Exodus 33.1-23

The Command to Leave Sinai / The Tent Outside the Camp / Moses' Intercession


The Command to Leave Sinai: Exodus 33.1-6

The first three verses of Exodus 33 contain a nice recap of the Exodus story so far.

The Lord commands Moses to leave Sinai with the people who he brought out of Egypt. They are to go to the land that God swore would be held by the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God promises to send an angel before the Israelites to drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. They are to go to a land flowing with milk and honey.* God's anger still burns hot, apparently, though he refrains from going with his people so that they will not be destroyed.

Exodus 33.3-6 contains a beautiful rippling repetition of phrasing:

Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey;
but I will not go up among you,
or I would consume you on the way,
for you are a stiff-necked people.’

When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned,
and no one put on ornaments.
For the Lord had said to Moses, 
‘Say to the Israelites,
“You are a stiff-necked people;
if for a single moment I should go up among you,
I would consume you.
So now take off your ornaments,
and I will decide what to do to you.” ’
Therefore the Israelites 
stripped themselves of their ornaments,
from Mount Horeb onwards.

That's kind of pretty with all the colors, right?

The gray parts are the parts that don't echo. Notice the rephrasing from "among/consume/stiff-necked" to "stiff-necked/among/consume." The sentence is restructured for effect. Likewise, the objects of "Israelites" and "ornaments" are interwoven within the speech, the ornament phrasing appearing to either side of both Israelite phrases. It is amazing how poetic you can get with just some reworded sentences! The text ripples with additions and distortions, like water that has been struck by a stone.

The Israelites strip themselves of ornaments as a sign of mourning, by the way.

*[Historical Information: The angel of the Lord driving out Israel's enemies is mentioned in Ex. 23.28, but there the only enemies mentioned are the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites. Earlier in the chapter, in Exodus 23.23, God promises that an angel will lead Israel and that God will blot out all six of the peoples mentioned in Exodus 33. All six peoples, along with the promise of milk and honey, are presented in Exodus 3.8.]

The Tent Outside the Camp: Exodus 33.7-11

This section interrupts the narrative to offer some information on Moses' communication with God off of the mountain.

In the absence of a ritually pure tent of meeting, Moses would pitch his tent far outside of the camp and people would go to him to find out about the Lord. When Moses would go to his tent, people would rise and watch him, standing at the entrance of their tents. When Moses was inside, a pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance so Moses could speak to God. (God appears as a cloud earlier in the narrative as well.) The Israelites would bow down at the tent when God spoke to Moses.

"Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then he would return to the camp; but his young assistant, Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the tent" (Ex. 33.11). Moses is quite a special character to speak with God face to face. In other sections those who see the face of God die. In fact...read on.

Moses' Intercession: Exodus 33.12-23

Here the narrative resumes, and from the description it does not seem that Moses is in fact speaking to God in his tent. Rather, he seems to still be on the mountain.

Moses pleads on behalf of the people for God to go with the Israelites. Moses argues that God has not let him know the angel that will lead them - and yet Moses has found favor in God's sight, so why should God not demonstrate this to Moses and Israel, God's people, by leading them himself?

God concedes, agreeing to go with the Israelites. The scene is then repeated with slightly varying language.

Moses then says to God, "Show me your glory, I pray" (Ex. 33.18). God agrees to show Moses his Glory and proclaim God's true name, YHWH. In expansion of the the first repetition of the divine name: "I am who I am," (Ex. 3.14), the Lord says, "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy" (Ex. 33.19).

However, Moses will not be able to see God's face (see contradictory statement above! - clearly two source have been interwoven). God will put Moses in the cleft of a rock, and then cover Moses with God's hand until God's glory passes. Then God will remove the hand, and Moses will be able to see God's back.

The sanctity of God's name and face is an integral part of the story, but as we have seen, not all traditions agree on this. The traditions in which humans speak with God are folkloric, whereas the ones that assert the sanctity of God's name and image are priestly or at least trying to emphasize the proper practice of religion through stories.

Tomorrow: New Tablets, Renewed Covenant.

