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Exodus 27

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1"You shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and its height shall be three cubits.

2You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it; and you shall overlay it with brass.

3You shall make its pots to take away its ashes, its shovels, its basins, its flesh hooks, and its fire pans: all its vessels you shall make of brass.

4You shall make a grating for it of network of brass: and on the net you shall make four bronze rings in its four corners.

5You shall put it under the ledge around the altar beneath, that the net may reach halfway up the altar.

6You shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with brass.

7Its poles shall be put into the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar, when carrying it.

8You shall make it with hollow planks. They shall make it as it has been shown you on the mountain.

9"You shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen one hundred cubits long for one side:

10and its pillars shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.

11Likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, and its pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.

12For the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits; their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.

13The breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.

14The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

15For the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

16For the gate of the court shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer; their pillars four, and their sockets four.

17All the pillars of the court around shall be filleted with silver; their hooks of silver, and their sockets of brass.

18The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits, of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.

19All the instruments of the tabernacle in all its service, and all its pins, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.

20"You shall command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.

21In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall keep it in order from evening to morning before Yahweh: it shall be a statute forever throughout their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary

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Exodus 27:1-2 Verses 1-2

altar of shittim wood--The dimensions of this altar which was placed at the entrance of the sanctuary were nearly three yards square, and a yard and a half in height. Under the wooden frame of this chest-like altar the inside was hollow, and each corner was to be terminated by "horns"--angular projections, perpendicular or oblique, in the form of horns. The animals to be sacrificed were bound to these (Ps 118:27), and part of the blood was applied to them.

Exodus 27:3 Verse 3

shovels--fire shovels for scraping together any of the scattered ashes. basons--for receiving the blood of the sacrifice to be sprinkled on the people. fleshhooks--curved, three-pronged forks (1Sa 2:13, 14). fire-pans--A large sort of vessel, wherein the sacred fire which came down from heaven (Le 9:24) was kept burning, while they cleaned the altar and the grate from the coals and ashes, and while the altar was carried from one place to another in the wilderness [Patrick, Spencer, Le Clerc].

Exodus 27:4 Verse 4

a grate of network of brass--sunk latticework to support the fire. four brazen rings--by which the grating might be lifted and taken away as occasion required from the body of the altar.

Exodus 27:5 Verse 5

put it under the compass of the altar beneath--that is, the grating in which they were carried to a clean place (Le 4:12).

Exodus 27:6-7 Verses 6-7

staves ... rings--Those rings were placed at the side through which the poles were inserted on occasions of removal. 9-19. the court of the tabernacle--The enclosure in which the edifice stood was a rectangular court, extending rather more than fifty yards in length and half that space in breadth, and the enclosing parapet was about three yards or half the height of the tabernacle. That parapet consisted of a connected series of curtains, made of fine twined linen yarn, woven into a kind of network, so that the people could see through; but that large curtain which overhung the entrance was of a different texture, being embroidered and dyed with variegated colors, and it was furnished with cords for pulling it up or drawing it aside when the priests had occasion to enter. The curtains of this enclosure were supported on sixty brazen pillars which stood on pedestals of the same metal, but their capitals and fillets were of silver, and the hooks on which they were suspended were of silver also.

Exodus 27:19 Verse 19

pins--were designed to hold down the curtains at the bottom, lest the wind should waft them aside.

Exodus 27:20-21 Verses 20-21

pure oil olive beaten--that is, such as runs from the olives when bruised and without the application of fire. for the light ... Aaron and his sons--were to take charge of lighting it in all time coming.

Exodus 27:21 Verse 21

shall order it from evening to morning--The tabernacle having no windows, the lamps required to be lighted during the day. Josephus says that in his time only three were lighted; but his were degenerate times, and there is no Scripture authority for this limitation. But although the priests were obliged from necessity to light them by day, they might have let them go out at night had it not been for this express ordinance.

Matthew Henry Concise Commentary

Pastoral and devotional reflections focused on spiritual formation and application.

