Exodus 40:19

40:19 Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Exodus 26:12

26:12 Now the part that remains of the curtains of the tent – the half curtain that remains will hang over at the back of the tabernacle. ¹ 

Exodus 26:36

26:36 “You are to make a hanging ²  for the entrance of the tent of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer. ³ 

Exodus 36:18

36:18 He made fifty bronze clasps to join the tent together so that it might be a unit. ⁴ 

Exodus 36:37

36:37 He made a hanging for the entrance of the tent of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer,

Exodus 26:9

26:9 You are to join five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. You are to double over ⁵  the sixth curtain at the front of the tent.

Exodus 26:11

26:11 You are to make fifty bronze clasps and put the clasps into the loops and join the tent together so that it is a unit. ⁶ 

Exodus 26:13

26:13 The foot and a half ⁷  on the one side and the foot and a half on the other side of what remains in the length of the curtains of the tent will hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on one side and the other side, to cover it. ⁸ 

Exodus 31:7

31:7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the atonement lid that is on it, all the furnishings ⁹  of the tent,

Exodus 33:8-10

33:8 And when Moses went out ¹⁰  to the tent, all the people would get up ¹¹  and stand at the entrance to their tents ¹²  and watch ¹³  Moses until he entered the tent. ¹⁴  33:9 And ¹⁵  whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord ¹⁶  would speak with Moses. ¹⁷  33:10 When all the people would see the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people, each one at the entrance of his own tent, would rise and worship. ¹⁸ 

Exodus 39:33

39:33 They brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings, clasps, frames, bars, posts, and bases;

Exodus 39:38

39:38 and the gold altar, and the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense; and the curtain for the entrance to the tent;

Exodus 33:7

The Presence of the Lord

33:7 ¹⁹ Moses took ²⁰  the tent ²¹  and pitched it outside the camp, at a good distance ²²  from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. Anyone ²³  seeking ²⁴  the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp.

Exodus 33:11

33:11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, ²⁵  the way a person speaks ²⁶  to a friend. Then Moses ²⁷  would return to the camp, but his servant, Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the tent. ²⁸ 

[26:12]  ¹ sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 353) cites b. Shabbat 98b which says, “What did the tabernacle resemble? A woman walking on the street with her train trailing behind her.” In the expression “the half of the curtain that remains,” the verb agrees in gender with the genitive near it.

[26:36]  ¹ sn This was another curtain, serving as a screen in the entrance way. Since it was far away from the special curtain screening the Most Holy Place, it was less elaborate. It was not the work of the master designer, but of the “embroiderer,” and it did not have the cherubim on it.

[26:36]  ² tn The word רֹקֵם (roqem) refers to someone who made cloth with colors. It is not certain, however, whether the colors were woven into the fabric on the loom or applied with a needle; so “embroiderer” should be understood as an approximation (cf. HALOT 1290-91 s.v. רקם).

[36:18]  ¹ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct from the verb “to be” to express this purpose clause: “to be one,” or, “so that it might be a unit.”

[26:9]  ¹ sn The text seems to describe this part as being in front of the tabernacle, hanging down to form a valence at the entrance (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 284).

[26:11]  ¹ tn Heb “one”

[26:13]  ¹ tn Literally “cubit.”

[26:13]  ² sn U. Cassuto states the following: “To the north and to the south, since the tent curtains were thirty cubits long, there were ten cubits left over on each side; these covered the nine cubits of the curtains of the tabernacle and also the bottom cubit of the boards, which the tabernacle curtains did not suffice to cover. It is to this that v. 13 refers” (Exodus, 353).

[31:7]  ¹ tn Heb “all the vessels of the tent.”

[33:8]  ¹ tn The clause is introduced again with “and it was.” The perfect tense here with the vav (ו) is used to continue the sequence of actions that were done repeatedly in the past (see GKC 331-32 §112.e). The temporal clause is then formed with the infinitive construct of יָצָא (yatsa’), with “Moses” as the subjective genitive: “and it was according to the going out of Moses.”

[33:8]  ² tn Or “rise up.”

[33:8]  ³ tn The subject of this verb is specified with the individualizing use of “man”: “and all Israel would station themselves, each person (man) at the entrance to his tent.”

[33:8]  ⁴ tn The perfect tense with the vav (ו) continues the sequence of the customary imperfect. The people “would gaze” (after) Moses until he entered the tent.

[33:8]  ⁵ tn This is a temporal clause using an infinitive construct with a suffixed subject.

[33:9]  ¹ tn Heb “and it was when.”

[33:9]  ² tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:9]  ³ tn Both verbs, “stand” and “speak,” are perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutive.

[33:10]  ¹ tn All the main verbs in this verse are perfect tenses continuing the customary sequence (see GKC 337 §112.kk). The idea is that the people would get up (rise) when the cloud was there and then worship, meaning in part bow down. When the cloud was not there, there was access to seek God.

[33:7]  ¹ sn This unit of the book could actually include all of chap. 33, starting with the point of the Lord’s withdrawal from the people. If that section is not part of the exposition, it would have to be explained as the background. The point is that sinfulness prevents the active presence of the Lord leading his people. But then the rest of chap. 33 forms the development. In vv. 7-11 there is the gracious provision: the Lord reveals through his faithful mediator. The Lord was leading his people, but now more remotely because of their sin. Then, in vv. 12-17 Moses intercedes for the people, and the intercession of the mediator guarantees the Lord’s presence. The point of all of this is that God wanted the people to come to know that if he was not with them they should not go. Finally, the presence of the Lord is verified to the mediator by a special revelation (18-23). The point of the whole chapter is that by his grace the Lord renews the promise of his presence by special revelation.

[33:7]  ² tn Heb “and Moses took.”

[33:7]  ³ sn A widespread contemporary view is that this section represents a source that thought the tent of meeting was already erected (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 359). But the better view is that this is a temporary tent used for meeting the Lord. U. Cassuto explains this view very well (Exodus, 429-30), namely, that because the building of the tabernacle was now in doubt if the Lord was not going to be in their midst, another plan seemed necessary. Moses took this tent, his tent, and put some distance between the camp and it. Here he would use the tent as the place to meet God, calling it by the same name since it was a surrogate tent. Thus, the entire section was a temporary means of meeting God, until the current wrath was past.

[33:7]  ⁴ tn The infinitive absolute is used here as an adverb (see GKC 341 §113.h).

[33:7]  ⁵ tn The clause begins with “and it was,” the perfect tense with the vav conjunction. The imperfect tenses in this section are customary, describing what used to happen (others describe the verbs as frequentative). See GKC 315 §107.e.

[33:7]  ⁶ tn The form is the Piel participle. The seeking here would indicate seeking an oracle from Yahweh or seeking to find a resolution for some difficulty (as in 2 Sam 21:1) or even perhaps coming with a sacrifice. B. Jacob notes that the tent was even here a place of prayer, for the benefit of the people (Exodus, 961). It is not known how long this location was used.

[33:11]  ¹ tn “Face to face” is circumstantial to the action of the verb, explaining how they spoke (see GKC 489-90 §156.c). The point of this note of friendly relationship with Moses is that Moses was “at home” in this tent speaking with God. Moses would derive courage from this when he interceded for the people (B. Jacob, Exodus, 966).

[33:11]  ² tn The verb in this clause is a progressive imperfect.

[33:11]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:11]  ⁴ sn Moses did not live in the tent. But Joshua remained there most of the time to guard the tent, it seems, lest any of the people approach it out of curiosity.