Exodus 32.1-35

The Golden Calf

Moses has been on Mount Sinai since chapter 24, when he left Joshua halfway up the mountain (Ex. 24. 13) and went up to receive instructions from God. When last we left Moses, he received two stone tablets from God. What follows is a story of parallel thoughts and actions

The Golden Calf: Exodus 32.1-35

Moses has been out of the picture for a whole eight chapters, and the Israelites are starting to get antsy. Just before Moses went up the mountain, the Israelites twice promised to obey the Lord's command. Now Moses their leader has been gone for a whole eight chapters! What are they to do? The Israelites gather around Aaron and say to him:

"Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."
(Ex. 32.1)

It seems that God has disappeared along with Moses. The Israelites do not say that God brought them out of Egypt, as stated in the First Commandment, which the people of Israel have already heard: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20.1). Rather, it is Moses that brought the people out of Egypt, and as he disappears, so does the God associated with them.

The people should remember God, but the dialectical tension (the difference between God's desire and Israel's desire) prevails. The people here, having been rescued by God and having lost their leader, search for a new god - and a new leader.

For someone that has seen firsthand the power of God and been granted the ability to perform miracles, Aaron is quick to forget about the God of his brother. Perhaps he is just a pushover, because he quickly decides to create idols, disobeying Commandment Two.

Aaron tells the Israelite to collect gold earrings worn by the women and children - perhaps the same earrings that the Israelites took from the Egyptians as they left Egypt. Aaron melts down the gold and forms and image of a calf. He tells the Israelites, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" (Ex. 32.4). That is not a correct statement, but perhaps what it is the Israelites, who believe they have lost their leader in a thick cloud on a trembling mountain, wish to hear. Suddenly Aaron finds he is the greatest authority of the Israelites - quite a bit of power has suddenly been bestowed upon him. And, as Peter Parker would say (quoting his Uncle Ben), "With great power comes great responsibility."

Aaron continues to parody the true Lord and the rituals of Israelite religion, building an altar before the calf and declaring that tomorrow will be the festival of the Lord. The next day people offer burnt offerings and other sacrifices, eat and drink, and then "revel" (with a sexual connotation). The practice of Israelite worship, of course, is entirely free of sex.

The Lord tells Moses to return to the Israelites:

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it, and said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.’
(Ex. 32.7-10)

The Lord's sentiment parallels that of the Israelites. Just as the Israelites divorce themselves from God and emphasize Moses' role in bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, God divorces himself from the Israelites, calling them "your people," and emphasizes as well Moses' role in leading the Israelites. Moses is caught in the middle as a negotiator between God, who is having trouble keeping his followers, and the Israelites, who are having trouble keeping faith in God.

Moses intercedes on behalf of the Israelites in a scene reminiscent of Abraham interceding on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah. The difference is that Abraham was essentially imploring God for the sake of Lot and his family. Moses implores God for the sake of all the Israelites, who have lost their way. He makes an appeal to reason, asking God why God would destroy the people that he just brought out of Egypt, thereby having the Egyptians to believe that God is an evil God. Moses then invokes the divine covenant of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel - the covenant of land and progeny. Moses' argument is strong enough that the Lord decides not to bring disaster on the people.

Moses goes down the mountain carrying the two tablets of the covenant, both written on both sides by the hand of God. He encounters Joshua who says that the noise is like the sound of war. But Moses knows better:

It is not the sound made by victors,
or the sound made by losers;
it is the sound of revelers that I hear.
(Ex. 32.18)

When Moses sees the calf and the people dancing, his anger burns hot (paralleling God's burning wrath). Moses throws the tablets from his hands, breaking them at the foot of the mountain. This symbolic action has Moses destroying the embodiment of the word of God in front of the people who have disobeyed God's commands. That is, the commands that have been broken figuratively by disobedience are broken literally into fragments of text because of the disobedience.

Unlike God, Moses punishes the Israelites for their sins. Moses burns the calf and grinds it into a powder, puts it in the water, and has the Israelites drink it

What follows is a conversation between Moses and Aaron that parallel the previous conversation between God and Moses. The role have been transposed: Moses, who as a representative of the people calms God, now is calmed by Aaron, who is the new representative of the people.

