Exodus 27:9-19

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. 27:17 All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands; ¹³  their hooks are to be ¹⁴  silver, and their bases bronze. 27:18 The length of the courtyard is to be one hundred fifty feet ¹⁵  and the width seventy-five feet, ¹⁶  and the height of the fine twisted linen hangings ¹⁷  is to be ¹⁸  seven and a half feet, with their bronze bases. 27:19 All ¹⁹  the utensils of the tabernacle used ²⁰  in all its service, all its tent pegs, and all the tent pegs of the courtyard are to be made of bronze. ²¹ 

Exodus 38:9-20

The Construction of the Courtyard

38:9 He made the courtyard. For the south side ²²  the hangings of the courtyard were of fine twisted linen, one hundred fifty feet long, 38:10 with ²³  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 ²⁴  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 ²⁵  hangings seventy-five feet long, with ²⁶  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, ²⁷  38:14 with hangings on one side ²⁸  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, ²⁹  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. 38:17 The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks of the posts and their bands were silver, their tops were overlaid with silver, and all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands. ³⁰  38:18 The curtain ³¹  for the gate of the courtyard was of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer. It was thirty feet long, and like the hangings in the courtyard, it was seven and a half feet high, 38:19 with four posts and their four bronze bases. Their hooks and their bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. 38:20 All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the courtyard all around were bronze.

Exodus 38:2

38:2 He made its horns on its four corners; its horns were part of it, ³²  and he overlaid it with bronze.

Exodus 7:2

7:2 You are to speak ³³  everything I command you, ³⁴  and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh that he must release ³⁵  the Israelites from his land.

[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.

[27:17]  ¹³ tn The text uses the passive participle here: they are to “be filleted with silver” or “bound round” with silver.

[27:17]  ¹⁴ tn Here the phrase “are to be” has been supplied.

[27:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a hundred cubits.”

[27:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “fifty.” The text has “and the width fifty [cubits] with fifty.” This means that it is fifty cubits wide on the western end and fifty cubits wide on the eastern end.

[27:18]  ¹⁷ tn Here “hangings” has been supplied.

[27:18]  ¹⁸ tn Here the phrase “is to be” has been supplied.

[27:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to all”; for use of the preposition lamed (ל) to show inclusion (all belonging to) see GKC 458 §143.e.

[27:19]  ²⁰ tn Here “used” has been supplied.

[27:19]  ²¹ sn The tabernacle is an important aspect of OT theology. The writer’s pattern so far has been: ark, table, lamp, and then their container (the tabernacle); then the altar and its container (the courtyard). The courtyard is the place of worship where the people could gather – they entered God’s courts. Though the courtyard may not seem of much interest to current readers, it did interest the Israelites. Here the sacrifices were made, the choirs sang, the believers offered their praises, they had their sins forgiven, they came to pray, they appeared on the holy days, and they heard from God. It was sacred because God met them there; they left the “world” (figuratively speaking) and came into the very presence of God.

[38:9]  ²² tn Heb “south side southward.”

[38:10]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Here the phrase “the hangings were” has been supplied.

[38:12]  ²⁵ tn The phrase “there were” has been supplied.

[38:12]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn The text simply says “seventy-five feet.”

[38:14]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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).

[38:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “they were banded with silver.”

[38:18]  ³¹ tn This word is different from the word for hangings; it has more of the idea of a screen, shielding or securing the area.

[38:2]  ³² tn Heb “its horns were from it,” meaning from the same piece.

[7:2]  ³³ tn The imperfect tense here should have the nuance of instruction or injunction: “you are to speak.” The subject is singular (Moses) and made emphatic by the presence of the personal pronoun “you.”

[7:2]  ³⁴ tn The phrase translated “everything I command you” is a noun clause serving as the direct object of the verb “speak.” The verb in the clause (אֲצַוֶּךָ, ’atsavvekha) is the Piel imperfect. It could be classified as a future: “everything that I will command you.” A nuance of progressive imperfect also fits well: “everything that I am commanding you.”

[7:2]  ³⁵ tn The form is וְשִׁלַּח (vÿshillakh), a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. Following the imperfects of injunction or instruction, this verb continues the sequence. It could be taken as equal to an imperfect expressing future (“and he will release”) or subordinate to express purpose (“to release” = “in order that he may release”).