Exodus 25:5

25:5 ram skins dyed red, ¹  fine leather, ²  acacia ³  wood,

Exodus 25:10

The Ark of the Covenant

25:10 ⁴ “They are to make an ark ⁵  of acacia wood – its length is to be three feet nine inches, its width two feet three inches, and its height two feet three inches. ⁶ 

Exodus 37:1-9

The Making of the Ark

37:1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was three feet nine inches, its width two feet three inches, and its height two feet three inches. 37:2 He overlaid it with pure gold, inside and out, and he made a surrounding border ⁷  of gold for it. 37:3 He cast four gold rings for it that he put ⁸  on its four feet, with ⁹  two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 37:4 He made poles of acacia wood, overlaid them with gold, 37:5 and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark.

37:6 He made ¹⁰  an atonement lid of pure gold; its length was three feet nine inches, and its width was two feet three inches. 37:7 He made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid, 37:8 one cherub on one end ¹¹  and one cherub on the other end. ¹²  He made the cherubim from the atonement lid on its two ends. 37:9 The cherubim were spreading their wings ¹³  upward, overshadowing the atonement lid with their wings. The cherubim ¹⁴  faced each other, ¹⁵  looking toward the atonement lid. ¹⁶ 

[25:5]  ¹ sn W. C. Kaiser compares this to morocco leather (“Exodus,” EBC 2:453); it was skin that had all the wool removed and then was prepared as leather and dyed red. N. M. Sarna, on the other hand, comments, “The technique of leather production is never described [in ancient Hebrew texts]. Hence, it is unclear whether Hebrew me’oddamim (מְאָדָּמִים), literally ‘made red,’ refers to the tanning or dyeing process” (Exodus [JPSTC], 157).

[25:5]  ² tn The meaning of the word תְּחָשִׁים (tÿkhashim) is debated. The Arabic tuhas or duhas is a dolphin, and so some think a sea animal is meant – something like a dolphin or porpoise (cf. NASB; ASV “sealskins”; NIV “hides of sea cows”). Porpoises are common in the Red Sea; their skins are used for clothing by the bedouin. The word has also been connected to an Egyptian word for “leather” (ths); see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 265. Some variation of this is followed by NRSV (“fine leather”) and NLT (“fine goatskin leather”). Another suggestion connects this word to an Akkadian one that describes a precious stone that is yellow or ornge and also leather died with the color of this stone (N. M. Sarna, Exodus [JPSTC], 157-58).

[25:5]  ³ sn The wood of the acacia is darker and harder than oak, and so very durable.

[25:10]  ⁴ sn This section begins with the ark, the most sacred and important object of Israel’s worship. Verses 10-15 provide the instructions for it, v. 16 has the placement of the Law in it, vv. 17-21 cover the mercy lid, and v. 22 the meeting above it. The point of this item in the tabernacle is to underscore the focus: the covenant people must always have God’s holy standard before them as they draw near to worship. A study of this would focus on God’s nature (he is a God of order, precision, and perfection), on the usefulness of this item for worship, and on the typology intended.

[25:10]  ⁵ tn The word “ark” has long been used by English translations to render אָרוֹן (’aron), the word used for the wooden “box,” or “chest,” made by Noah in which to escape the flood and by the Israelites to furnish the tabernacle.

[25:10]  ⁶ tn The size is two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. The size in feet and inches is estimated on the assumption that the cubit is 18 inches (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 267).

[37:2]  ⁷ tn Or “molding.”

[37:3]  ⁸ tn “that he put” has been supplied.

[37:3]  ⁹ tn This is taken as a circumstantial clause; the clause begins with the conjunction vav.

[37:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he made.”

[37:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from/at [the] end, from this.”

[37:8]  ¹² tn The repetition of the expression indicates it has the distributive sense.

[37:9]  ¹³ tn The construction is a participle in construct followed by the genitive “wings” – “spreaders of wings.”

[37:9]  ¹⁴ tn “The cherubim” has been placed here instead of in the second clause to produce a smoother translation.

[37:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and their faces a man to his brother.”

[37:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to the atonement lid were the faces of the cherubim.”