Aaron seeks to calm his lord's burning anger, bringing the dialectical tension into the forefront, which God did in God's conversation with Moses:

And Aaron said, ‘Do not let the anger of my lord burn hot; you know the people, that they are bent on evil. They said to me, “Make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” So I said to them, “Whoever has gold, take it off ”; so they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!’
(Ex. 32.22-24)

That's Aaron, removing the blame from himself. The bible is laconic, but Aaron should not be presumed innocent due to a lack of detail. Aaron's defense obscures the fact that he created the calf himself, and characterizes him as a liar, or at least inconstant. With Moses gone, Aaron gave into the demands of the Israelites. With Moses back, Aaron blames the Israelites for their wickedness while removing blame from himself. Oh, and Aaron seems to have a problem maintaining order, and the narrator is quick to point out that this is to the derision of their enemies, who probably now see the Israelites as a depraved group of people going wild in the wilderness with no leader.

It's time for retribution.

Moses has all those on the Lord's side come to him at the gate of the camp. The Levite males gather around and Moses delivers a command from God (one that we never actually saw Moses receiving): Each man is to kill "your brother, your friend, and your neighbor" (Ex. 32.27). Whether these are singular or collective nouns, I cannot say. Each man might kill three men, or perhaps a greater number. Perhaps each man should only kill one other man, as indicated by the phrasing in verse 29 (below). In any case, 3,000 people fall that day. Moses says to the Levite men: "Today you have ordained yourselves (or "Today ordain yourselves) for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of a son or a brother, and so have brought a blessing on yourselves this day" (Ex. 32.29).

Like Abraham and Jacob, these men were tested with violence to prove themselves worthy of service to the Lord. Unlike Abraham, they did not have to kill. Unlike Jacob, they killed and did not wrestle. But clearly the connection between violence and faithfulness is established. The killings also may serve as an attempted action of mass purification, but this idea is not pursued by the biblical authors.

The next day Moses tells the people that they have sinned a "great sin." He goes up to the Lord to try to make atonement on their behalf. Moses pleads their case, and asks if their sin is not forgiven, that God should "blot me out of the book that you have written" (Ex. 32.32; a divine roll of the living is an ancient tradition to many middle eastern cultures). God replies that God [only] blots out the names of those who sin.

The Lord then commands Moses to lead the people to "the place about which I have spoken to you" (Ex. 32.34). The angel of the Lord will lead them. And God promises to punish the Israelites when the day comes to punish their sins.

The chapter ends with a dig aimed at Aaron:

Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf—the one that Aaron made.
(Ex. 32.35)

The author seems to take Aaron to task. At first the author seems to reiterate Aaron's point of view, that it was the people that made the calf, but the author corrects this with the truth. Indeed it was Aaron that made the golden calf.

Tomorrow: Sayonara, Sinai.

Exodus 31.1-18

Bezalel and Oholiab / The Sabbath Law / The Two Tablets of the Covenant

And just who is to make the tabernacle and all the objects and finery within it? God appoints two people.

Bezalel and Oholiab: Exodus 31.1-11

God tells Moses that God has found a master craftsman, named Bezalel, son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:

I have filled him with divine spirit, with ability, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, in every kind of craft.
(Ex. 31.3-5)

God appoints Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, alongside Bezalel. God has also given skill to all the skillful so that they can create everything the tabernacle requires, from the mercy seat to the basin to the anointing oil.

Bezalel gets a significantly greater amount of face time (or, if you prefer, "words") than Oholiab, who serves along side him. The author clearly favored Judah, and might have been writing in the Kingdom of Judah. Israel, until the time of King David, was divided between North (The Kingdom of Israel) and South (The Kingdom of Judah). David united the two into the United Monarchy, when all of Israel was one kingdom (the process had been started by his predecessor, Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin). David was from the tribe of Judah, which gives the tribe a great importance in the biblical history of the Israelites.

After Solomon, the kingdoms split again into Israel and Judah. If the author lived in Judah, there would have been a partisanship for the tribe - and anyone of Judah and a relative of David would be considered greater in the author's eyes. It's all about who you're rooting for.

The Sabbath Law: Exodus 31.12-17

The Lord tells Moses that Moses is to tell the Israelites to keep the sabbath, which is a sign that the people may know that the Lord sanctifies them - a perpetual covenant. The Sabbath is holy for Israelites. Anyone who profanes it should be put to death, and anyone who works on it should be cut off form the people.

The sacrifice ritual recreates the act of human eating on a divine scale. Conversely, the sabbath recreates God's divine rest after creation on a human scale. In both cases, the divine and the mundane parallel one another, so that what occurs in heaven also occurs on earth, and what occurs on earth also occurs in heaven.

