Exodus 25:5

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

Exodus 25:13

25:13 You are to make poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold,

Exodus 26:15

26:15 “You are to make the frames ⁴  for the tabernacle out of ⁵  acacia wood as uprights. ⁶ 

Exodus 30:1

The Altar of Incense

30:1 ⁷ “You are to make an altar for burning incense; ⁸  you are to make it of ⁹  acacia wood. ¹⁰ 

Exodus 30:5

30:5 You are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

Exodus 35:7

35:7 ram skins dyed red, fine leather, ¹¹  acacia wood,

Exodus 36:20

36:20 He made the frames ¹²  for the tabernacle of acacia wood ¹³  as uprights. ¹⁴ 

Exodus 37:4

37:4 He made poles of acacia wood, overlaid them with gold,

Exodus 37:28

37:28 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

Exodus 38:6

38:6 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze.

Exodus 25:23

The Table for the Bread of the Presence

25:23 ¹⁵ “You are to make a table of acacia wood; its length is to be three feet, its width one foot six inches, and its height two feet three inches.

Exodus 25:28

25:28 You are to make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that the table may be carried with them. ¹⁶ 

Exodus 26:26

26:26 “You are to make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle,

Exodus 27:6

27:6 You are to make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and you are to overlay them with bronze.

Exodus 36:31

36:31 He made bars of acacia wood, five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle

Exodus 37:10

The Making of the Table

37:10 He made the table of acacia wood; its length was three feet, its width one foot six inches, and its height two feet three inches.

Exodus 37:15

37:15 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table.

[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.

[26:15]  ⁴ tn There is debate whether the word הַקְּרָשִׁים (haqqÿrashim) means “boards” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB) or “frames” (NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV) or “planks” (see Ezek 27:6) or “beams,” given the size of them. The literature on this includes M. Haran, “The Priestly Image of the Tabernacle,” HUCA 36 (1965): 192; B. A. Levine, “The Description of the Tabernacle Texts of the Pentateuch,” JAOS 85 (1965): 307-18; J. Morgenstern, “The Ark, the Ephod, and the Tent,” HUCA 17 (1942/43): 153-265; 18 (1943/44): 1-52.

[26:15]  ⁵ tn “Wood” is an adverbial accusative.

[26:15]  ⁶ tn The plural participle “standing” refers to how these items will be situated; they will be vertical rather than horizontal (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 354).

[30:1]  ⁷ sn Why this section has been held until now is a mystery. One would have expected to find it with the instructions for the other furnishings. The widespread contemporary view that it was composed later does not answer the question, it merely moves the issue to the work of an editor rather than the author. N. M. Sarna notes concerning the items in chapter 30 that “all the materials for these final items were anticipated in the list of invited donations in 25:3-6” and that they were not needed for installing Aaron and his sons (Exodus [JPSTC], 193). Verses 1-10 can be divided into three sections: the instructions for building the incense altar (1-5), its placement (6), and its proper use (7-10).

[30:1]  ⁸ tn The expression is מִזְבֵּחַ מִקְטַר קְטֹרֶת (mizbeakh miqtar qÿtoret), either “an altar, namely an altar of incense,” or “an altar, [for] burning incense.” The second noun is “altar of incense,” although some suggest it is an active noun meaning “burning.” If the former, then it is in apposition to the word for “altar” (which is not in construct). The last noun is “incense” or “sweet smoke.” It either qualifies the “altar of incense” or serves as the object of the active noun. B. Jacob says that in order to designate that this altar be used only for incense, the Torah prepared the second word for this passage alone. It specifies the kind of altar this is (Exodus, 828).

[30:1]  ⁹ tn This is an adverbial accusative explaining the material used in building the altar.

[30:1]  ¹⁰ sn See M. Haran, “The Uses of Incense in Ancient Israel Ritual,” VT 10 (1960): 113-15; N. Glueck, “Incense Altars,” Translating and Understanding the Old Testament, 325-29.

[35:7]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.

[36:20]  ¹³ tn There is debate whether the word הַקְּרָשִׁים (haqqÿrashim) means “boards” or “frames” or “planks” (see Ezek 27:6) or “beams,” given the size of them. The literature on this includes M. Haran, “The Priestly Image of the Tabernacle,” HUCA 36 (1965): 192; B. A. Levine, “The Description of the Tabernacle Texts of the Pentateuch,” JAOS 85 (1965): 307-18; J. Morgenstern, “The Ark, the Ephod, and the Tent,” HUCA 17 (1942/43): 153-265; 18 (1943/44): 1-52.

[36:20]  ¹⁴ tn “Wood” is an adverbial accusative.

[36:20]  ¹⁵ tn The plural participle “standing” refers to how these items will be situated; they will be vertical rather than horizontal (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 354).

[25:23]  ¹⁶ sn The Table of the Bread of the Presence (Tyndale’s translation, “Shewbread,” was used in KJV and influenced ASV, NAB) was to be a standing acknowledgment that Yahweh was the giver of daily bread. It was called the “presence-bread” because it was set out in his presence. The theology of this is that God provides, and the practice of this is that the people must provide for constant thanks. So if the ark speaks of communion through atonement, the table speaks of dedicatory gratitude.

[25:28]  ¹⁹ tn The verb is a Niphal perfect with vav consecutive, showing here the intended result: “so that [the table] might be lifted up [by them].” The noun “the table” is introduced by what looks like the sign of the accusative, but here it serves to introduce or emphasize the nominative (see GKC 365 §117.i).