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The Torah · Old Testament

Exodus 25

Willing offerings and instructions for the ark, table and lampstand

General context

The Lord tells Moses to receive an offering from those who give willingly. The materials include metals, colored textiles, skins, wood, oil, spices and stones. They are to make a sanctuary so the Lord may dwell among them, following the pattern shown to Moses. The ark is to be made of wood, overlaid with gold inside and out, with rings and gold-covered carrying poles that remain in place. It is to hold the testimony the Lord will give. A pure-gold mercy seat is to cover it, with two golden cherubim facing one another and their wings extended above. The Lord promises to meet and speak with Moses from between them. A gold-covered wooden table is also prescribed, with rings, carrying poles and gold vessels; bread is to remain before the Lord on it. The lampstand is to be hammered from pure gold, with six side branches, almond-shaped cups, buds and flowers. It has seven lamps and gold implements. The chapter ends by repeating that the work must follow the pattern shown on the mountain. These are instructions; the chapter does not yet narrate construction.

Cited passages: Exodus 25:1, Exodus 25:2, Exodus 25:3, Exodus 25:4, Exodus 25:5, Exodus 25:6, Exodus 25:7, Exodus 25:8, Exodus 25:9, Exodus 25:10, Exodus 25:11, Exodus 25:12, Exodus 25:13, Exodus 25:14, Exodus 25:15, Exodus 25:16, Exodus 25:17, Exodus 25:18, Exodus 25:19, Exodus 25:20, Exodus 25:21, Exodus 25:22, Exodus 25:23, Exodus 25:24, Exodus 25:25, Exodus 25:26, Exodus 25:27, Exodus 25:28, Exodus 25:29, Exodus 25:30, Exodus 25:31, Exodus 25:32, Exodus 25:33, Exodus 25:34, Exodus 25:35, Exodus 25:36, Exodus 25:37, Exodus 25:38, Exodus 25:39, Exodus 25:40

Exodus 25 (KJV)

1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.

3And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,

4And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,

5And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood,

6Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,

7Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.

8And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

9According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

10And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

11And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.

12And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.

13And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

14And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.

15The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.

16And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.

17And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

18And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.

19And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.

20And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.

21And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.

22And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

23Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

24And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about.

25And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.

26And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.

27Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table.

28And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.

29And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them.

30And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.

31And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.

32And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:

33Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick.

34And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers.

35And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick.

36Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold.

37And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.

38And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.

39Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels.

40And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The specifications use cubits, a handbreadth and a talent rather than modern units. The ark is two and a half cubits long and one and a half wide and high; the table is two long, one wide and one and a half high. Rings and poles provide for carrying both objects, with the ark's poles specifically remaining in place. Material names vary: King James gives 'badgers' skins' and 'shittim wood,' while American Standard gives sealskins and acacia wood. The guide does not treat the skin species as settled. King James calls the light-bearing object a candlestick, but the instructions specify seven lamps. No candles, finished building date or symbolic meaning for every measurement is supplied.

Cited passages: Exodus 25:3, Exodus 25:4, Exodus 25:5, Exodus 25:6, Exodus 25:7, Exodus 25:10, Exodus 25:11, Exodus 25:12, Exodus 25:13, Exodus 25:14, Exodus 25:15, Exodus 25:17, Exodus 25:23, Exodus 25:24, Exodus 25:25, Exodus 25:26, Exodus 25:27, Exodus 25:28, Exodus 25:29, Exodus 25:30, Exodus 25:31, Exodus 25:32, Exodus 25:33, Exodus 25:34, Exodus 25:35, Exodus 25:36, Exodus 25:37, Exodus 25:38, Exodus 25:39, Exodus 25:40

Literary context

The chapter starts with willing gifts and the purpose of dwelling among the people, then moves through detailed instructions for three furnishings. The command to follow a shown pattern frames the specifications at the beginning and end. Repeated instructions about gold, rings and poles connect the ark and table, while the lampstand receives an extended description of branches and floral forms. The promise of speech from above the ark makes its role more than storage. The detail remains prospective: the repeated commands direct work still to be done.

Cited passages: Exodus 25:2, Exodus 25:8, Exodus 25:9, Exodus 25:10, Exodus 25:11, Exodus 25:12, Exodus 25:13, Exodus 25:14, Exodus 25:15, Exodus 25:16, Exodus 25:17, Exodus 25:18, Exodus 25:19, Exodus 25:20, Exodus 25:21, Exodus 25:22, Exodus 25:23, Exodus 25:24, Exodus 25:25, Exodus 25:26, Exodus 25:27, Exodus 25:28, Exodus 25:29, Exodus 25:30, Exodus 25:31, Exodus 25:32, Exodus 25:33, Exodus 25:34, Exodus 25:35, Exodus 25:36, Exodus 25:37, Exodus 25:38, Exodus 25:39, Exodus 25:40

Key moments

  1. The offering is received from willing givers (Exodus 25:2). Moses is to receive contributions from those who give willingly from the heart.
  2. The sanctuary’s purpose is stated (Exodus 25:8). The Lord calls for a sanctuary so he may dwell among the people.
  3. The Lord promises to speak from above the ark (Exodus 25:22). The Lord says he will meet Moses and communicate commands from between the cherubim above the mercy seat.
  4. The shown pattern governs the work (Exodus 25:40). The final instruction repeats that the furnishings must follow the pattern shown on the mountain.

For reflection

How do the stated purpose of the sanctuary and the instruction to follow its pattern frame the detailed specifications?

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