Exodus 36
Big idea: The only recorded surplus offering in Scripture. Bezalel, Oholiab and every wise-hearted man in whom Yahweh has put wisdom set to work, and the people keep bringing freewill offerings morning by morning — until the craftsmen leave their work to tell Moses that the people are bringing much more than enough. So Moses has a proclamation made through the camp: let no man or woman make anything more for the offering. The people are restrained from bringing, for what they had was sufficient and too much. Then the making begins in earnest, and the rest of the chapter repeats chapter 26 almost word for word in the past tense: he made the curtains, the loops, the clasps, the boards, the sockets, the bars, the veil and the screen.
Chapter 36 builds the tent. Chapter 37 has Bezalel make the furniture that goes inside it — ark, table, lampstand and incense altar.
36:1–7 — The people bring too much
Bezalel and Oholiab shall work with every wise-hearted man in whom Yahweh has put wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work of the sanctuary, according to all that Yahweh has commanded. Moses calls them and every wise-hearted man in whose heart Yahweh has put wisdom, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to the work; and they receive from Moses all the offering the children of Israel have brought. And they keep bringing him freewill offerings every morning. All the wise men doing the work come, each from his work, and tell Moses: the people are bringing much more than enough for the service of the work Yahweh commanded. So Moses gives a commandment, and it is proclaimed throughout the camp: let neither man nor woman make anything more for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people are restrained from bringing — for what they had was sufficient for all the work, and too much.
1 “Bezalel and Oholiab shall work with every wise-hearted man, in whom Yahweh has put wisdom and understanding to know how to do all the work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that Yahweh has commanded.” 2 Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart Yahweh had put wisdom, even everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to the work to do it. 3 They 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. 4 All the wise men, who performed all the work of the sanctuary, each came from his work which he did. 5 They spoke to Moses, saying, “The people have brought much more than enough for the service of the work which Yahweh commanded to make.” 6 Moses 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. 7 For the stuff they had was sufficient to do all the work, and too much.
36:8–19 — He made the curtains
All the wise-hearted men among those doing the work make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, blue, purple and scarlet, with cherubim, the work of a skilful workman. Each curtain is twenty-eight cubits by four, all of one measure. Five are coupled to one another and the other five likewise; loops of blue are made on the edges, fifty in one curtain and fifty in the other, opposite one another. Fifty clasps of gold couple the curtains to one another, so the tabernacle is a unit. Then eleven curtains of goats' hair for a covering over the tabernacle, each thirty cubits by four, five coupled together and six by themselves; fifty loops on each edge and fifty clasps of bronze to couple the tent together, that it might be one. And a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of sea cow hides above.
8 All 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. 9 The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains had one measure. 10 He coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another. 11 He 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. 12 He 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. 13 He made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains to one another with the clasps: so the tabernacle was a unit. 14 He made curtains of goats’ hair for a covering over the tabernacle. He made them eleven curtains. 15 The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits the width of each curtain. The eleven curtains had one measure. 16 He coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. 17 He 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. 18 He made fifty clasps of bronze to couple the tent together, that it might be a unit. 19 He made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of sea cow hides above.
36:20–38 — Boards, bars, and a veil
He makes the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright, ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide, each with two tenons joined to one another — so for all the boards. Twenty boards for the south side with forty silver sockets, two under each; twenty for the north with forty more; six for the west end and two for the corners, doubled beneath and joined at the top by a ring, making eight boards and sixteen silver sockets. Bars of acacia wood, five for each side and five for the west, with the middle bar passing through in the middle of the boards from end to end. The boards are overlaid with gold, their rings made of gold to hold the bars, and the bars overlaid with gold. He makes the veil of blue, purple, scarlet and fine twined linen, with cherubim, the work of a skilful workman, on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold with gold hooks and four silver sockets — and a screen for the door of the tent, the work of an embroiderer, on five pillars with bronze sockets.
20 He made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing up. 21 Ten cubits was the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the width of each board. 22 Each board had two tenons, joined to one another. He made all the boards of the tabernacle this way. 23 He made the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side southward. 24 He 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. 25 For the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made twenty boards 26 and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 27 For the far part of the tabernacle westward he made six boards. 28 He made two boards for the corners of the tabernacle in the far part. 29 They 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. 30 There were eight boards and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets—under every board two sockets. 31 He made bars of acacia wood: five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, 32 and 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. 33 He made the middle bar to pass through in the middle of the boards from the one end to the other. 34 He overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold as places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold. 35 He made the veil of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cherubim. He made it the work of a skillful workman. 36 He 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. 37 He made a screen for the door of the tent, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer; 38 and the five pillars of it with their hooks. He overlaid their capitals and their fillets with gold, and their five sockets were of bronze.
Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).