The Second Book of Moses, called Exodus
Exodus 38
Chapter XXXVIII · Vol. I, pp. 357–358
1 The altar of burnt-offering. 8 The laver of brass. 9 The court. 21 The sum of that which the people offered.
1 AND a he made the altar of burnt-offering of shittim-wood: five cubits[≈ 2.3 m · 7 ft 6 in]6 was the length thereof, and five cubits[≈ 2.3 m · 7 ft 6 in] the breadth thereof, (it was b four-square,) and three cubits[≈ 1.4 m · 4 ft 6 in] the height thereof.
2 And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass.
3 And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the flesh-hooks, and the fire-pans; all the vessels thereof made he of brass.
4 And he made for the altar a brazen grate of net-work, under the compass thereof, beneath unto the midst of it.
5 And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves.
6 And he made the staves of shittim-wood, and overlaid them with brass.
7 And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to c bear it withal: he made the altar hollow with boards.
A.M. 2512. B.C. 1491.
c 1 Co. 1.24; 2.2. Ac. 9.15.
8 And he made the d laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the e looking-glasses5 of the women assembling6 which f assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.7
d ch. 30.18-21. 1 Jn. 3.7. Re. 1.5. Zec. 13.1.
e Or, brazen glasses, Ja. 1.23,24.
5 Mirrors of brass, highly polished, have been found among the ancient monuments of Egypt. They were very common; and it was customary for women to carry them in their left hands when going to the temples.—P.
6 Heb. assembling by troops.
f Lu. 2.37. 1 Ti. 5.5. Pr. 8.34. 1 Sa. 2.22.
7 There is considerable difference of opinion about the correct translation of this passage. Luther, Matthews, and others, render it, 'and he made the laver under the inspection of the women who ministered at the door.' It is true that the word rendered looking-glasses, is elsewhere in Scripture rendered sight. Still the idea of inspection seems inconsistent with the description of the qualifications of Bezaleel for all manner of work. We prefer the authorized translation, and consider it as conveying an important lesson. That the ancient mirrors were generally polished brass or silver is admitted. That the women were accustomed to carry them to public worship is also acknowledged. But, that beauty may not merely be pleasing to the beholder, but intoxicating to the possessor, is a melancholy fact in female history. Now, the minister of that beauty, presiding in its ornature—the friend that so often exhibits it to flatter and to fascinate the heart—is required for the service of God, and must be sacrificed, and freely these 'holy women who trusted in God' did render up their second selves, evidencing by this act of self-denial, that to all 'outward adorning of gold or putting on of apparel,' they preferred 'that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price,' 1 Pe. 3.3, 5.—Note, Genuine Christianity has alone raised woman to her proper place in society, and largely has woman repaid the boon. Since Hannah presented Samuel to the Lord, 1 Sa. 1.28; since the faith of Lois and Eunice was transferred to Timothy, 2 Ti. 1.5; the instruction and prayers of godly self-denying mothers and sisters, in the family and the school, have conferred blessings on the church that eternity alone can reveal.—C.
9 And he made g the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits[≈ 46 m · 150 ft].8
10 Their pillars were twenty, and their brazen sockets twenty: the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.
11 And for the north side, the hangings were an hundred cubits[≈ 46 m · 150 ft], their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty: the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.
12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits[≈ 23 m · 75 ft], their pillars ten, and their sockets ten: the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.
14 The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen h cubits[≈ 6.9 m · 22 ft]; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
h Nine yards. The hangings around the court imported religious profession, and divine separation and protection. But the hanging at the entry of the court signified much the same thing as the vails, ch. 36.35-38.
15 And for the other side of the court-gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits[≈ 6.9 m · 22 ft]; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
16 All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen.
17 And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver; and the overlaying of their chapiters of silver: and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.
18 And the hanging for the gate of the court was needle-work, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; and twenty cubits[≈ 9.1 m · 30 ft]1 was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits[≈ 2.3 m · 7 ft 6 in],2 answerable to the hangings of the court.
1 Twelve yards.
A.M. 2513. B.C. 1491.
