Commentary on Exodus, Commentary · Chapter 40
CHAP. XL.
Verſe 1. AND the LORD ſpake unto Moſes, ſaying.] After he had taken a Survey of all the Work before-mentioned, God gave him the following Command (in the latter end, it is probable) of the twelfth Month.
Ver. 2. On the first day of the first month.] Of the ſecond year after their coming out of Egypt (v. 17.) which was a compleat year (within fourteen days) after that great Deliverance.
Shalt thou ſet up the Tabernacle of the Tent of the Congregation.] This is a full deſcription of the place, which was made for an Habitation of the Divine Majeſty (XXV. 8.) and therefore called Miſchcan, which we tranſlate Tabernacle, but properly ſignifies a dwelling. But was a moveable Houſe, to be ſet up and taken down, as there was occaſion; and therefore called Ohel, a Tent; ſuch as Shepherds dwell in, IV Gen. 24. See XXIX. of this Book 11. Or, the word Tabernacle may be thought to ſignifie, the inward part of this Houſe; as Tent, the outward part which covered the inward: See v. 17, 19, 29.
Why it is called Ohel moed, [the Tent of the Congregation] ſee XXIX. 44.
Ver. 3. And thou ſhalt put therein the Ark of the Teſtimony.] This was the principal end of building this Houſe, that God (as was ſaid before) might dwell among them; and his Reſidence was over this Ark. Which therefore is ordered, in the firſt place, to be brought into the Holy of Holies, prepared for it, as ſoon as the Houſe was erected. Why called the Ark of the Teſtimony, ſee XXVI. 20, 21.
And cover the Ark with the vail.] Which hung before it; that no Body (not the Prieſts themſelves) might ſee it, XXVI. 33.
Ver. 4. And thou ſhalt bring in the Table, &c.] When the Ark was placed in the Holieſt of all, then the Table, with all belonging unto it, and the Candleſtick (whoſe Lamps were to be lighted) are ordered to be ſet in the Sanctuary, which was divided by the Vail from the other, XXVI. 35.
Ver. 5. And thou ſhalt ſet the Altar of Gold for the Incenſe, before the Ark of the Teſtimony.] See XXX. 6.
And put the hangings of the door to the Tabernacle.] XXVI. 36, 37. This is ordered to be hung up, when the Table, Candleſtick, and Altar of Incenſe were put into the Holy Place, becauſe there were no more things but theſe three to be there.
Ver. 6. And thou ſhalt ſet the Altar of Burnt-offering, &c.] In this and the two following Verſes, he is ordered to place the Altar of Burnt-offering, and the Laver, as he had been before directed (XXX. 18.) and to ſet up the outward Court, and the Hanging at the Gate of it, in order to place the Altar and the Laver there, XXVII. 9, &c.
Ver. 9. And thou ſhalt take the anointing Oyl.] Mentioned in the XXX. 23, &c. Every thing being diſpoſed in its proper place; now follows their Conſecration. For they were not Conſecrated ſeparately, before the Houſe was erected, and its Furniture brought in: but after every thing was ſet in the order which God appointed.
And anoint the Tabernacle and all that is therein, &c.] As was before directed, and now ordered to be put in execution, XXX. 26, 27, 28, 29. where this and the two following Verſes are explained.
Ver. 12. And thou ſhalt bring Aaron and his Sons to the door of the Tabernacle.] The Laver being ſanctified, v. 11. many think that the Sanctification of Aaron and his Sons (i. e. their Separation to their Office) began in their being waſhed with Water. But I look upon this as a Miſtake, there being a waſhing preſcribed, before the Laver was ordered (XXIX. 4.) where they were to waſh only when they went in to Miniſter, XXX. 19, 20, 21.
Ver. 13. And thou ſhalt put upon Aaron the holy Garments.] Mentioned in the XXVIIIth Chapter.
And anoint, and ſanctifie him, &c.] XXX. 30, 31.
Ver. 14. And thou ſhalt bring his Sons, and clothe them with Coats.] See XXVII. 40, 41.
Ver. 15. And thou ſhalt anoint them, as thou didst their Father.] See concerning this XXIX. 7. where both their anointing and their Fathers is explained.
