Annotations on the Pentateuch, Psalms, Song of Songs, Biblical commentary 2 · Chapter 38
CHAP. XXXVIII.
1, The making of the Altar of Burnt offring, 3, with the vessels thereof. 8, The Laver of brasse, and the foot therof. 9, The Court, and hangings therof round about. 20, The pinnes of the Tabernacle, and Court. 21, The summe of that the people offred, of gold, of silver, and of brasse, and the things that were made of them.
AND hee made the Altar of Burntoffring, of Shittim wood: five cubits the length thereof, and five cubits the bredth thereof, fouresquare; and three cubits the height thereof. And he made the hornes of it, upon the foure corners thereof; the hornes of it were of the same: & he overlaid it with brasse. And he made all the vessels of the Altar, the pans, and the shovels, and the basons, the flesh-hookes, and the firepannes: all the vessels thereof made he of brasse. And he made for the Altar, a grate, of net worke, of brasse: under the compasse therof, beneath, unto the midst of it. And he cast foure rings, in the foure utmost parts, for the grate of brasse: to be places, for the bars. And he made the bars of Shittim wood: and overlaid them with brasse. And hee put in the bars into the rings, on the sides of the Altar, to beare it withall: hollow, with boards made he it.
And he made the Laver of brasse, and the foot of it of brasse: of the looking-glasses of the women assembling-by-troops, which assembled-by-troops, at the doore of the Tent of the congregation.
And he made the Court, for the Southside south-ward; the tapestrie-hangings of the Court, were of fine-linnen twined; an hundred cubits. Their pillars twenty; & their sockets twenty, of brasse: the hookes of the pillars and their fillets of silver. And for the North side, an hundred cubits; their pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty of brasse: the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver. And on the Sea side, tapestrie-hangings, of fiftie cubits; their pillars ten, and their sockets ten: the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets of silver. And on the East side eastward, fiftie cubits. The tapestrie hangings of fifteen cubits, for the side: their pillars three, and their sockets three. And for the second side, on this hand and on that, for the gate of the court: tapestrie-hangings, of fifteene cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. All the tapestrie hangings of the Court round-about, were of fine linnen twined. And the sockets for the pillars, were of brasse, the hookes of the pillars, and their fillets of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters of silver: & they were filleted with silver, all the pillars of the Court. And the hanging-veile for the gate of the Court, was the worke of the Embroiderer, of blew, and purple, and scarlet, and fine-linnen twined: and twenty cubits was the length; and the height in the bredth, five cubits, answerable to the tapestrie-hangings of the Court. And their pillars were foure, and their sockets foure, of brasse: their hookes of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters, and their fillets of silver. And all the pins of the Tabernacle, and of the Court round-about, were of brasse.
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These are the counted-things of the Tabernacle, of the Tabernacle of testimonie, as it was counted by the mouth of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the Priest. And Bezaleel, the son of Vri, the sonne of Hur, of the tribe of Iudah, made all that Iehovah commanded Moses. And with him, Aholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver & a cunning-workman: and an Embroiderer, in blew, and in purple, & in scarlet, and in fine-linnen. All the gold that was occupied for the work, in all the worke of the Sanctuarie: even the gold of the offring, was nine and twenty talents, and seven hundred & thirty shekels, by the shekel of the Sanctuarie. And the silver, of them that were numbred of the congregation, was an hundred talents: and a thousand and seven hundred and seventie and five shekels, by the shekel of the Sanctuarie. A Bekah for a poll, halfe a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuarie: for every one that passed unto them that were numbred from twenty yeeres old and upward; for sixe hundred thousand, and three thousand, and five hundred, and fiftie. And the hundred talents of silver, was to cast the sockets of the Sanctuarie, & the sockets of the veile: an hundred sockets, of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. And of the thousand and seven hundred and seventie and five shekels: hee made hooks for the pillars: and overlaid their chapiters, and filletted them. And the brasse of the offring, was seventie talents, and two thousand and foure hundred shekels. And therewith he made the sockets for the doore of the Tent of the congregation, and the altar of brasse, and the grate of brasse, which was for it: and all the vessels of the altar. And the sockets of the Court, round-about, and the sockets of the gate of the Court: and all the pins of the Tabernacle, and all the pins of the Court, round-about.
