Discovery BoxExodus 27:21--28:1
Context27:21 In the tent of meeting 1 outside the curtain that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons are to arrange it from evening 2 to morning before the Lord. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for generations to come. 3
28:1 4 “And you, bring near 5 to you your brother Aaron and his sons with him from among the Israelites, so that they may minister as my priests 6 – Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.
Exodus 30:4
Context30:4 You are to make two gold rings for it under its border, on its two flanks; you are to make them on its two sides. 7 The rings 8 will be places 9 for poles to carry it with.
Exodus 30:16
Context30:16 You are to receive the atonement money 10 from the Israelites and give it for the service 11 of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial 12 for the Israelites before the Lord, to make atonement 13 for your lives.”
Exodus 31:6
Context31:6 Moreover, 14 I have also given him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and I have given ability to all the specially skilled, 15 that they may make 16 everything I have commanded you:
Exodus 34:4
Context34:4 So Moses 17 cut out two tablets of stone like the first; 18 early in the morning he went up 19 to Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him, and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.
Exodus 34:29
Context34:29 20 Now when Moses came down 21 from Mount Sinai with 22 the two tablets of the testimony in his hand 23 – when he came down 24 from the mountain, Moses 25 did not know that the skin of his face shone 26 while he talked with him.
Exodus 34:34-35
Context34:34 But when Moses went in 27 before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. 28 Then he would come out and tell the Israelites what he had been commanded. 29 34:35 When the Israelites would see 30 the face of Moses, that 31 the skin of Moses’ face shone, Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with the Lord. 32
Exodus 35:21
Context35:21 Everyone 33 whose heart stirred him to action 34 and everyone whose spirit was willing 35 came and brought the offering for the Lord for the work of the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. 36
Exodus 35:24
Context35:24 Everyone making an offering of silver or bronze brought it as 37 an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood 38 for any work of the service brought it. 39
[27:21] 1 tn The LXX has mistakenly rendered this name “the tent of the testimony.”
[27:21] 2 sn The lamps were to be removed in the morning so that the wicks could be trimmed and the oil replenished (30:7) and then lit every evening to burn through the night.
[27:21] 3 sn This is the first of several sections of priestly duties. The point is a simple one here: those who lead the worship use the offerings of the people to ensure that access to God is illumined regularly. The NT will make much of the symbolism of light.
[28:1] 4 sn Some modern scholars find this and the next chapter too elaborate for the wilderness experience. To most of them this reflects the later Zadokite priesthood of the writer’s (P’s) day that was referred to Mosaic legislation for authentication. But there is no compelling reason why this should be late; it is put late because it is assumed to be P, and that is assumed to be late. But both assumptions are unwarranted. This lengthy chapter could be divided this way: instructions for preparing the garments (1-5), details of the apparel (6-39), and a warning against deviating from these (40-43). The subject matter of the first part is that God requires that his chosen ministers reflect his holy nature; the point of the second part is that God requires his ministers to be prepared to fulfill the tasks of the ministry, and the subject matter of the third part is that God warns all his ministers to safeguard the holiness of their service.
[28:1] 5 tn The verb is the Hiphil imperative of the root קָרַב (qarav, “to draw near”). In the present stem the word has religious significance, namely, to present something to God, like an offering.
[28:1] 6 tn This entire clause is a translation of the Hebrew לְכַהֲנוֹ־לִי (lÿkhahano-li, “that he might be a priest to me”), but the form is unusual. The word means “to be a priest” or “to act as a priest.” The etymology of the word for priest, כֹּהֵן (kohen), is uncertain.
[30:4] 7 sn Since it was a small altar, it needed only two rings, one on either side, in order to be carried. The second clause clarifies that the rings should be on the sides, the right and the left, as you approach the altar.
[30:4] 8 tn Heb “And it”; this refers to the rings collectively in their placement on the box, and so the word “rings” has been used to clarify the referent for the modern reader.
[30:16] 10 tn Heb “the silver of the atonements.” The genitive here is the result (as in “sheep of slaughter”) telling what the money will be used for (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 11, §44).
[30:16] 11 sn The idea of “service” is maintenance and care of the sanctuary and its service, meaning the morning and evening sacrifices and the other elements to be used.
[30:16] 12 sn S. R. Driver says this is “to keep Jehovah in continual remembrance of the ransom which had been paid for their lives” (Exodus, 334).