The Two Tablets of the Covenant: Exodus 31.18

God gives Moses the two tablets of the covenant when God has finished speaking with Moses. These stone tablets are "written in the finger of God" (Ex. 31.18).

Exodus 30.22-38

The Altar of Incense / The Half Shekel for the Sanctuary / The Bronze Basin / The Anointing Oil and Incense

The Altar of Incense: Exodus 30.1-10

This is a separate altar than the one in the courtyard, but is located closer to the Holy of Holies and so has more gold!

Made of acacia wood, it measures 1 cubit wide by 1 cubit long by 2 cubits high and should have horns at the corners. The entire altar should be overlaid with pure gold, and there should be a molding of gold around it.

Under the molding on two opposite sides there should be a golden ring, through which poles of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, will fit to transport the altar.

The altar should be placed in front of the curtain containing the ark of the covenant, where God will meet with the priests.

Aaron is to offer the incense on it every morning when he dresses the lamps and every evening when he sets up the lamps.

Offerings of unholy incense, grain, drink, and burnt offerings should not be offered on it.

Once a year Aaron is to perform a right of atonement on its horns, in order to atone for the Israelites.

The Half Shekel for the Sanctuary: Exodus 30.11-16

Here we get into governance. Ah, it reminds me of my days as a small-town government reporter...Which actually means it reminds me of my life right now.

Moses is to register the Israelites with a head count. (Or "census," the term the NRSV uses, which comes from Latin for "estimate" and was carried out every five years on Roman citizens). A ransom of one-half shekel is to be given by every citizen age 20 and over. The ransom protects their lives "so that no plague may come upon them for being registered."

Everyone is to pay one-half shekel, poor and rich. The funds will be used to service the tent of meeting.

[Issues of social justice aside, it is remarkable that God would have every person pay the same amount. God provided exactly one omer of manna per day to every Israelite escaping Egypt (Ex. 16). If an individual collected less or more, the amount still came out to an omer. Here everyone gives, rather than receives, equal wages. It seems that every Israelite has an equal "value" in God's eyes. Each receives the same amount of food, each must pay the same amount in taxes.]

The Bronze Basin: Exodus 30.17-21

A perpetual ordinance: a bronze basin filled with water shall stand between the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron and his sons should wash their ands and feet in it before approaching the altar, "so that they may not die" (a point so important is it expressed twice: Ex. 30.20, 21).

The Anointing Oil and Incense: Exodus 30.22-38

Anointing Oil
Here is the recipe for the anointing oil mentioned in yesterday's entry:

Ingredients:
1 hin olive oil (1 gallon)
500 shekels liquid myrrh (12.5 pounds)
500 shekels cassia
250 shekels sweet-smelling cinnamon (6.25 pounds)
250 shekels aromatic cane

Blend.

Things to anoint:
Tent of meeting
Ark of the Covenant,
Table and its utensils
Lampstand and its utensils
Altar of incense
Altar of burnt offering and its utensils
Aaron and his sons

The holy anointing oil should only be used for holy anointing. It should only be made as described above. Anyone who makes an imitation or puts it on an unqualified person shall be cut off from God's people.

Incense

Ingredients:
Sweet spices
Stacte
Onycha
Galbanum
Pure frankincense
(the above in equal parts)

Mix.
Season mixture with salt.
Beat part of it into a powder and place before the covenant in the tent of meeting.

This mixture is holy, and not for personal use. Using it as a personal perfume is cause for being cut off from God's people.

Exodus 29.1-46

The Ordination of the Priests / The Daily Offering 

The Ordination of the Priests: Exodus 29.1-37

-or-

(How to consecrate a priest [if you are Moses])

-or-

Welcome back Aaron, and keep leading the people.