Annotations.
ALtar] whereof see Exod. 27. 1. &c. foure-square,] the Greeke explaineth it, the altar was fouresquare. So Exod. 27. 1. Ezek. 43. 16.
Vers. 8. Laver] see the notes on Exod. 30. 18. &c. assembling-by-troopes,] or, warring, to wit, the Lords spirituall warfare and service: as the Chaldee translateth, which came to pray; and the Gr. which fasted: and Thargum Ierusalemy; which were humbled. The same word is used againe in 1 Sam. 2. 22. of women that assembled-by-troopes at the doore of the Tabernacle: that is, came to pray, as the Chaldee there also saith. So Anna in the Temple served God with fastings and prayers night and day, Luk. 2. 37. and Paul speaketh of the desolate widow, that trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day, 1 Tim. 5. 5. Accordingly Moses speaketh of the Levites that entred in to warre the warfare, (that is, to performe the service,) and to doe the worke in the Tabernacle, Num. 4. 23. And Paul saith to Timothie, that thou by them mightest warre a good war-fare, 1 Tim. 1. 18. so that this phrase is usuall, to signifie the service of God. Now of the brazen looking-glasses of these religious women, was the Laver made: who gave the instruments whereby they drest their bodies, to make the instrument whereby through faith they might sanctifie their soules. See before, on Exod. 30. 18. 19.
Vers. 9. Court] whereof, see Exod. 27. 9.
Vers. 12. sea] that is, the west, as the Chaldee exponndeth it, see Gen. 12. 8.
Vers. 14. the side] that is, the one side; to wit, of the Court gate, as after the text sheweth. See Ex. 27. 14.
Vers. 17. chapiters] or heads, tops: so after, in verse 19. 28. filleted] or, hooped.
Vers. 18. hanging-veile] of it, see Exod. 27. 16.
Vers. 20. pins] or nailes, stakes: see Exod. 27. 19.
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Here beginneth the 23. Section of the Law, see Gen. 6. 9. and 28. 10.
Vers. 21. counted things] that is, the summe and particulars of the things about the making of the Tabernacle; which the Greeke translateth the constitution, (or, construction) of the Tabernacle. the mouth] that is, the word as the Chaldee expoundeth it, or commandement. Ithamar] under his hand, the Levites of Merari, had charge of the boards, bars, pillars, sockets, pins, coards, &c. about the Tabernacle and Court thereof, Num, 4. 29. 33.
Vers. 24. occupied] Hebr. made, in Greek, wrought. offring] Heb. wave-offring; as the offring of it, is also called waving, Exodus 35. 22. It was likewise called an heave-offring, Exodus 25. 2. what these two motions meant, see the notes on Exod. 29. 24. 27. talents] every talent was 120. pound weight; for a talent weighed three thousand shekels, and every shekell 320. graines of Barley; see the notes on Gen. 20. 16. and Exod. 25. 39. This is confirmed by the summe here following, in verse 25. 26. for 603550. men, paying every one halfe a shekel, it amounted to 100. talents, and 1775. shekels.
Vers. 26. Bekah] this, in the next words, is expounded to be halfe a shekel; see the notes on Gen. 24. 22. The Greeke translateth it, a drachme (or dram,) as a shekel is sometime turned in Greeke didrachme, a double dram, see Gen. 20 16. a poll] Hebrew a skul, which the Greeke translateth head, used for the person or whole man. So in Ex. 16. 16. old] Hebrew, son of 20, yeeres; see the notes on Genesis 5. 32.