27 And they made coats of fine linen, of woven work, for Aaron and for his sons, 28 m And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen. 29 And a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needle-work; as the LORD commanded Moses. 30 P And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 31 And they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre; as the LORD commanded Moses. 32 Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they. 33 And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches, his boards, his bars, and his pillars, and his sockets; 18. 37. 1 ch. 28, 39, 40. m ch. 28. 4, 39. Ezek. 44. n ch. 28. 42. o ch. 28. 39. P ch. 28. 36, q ver. 42, 43. ch. 25. 40. habergeon or hauberk was a small coat of mail, made of little iron rings curiously united together. It covered the neck and breast, was very light, and resisted the stroke of a sword. The 'band' is what we should now call a binding. 34 And the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the covering; 35 The ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy seat; 36 The table, and all the vessels thereof, and the shew-bread; 37 The pure candlestick, with the lamps thereof, even with the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for light; 38 And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the tabernacle-door: 39 The brazen altar, and his grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot. 40 The hangings of the court, his pillars, and his sockets, and the hanging for the court-gate, his cords, and his pins, and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of the congregation; 41 The clothes of service to do service in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, to minister in the priest's office. 42 According to all that the LORD pleased to retain in his worship. The Jewish priests, however, wore this raiment only while officiating in the sanctuary; whereas in Egypt, for instance, the priests of Isis went every where clothed in white. 30. They made the plate of the holy 27. And they made coats of fine linen. crown of pure gold. To the explanaThe order for making these coats is tions on this subject made above, ch. given above, ch. 28. 40, but the material 28. 36, we have only here to add, that is not there mentioned. Here they are the priests generally among the heathen said to have been made of fine linen, nations of antiquity were distinguished and there is good evidence that pure by the epithet orefaropopo, crown-bearwhite linen garments were ancientlyers, from the crowns worn upon their used by all nations in the service of heads, which were usually made either God. This usage the Most High was of a laurel wreath, or of a rayed or VOL. II. 25 CHAPTER XL. AND the LORD spake unto Mo ses, saying, 2 On the first day of the a first month shalt thou set up b the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. 3 And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail. 4 And thou shalt bring in the table, and e set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; fand thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof. 5 g And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door to the tabernacle. 6 And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt-offering before the door The Tabernacle set up. 2. On the first day of the fifth month thou shalt set up the tabernacle. From an attentive survey of all the incidents recorded to have happened after the exodus from Egypt, it appears that about six months intervened between that event and the commencement of the work of the tabernacle. Consequently they were about six months employed in the work itself; for the tabernacle was set up at the beginning of the second year, or one year lacking fifteen days after they had left Egypt. Considering the vast amount of curious and costly workmanship that was requisite, the undertaking was carried through with great expedition. But the hearts of the people were in this work, and this made all their labor light; and the union of men's hands, and much of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. 7 And h thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein. 8 And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court-gate. 9 And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and i anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy. 10 And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt-offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and k it shall be an altar most holy. 11 And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it. 12 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water. 3. And cover the ark with the vail. That is, hang up the separating vail so as to hide the ark from the public view. For this reason the vail is called, Num. 4. 5, 'the covering vail.' 9. And thou shalt take the anointing oil and anoint, &c. Every thing having been duly brought and disposed in its proper place, the consecration of the whole by sacred unction follows. In allusion to this it is said, Dan. 9, 24, 'Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.' The most holy' here is but another name for the Christian 13 And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, m and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. 14 And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats: 15 And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priest-hood throughout their generations. 16 Thus did Moses; according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he. 17 And it came to pass in the first month, in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up. 18 And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets. and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars. 19 And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD commanded Moses. 20 ¶ And he took and put p the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy-seat above upon the ark: 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and a set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses. 22 And he put the table in the tent of the congregation upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail. 23 And he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses. 24 And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward. 25 And he lighted the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. 26 ¶ y And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation, before the vail: 27 z And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses. 28 ¶ a And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle. 29 b And he put the altar of burntoffering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and coffered upon it the burnt-offering, and the meat-offering; as the LORD commanded Moses. 30dAnd he set the laver be tween the tent of the congregation m ch. 28. 41. n Numb. 25. 13. o ver. 1. 36. Numb. 7. 1. P ch. 25. 16. Church which was to be established at the end of the seventy weeks, and which was anointed at its setting up by the Holy Spirit in his miraculous effusion on the day of Pentecost. 15. Their anointing shall be an everlasting priesthood. The meaning is, that as far as the common priests were concerned, the efficacy of this first anointing should extend to the whole future line, so that they need not from one generation to another receive successively the consecrating unction. With the High Priest the case was different. As he was elected, it was fit that he should, upon entering into office, be anointed; but in regard to the ordinary priests, who inherited their office as their birthright, the same necessity did not exist. 26. And he put the golden altar in the tents of the congregation. Of the gen and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal. 31 And Moses, and Aaron, and his sons, washed their hands and their feet thereat: 32 When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; e as the LORD commanded Moses. 33 f And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court-gate: so Moses finished the work. e ch. 30. 19. f ver. 8. ch. 27. 9. 16. eral aspect of the interior of the taber-ly arranged, a tolerably correct idea may nacle, when all its furniture was proper- be formed from the accompanying cut. 33. And he reared up the court round | to present to the eye the general ap about the tabernacle, &c. As all the particulars have been formerly explained, nothing more is here necessary than pearance of the tabernacle with the court, altar, and laver; the whole surmounted by the pillar of cloud. |