Ingredients:

• One young bull without blemish
• Two rams without blemish
• On basket containing:
• Unleavened bread (made with choice what flour)
• Unleavened cakes mixed with oil (choice wheat flour)
• Unleavened wafers spread with oil (choice wheat flour)

Directions:

Dressing

1. Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting
2. Wash them with water
3. Dress Aaron in the priestly vestments
4. Anoint Aaron with oil
5. Dress his sons with their vestments

Sacrificing the bull

1. Bring the bull before the tent of meeting
2. Have Aaron and his sons put their hands on the head of the bull
3. Slaughter the bull
4. Put some of the blood on the horns of the altar with your finger
5. Pour the rest of the blood a the base of the altar
6. Take the fat, liver, kidneys and “turn them into smoke” (burn them) on the altar
7. The flesh of the bull, its skin, and its dung should be burned outside as a purifying “sin offering”

Sacrificing the first ram

1. Have Aaron and his sons put their hands on the head of the ram
2. Slaughter the ram
3. Dash the blood against all the sides of the altar
4. Cut the ram into parts
5. Wash the entrails and legs
6. Burn the entire lamb. “It is a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the Lord” (Ex. 29.18)

Sacrificing the second ram (the ram of ordination)

1. Have Aaron and his sons put their hands on the head of the ram
2. Slaughter the ram
3. Put some of the blood on Aaron and his sons in the following places:
4. Right ear lobe
5. Thumb of the right hand
6. Big toe of the right foot
7. Dash the rest of the blood against all sides of the altar
8. Take some of the blood against the altar, mix with anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his sons and their vestments. This makes them and their vestments holy.
9. Take the fat, tail, liver, kidneys, and right thigh with the contents of the basket: one loaf of bread, one cake of bread mixed with oil, and one wafer.
10. Place all these on the palms of Aaron and his sons
11. Have Aaron and his sons raise the breads and innards as an elevated offering before the Lord
12. Take the innards and breads and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering. This is an offering by fire to the Lord

Eating the ram of ordination

1. Boil its flesh in a holy place
2. Aaron and his sons should eat the flesh of the ram and the breads in the basket
3. Eat outside the tent of meeting
4. Only Aaron and his sons can eat this food, which through sacrifice has purified them. The food is holy.
5. Leftovers should be burned

Moses’s portion

1. Take the breast of the ram of ordination
2. Raise it as an elevation offering; it is your portion.

The seven-day ordination

1. Ordination should last seven days
2. Every day a bull should be offered to atone for sins.
3. An additional sin offering should be made every day for the altar,
4. The altar shall also be anointed and consecrated each day for even days
5. Anything that touches the holy altar shall become holy itself.

Note
These things should be a perpetual ordinance for Aaron and his sons.


The Daily Offering: Exodus 29.38-46

The Daily Offerings

1. Each day sacrifice two one-year-old lambs, one in the morning and one in the evening
2. Sacrifices should be held at the entrance of the tent of meeting
3. Each shall be sacrificed with one-tenth an ephah of flour (about 9 cups) mixed with 1/4 hin oil (about 1.4 gallons)
4. Serve with 1/4 hin wine as a drink offering

Final note on holiness
God says:

It shall be a regular burnt-offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet you, to speak to you there. I will meet the Israelites there, and it shall be sanctified by my glory; I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate, to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the Israelites, and I will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them; I am the Lord their God.
(Ex. 29.42-46)

So what does all this mean?

God's meals, the burnt sacrifices given to him, parallel the meals that the priests eat. Except God, being God, gets a lot more food - the equivalent of a few loaves of bread, an entire lamb, and 1.4 gallons of wine. God does not eat this food - it is a symbolic offering. But there is something to be said for the communion (not the New Testament type). When characters in a book share in food it represents communion, getting to know each other and sharing in a situation. It is a connection on spiritual level played out on the physical level with the eating of food. It's a way to say, "Hey, we eat the same food. We understand each other. We're in this together." Even though God is seated on his throne in the Holy of Holies, he is still among his people Israel.

So what is Holiness? This section demonstrates well the "separate" aspect of holiness. The animals have to be without blemish. You have to be physically and ritually clean when you approach God. God cannot come into contact with commonness. Hence the layers of separation of the tabernacle, described in the posts previous to this one. Though among the Israelites and having communion through sacrifice, there is still a distinct separation.

A good deal of this separation is through ritual. Through ritual you can purify yourself so that you may encounter or make sacrifices to God. There are three different ways the priests must dispose of the blood of the three sacrificed animals. Each method has a distinct purpose. The bull's blood consecrates the horns of the altar. The first ram's blood consecrates the altar itself. The second ram's blood consecrates the priests. There is an order to the ordination, and a meaning behind everything.

