Exodus 38:7-11

38:7 He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it. He made the altar ¹  hollow, out of boards.

38:8 He made the large basin of bronze and its pedestal of bronze from the mirrors of the women who served ²  at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

The Construction of the Courtyard

38:9 He made the courtyard. For the south side ³  the hangings of the courtyard were of fine twisted linen, one hundred fifty feet long, 38:10 with ⁴  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 ⁵  one hundred fifty feet, with their twenty posts and their twenty bronze bases, with the hooks of the posts and their bands of silver.

[38:7]  ¹ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the altar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[38:8]  ² sn The word for “serve” is not the ordinary one. It means “to serve in a host,” especially in a war. It appears that women were organized into bands and served at the tent of meeting. S. R. Driver thinks that this meant “no doubt” washing, cleaning, or repairing (Exodus, 391). But there is no hint of that (see 1 Sam 2:22; and see Ps 68:11 [12 Hebrew text]). They seem to have had more to do than what Driver said.

[38:9]  ³ tn Heb “south side southward.”

[38:10]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Here the phrase “the hangings were” has been supplied.