Numbers 4:11
in Numbers 4Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth, cover it with fine leather, and insert the poles.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in the staves thereof:
KJV
And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:
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This verse in Numbers 4
Commentary
3 notes on this verseAnd upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue,.... The altar of incense, which was overlaid with gold, and therefore called a golden one, to which the allusion is in Rev 8:3, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins; after the cloth of blue was spread upon it: and shall put to the staves thereof; into the rings, both made to bear and carry it, upon occasion, from place to place.
This site's exposition
cover the candlestick of the light
on Numbers 4:9-14
The packing runs outward from the ark: the table, then the candlestick, then the golden altar of incense, then the ministering vessels, then the brasen altar out in the court. The candlestick and the loose instruments go on a bar, because only the ark, the table and the two altars were built with rings and staves of their own. Matthew Henry reads verse 13 as a purple cloth spread over ashes in which the holy fire was banked and preserved, so the fire that Leviticus 6:12-13 forbade to go out kept burning while the altar moved. Blue, purple and scarlet are the three colours of the tabernacle hangings at Exodus 26:1, and here they are the colours of its packing.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But when the cloud removed from the tabernacle, the sanctuary might be entered by the common priests, as to them was reserved the exclusive privilege of packing the sacred utensils; and it was not till the holy things were thus ready for carriage, that the Kohathites were allowed to approach.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַ֣ל׀ | veal | and over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִזְבַּ֣ח | mizbach | [the] altar of | H4196 → | 401 times |
| הַזָּהָ֗ב | hazahav | <the> gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| יִפְרְשׂוּ֙ | yifresu | they will spread out | H6566 → | 67 times |
| בֶּ֣גֶד | beged | a covering of | H899 → | 217 times |
| תְּכֵ֔לֶת | tekhelet | violet stuff | H8504 → | 49 times |
| וְכִסּ֣וּ | vekhisu | and they will cover | H3680 → | 152 times |
| אֹת֔וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּמִכְסֵ֖ה | bemikhseh | with a covering of | H4372 → | 16 times |
| ע֣וֹר | or | skin of | H5785 → | 99 times |
| תָּ֑חַשׁ | tachash | dolphin | H8476 → | 14 times |
| וְשָׂמ֖וּ | vesamu | and they will put in | H7760 → | 584 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בַּדָּֽיו׃ | badav | poles its | H905 → | 200 times |
וְעַ֣ל׀and over
vealH5921 →5755 times
מִזְבַּ֣ח[the] altar of
mizbachH4196 →401 times
הַזָּהָ֗ב<the> gold
hazahavH2091 →389 times
יִפְרְשׂוּ֙they will spread out
yifresuH6566 →67 times
בֶּ֣גֶדa covering of
begedH899 →217 times
תְּכֵ֔לֶתviolet stuff
tekheletH8504 →49 times
וְכִסּ֣וּand they will cover
vekhisuH3680 →152 times
אֹת֔וֹ<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
בְּמִכְסֵ֖הwith a covering of
bemikhsehH4372 →16 times
ע֣וֹרskin of
orH5785 →99 times
תָּ֑חַשׁdolphin
tachashH8476 →14 times
וְשָׂמ֖וּand they will put in
vesamuH7760 →584 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בַּדָּֽיו׃poles its
badavH905 →200 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
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.
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:19–22
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
- 1 John 2:1–2
My 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.
- John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- Hebrews 9:24
For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.
- Hebrews 10:19–22
Through
Exodus 39:38the gold altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the curtain for the entrance to the tent;
it leads to
- Exodus 30:7
And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps.
- 2 Chronicles 2:4
Behold, I am about to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God to dedicate to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the showbread continuously, and for making…
- Exodus 25:6
olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;
- Exodus 37:29
He also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense, the work of a perfumer.
- Exodus 30:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.