1. FROM the nature of the offerings made for the service of the tabernacle, we see of what sort the spoils were which the Israelites brought out of Egypt: gold, silver, brass, blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, rams' skins dyed red, what we call badgers' skins, oil, spices, incense, onyx stones, and other stones, the names of which are not here mentioned. They must also have brought looms, spinning wheels, instruments for cutting precious stones, anvils, hammers, furnaces, melting-pots with a vast variety of tools for the different artists employed on the work of the tabernacle, viz., smiths, joiners, carvers, gilders, &c.

2. God could have erected his tabernacle without the help or skill of man; but he condescended to employ him. As all are interested in the worship of God, so all should bear a part in it; here God employs the whole congregation: every male and female, with even their sons and their daughters, and the very ornaments of their persons, are given to raise and adorn the house of God. The women who had not ornaments, and could neither give gold nor silver, could spin goat's hair, and the Lord graciously employs them in this work, and accepts what they can give and what

commence their work.

they can do, for they did it with a willing mind; they were wise of heart-had learned a useful business, their hearts were lifted up in the work, ver. 21, and all felt it a high privilege to be able to put only a nail in the holy place. By the free-will offerings of the people the tabernacle was erected, and all the costly utensils belonging to it provided. This was the primitive mode of providing proper places for Divine worship; and as it was the primitive, so it is the most rational mode. Taxes levied by law for building or repairing churches were not known in the ancient times of religious simplicity. It is an honour to be permitted to do any thing for the support of public worship; and he must have a strange, unfeeling, and ungodly heart, who does not esteem it a high privilege to have a stone of his own laying or procuring in the house of God. How easily might all the buildings necessary for the purpose of public worship be raised, if the money that is spent in needless self-indulgence by ourselves, our sons, and our daughters, were devoted to this purpose! By sacrifices of this kind the house of the Lord would be soon built, and the top-stone brought on with shouting, Grace, grace unto it!

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3 And they received of Moses

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b

2 And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it:

Chapter xxviii. 3; xxxi. 6; xxxv. 10, 35, Chapter XXV. 8.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXXVI.. Verse 1. Then wrought, &c.] The first verse of this chapter should end the preceding chapter, and this should begin with verse the second; as it now stands, it does not make a very consistent sense. By reading the first word ny veasah, then wrought, in the future tense instead of the past, the proper connection will be preserved for all grammarians know that the conjunction vau is often conversive, i. e., it turns the preterite tense of those verbs to which it is prefixed into the future, and the future into the preterite this power it evidently has here; and joined with the last

:

4 And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made;

5 And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the e Chapter xxxv. 2, 26; 1 Chron. xxix. 5- d Chapter xxxv. 27. e 2 Cor. viii. 2, 3. verse of the preceding chapter the connection will apThe Lord hath pear thus, chap. xxxv. ver. 30, &c. : called by name Bezaleel and Aholiab; them hath he filled with wisdom of heart to work all manner of work. Chap. xxxvi. 1.: And Bezaleel and Aholiab SHALL WORK, and every wise-hearted man, in whom the Lord put wisdom.

Verse 5. The people bring much more than enough] With what a liberal spirit do these people bring their Moses is obliged free-will offerings unto the Lord! to make a proclamation to prevent them from bringing any more, as there was at present more than enough!

The curtains and boards

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service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make.

of the tabernacle.

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size.

16 And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves.

17 And he made fifty loops upon the utter

8 f And every wise-hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle, made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them.

9 The length of one curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: the curtains were all of one size. 10 And he coupled the five curtains one unto another and the other five curtains he coupled one unto another.

11 And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain from the selvage in the coupling likewise he made in the uttermost side of another curtain in the coupling of the second. 12 Fifty loops made he in one curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain which was in the coupling of the second: the loops held one curtain to another.

13 And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches so it became one tabernacle.

14h And he made curtains of goats' hair for the tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them.

fChap. xxvi. 1.- - Chap. xxvi. 5.- h Chap. xxvi. 7. Had Moses been intent upon gain, and had he not been perfectly disinterested, he would have encouraged them to continue their contributions, as thereby he might have multiplied to himself gold, silver, and precious stones. But he was doing the Lord's work, under the inspiration of the Divine Spirit, and therefore he sought no secular gain. Indeed, this one circumstance is an ample proof of it. Every thing necessary for the worship of God will be cheerfully provided by a people whose hearts are in that worship. In a state where all forms of religion and modes of worship are tolerated by the laws, it would be well to find out some less exceptionable way of providing for the national clergy than by tithes. Let them by all means have the provision allowed them by the law; but let them not be needlessly exposed, to the resentment of the people by the mode in which this provision is made, as this often alienates the affections of their flocks from them, and ex

fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second.

18 And he made fifty taches of brass, to couple the tent together, that it might be one. 19 And he made a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins above that.

20 And he made boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood, standing up.

21 The length of a board was ten cubits, and the breadth of a board one cubit and a half.

22 One board had two tenons, equally distant one from another: thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle.

23 And he made boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward: 24 And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons.

