Chapter Thirty-Seven
Constructing the Ark
37:1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half was its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 2 And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold around it. 3 And he cast for it four rings of gold for its four feet, two rings on its one side and two rings on its other side. 4 And he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold 5 and put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark.
Now with the structure completed, the first item to be built to go inside was the Ark (also known as the Ark of the Covenant or Ark of the Testimony[1]), made of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold inside and outside. The molding and all its hardware were made of gold. The poles that were to be used to transport the Ark were also made of acacia wood overlaid with gold.
37:6 And he made a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half was its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.
The Mercy Seat was made out of pure gold, while considered by God as a separate piece, it sat on top of the Ark, acting as a lid for the Ark.[2] Because the Mercy Seat and Ark are always seen together, the ensemble is often simply referred to as the Ark or the Ark of the Covenant (for example see Numbers 3:31; 10:33, 35; 14:44; Deuteronomy 31:9, 25-26; Joshua 3:3-17; 4:5-18; 6:4-13; 8:33; 1 Samuel 3:3; 4:3-7:2; 14:18; 2 Samuel 6:2-17; 7:2; 11:11; 15:24-29).
37:7 And he made two cherubim of gold. He made them of hammered work on the two ends of the mercy seat, 8 one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat he made the cherubim on its two ends. 9 The cherubim spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat were the faces of the cherubim.
On top of the Mercy Seat, Bezalel formed two cherubs. Not knowing what a cherub looks like today it is difficult to imagine, however, this description does offer some clarification. The cherubs had wings that could overshadow the Mercy Seat.[3] They faced each other, looking towards the location where God’s presence would manifest. This scene sounds similar to what is often referred to as God’s throne room in heaven (see Isaiah 6:1-7; Revelation 4:2-11; 5:11-12; 7:11-12).
Constructing the Table
37:10 He also made the table of acacia wood. Two cubits was its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a molding of gold around it. 12 And he made a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and made a molding of gold around the rim. 13 He cast for it four rings of gold and fastened the rings to the four corners at its four legs. 14 Close to the frame were the rings, as holders for the poles to carry the table. 15 He made the poles of acacia wood to carry the table, and overlaid them with gold. 16 And he made the vessels of pure gold that were to be on the table, its plates and dishes for incense, and its bowls and flagons with which to pour drink offerings.
The furnishings for the Holy Place (front room of structure) were the next to be built, beginning with the table (also known as the Table of Showbread). The table was made of acacia wood, and like all wooden objects inside the structure, overlaid with pure gold. The molding, hardware, and all the accoutrements (vessels, plates, dishes, etc.) associated with the table were made of gold.[4]
Constructing the Lampstand
37:17 He also made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work. Its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers were of one piece with it. 18 And there were six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it; 19 three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. 20 And on the lampstand itself were four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, 21 and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out of it. 22 Their calyxes and their branches were of one piece with it. The whole of it was a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. 23 And he made its seven lamps and its tongs and its trays of pure gold. 24 He made it and all its utensils out of a talent of pure gold.
The lampstand (also known by the Hebrew word ‘menō·rā(h)’),[5] was made out of one piece of gold including the base, the supporting stem (or pole), lamp cups, and the calyxes with decorative ‘bulbs’ that created a flower-like appearance around each lamp.[6] The lampstand and all of the lampstand’s utensils were made out of 75 pounds of pure gold.
Constructing the Golden Altar of Incense
37:25 He made the altar of incense of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit, and its breadth was a cubit. It was square, and two cubits was its height. Its horns were of one piece with it. 26 He overlaid it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And he made a molding of gold around it, 27 and made two rings of gold on it under its molding, on two opposite sides of it, as holders for the poles with which to carry it. 28 And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
The golden altar of incense was made of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold. Its molding and all necessary hardware were made of gold. The poles for transporting were made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold. This would be the final item made for the interior of the structure.[7]
37:29 He made the holy anointing oil also, and the pure fragrant incense, blended as by the perfumer.
The text only summarizes regarding the making of the anointing oil and fragrant incenses that were detailed in Exodus 30:22-38.[8]
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[1] See commentaries under Exodus 25:10 and Exodus 25:12-16.
[2] See commentary under Exodus 25:17.
[3] See commentary under Exodus 25:18-21.
[4] See commentaries under Exodus 25:23-24 and Exodus 25:25-30.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 4501.
[6] See commentaries under Exodus 25:31; Exodus 25:32-33; Exodus 25:34-6; Exodus 25:37 and Exodus 25:38-40.
[7] See commentaries under Exodus 30:1-5; Exodus 30:6; Exodus 30:7-9 and Exodus 30:10.
[8] See commentaries under Exodus 30:22-25; Exodus 30:26-30; Exodus 30:31-33; Exodus 30:34; Exodus 30:35 and Exodus 30:36-38.