Exodus 25:9
in Exodus 25You must make the tabernacle and design all its furnishings according to the pattern I show you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
According to all that I show thee, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the furniture thereof, even so shall ye make it.
KJV
According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
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This verse in Exodus 25
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAfter the pattern of the tabernacle - It has been supposed that there had been a tabernacle before that erected by Moses, though it probably did not now exist; but the tabernacle which Moses is ordered to make was to be formed exactly on the model of this ancient one, the pattern of which God showed him in the mount, Exo 25:40. The word משכן mishcan signifies literally the dwelling or habitation; and this was so called because it was the dwelling place of God; and the only place on the earth in which he made himself manifest.
This site's exposition
let them make me a sanctuary
on Exodus 25:8-9
The purpose is stated at the end of verse 8, that I may dwell among them, and everything from here to chapter 40 serves that one clause. The word tabernacle occurs here for the first time in Scripture. Moses is told he is copying rather than designing, since what he works from is a pattern he has been shewn, and verse 40 says the same again at the close.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
By saying [to him], "You shall make everything according to the model of the tabernacle that I will show you," he first called it a model and a temporal tabernacle to indicate that it was transitory and that it would be replaced by the church, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. 20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
According to all that I show thee,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The plural [ and ‘they’ shall make ] refers back to the children of Israel mentioned above. 96 Above, Verse. But afterwards Scripture states: And thou shalt overlay it, 97 Verse. And thou shalt cast for it. Verse.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
They shall make an ark of acacia wood, two and one-half amohs long, one and one-half amohs wide, and one and one-half amohs high.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כְּכֹ֗ל | kekhol | according to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲנִי֙ | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| מַרְאֶ֣ה | mareh | [am] about to show | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אוֹתְךָ֔ | ʾotkha | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֵ֚ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תַּבְנִ֣ית | tavnit | [the] pattern of | H8403 → | 20 times |
| הַמִּשְׁכָּ֔ן | hamishkan | the tabernacle | H4908 → | 139 times |
| וְאֵ֖ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תַּבְנִ֣ית | tavnit | [the] pattern of | H8403 → | 20 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| כֵּלָ֑יו | kelav | articles its | H3627 → | 325 times |
| וְכֵ֖ן | vekhen | <and> thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| תַּעֲשֽׂוּ׃ ס | taasu | you will make [it] | H6213 → | 2628 times |
כְּכֹ֗לaccording to all
kekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֲנִי֙I
ʾaniH589 →874 times
מַרְאֶ֣ה[am] about to show
marehH7200 →1300 times
אוֹתְךָ֔<obj.> you
ʾotkhaH853 →10935 times
אֵ֚ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
תַּבְנִ֣ית[the] pattern of
tavnitH8403 →20 times
הַמִּשְׁכָּ֔ןthe tabernacle
hamishkanH4908 →139 times
וְאֵ֖תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
תַּבְנִ֣ית[the] pattern of
tavnitH8403 →20 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
כֵּלָ֑יוarticles its
kelavH3627 →325 times
וְכֵ֖ן<and> thus
vekhenH3651 →771 times
תַּעֲשֽׂוּ׃ סyou will make [it]
taasuH6213 →2628 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 8:5The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you…
it leads to
- Exodus 25:40
See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 26:30
So you are to set up the tabernacle according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Colossians 2:17
These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.
- 1 Chronicles 28:19
“All this,” said David, “all the details of this plan, the LORD has made clear to me in writing by His hand upon me.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 10:1
For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near…
- Exodus 25:40
Through
Exodus 25:40See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
it leads to
- Hebrews 8:5
The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 7:44
Our fathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the wilderness. It was constructed exactly as God had directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.
- Hebrews 8:5
Through
Hebrews 9:9It is an illustration for the present time, because the gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 3:21
And this water symbolizes the baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
- 1 Peter 3:21
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON EXODUS 25:1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