Exodus 27:1-8 Verses 1-8

In the court before the tabernacle, where the people attended, was an altar, to which they must bring their sacrifices, and on which their priests must offer them to God. It was of wood overlaid with brass. A grate of brass was let into the hollow of the altar, about the middle of which the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burnt. It was made of net-work like a sieve, and hung hollow, that the ashes might fall through. This brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins. The wood had been consumed by the fire from heaven, if it had not been secured by the brass: nor could the human nature of Christ have borne the wrath of God, if it had not been supported by Divine power.

Exodus 27:9-19 Verses 9-19

The tabernacle was enclosed in a court, about sixty yards long and thirty broad, formed by curtains hung upon brazen pillars, fixed in brazen sockets. Within this enclosure the priests and Levites offered the sacrifices, and thither the Jewish people were admitted. These distinctions represented the difference between the visible nominal church, and the true spiritual church, which alone has access to God, and communion with him.

Exodus 27:20-21 Verses 20, 21

The pure oil signified the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which all believers receive from Christ, the good Olive, and without which our light cannot shine before men. The priests were to light the lamps, and tend them. It is the work of ministers, by preaching and expounding the Scriptures, which are as a lamp, to enlighten the church, God's tabernacle upon earth. Blessed be God, this light is not now confined to the Jewish tabernacle, but is a light to lighten the gentiles, and for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

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Altar in the Tabernacle: Furniture of Exodus 27:3–7

Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots for removing ashes, its shovels, its sprinkling bowls, its meat forks, and its firepans. / Construct for it a grate of bronze mesh, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the mesh. / Set the grate beneath the ledge of the altar, so that the mesh comes halfway up the altar.

Altar in the Tabernacle: Pattern of Exodus 27:1–8

“You are to build an altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high. / Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze. / Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots for removing ashes, its shovels, its sprinkling bowls, its meat forks, and its firepans.

Altars for Burnt-Offering Exodus 27:1–8

“You are to build an altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high. / Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze. / Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots for removing ashes, its shovels, its sprinkling bowls, its meat forks, and its firepans.

Basin: Made of Brass (Bronze) Exodus 27:3

Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots for removing ashes, its shovels, its sprinkling bowls, its meat forks, and its firepans.

Candlestick for the Tabernacle: Lighted by Priests Exodus 27:21

In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamps before the LORD from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the Israelites for the generations to come.

Candlestick of the Tabernacle: Burned Every Night Exodus 27:20, 21

And you are to command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. / In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamps before the LORD from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the Israelites for the generations to come.

Curtains for the Tabernacle Exodus 27:9–18

You are also to make a courtyard for the tabernacle. On the south side of the courtyard make curtains of finely spun linen, a hundred cubits long on one side, / with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and silver hooks and bands on the posts. / Likewise there are to be curtains on the north side, a hundred cubits long, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

Fleshhook used in the Tabernacle Exodus 27:3

Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots for removing ashes, its shovels, its sprinkling bowls, its meat forks, and its firepans.

Grate: General Scriptures Concerning Exodus 27:4, 5

Construct for it a grate of bronze mesh, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the mesh. / Set the grate beneath the ledge of the altar, so that the mesh comes halfway up the altar.

Hooks: Made of Silver Exodus 27:10

with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and silver hooks and bands on the posts.

Lamp: Kept Burning at Night in the Tabernacle and Cared for by Priest Exodus 27:20, 21

And you are to command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. / In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamps before the LORD from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the Israelites for the generations to come.

Metals: Brass Exodus 27:2, 4

Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze. / Construct for it a grate of bronze mesh, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the mesh.

Oil used for Lamps Exodus 27:20

And you are to command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.

Oil: Illuminating, for Tabernacle Exodus 27:20

And you are to command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.

Priest: Duties of Light the Lamps in the Tabernacle Exodus 27:20, 21

And you are to command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. / In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to tend the lamps before the LORD from evening until morning. This is to be a permanent statute for the Israelites for the generations to come.

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