Exodus 37:1-22

The Making of the Ark

37:1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was three feet nine inches, its width two feet three inches, and its height two feet three inches. 37:2 He overlaid it with pure gold, inside and out, and he made a surrounding border ¹  of gold for it. 37:3 He cast four gold rings for it that he put ²  on its four feet, with ³  two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. 37:4 He made poles of acacia wood, overlaid them with gold, 37:5 and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark.

37:6 He made ⁴  an atonement lid of pure gold; its length was three feet nine inches, and its width was two feet three inches. 37:7 He made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered metal on the two ends of the atonement lid, 37:8 one cherub on one end ⁵  and one cherub on the other end. ⁶  He made the cherubim from the atonement lid on its two ends. 37:9 The cherubim were spreading their wings ⁷  upward, overshadowing the atonement lid with their wings. The cherubim ⁸  faced each other, ⁹  looking toward the atonement lid. 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. 37:11 He overlaid it with pure gold, and he made a surrounding border of gold for it. 37:12 He made a surrounding frame for it about three inches wide, and he made a surrounding border of gold for its frame. 37:13 He cast four gold rings for it and attached the rings at the four corners where its four legs were. 37:14 The rings were close to the frame to provide places for the poles to carry the table. 37:15 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table. 37:16 He made the vessels which were on the table out of pure gold, its ¹¹  plates, its ladles, its pitchers, and its bowls, to be used in pouring out offerings.

The Making of the Lampstand

37:17 He made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered metal; its base and its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its blossoms were from the same piece. ¹²  37:18 Six branches were extending from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it. 37:19 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on the first branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on the next ¹³  branch, and the same ¹⁴  for the six branches that were extending from the lampstand. 37:20 On the lampstand there were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms, 37:21 with a bud under the first two branches from it, and a bud under the next two branches from it, and a bud under the third two branches from it; according to the six branches that extended from it. ¹⁵  37:22 Their buds and their branches were of one piece; ¹⁶  all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold.

[37:2]  ¹ tn Or “molding.”

[37:3]  ² tn “that he put” has been supplied.

[37:3]  ³ tn This is taken as a circumstantial clause; the clause begins with the conjunction vav.

[37:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he made.”

[37:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “from/at [the] end, from this.”

[37:8]  ⁶ tn The repetition of the expression indicates it has the distributive sense.

[37:9]  ⁷ tn The construction is a participle in construct followed by the genitive “wings” – “spreaders of wings.”

[37:9]  ⁸ tn “The cherubim” has been placed here instead of in the second clause to produce a smoother translation.

[37:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “and their faces a man to his brother.”

[37:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to the atonement lid were the faces of the cherubim.”

[37:16]  ¹¹ tn The suffixes on these could also indicate the indirect object (see Exod 25:29).

[37:17]  ¹² tn Heb “from it”; the referent (“the same piece” of wrought metal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “the one branch.” But the repetition of “one…one” means here one after another, or the “first” and then the “next.”

[37:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “thus for six branches….”

[37:21]  ¹⁵ tn As in Exod 26:35, the translation of “first” and “next” and “third” is interpretive, because the text simply says “under two branches” in each of three places.

[37:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “were from it.”