Notice, though, that rather than dirtying, the blood of sacrificed animals purifies. The blood of sacrificed animals does not pollute like human blood (menstrual and from wounds). Rather, because the getting of the blood has meaning, the blood itself is ritually purifying. So it is not just ram's blood that purifies, it is the blood of a sacrificed lamb.

One final note on holiness: Even the altar needs to be consecrated and have its sins atoned for (Ex. 29.36). Through contact with people (or perhaps exposure to the elements), the altar becomes impure and must be purified. But the altar also has the power to consecrate. Anything that touches the altar will become holy (Ex. 29.37).

Exodus 27.1-28.43

The Altar of Burnt Offering / The Court and Its Hangings / The Oil for the Lamp / Vestments / The Ephod / The Breastpiece / Other Priestly Vestments

Today's reading consists of two sections: instructions for building the open-air court outside the tabernacle and instructing for creating vestments that the priests should wear

The Court of the Tabernacle

The open- air court is to be a rectangle containing the tabernacle and altar and having the following dimensions: 50 cubits on the North-South axis and 100 cubits on the East-West axis. The tabernacle lies in the western end, the altar in the eastern end.

The Altar of Burnt Offering: Exodus 27.1-8

The hollow altar should be made with boards of acacia wood and measure 5 cubits long by 5 cubits wide by 3 cubits high. There should be a horn attached to the four corners, each overlaid with bronze.

Pots for ashes, shovels, basins, forks, and firepans should be made of bronze.

There should be a grating of bronze with four bronze rings at its corners. It should be placed under the ledge (inside) of the altar, halfway down the body.

The altar is transported with poles of acacia wood overlaid with bronze (not gold!) that fit through the rings.

The Court and Its Hangings: Exodus 27.9-19

For the north and south sides of the tabernacle a 100-cubit-long hanging of fine twisted linen shall hang from 20pillars (presumably of acacia wood) in 20 bronze bases. The hooks and bands of the pillars should be silver.

The west side should have a 50-cubit-long hanging with 10 pillars and 10 bases.

The east side, also 50 cubits long, shall consist of 15-cubit hangings on either side, each supported by 3 pillars in 3 bases. The curtains form a sort of gateway.

The gate should be a screen twenty cubits long made of fine twisted linen and yarn in blue, purple, and crimson, embroidered with needlework. It should be supported by four pillars with four bases.

All the pillars around the court should be banded with silver and have silver hooks. Their bases should be bronze.

Bronze pegs will be used to pin the cords that stabilize the pillars to the ground (think of a rain fly on a camping tent).

The Oil for the Lamp: Exodus 27.20-21

The Israelites should make olive oil for the lamp. The lamp, located outside the Holy of Holies, should be lit every evening and tended until morning by Aaron and his sons. This shall continue every night through the generations.

Vestments for the Priesthood

Vestments: Exodus 28.1-5

Aaron and his sons (Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar) are to serve God as priests. They shall wear vestments crafted by the most skilled of the Israelites. These vestments include: breastpiece, ephod, robe, checkered tunic ("fringed" in other readings), turban, sash. These shall be made of gold, blue, purple and crimson yarn, and fine linen.

The Ephod: Exodus 28.6-14

The ephod, a long vest, is to be made of the materials and colors listed above. Two shoulder-pieces attached at the edges shall hold it together. It should have a decorated band of the aforementioned materials.

The names of the sons of Israel should be engraved on two onyx stones, six names to a stone, in order of birth. The stones should be mounted on a gold filigree (an ornament of woven gold chains) on the shoulder-pieces.

[The location of the stones is such that the priest has the tribes of Israel immediately resting on his shoulders - a constant remind of history for both him and those who see the stones.]

Two chains of pure gold should be attached to two settings of gold filigree.

The Breastpiece: Exodus 28.15-30

The "breastpiece (or "pouch") of judgment" should be made in the same unifying style of the other fabricated accessories: with gold, blue, purple, and crimson yarns and twisted linen. This "judgment" is divination. Intrigued? Read on.

The breastplate is to be a square when doubled, a span long (about 8 inches) and a span wide. Stones should be set in gold filigree into it in four rows, three stones to a row. [Here again appears the number twelve].

