the Tent of Meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside of the veil.
23He set the bread in order on it before the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
24He put the lamp stand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle.
25He lit the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
26He put the golden altar in the Tent of Meeting before the veil;
27and he burned incense of sweet spices on it, as the LORD commanded Moses.
28He put up the screen of the door to the tabernacle.
29He set the altar of burnt offering at the door of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, as the LORD commanded Moses.
30He set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water therein, with which to wash.
31Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and their feet there.
32When they went into the Tent of Meeting, and when they came near to the altar, they washed, as the LORD commanded Moses.
33He raised up the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.
The Glory of the Lord
34Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the LORD’s glory filled the tabernacle.
35Moses wasn’t able to enter into the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud stayed on it, and the LORD’s glory filled the tabernacle.
36When the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward, throughout all their journeys;
37but if the cloud wasn’t taken up, then they didn’t travel until the day that it was taken up.
38For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
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Theme
Exodus 40 records the completion and dedication of the tabernacle, fulfilling God's detailed instructions given throughout the preceding chapters. Moses carefully erects the tabernacle on the first day of the first month, arranges all its furnishings, and consecrates both the structure and Aaron's priestly family through anointing. The chapter culminates with God's glory filling the tabernacle and the cloud of His presence providing ongoing guidance for Israel's journey, marking the establishment of God's dwelling place among His people.
Context
This chapter brings the book of Exodus to its climactic conclusion, fulfilling the construction plans detailed in chapters 25-31 and demonstrating God's faithfulness to dwell among the redeemed people He delivered from Egypt.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-15 God's Instructions for Tabernacle Setup The LORD gives Moses detailed commands for erecting the tabernacle, arranging its furnishings, and consecrating Aaron and his sons as priests.
- 16-33 Moses Obediently Erects the Tabernacle Moses faithfully follows every divine instruction, setting up the tabernacle structure, placing all furnishings in their proper locations, and performing the consecration rituals.
- 34-38 God's Glory Fills the Tabernacle The LORD's glory fills the completed tabernacle, and His cloud provides guidance for Israel's movements, establishing His presence among the people.
Setting Up the Tabernacle
40:1–40:15 law instruction solemn
God gives Moses detailed instructions for setting up the tabernacle and consecrating Aaron and his sons as priests for perpetual service.
person_contrast
Moses receives fifteen imperative verbs in rapid succession ("raise up," "put," "screen," "bring," "set"), transforming him from lawgiver into liturgical architect orchestrating Israel's sacred space.
Moses Erects the Tabernacle
40:16–40:33 narrative narration solemn
Moses faithfully executes all of God's instructions, erecting the tabernacle and arranging all its furnishings exactly as commanded.
person_contrast
Moses performs seventeen distinct actions in perfect sequence, with the phrase "as the LORD commanded" appearing five times, creating an unprecedented liturgical precision that transforms him from lawgiver to worship architect.
The Glory of the Lord
40:34–40:38 narrative narration triumphant
God's glory fills the completed tabernacle, and His cloud becomes the divine guide for Israel's journeys through the wilderness.
person_contrast
Moses, typically portrayed as the lawgiver and mediator of divine commands, here becomes powerless before God's glory, unable to enter the very sanctuary he meticulously constructed according to divine specifications.
Insights
Moses performs seventeen distinct actions in perfect sequence, with the phrase "as the LORD commanded" appearing five times, creating an unprecedented liturgical precision that transforms him from lawgiver to worship architect.
Moses, typically portrayed as the lawgiver and mediator of divine commands, here becomes powerless before God's glory, unable to enter the very sanctuary he meticulously constructed according to divine specifications.
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Exodus 40:2 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 39:32 Lexical
Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting was finished. The children of Israel did according to all tha…
Numbers 4:25 Lexical
they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, the covering of sealskin that is…
Numbers 3:38 Lexical
Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise, shall be Moses, wit…
Numbers 4:31 Lexical
This is the duty of their burden, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle’s boards, its ba…
Numbers 3:7 Lexical
They shall keep his requirements, and the requirements of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the s…
Exodus 40:3 3 references
Lexicals 3
Exodus 26:33 Lexical
You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring the ark of the covenant in there within the veil. The veil…
Numbers 4:5 Lexical
When the camp moves forward, Aaron shall go in with his sons; and they shall take down the veil of the screen, cover the…
Exodus 30:6 Lexical
You shall put it before the veil that is by the ark of the covenant, before the mercy seat that is over the covenant, wh…
Exodus 40:4 2 references
Exodus 40:5 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 35:15 Lexical
and the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, the screen for the door, at the door of t…
Exodus 39:38 Lexical
the golden altar, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, the screen for the door of the Tent,
Numbers 4:26 Lexical
the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the gate of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the al…
Numbers 3:26 Lexical
the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and its…
1 Chronicles 28:18 Lexical
and for the altar of incense, refined gold by weight; and gold for the plans for the chariot, and the cherubim that spre…
Exodus 40:6 5 references
Lexicals 5
Leviticus 4:7 Lexical
The priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the Tent…
Leviticus 4:18 Lexical
He shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the Tent of Meeting; and t…
Numbers 3:25 Lexical
The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for t…
Numbers 4:25 Lexical
they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, the covering of sealskin that is…
Leviticus 17:4 Lexical
and hasn’t brought it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to offer it as an offering to the LORD before the LORD’s tabern…
Exodus 40:7 2 references
Exodus 40:8 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 4:26 Lexical
the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the gate of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the al…
Numbers 3:26 Lexical
the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and its…
Exodus 39:40 Lexical
the hangings of the court, its pillars, its sockets, the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, its pins, and all…
Exodus 38:18 Lexical
The screen for the gate of the court was the work of the embroiderer, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen. T…
Exodus 27:16 Lexical
For the gate of the court shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, t…
Exodus 40:9 5 references
Lexicals 5
Leviticus 8:10 Lexical
Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and sanctified them.
