Exodus 26:7

26:7 “You are to make curtains of goats’ hair ¹  for a tent over the tabernacle; ²  you are to make ³  eleven curtains.

Exodus 27:14-15

27:14 The hangings on one side ⁴  of the gate are to be ⁵  twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases. 27:15 On the second side ⁶  there are to be ⁷  hangings twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases.

Exodus 36:14

36:14 He made curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains. ⁸ 

Exodus 38:14

38:14 with hangings on one side ⁹  of the gate that were twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases,

[26:7]  ¹ sn This chapter will show that there were two sets of curtains and two sets of coverings that went over the wood building to make the tabernacle or dwelling place. The curtains of fine linen described above could be seen only by the priests from inside. Above that was the curtain of goats’ hair. Then over that were the coverings, an inner covering of rams’ skins dyed red and an outer covering of hides of fine leather. The movement is from the inside to the outside because it is God’s dwelling place; the approach of the worshiper would be the opposite. The pure linen represented the righteousness of God, guarded by the embroidered cherubim; the curtain of goats’ hair was a reminder of sin through the daily sin offering of a goat; the covering of rams’ skins dyed red was a reminder of the sacrifice and the priestly ministry set apart by blood, and the outer covering marked the separation between God and the world. These are the interpretations set forth by Kaiser; others vary, but not greatly (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:459).

[26:7]  ² sn This curtain will serve “for a tent over the tabernacle,” as a dwelling place.

[26:7]  ³ tn Heb “you will make them”

[27:14]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Here “will be” has been supplied.

[27:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “shoulder.”

[27:15]  ⁸ tn Here the phrase “there will be” has been supplied.

[36:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “eleven curtains he made them.”

[38:14]  ¹³ 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).