[30:16] 13 tn The infinitive could be taken in a couple of ways here. It could be an epexegetical infinitive: “making atonement.” Or it could be the infinitive expressing result: “so that atonement will be made for your lives.”
[31:6] 13 tn The expression uses the independent personal pronoun (“and I”) with the deictic particle (“behold”) to enforce the subject of the verb – “and I, indeed I have given.”
[31:6] 14 tn Heb “and in the heart of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom.”
[31:6] 15 tn The form is a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. The form at this place shows the purpose or the result of what has gone before, and so it is rendered “that they may make.”
[34:4] 16 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified here and the name “Moses,” which occurs later in this verse, has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”), both for stylistic reasons.
[34:4] 17 sn Deuteronomy says that Moses was also to make an ark of acacia wood before the tablets, apparently to put the tablets in until the sanctuary was built. But this ark may not have been the ark built later; or, it might be the wood box, but Bezalel still had to do all the golden work with it.
[34:4] 18 tn The line reads “and Moses got up early in the morning and went up.” These verbs likely form a verbal hendiadys, the first one with its prepositional phrase serving in an adverbial sense.
[34:29] 19 sn Now, at the culmination of the renewing of the covenant, comes the account of Moses’ shining face. It is important to read this in its context first, holding off on the connection to Paul’s discussion in 2 Corinthians. There is a delicate balance here in Exodus. On the one hand Moses’ shining face served to authenticate the message, but on the other hand Moses prevented the people from seeing more than they could handle. The subject matter in the OT, then, is how to authenticate the message. The section again can be subdivided into three points that develop the whole idea: I. The one who spends time with God reflects his glory (29-30). It will not always be as Moses; rather, the glory of the
[34:29] 20 tn The temporal clause is composed of the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), followed by the temporal preposition, infinitive construct, and subjective genitive (“Moses”).
[34:29] 21 tn The second clause begins with “and/now”; it is a circumstantial clause explaining that the tablets were in his hand. It repeats the temporal clause at the end.
[34:29] 22 tn Heb “in the hand of Moses.”
[34:29] 23 tn The temporal clause parallels the first temporal clause; it uses the same infinitive construct, but now with a suffix referring to Moses.
[34:29] 24 tn Heb “and Moses.”
[34:29] 25 tn The word קָרַן (qaran) is derived from the noun קֶרֶן (qeren) in the sense of a “ray of light” (see Hab 3:4). Something of the divine glory remained with Moses. The Greek translation of Aquila and the Latin Vulgate convey the idea that he had horns, the primary meaning of the word from which this word is derived. Some have tried to defend this, saying that the glory appeared like horns or that Moses covered his face with a mask adorned with horns. But in the text the subject of the verb is the skin of Moses’ face (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 449).
[34:34] 22 tn The construction uses a infinitive construct for the temporal clause; it is prefixed with the temporal preposition: “and in the going in of Moses.”
[34:34] 23 tn The temporal clause begins with the temporal preposition “until,” followed by an infinitive construct with the suffixed subjective genitive.
[34:34] 24 tn The form is the Pual imperfect, but since the context demands a past tense here, in fact a past perfect tense, this is probably an old preterite form without a vav consecutive.
[34:35] 25 tn Now the perfect tense with vav consecutive is subordinated to the next clause, “Moses returned the veil….”
[34:35] 26 tn Verbs of seeing often take two accusatives. Here, the second is the noun clause explaining what it was about the face that they saw.
[34:35] 27 tn Heb “with him”; the referent (the
[35:21] 29 tn The verb means “lift up, bear, carry.” Here the subject is “heart” or will, and so the expression describes one moved within to act.
[35:21] 30 tn Heb “his spirit made him willing.” The verb is used in Scripture for the freewill offering that people brought (Lev 7).
[35:21] 31 tn Literally “the garments of holiness,” the genitive is the attributive genitive, marking out what type of garments these were.
[35:24] 31 tn This translation takes “offering” as an adverbial accusative explaining the form or purpose of their bringing things. It could also be rendered as the direct object, but that would seem to repeat without much difference what had just been said.
[35:24] 32 sn U. Cassuto notes that the expression “with whom was found” does not rule out the idea that these folks went out and cut down acacia trees (Exodus, 458). It is unlikely that they had much wood in their tents.
