Êxodo 36

BLIVRE · Chapter 36/40

1Fez, pois, Bezalel e Aoliabe, e todo homem sábio de coração, a quem o SENHOR deu sabedoria e inteligência para que soubessem fazer toda a obra do serviço do santuário, todas as coisas que havia mandado o SENHOR.

2E Moisés chamou a Bezalel e a Aoliabe, e a todo homem sábio de coração, em cujo coração havia dado o SENHOR sabedoria, e a todo homem a quem seu coração lhe moveu a chegar-se à obra, para trabalhar nela;

3E tomaram de diante de Moisés toda a oferta que os filhos de Israel haviam trazido para a obra do serviço do santuário, a fim de fazê-la. E eles lhe traziam ainda oferta voluntária cada manhã.

4Vieram, portanto, todos os mestres que faziam toda a obra do santuário, cada um da obra que fazia.

5E falaram a Moisés, dizendo: O povo traz muito mais do que é necessário para o trabalho de fazer a obra que o SENHOR mandou que se faça.

6Então Moisés mandou apregoar pelo acampamento, dizendo: Nenhum homem nem mulher faça mais obra para oferecer para o santuário. E assim foi o povo impedido de oferecer;

7Pois tinha material abundante para fazer toda a obra, e sobrava.

8E todos os sábios de coração entre os que faziam a obra, fizeram o tabernáculo de dez cortinas, de linho torcido, e de material azul, e de púrpura e carmesim; as quais fizeram de obra prima, com querubins.

9O comprimento da uma cortina era de vinte e oito côvados, e a largura de quatro côvados: todas as cortinas tinham uma mesma medida.

10E juntou as cinco cortinas a uma com a outra: também uniu as outras cinco cortinas uma com aa outra.

11E fez as laçadas de cor de material azul na orla de uma cortina, na margem, à juntura; e assim fez na orla à extremidade da segunda cortina, na juntura.

12Cinquenta laçadas fez em um cortina, e outras cinquenta na segunda cortina, na margem, na juntura; umas laçadas em frente das outras.

13Fez também cinquenta colchetes de ouro, com os quais juntou as cortinas, uma com a outra; e fez-se um tabernáculo.

14Fez também cortinas de pelo de cabras para a tenda sobre o tabernáculo, e as fez em número de onze.

15O comprimento de uma cortina era de trinta côvados, e a largura de quatro côvados: as onze cortinas tinham uma mesma medida.

16E juntou as cinco cortinas à parte, e as seis cortinas à parte.

17Fez também cinquenta laçadas na orla da última cortina na juntura, e outras cinquenta laçadas na orla da outra cortina na juntura.

18Fez também cinquenta colchetes de bronze para juntar a tenda, de modo que fosse uma.

19E fez uma coberta para a tenda de couros vermelhos de carneiros, e uma coberta encima de couros finos.

20Também fez as tábuas para o tabernáculo de madeira de acácia, para estarem na vertical.

21O comprimento de cada tábua de dez côvados, e de côvado e meio a largura.

22Cada tábua tinha dois encaixes fixos um diante do outro: assim fez todas as tábuas do tabernáculo.

23Fez, pois, as tábuas para o tabernáculo: vinte tábuas ao lado do sul.

24Fez também as quarenta bases de prata debaixo das vinte tábuas: duas bases debaixo de uma tábua para seus dois encaixes, e duas bases debaixo da outra tábua para seus dois encaixes.

25E para o outro lado do tabernáculo, à parte do norte, fez vinte tábuas,

26Com suas quarenta bases de prata: duas bases debaixo de uma tábua, e duas bases debaixo da outra tábua.

27E para o lado ocidental do tabernáculo fez seis tábuas.

28Para as esquinas do tabernáculo nos dois lados fez duas tábuas,

29As quais se juntavam por baixo, e também por cima a uma argola: e assim fez à uma e à outra nos dois cantos.

30Eram, pois, oito tábuas, e suas bases de prata dezesseis; duas bases debaixo de cada tábua.

31Fez também as barras de madeira de acácia; cinco para as tábuas do um lado do tabernáculo,

32E cinco barras para as tábuas do outro lado do tabernáculo, e cinco barras para as tábuas do lado do tabernáculo à parte ocidental.

33E fez que a barra do meio passasse por meio das tábuas do um extremo ao outro.

34E cobriu as tábuas de ouro, e fez de ouro os anéis delas por de onde passassem as barras: cobriu também de ouro as barras.

35Fez assim o véu de azul, e púrpura, e carmesim, e linho torcido, o qual fez com querubins de delicada obra.

36E para ele fez quatro colunas de madeira de acácia; e cobriu-as de ouro, os capitéis das quais eram de ouro; e fez para elas quatro bases de prata de fundição.

37Fez também o véu para a porta do tabernáculo, de azul, e púrpura, e carmesim, e linho torcido, obra de bordador;

38E suas cinco colunas com seus capitéis: e cobriu as cabeças delas e suas molduras de ouro: mas suas cinco bases as fez de bronze.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Bezalel, Aholiab, and other craftsmen begin building the tabernacle; the people bring so many offerings that Moses has to order them to stop contributing, and the curtains, boards, and structures of the sanctuary are made according to the divine instructions.

Explanation

This chapter presents a rare and delightful detail in Scripture: for the first and only time in the entire sacred text, the people have to be stopped from continuing to give, because 'the people bring much more than enough' (v. 5) for the work of the tabernacle — a remarkable contrast to the usual stories of scarcity or reluctance to contribute. This overflow of generosity reflects a moment of genuine, collective spiritual enthusiasm, showing what can happen when a people commit wholeheartedly to a purpose they recognize as truly sacred. The detailed technical execution of the work, following precisely the specifications God gave Moses in earlier chapters, demonstrates faithfulness both in spiritual vision and in practical execution — true worship of God involves both the intention of the heart and excellence in the work carried out.