For their anointing ſhall ſurely be an everlaſting Prieſthood, &c.] Not only conſecrate them to the Prieſt's Office, as long as they live; but conſecrate their Poſterity alſo, who ſhall need no other anointing in ſucceeding Generations: but Miniſter to God by vertue of this anointing, as long as that Prieſthood laſted. So the Hebrews interpret it. None of them needed in after times, ſaith R. Levi ben Gerſom (upon 1 Kings 1.) to be anointed, but only the High-Prieſt; whoſe Succeſſors were to be anointed, as they gather from VI Levit. 22. The Prieſt of his Sons, who ſhall be anointed in his ſtead, &c. See Selden de Succeſſion. in Pontiſicat. L. II. c. 9.
Ver. 16. Thus did Moſes; according to all that the LORD commanded him, ſo did he.] He took the ſame care in erecting the Tabernacle, and diſpoſing every thing in its place, that the Workmen had done in making all things according to God's mind, XXXIX. 43.
Ver. 17, 18, &c. And it came to paſs, in the first month, &c.] This and the following Verſes, to Verſe 34. give an account of the Execution of what God commanded, in the foregoing part of this Chapter. But it is not eaſie to reſolve, whether every thing was executed at this very time, or no. For full underſtanding of which, it will be neceſſary to mark diligently, the order wherein God requires all the foregoing Commands to be performed. And firſt he bids him ſet up the Tabernacle, and put every thing belonging to it, in its place, v. 2, 3. and ſo forward to v. 9. And next to conſecrate it, and all the Veſſels thereof, with the Altar of Burnt-offerings and its Veſſels, &c. v. 9, 10, 11. And then to proceed to conſecrate Aaron and his Sons, v. 12, 13, 14, 15. Now it is expreſly here affirmed, that Moſes did perform the firſt of theſe, that is, ſet up the Tabernacle, and put every thing appertaining to it, in its right place, on the firſt day of the firſt month, of the ſecond year after their coming out of Egypt. At which time we muſt ſuppoſe alſo he began to conſecrate it, and ſpent ſeven days in the Conſecration of it and of the Altar of Burnt-offering, as is appointed XXIX. 37. But the difficulty is to determine, when he conſecrated Aaron and his Sons, as he is here required, in which ſeven days were alſo ſpent as we read VIII Lev. Some think there were but ſeven days in all ſet apart for this work, and conſequently they were conſecrated together. So Torniellus in his Annals, and Abulenſis before him, who follow Seder Olam and other Jewiſh Writers, who are of this Opinion. The ground of which is, that the Tabernacle being erected on the firſt day of the month before-mentioned, and its Conſecration finiſhed on the eighth, there was a Solemn Paſſover kept upon the fifteenth (IX Numb. 1, 2, &c.) which could not be held, they ſuppoſe, unleſs there were Prieſts to offer the Paſſover: who therefore were conſecrated at the ſame time with the Tabernacle; becauſe on the eighth day another buſineſs began, which was the offering made by the Princes of the Tribes, every one in their day, VII Numb. 1. But the principal ground is, that in VIII Lev. 10, 11, &c. Moſes ſpeaks of the anointing (i. e. Conſecrating) the Altar, and of Conſecrating Aaron and his Sons, as done both at the ſame time. But there is a weighty Objection againſt all this; which is, that in the Conſecration of Aaron and his Sons, there were three Sacrifices offered upon the Altar, one for a Sin-offering, another for a Burnt-offering, and the Ram of Conſecration for a Peace-offering (VIII Lev. 4.18, 22.) None of which could be acceptable for their Sanctification, till the Altar it ſelf was made holy. And therefore the ſeven days appointed for that purpoſe were ended, before the Conſecration of the Prieſts began, which continued ſeven days more; and then the next day was the Feaſt of unleavened Bread. Which was famous on a double account; firſt, becauſe it was the first day of unleavened Bread; and then it was the Octaves of the Conſecration. And this appears more plainly from I Lev. 1. where we find the following Commands were given to Moſes out of the Tabernacle by the Divine Majeſty; who therefore dwelt there, when he commanded the Prieſts to be conſecrated, which he did not, till the Tabernacle was ſolemnly conſecrated to be his Habitation. There the Prieſts alſo are commanded to abide during the ſeven days of their Conſecration, VIII Lev. 33. which ſhows that all things belonging to its Sanctification were finiſhed, before their Conſecration began. As to that which is alledged from VIII Lev. 10, 11, &c. I ſhall conſider it there.
