Exodus 25 Study Notes

25:1-31:17 These chapters contain instructions for the tabernacle and its furnishings and the clothing for priests that the Israelites were to make. Much of the information is repeated in chaps. 35-40, which report the tabernacle’s construction. It would have been possible to put all the necessary details about the tabernacle in the report about its construction and go almost immediately from the events at the end of chap. 24 to the events surrounding worship of the golden calf in chap. 32. The attention to detail in chaps. 25-31 slows the account, forcing readers to wait for what happens next. It also highlights the catastrophe of worshiping the golden calf against a background of concern for proper worship. It is ironic that while the Lord gave instructions for correct worship, the Israelites were doing it their own way.

25:1 The statement The Lord spoke to Moses divides chaps. 25-31 into seven unequal segments, ending with instructions about the Sabbath, as if to show a connection between creation and this new building where God would meet with humans (25:1; 30:11,17,22,34; 31:1,12; cp. Rv 21:1-3). Recording the instructions as they came in the voice of the Lord himself, rather than in a narrative summary, helps reinforce God’s personal interest in these matters and his personal offense at the worship of the golden calf.

25:2 This offering would be the result of internal compulsion and not external—as with taxes or public pressure. The willingness of the people extended so far that the workmen had more than enough materials (36:3-7).

25:3-6 Most of these items were part of the plunder the Israelites received from the Egyptians (cp. Ex 3:22; 11:2-3).

25:7 The ephod and breastpiece are described more fully in chap. 28, along with other priestly garments.

25:8 For the Israelites to make a sanctuary for the Lord to dwell in continues the theme of his presence with his people and his goal in bringing them out of Egypt—to make himself known as their God, and to give them a unique identity as his people (6:6-7; 19:4-6; 29:43-46). The word translated “dwell” is rendered “settled” in the statement that “the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai” in 24:16. It is closely associated with the word shekinah, used in postbiblical discussions of the Lord’s presence. It is also connected by sound and concept with the Greek verb in Jn 1:14 that is translated “took up residence.” By commissioning the building of the tabernacle, a portable worship center, the Lord showed that he intended to live among the Israelites more closely than when meeting with them on Mount Sinai.

Returning to the suzerain-vassal comparison, the suzerain would customarily live far from the vassal, using his collected tribute exclusively for his own enjoyment. The best a vassal nation could hope for was that their suzerain would provide security and predictable levies of tribute rather than sporadic, devastating raids. The Lord, however, was talking to Moses about residing among the Israelites as his own people.

25:9 Attempts to imagine or to build a replica of the tabernacle and its furnishings can only proceed with the disadvantage of not having seen what the Lord showed Moses, in addition to difficulties posed by rare words describing unfamiliar items. The tabernacle itself and a complete description of all its details were not what subsequent generations needed.

25:10-22 The ark, a rectangular wooden box covered inside and out with gold, sat in the most sacred area in the tabernacle. It symbolized the Lord’s presence with the Israelites in at least three ways: (1) It was a repository for the stone tablets given to Moses, which were a witness, or testimony to the requirements the Israelites had agreed to. (2) On the annual Day of Atonement, the high priest sprinkled blood on the mercy seat, the ark’s cover, in keeping with the Lord’s provision for dealing with the sins of the people (Lv 16:13-15,29-34). (3) The ark was also where the Lord met with Moses and spoke with him (Nm 7:89). This was in keeping with his earlier assurance of his presence with Moses (Ex 3:11-12; 4:11-15).

25:10 Many measurements for the tabernacle and its furnishings used a unit called ammah in Hebrew, traditionally rendered “cubit,” an anglicized version of the Latin cubitus. The Hebrew word also meant “forearm,” and an ammah measured from the tip of a man’s fingers to his elbow, roughly eighteen inches. The CSB makes the conversions United States customary units.

25:14 Repeatedly the tabernacle and its furnishings are described as having rings on them (25:26; 27:4; 30:4). This emphasizes the portable nature of this center of worship. God will be on the move and so will be his people—ready to go at any time.

25:16 Recording a covenant on tablets and placing them in a sanctuary in the presence of a deity were common practices for preserving covenants. Certain Hittite covenant documents mention doing this.

25:18 The cover of the ark was to be decorated with two cherubim. Elsewhere the Lord is spoken of as enthroned above the cherubim, so that the ark was his footstool (1Sm 4:4; 2Sm 6:2; 2Kg 19:15; Ps 99:1,5; 132:7). “Cherubim” is the plural for “cherub,” and both are anglicized Hebrew words. Winged beings of this sort were commissioned “to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gn 3:24), and they were described by the prophet Ezekiel, who saw them transporting God’s throne (Ezk 10).

25:23-29 Generally thought to be for the bread of the Presence, the table was also for pouring drink offerings. To present drink offerings, a priest would pour out a liquid—wine, for example—to be burned along with certain animal sacrifices (29:40-41; Lv 23:9-13).

25:30 The Bread of the Presence consisted of twelve loaves made with fine flour and arranged in two rows on the gold-covered table located just outside the most holy area of the tabernacle (Lv 24:5-9). Unlike foodstuffs that were placed in pagan temples for the gods to eat, this bread was for the Israelite priests to eat as a symbolic provision for them from the Lord’s table.

25:31-40 The highly decorated lampstand (Hb menorah) resembled the almond tree, noted for its early blossoming. The Hebrew word for “almond” is associated with a verb that means “watch over” or “keep watch,” so that almond blossoms seem an appropriate decoration for an item that enhanced visibility. Aaron’s staff was made of almond wood (Nm 17:8). In Jr 1:11-12 it is a symbol of God watching over his word to accomplish his purpose.