25 And for the other side of the tabernacle, which is toward the north corner, he made twenty boards,

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

i Chap. xxvi. 14. Chap. xxvi. 15. ceedingly injures their usefulness. See the note on Gen. xxviii. in fine, where the subject is viewed on all sides. Verse 8. Cherubims of cunning work] See on chap. xxvi. 18. Probably the word means no more than figures of any kind wrought in the diaper fashion in the loom, or by the needle in embroidery, or by the chisel or graving tool in wood, stone, or metal; see on chap. xxv. 18. This meaning Houbigant and other excellent critics contend for. In some places the word seems to be restricted to express a particular figure then well known; but in many other places it seems to imply any kind of figure commonly formed by sculpture on stone, by carving on wood, by engraving upon brass, and by weaving in the loom, &c.

Verse 9. The length of one curtain] Concerning these curtains, see chap. xxvi. 1, &c.

Verse 20. And he made boards] See the notes on chap. xxvi. 15, &c..

Bezaleel makes the ark,

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end to the other.

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of the tabernacle in the two sides.

29 And they were coupled beneath, and coupled together at the head thereof, to one ring thus he did to both of them, in both the

corners.

30 And there were eight boards; and their sockets were sixteen sockets of silver, under every board two sockets.

31 And he made " bars of shittim 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 sides westward. 33 And he made the middle bar to shoot

1 Heb. twined. m Heb. two sockets, two sockets under one board. n Chap. xxvi. 26.

Verse 31. He made bars] See on chap. xxvi. 26, &c. Verse 35. He made a veil] See on chap. xxvi. 31, &c. Verse 37. Hanging for the—door] See on ch. xxvi.36. Verse 38. The five pillars of it with their hooks] Their capitals. See the note on chap. xxvi. 32.

35 And he made a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen with cherubims made he it of cunning work.

36 And he made thereunto four pillars of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold: their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver.

37 And he made a P hanging for the tabernacle door, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, of needle-work;

38 And the five pillars of it with their hooks; and he overlaid their chapiters and their fillets with gold; but their five sockets were of brass. Chap. xxvi. 31. -P Chap. xxvi. 36.- - Heb. the work of a needle-worker or embroiderer.

God had before commanded this work to be done, and it was necessary to record the execution of it to show that all was done according to the pattern shown to Moses; without this detailed account we should not have known whether the work had ever been executed according to the directions given.

At the commencement of this chapter the reader will observe that I have advanced the dates A. M. and

dus, which at first view may appear an error; the reason is, that the above dates commence at Tisri, but the years of the exodus are dated from Abib.

Verse 10. He made the table] See chap. xxv. 23, 481

Bezaleel makes the

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8. One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub d on the other end on that side: out of the mercy-seat made he the cherubims, on the two ends thereof.

9 And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy-seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy-seatward were the faces of the cherubims.

10 And he made the table of shittim wood: two cubits was the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof:.

11 And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made thereunto a crown of gold round about. 12 Also he made thereunto a border of a hand breadth round about; and made a crown of gold for the border thereof round about.

13 And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings upon the four corners that were in the four feet thereof.

14. Over against the border were the rings, the places for the staves to bear the table.

15. And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table.

16 And he made the vessels which were upon the table, his dishes, and his spoons, and his bowls, and his covers & to cover withal, of pure gold.

17 And he made the candlestick of pure gold of beaten work made he the candlestick; his shaft, and his branch, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, were of the same:

18 And six branches going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick out

eOr, out of, &c. Or, out of, &c.- Chap. xxv. 23. Chap. xxv. 29.- — Or, to pour out withal.

Verse 16. He made the vessels] See all these particularly described in the notes on chap. xxv. 29.

Verse 17. He made the candlestick] See this described in the note on chap. xxv. 31.

Tisri to Adar. 19 Three bowls made after the fashion of almonds in one branch, a knop and a flower; and three bowls made like almonds in another branch, a knop and a flower: so throughout the six branches going out of the candlestick. 20 And in the candlestick were four bowls made like almonds, his knops, and his flowers:

21 And 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 going out of it.

22 Their knops and their branches were of the same all of it was one beaten work of pure gold.

23 And he made his seven lamps, and his snuffers, and his snuff dishes, of pure gold. 24 Of a talent of pure gold made he it, and all the vessels thereof.

25 And he made the incense altar of shittim wood: the length of it was a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit; it was four-square; and two cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same.

26 And he overlaid it with pure gold, both the top of it, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns of it; also he made unto it a crown of gold round about.

27 And he made two rings of gold for it under the crown thereof, by the two corners of it, upon the two sides thereof, to be places for the staves to bear it withal.

28 And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold.

29 And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary.

Chap. xxv. 31. Chap. xxx. l.

Chap. xxx. 23, 34; Isa. Ixi, 1; 1 John ii. 20, 27; Psa. cxli. 2.

Verse 29. He made the holy anointing oil] See this and the perfume, and the materials out of which they were made, described at large in the notes on chap. xxx. 23-25 and 34-38. As this chapter also is a

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