Exodus 25:4

25:4 blue, ¹  purple, ²  scarlet, ³  fine linen, ⁴  goat’s hair, ⁵ 

Exodus 26:1

The Tabernacle

26:1 ⁶ “The tabernacle itself ⁷  you are to make with ⁸  ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet; ⁹  you are to make them with ¹⁰  cherubim that are the work of an artistic designer.

Exodus 35:23

35:23 Everyone who had ¹¹  blue, purple, or ¹²  scarlet yarn, fine linen, goats’ hair, ram skins dyed red, or fine leather ¹³  brought them. ¹⁴ 

[25:4]  ¹ sn The blue refers to dye made from shellfish. It has a dark blue or purple-blue, almost violet color. No significance for the color is attached.

[25:4]  ² sn Likewise this color dye was imported from Phoenicia, where it was harvested from the shellfish or snail. It is a deep purple-red color.

[25:4]  ³ sn This color is made from the eggs and bodies of the worm coccus ilicus, which is found with the holly plant – so Heb “worm of brilliance.” The powder made from the dried maggots produces a bright red-yellow color (W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:452). B. Jacob takes the view that these are not simply colors that are being introduced here, but fabrics dyed with these colors (Exodus, 765). At any rate, the sequence would then be metals, fabrics, and leathers (v. 5).

[25:4]  ⁴ sn This is generally viewed as a fine Egyptian linen that had many more delicate strands than ordinary linen.

[25:4]  ⁵ sn Goat’s hair was spun into yarn (35:26) and used to make the material for the first tent over the dwelling. It is ideal for tenting, since it is loosely woven and allows breezes to pass through, but with rain the fibers expand and prevent water from seeping through.

[26:1]  ⁶ sn This chapter is given over to the details of the structure itself, the curtains, coverings, boards and walls and veil. The passage can be studied on one level for its function both practically and symbolically for Israel’s worship. On another level it can be studied for its typology, for the tabernacle and many of its parts speak of Christ. For this one should see the commentaries.

[26:1]  ⁷ tn The word order in Hebrew thrusts the direct object to the front for particular emphasis. After the first couple of pieces of furniture are treated (chap. 25), attention turns to the tabernacle itself.

[26:1]  ⁸ tn This is for the adverbial accusative explaining how the dwelling place is to be made.

[26:1]  ⁹ sn S. R. Driver suggests that the curtains were made with threads dyed with these colors (Exodus, 280). Perhaps the colored threads were used for embroidering the cherubim in the curtains.

[26:1]  ¹⁰ tn The construction is difficult in this line because of the word order. “Cherubim” is an adverbial accusative explaining how they were to make the curtains. And מַעֲשֵׂה חֹשֵׁב (ma’aseh khoshev) means literally “work of a designer”; it is in apposition to “cherubim.” The Hebrew participle means “designer” or “deviser” so that one could render this “of artistic designs in weaving” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 280-81). B. Jacob says that it refers to “artistic weavers” (Exodus, 789).

[35:23]  ¹¹ tn The text uses a relative clause with a resumptive pronoun for this: “who was found with him,” meaning “with whom was found.”

[35:23]  ¹² tn The conjunction in this verse is translated “or” because the sentence does not intend to say that each person had all these things. They brought what they had.

[35:23]  ¹³ tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.

[35:23]  ¹⁴ tn Here “them” has been supplied.