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CHAPTER XXVI

The ten curtains of the tabernacle, and of what composed, 1. Their length, 2, 3; their loops, 4, 5; their taches, 6. The curtains of goats' hair for a covering, 7; their length and breadth, 8. Coupled with loops, 9, 10, and taches, 11. The remnant of the curtains, how to be employed, 12, 13.The covering of rams' skins, 14. The boards of the tabernacle for the south side, 15; their length, 16, tenons, 17, number, 18, sockets, 19.Boards, &c., for the north side, 20, 21. Boards, &c., for the west side, 22; for the corners, 23; their rings and sockets, 24, 25. The bars of the tabernacle, 26-30. The veil, its pillars, hooks, and taches, 31-33. How to place the mercy-seat, 34. The table and the candlestick, 35. The hanging for the door of the tent, 36; and the hangings for the pillars, 37.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXVI

Verse 1. "Thou shalt make the tabernacle" - k�m mischan, from k� shachan, to dwell, means simply a dwelling place or habitation of any kind, but here it means the dwelling place of Jehovah, who, as a king in his camp, had his dwelling or pavilion among his people, his table always spread, his lamps lighted, and the priests, &c., his attendants, always in waiting. From the minute and accurate description here given, a good workman, had he the same materials, might make a perfect fac simile of the ancient Jewish tabernacle. It was a movable building, and so constructed that it might be easily taken to pieces, for the greater convenience of carriage, as they were often obliged to transport it from place to place, in their various journeyings. For the twined linen, blue, purple, and scarlet, see note on "chap. xxv. 4", &c.

"Cherubims" - See the note on "chap. xxv. 18".

Cunning work] b�j chosheb probably means a sort of diaper, in which the figures appear equally perfect on both sides; this was probably formed in the loom. Another kind of curious work is mentioned, ver. 36, �qr rokem, which we term needle-work; this was probably similar to our embroidery, tapestry, or cloth of arras. It has been thought unlikely that these curious works were all manufactured in the wilderness: what was done in the loom, they might have brought with them from Egypt; what could be done by hand, without the use of complex machinery, the Israelitish women could readily perform with their needles, during their stay in the wilderness. But still it seems probable that they brought even their looms with them. The whole of this account shows that not only necessary but ornamental arts had been carried to a considerable pitch of perfection, both among the Israelites and Egyptians.

The inner curtains of the tabernacle were ten in number, and each in length twenty-eight cubits, and four in breadth; about sixteen yards twelve inches long, and two yards twelve inches broad. The curtains were to be coupled together, five and five of a side, by fifty loops, ver. 5, and as many golden clasps, ver. 6, so that each might look like one curtain, and the whole make one entire covering, which was the first.

Verse 7. "Curtains of goats' hair" - Stuff made of goats' hair. See the note on "chap. xxv. 4". This was the second covering.

Verse 14. "Rams' skins dyed red" - See the note on "Exodus xxv. 5".

This was the third covering; and what is called the badgers' skins was the fourth. See the note on "chap. xxv. 5". Why there should have been four coverings does not appear. They might have been designed partly for respect; and partly to keep off dust and dirt, and the extremely fine sand which in that desert rises as it were on every breeze; and partly to keep off the intense heat of the sun, which would otherwise have destroyed the poles, bars, boards, and the whole of the wood work. As to the conjecture of some that "the four coverings were intended the better to keep off the rain," it must appear unfounded to those who know that in that desert rain was rarely ever seen.

Verse 15. "Thou shalt make boards" - These formed what might be called the walls of the tabernacle, and were made of shittim wood, the acacia Nilotica, which Dr. Shaw says grows here in abundance. To have worked the acacia into these boards or planks, the Israelites must have had sawyers, joiners, &c., among them; but how they got the tools is a question. But as the Israelites were the general workmen of Egypt, and were brought up to every kind of trade for the service of their oppressors, we may naturally suppose that every artificer brought off some of his tools with him. For though it is not at all likely that they had any armour or defensive weapons in their power, yet for the reason above assigned they must have had the implements which were requisite for their respective trades.

Verse 16. "Ten cubits shall be the length of a board" - Each of these boards or planks was about five yards and two feet and a half long, and thirty-two inches broad; and as they are said to be standing up, this was the HEIGHT of the tabernacle. The length being thirty cubits, twenty boards, one cubit and a half broad each, make about seventeen yards and a half, and the BREADTH was about five yards.

Verse 29. "Thou shalt overlay the boards with gold" - It is not said how thick the gold was by which these boards, &c., were overlaid; it was no doubt done with gold plates, but these must have been very thin, else the boards, &c., must have been insupportably heavy. The gold was probably something like our gold leaf, but not brought to so great a degree of tenuity.

Verse 31. "Thou shalt make a veil." - tkrp parocheth, from �rp parach, to break or rend; the inner veil of the tabernacle or temple, (2 Chron. iii. 14,) which broke, interrupted, or divided between the holy place and the most holy; the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was standing.