Numbers 4:16 Lexical
“The duty of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the continual meal o…
Leviticus 8:12 Lexical
He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.
Numbers 7:1 Lexical
On the day that Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle, and had anointed it and sanctified it with all its furnitu…
Exodus 29:7 Lexical
Then you shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head, and anoint him.
Exodus 40:10 3 references
Lexicals 3
Numbers 7:1 Lexical
On the day that Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle, and had anointed it and sanctified it with all its furnitu…
Leviticus 8:11 Lexical
He sprinkled it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels, and the basin and its base, to san…
Exodus 29:36 Lexical
Every day you shall offer the bull of sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement fo…
Exodus 40:11 1 reference
Exodus 40:12 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 29:4 Lexical
You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water.
Leviticus 1:5 Lexical
He shall kill the bull before the LORD. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around…
Leviticus 1:3 Lexical
“‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without defect. He shall offer it at the door…
Numbers 25:6 Lexical
Behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought to his brothers a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses, and in t…
Leviticus 17:4 Lexical
and hasn’t brought it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to offer it as an offering to the LORD before the LORD’s tabern…
Exodus 40:13 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 28:41 Lexical
You shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanc…
Leviticus 16:32 Lexical
The priest, who is anointed and who is consecrated to be priest in his father’s place, shall make the atonement, and sha…
Exodus 30:30 Lexical
You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office.
Exodus 28:3 Lexical
You shall speak to all who are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garmen…
Exodus 39:41 Lexical
the finely worked garments for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments o…
Exodus 40:14 2 references
Exodus 40:15 1 reference
Exodus 40:17 2 references
Exodus 40:18 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 3:36 Lexical
The appointed duty of the sons of Merari shall be the tabernacle’s boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets, all its i…
Numbers 4:31 Lexical
This is the duty of their burden, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle’s boards, its ba…
Exodus 39:33 Lexical
They brought the tabernacle to Moses: the tent, with all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, i…
Exodus 35:11 Lexical
the tabernacle, its outer covering, its roof, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets;
Exodus 26:26 Lexical
“You shall make bars of acacia wood: five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,
Exodus 40:19 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 4:25 Lexical
they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, the covering of sealskin that is…
Exodus 35:11 Lexical
the tabernacle, its outer covering, its roof, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets;
Numbers 3:25 Lexical
The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for t…
Exodus 36:19 Lexical
He made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of sea cow hides above.
Exodus 26:14 Lexical
You shall make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of sea cow hides above.
Exodus 40:20 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 25:21 Lexical
You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the covenant that I will give you.
Exodus 39:35 Lexical
the ark of the covenant with its poles, the mercy seat,
Exodus 26:34 Lexical
You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant in the most holy place.
