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Navigating the Bible| Genesis |
| Exodus |
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| Leviticus |
| Numbers |
| Deuteronomy |
The Materials |
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| 39:1 | From the sky-blue, dark red and crimson wool, they made the packing cloths for sacred use. They [also] made the sacred vestments for Aaron, as God had commanded Moses. |
Making the Ephod |
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| 39:2 | He made the ephod out of gold [thread], sky-blue, dark red and crimson wool, and twined linen. |
| 39:3 | They beat out thin sheets of gold, and cut them into threads, which were [then] included in the sky-blue, dark red and crimson wool, and the fine linen. [The ephod was made] as a patterned brocade. |
| 39:4 | They made shoulder pieces for it, sewn to its two corners. |
| 39:5 | The ephod's attached belt, [woven] together with it, was made in the same manner, [also] out of gold [thread], sky-blue, dark red and crimson wool, and twined linen. [It was thus made] as God had commanded Moses. |
Setting the Sardonyxes |
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| 39:6 | They prepared the sardonyx stones to be placed in the settings. The [stones] were engraved as on a signet ring with the names of Israel's sons. |
| 39:7 | He placed them on the ephod's shoulder pieces as remembrance stones for Israel's sons. [It was done] as God had commanded Moses. |
Making the Breastplate |
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| 39:8 | He made the breastplate out of brocaded work, just like the ephod. [It was also] made from gold [thread], sky-blue, dark red and crimson wool, and twined linen. |
| 39:9 | The breastplate was made to be a square when folded over. It was a span long, and when folded over, a span wide. |
| 39:10 | [The breastplate] was set with four rows of precious stones: The first row: carnelian, emerald, topaz. |
| 39:11 | The second row: carbuncle, sapphire, beryl. |
| 39:12 | The third row: jacinth, agate, amethyst. |
| 39:13 | The fourth row: chyrsolite, onyx, jasper. |
| 39:14 | The stones contained the names of Israel's sons. There were twelve names, engraved as on a signet ring, one for each of the twelve tribes. |
| 39:15 | Matched pure gold cables, braided like cords, were attached to the breastplate. |
| 39:16 | They made two gold settings and two gold rings, and they placed the two rings on the breastplate's two [upper] corners. |
| 39:17 | The two gold braids were then attached to the two rings on the breastplate's corners. |
| 39:18 | The two braids on the two corners were attached to the two settings, and they were thus attached to the ephod's shoulder pieces toward the front. |
| 39:19 | They made two gold rings and placed them on the breastplate's two [lower] corners, on the edge toward the inside of the ephod. |
| 39:20 | They made two gold rings, and placed them on the bottoms of the ephod's two shoulder pieces toward the front, near where they were attached, above the ephod's belt. |
| 39:21 | They laced the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a twist of sky-blue wool, so that the breastplate would remain above the ephod's belt. The breastplate would thus not be displaced from the ephod. [All this was done] as God had commanded Moses. |
Making the Robe |
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| 39:22 | He made the robe for the ephod, weaving it completely out of sky-blue wool. |
| 39:23 | The robe's opening was in the middle, like the opening of a coat of mail, with a border all around so that it not be left open. |
| 39:24 | On the skirt of the robe, they made pomegranates out of twined sky-blue, dark red and crimson wool. |
| 39:25 | They made pure gold bells, and placed the bells between the pomegranates. [The bells] were thus all around on the bottom of the robe between the pomegranates. |
| 39:26 | There was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, all around the bottom of the robe. [It was thus made] for the divine service, as God had commanded Moses. |
Making the Other Vestments |
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| 39:27 | They made the tunics for Aaron and his sons by weaving them out of fine linen. |
| 39:28 | [They made] the linen turban, the fine linen hats, and the line pants, [all out of] twined linen. |
| 39:29 | [They made] the belt, embroidered out of twined linen, and sky-blue, dark red and crimson wool. [It was all done] as God had commanded Moses. |
Making the Head-plate |
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| 39:30 | They made the head-plate as a sacred coronet, out of pure gold. Written on it, in the same manner as a signet ring's engraving, were [the words], 'Holy to God.' |
| 39:31 | They placed a twist of sky-blue wool on [the head-plate], so that it could be placed over the turban. [It was all done] as God had commanded Moses. |
The Tabernacle is Completed |
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| 39:32 | All the work on the Communion Tent Tabernacle was thus completed. The Israelites did exactly as God had commanded Moses. |
Moses Approves |
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| 39:33 | They brought the Tabernacle to Moses. [There was] the Communion Tent along with its equipment, its fastenings, beams, crossbars, pillars and bases; |
| 39:34 | the roof of reddened rams' hides, the roof of blue processed hides, the cloth partition; |
| 39:35 | the Ark of Testimony and its carrying poles, the ark cover, |
| 39:36 | the table and its equipment, the showbread, |
| 39:37 | the pure [gold] menorah along with its prescribed lamps, all its utensils, and the illuminating oil; |
| 39:38 | the golden altar, the anointing oil, the perfumed incense, the Communion Tent's drape; |
| 39:39 | the copper altar along with its carrying poles and all its equipment; the washstand and its base; |
| 39:40 | the hangings for the enclosure, its poles and bases, the drape for the enclosure's entrance, its tying ropes and stakes, all the equipment used in the Communion Tent Tabernacle's service, |
| 39:41 | the packing cloths for sacred use, the sacred vestments for Aaron the priest, and the vestments that his sons would wear to serve. |
| 39:42 | The Israelites had done all the work exactly in the manner that God had commanded Moses. |
| 39:43 | When Moses saw that all the work had been done exactly as God had ordered, he blessed [all the workers]. |
Commentary:
| He See note on Exodus 36:10. |
| made the ephod The next few sections parallel Exodus 28:6-43. |
| thin sheets See Numbers 17:3 (Radak, Sherashim). |
| brocade Some say that gold threads were also interwoven in the tapestries for the Tabernacle (Baraitha of 49 Middoth). |
| woven together Two expressions. Two words in Exodus 28:8 are transposed, giving the verse a slightly different meaning. |
| when folded over A detail not mentioned in Exodus 28:16. It appears that it was folded over in the width and not in the length. |
| attached to In Exodus 28:22 the verse has 'for' instead (cf. Chizzkuni). |
| weaving it A detail not mentioned in Exodus 28:31 (cf. Yoma 72b; Zevachim 88a). |
| twined A detail not mentioned in Exodus 28:33. |
| fine (Rashi; Ibn Janach; Radak, Sherashim). P'er in Hebrew. Or, 'the turban hats' (Ramban; cf. Isaiah 3:20, Ezekiel 44:18). Or, 'the buttons on top of the hats' (Hai Gaon, quoted in Chizzkuni). Or, 'the knob on the side of the hat [to hold the turban]' (Lekach Tov). According to Josephus, this might be the cloth placed over the turbans (see note on Exodus 28:39). |
| over the turban Thus, some say that either one thread went over the turban, or the cap went over the turban (see note on Exodus 28:37). Or, 'to place it near the turban, which is above it (Targum Yonathan). |
| was thus completed This was on 25 Kislev, which would later be the first day of Chanukah (BeMidbar Rabbah 13:2; Chizzkuni). Nevertheless, the Tabernacle was not erected until 1 Nissan (see Exodus 40:2). |
| They brought... See Exodus 35:11-19. |
| prescribed lamps (Ramban). Or, 'lamps to be lit' (Chizzkuni). |
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