Fun facts

  • This is the only recorded case in the Bible where a leader has to publicly order the people to stop giving to a religious cause (v. 6), an episode sometimes cited in modern church administration contexts as a rare and positive 'problem of too much generosity.'
  • The near word-for-word repetition of the technical instructions already given in chapters 26-27, now describing their actual execution, is a common literary technique in the Old Testament for emphasizing the exact faithfulness with which God's work was carried out, without deviating from the original instructions.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Êxodo 36:1After all the preparation, the execution of the work begins: Bezalel, Oholiab, and the other talented craftsmen get to work following God’s instructions.
  2. Êxodo 36:2Moses formally summons each of the gifted craftsmen, gathering specifically those who felt personally moved to take part in the construction.
  3. Êxodo 36:3The craftsmen receive from Moses all the material already donated by the people, and offerings keep arriving spontaneously every morning, even with the work already underway.
  4. Êxodo 36:4The craftsmen themselves, busy with different parts of the work, have to stop and report an unexpected problem to Moses.
  5. Êxodo 36:5The problem is abundance: the people brought far more material than needed to complete the entire planned construction.
  6. Êxodo 36:6It’s a rare detail in the Bible: the people donated so much material voluntarily that Moses had to order the donations stopped, because there was already more than enough for the whole project. It shows the level of generosity and popular engagement in that particular project.
  7. Êxodo 36:7It confirms that the material really was more than sufficient, a rare case in the Bible of a surplus of donations instead of a shortage.
  8. Êxodo 36:8Here begins the practical execution of the instructions given earlier in chapters 25 and 26: the craftsmen actually made the curtains embroidered with cherubim just as they had been designed. It’s the start of the detailed account of how the orders were carried out, step by step.
  9. Êxodo 36:9It reproduces, now in the execution, the same measurement of the inner curtains already specified in chapter 26: about forty feet by less than six feet wide.
  10. Êxodo 36:10The craftsmen join the ten inner curtains into two sets of five, following the original plan to the letter.
  11. Êxodo 36:11Loops of blue fabric are sewn onto the edges of each set of curtains, exactly as specified before.
  12. Êxodo 36:12The fifty loops on each side are positioned precisely so they will fit together perfectly at the moment of final joining.
  13. Êxodo 36:13Fifty gold clasps, matching the number of loops, permanently join the two sets of curtains into a single covering.
  14. Êxodo 36:14The second layer of covering, made of goat hair, is also made at this point, with the eleven curtains called for in the original plan.
  15. Êxodo 36:15The goat-hair curtains follow the same measurements specified before, a bit larger than the inner linen curtains.
  16. Êxodo 36:16The craftsmen divide these eleven curtains into sets of five and six, exactly as God had instructed in chapter 26.
  17. Êxodo 36:17The same system of loops used on the inner curtains is repeated here to join the two sets of the outer covering.
  18. Êxodo 36:18Copper clasps, instead of the gold ones used on the inner layer, join this second goat-hair covering.
  19. Êxodo 36:19As in chapter 26, this is the execution of the tabernacle’s protective outer layer. The near-identical repetition between the order given earlier and the execution recounted here is a common style in the book of Exodus, reinforcing that everything was done exactly as commanded.
  20. Êxodo 36:20The rigid framework of acacia boards, which would form the tabernacle’s walls, is also built at this stage.
  21. Êxodo 36:21Each board is made following exactly the measurements specified before: about fifteen feet tall.
  22. Êxodo 36:22The joints at the base of each board are made to let them connect firmly to one another.
  23. Êxodo 36:23Twenty boards are set aside specifically for the south side of the structure, following the original plan to the letter.
  24. Êxodo 36:24Forty silver sockets are cast to support these twenty boards on the south side, two for each one.
  25. Êxodo 36:25The north side receives the same treatment, with another twenty boards made in the same configuration as the south side.
  26. Êxodo 36:26The silver sockets on the north side also total forty, following exactly the pattern already established.
  27. Êxodo 36:27The narrower west wall is closed off with just six boards, as specified in the original plan.
  28. Êxodo 36:28Two extra boards are set aside specifically to reinforce the rear corners of the structure.
  29. Êxodo 36:29These corner boards are fitted together in a special way, joined at the bottom and the top by a ring, exactly as planned.
  30. Êxodo 36:30In total, the west wall adds up to eight boards resting on sixteen silver sockets, confirming the faithful execution of the design.
  31. Êxodo 36:31Bars of acacia wood are made to run horizontally across the boards on each side of the structure.
  32. Êxodo 36:32Five bars are assigned to each of the three sides with boards—south, north, and west—completing the reinforcement system.
  33. Êxodo 36:33A center bar, longer than the others, is positioned to run through the boards from end to end.
  34. Êxodo 36:34The boards and bars are overlaid with gold, with gold rings made specifically to hold the bars in their proper place.
  35. Êxodo 36:35The veil that would separate the two parts of the sanctuary is woven with the same materials and the same cherubim pattern specified before.
  36. Êxodo 36:36Four acacia pillars overlaid with gold are made to support this veil, resting on silver sockets.
  37. Êxodo 36:37The entrance curtain of the tent is also made at this point, using the same combination of colored fabrics and fine linen.
  38. Êxodo 36:38This entrance curtain is fitted with five gilded acacia pillars, but with copper sockets, unlike the silver sockets used for the inner veil.

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