2 Three yards.
19 And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets of silver.
21 This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of k testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for l the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest.
k ch. 25.16.
l Nu. 4.29,33.
22 And m Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses.
m ch. 31.2-9; 35.30-35; 36.1-3.
23 And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.
24 All the gold that was occupied for the work, in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was3 twenty and nine talents[≈ 990 kg · 2,200 lb],4 and seven hundred and thirty shekels[≈ 8.3 kg · 18 lb], after the shekel of the sanctuary.
3 £159,107 sterling.
4 Reckoning according to Cumberland, the whole sum of gold expended in the tabernacle was £148,719.—C.
25 And the silver5 of them that were numbered of the congregation was an 6 hundred talents[≈ 3.4 tonnes · 3.4 tons], and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels[≈ 20 kg · 45 lb], after the shekel of the sanctuary:
5 The silver, according to Bresewood, amounted to £37,721, 17s. 6d.—C.
6 £34,421, 4s. 2½d.
26 A bekah[≈ 5.7 g · 0.2 oz] for n every man, that is, half a shekel[≈ 5.7 g · 0.2 oz], after the o shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered,7 from twenty years old and upward, for8 six hundred thousand, and three thousand, and five hundred and fifty men.9
n Nu. 1.46.
o ch. 30.13,15.
7 It may surprise some how the Israelites were possessed of so much wealth, but it is to be remembered that their ancestors were rich when they first came into Egypt, and that subsequently God had further enriched them by the spoil of the Egyptians and Amalekites.—I.
8 Heb. a poll.
9 By comparing the census now given with that in ch. 12.37, we find the increase of six months to be 3550, who in that period had attained their twentieth year. And if we take into account those who fell by the hand of public justice for the sin of idolatrous rebellion against God, ch. 32.28, we will have a still larger increase, amounting to about 6550. If this increase appear to any improbable, let them recollect that according to one of the best statistical authorities (Richmond, in the introduction to the Population Returns) the number of males above twenty averages one half the entire number of males. The whole male population would thus be, at the exodus, 1,500,000. Now, taking the number of males under twenty at the exodus to be 600,000, and making the largest deduction for those who ordinarily die before attaining twenty, a number will remain still more than sufficient to supply the increase recorded in the text, with all the casualties besides to which the people might be exposed, as well as for the further deduction of 22,000 Levites, excluded from the census by the command of God, Nu. 1.49.—C.
27 And of the hundred talents of silver[≈ 3.4 tonnes · 3.4 tons · silver worth ≈ US$5.9 million] were cast the p sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents[≈ 3.4 tonnes · 3.4 tons], a talent[≈ 34 kg · 75 lb] for a socket.
p ch. 26.19,21,25,32.
28 And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels[≈ 20 kg · 45 lb] he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them.
29 And the brass of the offering was1 seventy talents[≈ 2.4 tonnes · 2.4 tons], and two thousand and four hundred shekels[≈ 27 kg · 60 lb].
1 Six thousand six hundred thirty-seven and a half pounds weight avoirdupois.
30 And therewith he made the sockets2 to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brazen altar, and the brazen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar,
2 The sockets might signify the perfections, purposes, and promises of God, in which everything relative to Christ and his church are founded.
31 And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court-gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.
Notes
Reflections.—The work still proceeds pleasantly from that which is most inward and important. And let us observe, that Jesus' atonement for sin, and the purification of our conscience from dead works, are closely linked together; that fervent devotion disposes persons to part with that which others most admire, for the service of Christ. And it is necessary to examine ourselves in the glass of God's law when we go to the laver of Jesus' blood for spiritual purification. What a small inclosure is the church of Christ! Happy the period when death shall draw aside the curtains, and allow us free access to the house eternal in the heavens! But great and important things might be done for God in his church below, were but ALL her ministers and members, however weak, hearty and unanimous.
Measures in square brackets are modern equivalents added for this edition. They are not in the King James text or in Brown’s notes. They use common scholarly estimates: a cubit is about 45.7 cm (18 in), a shekel about 11.4 g (0.4 oz), an ephah about 22 litres. Money values give the worth of the silver or gold at spot prices on 28 October 2026, not what the sum would buy in the ancient world.