Charles Ellicott Commentary Exodus 38:24

"All the gold that was used for the work in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary." — Exodus 38:24 (ASV)

All the gold that was used for the Work. —Rather, that was made use of for the work.

The gold of the offering was twenty-nine talents. —The gold talent is estimated by Poole at 10,000 shekels, and the gold shekel as worth about one pound and two shillings in our money. In this case, the gold employed in the Tabernacle would have been worth nearly £320,000. Some, however, reduce the estimate to £175,000 (Cook), and others to £132,000 (Thenius).

In any case, the amount was remarkable, and indicated both the liberal spirit that animated the people and the general feeling that a lavish expenditure was required by the occasion. There is no difficulty in supposing that the Israelites possessed gold at the time to the (highest) estimated value, since they had carried with them out of Egypt, besides their ancestral wealth, a vast amount of gold and silver ornaments, freely given to them by the Egyptians (Exodus 3:22; Exodus 12:35–36).