Ver. 19. And he ſpread abroad the Tent over the Tabernacle.] The Ohel, which we tranſlate Tent, ſometimes ſignifies the whole Houſe of God, (See v. 19.) but here only the external part of it, which covered that which was properly called Miſchchan [the Tabernacle]. Which Moſes having erected with all its Sockets Boards, Bars and Pillars (v. 18.) (and hung it, we muſt ſuppoſe, with the inward Hangings, which were the richeſt) he ſpread abroad over them the Curtains of Goatshair, called the Tent, XXVI. 11. to be a covering over the Tabernacle, XXVI. 7. XXXVI. 14, 19. So the Tabernacle was an Houſe within an Houſe; incloſed with ſtrong Walls (as we call them) to ſecure it from the injury of the Weather.
And put the covering of the Tent upon it.] Mentioned in XXVI. 14.
Ver. 20. And he took and put the Teſtimony into the Ark.] The two Tables of Stone, as he had been commanded, XXV. 16. which he mentions again in the repetition of the Law, X Deut. 5. Hence the Ark is called, the Ark of the Covenant or Teſtimony in the next Verſe, and v. 3. of this Chapter.
Ver. 21. And he brought the Ark into the Tabernacle.] It is probable that he had placed the Ark, after it was made, in his own Tent, which for the preſent was called the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and had the Glory of the LORD in it, XXXIII. 7, 9. but now he brought it into this Tabernacle, which by God's order was prepared for it.
And ſet up the Vail of the Covering, &c.] See v. 3.
Ver. 22. And he put the Table in the Tent of the Congregation. Here the whole Houſe is called the Ohel (or Tent) as I obſerved upon Verſe 19. But immediately the word Miſchchan (which we tranſlate Tabernacle) is uſed as the moſt proper expreſſion for the inſide of the Houſe, as the other moſt properly denotes the outſide of it. All is made more clear in the 34th Verſe; where we read that the Cloud covered the Tent of the Congregation, that is the outſide of the Houſe; and the Glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle within. Though afterward, v. 38. the Cloud is ſaid to be upon the Tabernacle, as v. 36. it is ſaid to be over the Tabernacle, becauſe it was over the Tent which covered it.
Ver. 25. And he lighted the Lamps before the LORD, &c.] In this and all that follows, of burning ſweet Incenſe, v. 27. offering the Burnt-offering and Meat-offering, v. 29. Moſes acted as a Prieſt, appointed by an extraordinary Commiſſion from God, only for this time; that he might Conſecrate the Houſe of God, and the Prieſts that were to miniſter therein; which being done, his Prieſthood ceaſed. And he did all that is mentioned in theſe Verſes, when the Tabernacle was Conſecrated, and the Glory of the LORD had filled it; teſtifying the Divine Preſence to be there.
Ver. 31. And Moſes, and Aaron and his Sons, waſhed their hands, &c.] This ſhows that Moſes acted now as a Prieſt, and therefore waſhed himſelf before he went to Sacrifice at the Altar, as the Prieſt afterwards were always bound to do, XXX. 19, 20, 21. But it muſt be underſtood, that neither this waſhing here ſpoken of, nor his offering Sacrifice, mentioned v. 29. was till ſome days after this. See v. 17.
Ver. 33. So Moſes finiſhed the work.] And then anointed the Tabernacle, and all contained in it, according to God's order, v. 9, 10, 11. the execution of which, though now not here mentioned, in ſo many words, is expreſly ſaid to be on the ſame day that he had compleatly ſet up the Tabernacle, VII Numb. 1.
Ver. 34. Then a Cloud (or, then the Cloud) covered the Tent of the Congregation.] After it was anointed and ſanctified for the Divine Reſidence (and the Princes perhaps had alſo finiſhed that large Offering which we read VII Numb. was made on this day) God was pleaſed to fill this place with his glorious Preſence. For the cloudy Pillar, which deſcended upon Moſes his Tent, and ſtood there before the door of it, XXXIII. 9. removed now from thence and came hither; not ſtanding at the door of it in the form of a Pillar, but ſpreading it ſelf all over the outſide of the Tabernacle, ſo that it was covered with it, as we read alſo IX Numb. 15.
