Exoduschapter 40

A.Set Up the Tabernacle and Anoint Itvv. 1-15

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “On the first day of the first month you are to set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting. 3 Put the ark of the Testimony in it and screen off the ark with the veil. 4 Then bring in the table and set out its arrangement; bring in the lampstand as well, and set up its lamps. 5 Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the Testimony, and hang the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. 6 Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting. 7 And place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 Set up the surrounding courtyard and hang the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard. 9 Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it along with all its furnishings, and it shall be holy. 10 Anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it shall be most holy. 11 Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them. 12 Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. 13 And you are to clothe Aaron with the holy garments, anoint him, and consecrate him, so that he may serve Me as a priest. 14 Bring his sons forward and clothe them with tunics. 15 Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may also serve Me as priests. Their anointing will qualify them for a permanent priesthood throughout their generations.”

B.Moses Finishes All the Workvv. 16-33

16 Moses did everything just as the LORD had commanded him. 17 So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year. 18 When Moses set up the tabernacle, he laid its bases, positioned its frames, inserted its crossbars, and set up its posts. 19 Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, just as the LORD had commanded him. 20 Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark. 21 Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle, put up the veil for the screen, and shielded off the ark of the Testimony, just as the LORD had commanded him. 22 Moses placed the table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. 23 He arranged the bread on it before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him. 24 He also placed the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle 25 and set up the lamps before the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him. 26 Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting, in front of the veil, 27 and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the LORD had commanded him. 28 Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. 29 He placed the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, just as the LORD had commanded him. 30 He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing; 31 and from it Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and feet. 32 They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 33 And Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar, and he hung the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.

C.The Glory Fills the Tabernaclevv. 34-38

34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 36 Whenever the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out through all the stages of their journey. 37 If the cloud was not lifted, they would not set out until the day it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel through all their journeys.

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition

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Chapter summary

The tabernacle raised.

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The tabernacle raised. On the first day of the first month of the second year, Moses sets up the tabernacle, the ark within the veil, the table and the lampstand in the holy place, the incense altar before the veil, the bronze altar at the door, the laver between the tent and the altar. He anoints the tabernacle and the furnishings and the priests. Then the cloud covers the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD fills the tabernacle; Moses cannot enter. When the cloud lifts, Israel journeys; when it rests, they camp. ‘The cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.’

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Law · Moses — Exodus overview

A. 1–15 Set Up the Tabernacle and Anoint It
B. 16–33 Moses Finishes All the Work
C. 34–38 The Glory Fills the Tabernacle

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Exodus 4010 verses
- Exodus 40:1Then the LORD said to Moses,
- Exodus 40:3Put the ark of the Testimony in it and screen off the ark with the veil.
- Exodus 40:4Then bring in the table and set out its arrangement; bring in the lampstand as well, and set up its lamps.
- Exodus 40:5Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the Testimony, and hang the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.
- Exodus 40:6Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting.
- Exodus 40:7And place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it.
- Read Exodus 40: 4 more there →
Exodus 265 verses
- Exodus 26:1“You are to construct the tabernacle itself with ten curtains of finely spun linen, each with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and cherubim skillfully worked into them.
- Exodus 26:30So you are to set up the tabernacle according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
- Exodus 26:33And hang the veil from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the veil. So the veil will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
- Exodus 26:35And place the table outside the veil on the north side of the tabernacle, and put the lampstand opposite the table, on the south side.
- Exodus 26:36For the entrance to the tent, you are to make a curtain embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen.
- Read Exodus 26 →
Numbers 94 verses
- Numbers 9:1In the first month of the second year after Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai:
- Numbers 9:15On the day that the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it and appeared like fire above the tabernacle from evening until morning.
- Numbers 9:17Whenever the cloud was lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites would set out, and wherever the cloud settled, there the Israelites would camp.
- Numbers 9:19Even when the cloud lingered over the tabernacle for many days, the Israelites kept the LORD’s charge and did not set out.
- Read Numbers 9 →
Exodus 253 verses
- Exodus 25:23You are also to make a table of acacia wood two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high.
- Exodus 25:30And place the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.
- Exodus 25:37Make seven lamps and set them up on the lampstand so that they illuminate the area in front of it.
- Read Exodus 25 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

1 John 23 verses
- 1 John 2:1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
- 1 John 2:20You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
- 1 John 2:27And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.
- Read 1 John 2 →
Exodus 132 verses
- Exodus 13:4Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving.
- Exodus 13:21And the LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud to guide their way by day, and in a pillar of fire to give them light by night, so that they could travel by day or night.
- Read Exodus 13 →
Hebrews 102 verses
- Hebrews 10:19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
- Hebrews 10:22let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
- Read Hebrews 10 →
Exodus 272 verses
- Exodus 27:1“You are to build an altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high.
- Exodus 27:9You 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,
- Read Exodus 27 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.