Exodus 36 · WEB
Construction Begins: The Curtains and the Frame
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
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"Bezalel and Oholiab shall work, and 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, shall work in accordance with all that Yahweh has commanded."
2Moses 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.
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 brought yet to him freewill offerings every morning.
4All the wise men, who were doing all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they were doing,
5and they spoke to Moses, saying, "The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which Yahweh 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 for all the work to make it, and too much.
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, with cherubim. They were the work of a skillful workman.
9The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain was 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 first curtain from the edge in the coupling. He did likewise in the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second set.
12He made fifty loops in the first curtain, and he made fifty loops in the edge of the curtain that was in the second set. The loops were opposite each other.
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 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 first set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain which was outermost in the second set.
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 other side of the tabernacle, for 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 each whole to its top to one ring. He did this to both of them in both corners.
30There were eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets—under each 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 far part westward.
33He made the middle bar to pass through in the middle of the boards from end to end.
34He overlaid the boards with gold, made their rings of gold for 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 with 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 its five pillars with their hooks. He overlaid their capitals and their fillets with gold, and their five sockets were of bronze.
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Summary
Construction of the Tabernacle begins. The people's giving is so generous that the craftsmen have to report the excess to Moses, who commands an end to further offerings. Bezalel, Oholiab, and the skilled craftsmen then build the inner linen curtains with their cherubim designs, the outer goat-hair covering, the ram-skin covering, the wooden frame of acacia boards with silver sockets and gold-overlaid crossbars, the inner veil, and the entrance screen — exactly as God had specified in chapters 25-27.
Themes
- Extravagant generosity — more than enough for God's work
- Faithful execution — doing exactly what God commanded
- Community craftsmanship: many skilled people working together
- The beauty of ordered, detailed obedience to God
Key verses
Context & background
The construction narrative in chapters 35-40 closely mirrors the instructions in chapters 25-31, with the recurring phrase "as Yahweh commanded Moses" appearing frequently. This structural echo is intentional: the author wants readers to see that Israel did exactly what God said — in contrast to the golden calf episode where they did precisely what God did not say. The overflow of offerings (v. 5-7) is unique in Scripture and demonstrates the wholehearted consecration of the community. The silver sockets for the tabernacle boards were made from the half-shekel ransom payments collected in Exodus 30:12-16 — each socket literally represented every Israelite's acknowledgment that their life belonged to God.
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 29:14 — David's prayer at the Temple offering: "Who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer so willingly as this?" — echoing the spirit of Exodus 36.
- 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 — The Macedonian churches gave "beyond their ability" for the Jerusalem collection — a New Testament parallel to this overflow of giving.
- Numbers 7 — The tribal leaders bring lavish offerings for the Tabernacle's dedication — a continuation of the generous giving spirit here.
- Philippians 4:18 — Paul calls the Philippians' gift "a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God" — the language of Tabernacle worship applied to Christian generosity.