Exodus 27:9-16

The Courtyard

27:9 “You are to make the courtyard ¹  of the tabernacle. For the south side ²  there are to be hangings ³  for the courtyard of fine twisted linen, one hundred fifty feet long for one side, ⁴  27:10 with ⁵  twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. 27:11 Likewise ⁶  for its length on the north side, there are to be ⁷  hangings for one hundred fifty feet, with twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands ⁸  on the posts. 27:12 The width of the court on the west side is to be seventy-five feet with hangings, with their ten posts and their ten bases. 27:13 The width of the court on the east side, toward the sunrise, is to be seventy-five feet. 27:14 The hangings on one side ⁹  of the gate are to be ¹⁰  twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases. 27:15 On the second side ¹¹  there are to be ¹²  hangings twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases. 27:16 For the gate of the courtyard there is to be a curtain of thirty feet, of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer, with four posts and their four bases.

Exodus 38:9-16

The Construction of the Courtyard

38:9 He made the courtyard. For the south side ¹³  the hangings of the courtyard were of fine twisted linen, one hundred fifty feet long, 38:10 with ¹⁴  their twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. 38:11 For the north side the hangings were ¹⁵  one hundred fifty feet, with their twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. 38:12 For the west side there were ¹⁶  hangings seventy-five feet long, with ¹⁷  their ten posts and their ten bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver. 38:13 For the east side, toward the sunrise, it was seventy-five feet wide, ¹⁸  38:14 with hangings on one side ¹⁹  of the gate that were twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases, 38:15 and for the second side of the gate of the courtyard, just like the other, ²⁰  the hangings were twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases. 38:16 All the hangings around the courtyard were of fine twisted linen.

[27:9]  ¹ tn Or “enclosure” (TEV).

[27:9]  ² tn Heb “south side southward.”

[27:9]  ³ tn Or “curtains.”

[27:9]  ⁴ sn The entire courtyard of 150 feet by 75 feet was to be enclosed by a curtain wall held up with posts in bases. All these hangings were kept in place by a cord and tent pegs.

[27:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “and.”

[27:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “and thus.”

[27:11]  ⁷ tn Here the phrase “there will be” has been supplied.

[27:11]  ⁸ sn These bands have been thought by some to refer to connecting rods joining the tops of the posts. But it is more likely that they are bands or bind rings surrounding the posts at the base of the capitals (see 38:17).

[27:14]  ⁹ tn The word literally means “shoulder.” The next words, “of the gate,” have been supplied here and in v. 15. The east end would contain the courtyard’s entry with a wall of curtains on each side of the entry (see v. 16).

[27:14]  ¹⁰ tn Here “will be” has been supplied.

[27:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “shoulder.”

[27:15]  ¹² tn Here the phrase “there will be” has been supplied.

[38:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “south side southward.”

[38:10]  ¹⁴ tn While this verse could be translated as an independent sentence, it is probably to be subordinated as a circumstantial clause in line with Exod 27:10-12, as well as v. 12 of this passage.

[38:11]  ¹⁵ tn Here the phrase “the hangings were” has been supplied.

[38:12]  ¹⁶ tn The phrase “there were” has been supplied.

[38:12]  ¹⁷ tn The text simply has “their posts ten and their bases ten”; this may be added here as a circumstantial clause with the main sentence in order to make sense out of the construction.

[38:13]  ¹⁸ tn The text simply says “seventy-five feet.”

[38:14]  ¹⁹ tn The word literally means “shoulder.” The next words, “of the gate,” have been supplied here. The east end contained the courtyard’s entry with a wall of curtains on each side of the entry (see v. 15).

[38:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from this and from this” (cf, 17:12; 25:19; 26:13; 32:15; Josh 8:22, 33; 1 Kgs 10:19-20; Ezek 45:7).