Compare Heb. ix. 8. The Septuagint constantly render it by katapetasma. Does not the Hebrew name tkrp parocheth moreover intimate the typical correspondence of this veil to the body or flesh of Christ? For this katapetasma or veil was his flesh, (Heb. x. 20,) which, being rent, affords us a new and living way into the holiest of all, i.e., into heaven itself. Compare Heb. x. 19, 20; ix. 24. And accordingly when his blessed body was rent upon the cross, this veil also (to katapetasma tou ierou) escisqh, was RENT in twain from the top to the bottom; Matthew xxvii. 51. - See Parkhurst, under the word �rp .

The veil in the tabernacle was exceedingly costly; it was made of the same materials with the inner covering, blue, purple, scarlet, fine twined linen, embroidered with cherubim, &c. It served to divide the tabernacle into two parts: one, the outermost, called the holy place; the other, or innermost, called the holy of holies, or the most holy place. In this was deposited the ark of the covenant, and the other things that were laid up by way of memorial. Into this the high priest alone was permitted to enter, and that only once in the year, on the great day of atonement. It was in this inner place that Jehovah manifested himself between the cherubim. The Jews say that this veil was four fingers' breadth in thickness, in order to prevent any person from seeing through it; but for this, as Calmet observes, there was no necessity, as there was no window or place for light in the tabernacle, and consequently the most simple veil would have been sufficient to obstruct the discovery of any thing behind it, which could only be discerned by the light that came in at the door, or by that afforded by the golden candlestick which stood on the outside of this veil.

Verse 32. "Their hooks shall be of gold" - �hyww vaveyhem, which we translate their hooks, is rendered kefalidev, capitals, by the Septuagint, and capita by the Vulgate. As the word ww vav or vau, plural �yww vavim, occurs only in this book, ver. 32, 37; xxvii. 10, 11, 17; xxxvi. 36, 38; xxxviii. 10, 11, 12, 17, 19, 28; and is used in these places in reference to the same subject, it is very difficult to ascertain its precise meaning. Most commentators and lexicographers think that the ideal meaning of the word is to connect, attach, join to, hook; and that the letter w vau has its name from its hooklike form, and its use as a particle in the Hebrew language, because it serves to connect the words and members of a sentence, and the sentences of a discourse together, and that therefore hook must be the obvious meaning of the word in all the above texts. Calmet thinks this reason of no weight, because the w vau of the present Hebrew alphabet is widely dissimilar from the vau of the primitive Hebrew alphabet, as may be seen on the ancient shekels; on these the characters appear as in the word JEHOVAH, chap. xxviii. 36. This form bears no resemblance to a hook; nor does the Samaritan [Samaritan] vau, which appears to have been copied from this ancient character.

Calmet therefore contends, 1. That if Moses does not mean the capitals of the pillars by the �yww vavim of the text, he mentions them nowhere; and it would be strange that while he describes the pillars, their sockets, bases, fillets, &c., &c., with so much exactness, as will appear on consulting the preceding places, that he should make no mention of the capitals; or that pillars, every way so correctly formed, should have been destitute of this very necessary ornament.

2. As Moses was commanded to make the hooks, �yww vavim, of the pillars and their fillets of silver, chap. xxvii. 10, 11, and the hooks, vavim, of the pillars of the veil of gold, chap. xxxvi. 36; and as one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels were employed in making these hooks, vavim, overlaying their chapiters, �hy�ar rasheyhem, their heads, and filleting them, chap. xxxviii. 28; it is more reasonable to suppose that all this is spoken of the capitals of the pillars than of any kind of hooks, especially as hooks are mentioned under the word taches or clasps in other places. On the whole it appears much more reasonable to translate the original by capitals than by hooks.

After this verse the Samaritan Pentateuch introduces the ten first verses of chap. xxx., and this appears to be their proper place. Those ten verses are not repeated in the thirtieth chapter in the Samaritan, the chapter beginning with the 11th verse.

Verse 36. "A hanging for the door of the tent" - This may be called the first veil, as it occupied the door or entrance to the tabernacle; the veil that separated the holy place from the holy of holies is called the second veil, Heb. ix. 3. These two veils and the inner covering of the tabernacle were all of the same materials, and of the same workmanship. See chap. xxvii. 16.

1. FOR the meaning and design of the tabernacle see the note on "chap. xxv. 40": and while the reader is struck with the curious and costly nature of this building, as described by Moses, let him consider how pure and holy that Church should be of which it was a very expressive type; and what manner of person he should be in all holy conversation and godliness, who professes to be a member of that Church for which, it is written, Christ has given himself, that he might sanctify and cleanse it; that he might present it unto himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. See Eph. v. 25- 27.

2. In the Jewish tabernacle almost every thing was placed out of the sight of the people. The holy of holies was inaccessible, the testimony was comparatively hidden, as were also the mercy-seat and the Divine glory.