Charles Ellicott Commentary Exodus 38
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Exodus 38
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Exodus 38
"And he made the altar of burnt-offering of acacia wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof, foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof." — Exodus 38:1 (ASV)
He made the altar.—From the furniture of the sanctuary, the transition is natural to the furniture of the court in which it stood. This is now described. It consisted of the brazen altar, or altar of burnt-offering, and the great brazen laver. The construction of the former is related in Exodus 38:1-7; that of the latter in Exodus 38:8.
"And he made the altar of burnt-offering of acacia wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof, foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof. And he made the horns thereof upon the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of one piece with it: and he overlaid it with brass. And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basins, the flesh-hooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass. And he made for the altar a grating of network of brass, under the ledge round it beneath, reaching halfway up. And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grating of brass, to be places for the staves. And he made the staves of acacia wood, and overlaid them with brass. And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, wherewith to bear it; he made it hollow with planks. And he made the laver of brass, and the base thereof of brass, of the mirrors of the ministering women that ministered at the door of the tent of meeting. And he made the court: for the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits;" — Exodus 38:1-9 (ASV)
This passage corresponds to Exodus 38:1-8 of Exodus 27:1-8 in all main particulars, but is somewhat differently worded. The order of the clauses in Exodus 38:4-5 is changed, and a distinct statement is made, which was not contained in the instructions, that the rings were for places for the staves.
"And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basins, the flesh-hooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass." — Exodus 38:3 (ASV)
The pots. —Exodus 27:3 has his pans; but the word used in the original is the same. It designates probably the scuttles in which the ashes were placed for removal from the sanctuary. (See Note 1 on Exodus 27:3.)
"And he made the laver of brass, and the base thereof of brass, of the mirrors of the ministering women that ministered at the door of the tent of meeting." — Exodus 38:8 (ASV)
He made the laver of brass. —Compare Exodus 30:18-21, where the laver is commanded, and the uses to which it was to be applied are laid down. By “brass” we must understand “bronze” in this place, as in others.
Of the lookingglasses. —Rather, mirrors. The mirrors used in ancient times were not of glass, but of burnished metal. Bronze was the metal ordinarily employed for the purpose, and was in common use in Egypt, where mirrors were bronze plates, round or oval, with a handle, like our fire-screens. The Etruscan women employed similar articles in their personal grooming, and often had them delicately chased with engravings.
Of the women assembling. —It would seem that these women—the women accustomed to frequent the “tent of meeting” which Moses had recently set up (Exodus 33:7), and to flock there in troops—voluntarily offered for the service of God the mirrors, which were among the most highly prized of their possessions. Moses, to mark his approval of their devotion, formed their offerings into the most honourable of all the brazen vessels, and recorded the fact to the women’s credit.
"And he made the court: for the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits; their pillars were twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. And for the north side a hundred cubits, their pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver. And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver. And for the east side eastward fifty cubits. The hangings for the one side [of the gate] were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three; and so for the other side: on this hand and that hand by the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen. And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver; and the overlaying of their capitals, of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver. And the screen for the gate of the court was the work of the embroiderer, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court. And their pillars were four, and their sockets four, of brass; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals, and their fillets, of silver. And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass." — Exodus 38:9-20 (ASV)
The construction of the court follows that of the furniture it contained. The passage runs parallel with Exodus 27:9-19.
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