Numbers 7:89 Lexical
When Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard his voice speaking to him from above the mercy…
Exodus 25:22 Lexical
There I will meet with you, and I will tell you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on th…
Exodus 40:21 4 references
Lexicals 4
Numbers 4:5 Lexical
When the camp moves forward, Aaron shall go in with his sons; and they shall take down the veil of the screen, cover the…
Exodus 35:12 Lexical
the ark, and its poles, the mercy seat, the veil of the screen;
Exodus 26:33 Lexical
You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring the ark of the covenant in there within the veil. The veil…
Exodus 30:6 Lexical
You shall put it before the veil that is by the ark of the covenant, before the mercy seat that is over the covenant, wh…
Exodus 40:22 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 26:35 Lexical
You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lamp stand opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the…
Leviticus 24:3 Lexical
Outside of the veil of the Testimony, in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning befor…
Exodus 27:21 Lexical
In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the covenant, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from ev…
Numbers 3:35 Lexical
The prince of the fathers’ house of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail. They shall encamp on the north…
Ezekiel 40:40 Lexical
On the one side outside, as one goes up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other sid…
Exodus 40:24 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 26:35 Lexical
You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lamp stand opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the…
Ezekiel 46:9 Lexical
“‘“But when the people of the land come before the LORD in the appointed feasts, he who enters by the way of the north g…
Numbers 19:4 Lexical
Eleazar the priest shall take some of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle her blood toward the front of the Tent of…
Numbers 3:25 Lexical
The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for t…
Exodus 39:40 Lexical
the hangings of the court, its pillars, its sockets, the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, its pins, and all…
Exodus 40:26 2 references
Exodus 40:27 2 references
Exodus 40:28 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 3:25 Lexical
The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for t…
Numbers 4:25 Lexical
they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, the covering of sealskin that is…
Numbers 3:26 Lexical
the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and its…
Numbers 4:26 Lexical
the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the gate of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the al…
Exodus 35:15 Lexical
and the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, the screen for the door, at the door of t…
Exodus 40:29 5 references
Lexicals 5
Leviticus 4:7 Lexical
The priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the Tent…
Leviticus 4:18 Lexical
He shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the Tent of Meeting; and t…
Numbers 4:25 Lexical
they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, the covering of sealskin that is…
Leviticus 17:4 Lexical
and hasn’t brought it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to offer it as an offering to the LORD before the LORD’s tabern…
Numbers 3:25 Lexical
The duty of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting shall be the tabernacle, the tent, its covering, the screen for t…
Exodus 40:30 4 references
Lexicals 4
Exodus 30:18 Lexical
“You shall also make a basin of bronze, and its base of bronze, in which to wash. You shall put it between the Tent of M…
Exodus 30:20 Lexical
When they go into the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water, that they don’t die; or when they come near to the al…
Exodus 38:8 Lexical
He made the basin of bronze, and its base of bronze, out of the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered at the d…
Exodus 29:4 Lexical
You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water.
Exodus 40:31 1 reference
Exodus 40:32 5 references
Lexicals 5
Exodus 29:4 Lexical
You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water.
Exodus 30:18 Lexical
“You shall also make a basin of bronze, and its base of bronze, in which to wash. You shall put it between the Tent of M…
Exodus 30:20 Lexical
When they go into the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water, that they don’t die; or when they come near to the al…
Leviticus 16:20 Lexical
“When he has finished atoning for the Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he shall present the live goat.
Leviticus 1:5 Lexical
He shall kill the bull before the LORD. Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around…
Exodus 40:33 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 4:26 Lexical
the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the gate of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the al…
Numbers 3:26 Lexical
the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the court which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and its…
Exodus 39:40 Lexical
the hangings of the court, its pillars, its sockets, the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, its pins, and all…
Exodus 38:31 Lexical
the sockets around the court, the sockets of the gate of the court, all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins aro…
Exodus 35:15 Lexical
and the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, the screen for the door, at the door of t…
Exodus 40:34 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 9:15 Lexical
On the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, even the Tent of the Testimony. At eveni…
Exodus 24:16 Lexical
The LORD’s glory settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. The seventh day he called to Moses out of th…
1 Kings 8:11 Lexical
so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the LORD’s glory filled the LORD’s house.
Ezekiel 10:4 Lexical
The LORD’s glory mounted up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with th…
2 Chronicles 5:14 Lexical
so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the LORD’s glory filled God’s house.
Exodus 40:35 5 references
Lexicals 5
1 Kings 8:11 Lexical
so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the LORD’s glory filled the LORD’s house.
2 Chronicles 5:14 Lexical
so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the LORD’s glory filled God’s house.
Numbers 9:18 Lexical
At the commandment of the LORD, the children of Israel traveled, and at the commandment of the LORD they encamped. As lo…
Numbers 9:22 Lexical
Whether it was two days, or a month, or a year that the cloud stayed on the tabernacle, remaining on it, the children of…
Exodus 24:16 Lexical
The LORD’s glory settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. The seventh day he called to Moses out of th…
Exodus 40:36 5 references
Lexicals 5
Numbers 10:12 Lexical
The children of Israel went forward on their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud stayed in the wilder…
Numbers 9:18 Lexical
At the commandment of the LORD, the children of Israel traveled, and at the commandment of the LORD they encamped. As lo…
Numbers 9:22 Lexical
Whether it was two days, or a month, or a year that the cloud stayed on the tabernacle, remaining on it, the children of…
Numbers 9:19 Lexical
When the cloud stayed on the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the LORD’s command, and didn’t trave…
Numbers 9:20 Lexical
Sometimes the cloud was a few days on the tabernacle; then according to the commandment of the LORD they remained encamp…
Exodus 40:38 5 references
Lexicals 5
Deuteronomy 1:33 Lexical
who went before you on the way, to seek out a place for you to pitch your tents in: in fire by night, to show you by wha…
Exodus 13:22 Lexical
the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, didn’t depart from before the people.
Isaiah 4:5 Lexical
The LORD will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the…
Nehemiah 9:12 Lexical
Moreover, in a pillar of cloud you led them by day; and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light in the way in w…
Exodus 13:21 Lexical
The LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them on their way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to g…
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