And the Glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle.] See v. 22. What God promiſed XXV. 8, 22. he now performed, notwithſtanding their Revolt from him, by worſhipping the Golden Calf. Which made him withdraw himſelf from them, XXXIII. 7, &c. till upon Moſes's earneſt Interceſſion for them, and their Repentance, he graciouſly conſented to return to them, and abide among them, v. 14, 15, &c. As now he did, by ſetling his glorious Preſence in this Tabernacle which was ſet up in the midſt of them. For whereas the other Tabernacle of Moſes was removed a Mile or two from their Camp, XXXIII. 7. this Tabernacle was pitched (a month after this, I Numb. 1.) in the midſt of their Camps, as we read II Numb. 2, 17.
Ver. 35. And Moſes was not able to enter into the Tent of the Congregation.] For the Glory of the LORD ſhone ſo bright and ſo ſtrong, beyond all that it had ever done, that no Eye could look upon it. And it filled not only the moſt holy Place, but the whole Body of the Tabernacle; ſo that he durſt not adventure to come within it, tell he was called, I Lev. 1. After which time he ſeems to have had liberty to go in unto God, when he pleaſed, VII Numb. 89. IX. 8, 9. For after this great day, the Glory of the LORD retired into the moſt holy Place, within the Vail; and reſided conſtantly there, over the Ark of the Teſtimony: from whence he ſpake to Moſes, when he came to conſult him in the holy Place, See the fore-mentioned VII Numb. 89. Whence he is ſaid to dwell between the Cherubims; though on ſome occaſion, this Glory appeared without upon the Tabernacle (but over the Ark, it is likely) XVI Numb. 42. And ſo perhaps it did XI. 17, 25. and ſometimes at the door of the Tabernacle, XXXI Deut. 14, 15.
Becauſe the Cloud abode thereon, and the Glory of the LORD filled the Houſe.] The Cloud, and the Glory of the LORD were not two different things; but one and the ſame, as the Pillar of Cloud and of Fire were. For outwardly it was a Cloud, and inwardly a Fire: and accordingly here, the External part of it covered the Tabernacle without; while the Internal part ſhone in full Glory, within the Houſe. Thus it was upon Mount Sinai, where Moſes is ſaid to draw near to the thick Darkneſs where God was, XX. 21. That is, the Glory of the LORD was in that thick Darkneſs. And ſo we read before, that the Glory of the LORD appeared in the Cloud, XVI. 10. And ſo thoſe words are to be interpreted, XXIV. 16. The Glory of the LORD abode upon Mount Sinai, and the Cloud covered it, (that is, covered the Glory of the LORD, not the Mount) ſix days. After which, on the ſeventh day, the Glory of the LORD broke through it, and appeared like devouring fire, in the ſight of all the People, v. 17.
Ver. 36. And when the Cloud was taken up from over the Tabernacle, the Children of Iſrael went onward in their journeys.] That is, the LORD (whoſe glorious Preſence was in this Cloud) led and conducted them in all their Removals. And therefore they are ſaid to have journeyed at the commandment of the LORD: becauſe when the Cloud (wherein the LORD was) was taken up, then they journeyed, IX Numb. 17, 18, 20, 23.
Ver. 37. But if the Cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not, till the day that it was taken up.] They were wholly governed by its motions, and followed its directions.
Ver. 38. For the Cloud of the LORD.] So it is called alſo in X Numb. 34. becauſe the Glory of the LORD was in it.
Was upon the Tabernacle by day.] And ſo it was by Night, but then had another appearance, as it here follows.
And fire was on it by night.] The Fire and the Cloud (as I ſaid v. 35.) were not different things; but the ſame Pillar which was dark by day, when there was no need of light, ſhone like fire by night, when the dark part of it could not be ſeen, to lead and conduct them. It appeared therefore like a Cloud by day, and turned the light ſide to them (which was bright as fire) by night, that they might march, if there were occaſion, by its direction both day and night. And thus it is deſcribed XIII. 21, 22. IX Numb. 15, 16, &c. And ſo this Verſe may be tranſlated, The Cloud of the LORD was upon the Tabernacle by day, and the Fire was [bo] in it (i.e. in the Cloud) by night. For ſo they are elſewhere deſcribed, as one within the other, V Deut. 22. The LORD ſpake unto all your Aſſembly out of the midst of the fire, of the Cloud, and of the thick Darkneſs.
In the ſight of all the Children of Iſrael, throughout all their journeys.] The whole Congregation had conſtantly this comfortable Token of God's Preſence among them, by the Cloud in the day time, and Fire in the night: which never left them all the time they were in the Wilderneſs, but brought them to Canaan.
The End of the Book of EXODUS.