• Row 1: Carnnelian, chrysolite, emerald
• Row 2: Turquoise, sapphire, moonstone
• Row 3: Jacinth, Agate, Amethyst
• Row 4: Beryl, Onyx, Jasper.

Each stone should be engraved with the name of a tribe of Israel.

Two cords of twisted gold chains should fit through two gold rings at the edges of the breastpiece, attaching to the settings on the ephod.

Gold rings on the ends of teh breastpiece should be bound to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that the breastpiece lies on the decorated band of the ephod and does not come loose.

All this is for Aaron's benefit:

So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgement on his heart when he goes into the holy place, for a continual remembrance before the Lord. In the breastpiece of judgement you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord; thus Aaron shall bear the judgement of the Israelites on his heart before the Lord continually.
(Ex. 28.29-30)

What is the Urim and the Thummim? According to HarperCollins, these are, "according to comparative evidence, light and dark stones extracted from the pouch for the purposes of divination" (132). Huh.

Aaron's vestments are a perfect example of form following function. Aaron is clad in many reminders of history, and anyone who sees him will be reminded as well. The stones are close to Aaron's heart, physically placed near the center of his being and source of emotion.

Other Priestly Vestments: Exodus 28.31-43

The Robe
Worn underneath the ephod, it is one piece, with an opening for the head in the middle. Around the opening is a woven binding so the robe does not tear. The lower hem should have a pattern of alternating gold bells and (the other three colors ubiquitous in the temple) blue, purple, and crimson pomegranates. The sound of the bells ensures that the Lord will hear Aaron coming when he enters the Holy of Holies - otherwise Aaron might die.

The Rosette (or Shiny Plate
This should be made of gold and have be engraved with "Holy to the Lord." It should be fastened to the front of the turban with a blue cord. The plate is like a lightning rod or guilt vacuum - sucking up the guilt incurred by the Israelites that comes with making their donation.

Checkered tunic and Turban
Made of fine linen.

Sash
Embroidered.

For Aaron's sons
They shall wear tunics, sashes, and headdresses. Moses shall anoint them all and ordain and consecrate them, so they may serve God as priests.

They shall wear linen undergarments reaching from the hips to the thighs. This way there is no way they might expose their nakedness to God. The drawers are to be worn in the tent of meeting, near the altar, and in the Holy of Holies. Otherwise, they will bring guild on themselves and die.

Exodus 26.1-37

The Curtains / The Framework / The Curtain

The tabernacle, continued.

Yesterday's post concerned certain adornments for the tabernacle. This section gives a framework (pun completely intended) for the construction of the tabernacle itself, including the most holy (separate) space, the holy of holies. If you have trouble visualizing anything, check out the model on Bible Places.

Layering, intentional separation, creates a tension, intensifying the "holiness" or separateness of a place the deeper you go in. This is achieved with successive layers of curtains.

Real Life Example
You go to a baseball game. You get excited just seeing the stadium. Then you're inside it and your excitement is growing. Then you're in the nosebleed section and you're more excited. Your excitement grows as you get closer and closer to home plate. Then there you are, ecstatic, right behind home plate. You can see it all, almost as the players see it. This is the pinnacle of your baseball watching experience. And it should be. You paid an exorbitant amount to sit there. You are separate from those fans in the bleachers who paid one twentieth of what you did. You are holy - separate from all the people whose views are not as good as yours.

Take me out to the bible.

The Curtains: Exodus 26.1-14

Inner Layer
Ten curtains are to be made of fine twisted linen yarn, with cherubim worked in. The yarns should be blue, purple, and crimson (all appropriately fine royal colors). They should measure 28 cubits long by 4 cubits wide (42' by 6'). These smaller curtains are sewn together into two large curtains measuring 28 cubits by 20 cubits. The outermost smaller curtain of each set should have 50 blue loops on the edge. This way, the curtains may be linked together with 50 gold clasps.

Tent
Outside the inner layer should be a eleven curtains of goats' hair that are woven together into a tent. Each small curtain should measure 30 cubits long by four cubits wide. These should be sewn in the manner of the inner layer curtain sections; five to one section, six to the other. The sixth small curtain should double over at the front of the tent. Fifty loops should be made in the same manner as the inner layer, with fifty clasps of bronze to link the two sections. The half curtain that remains hangs over the back of the tabernacle. The cubit of fabric that remains on either side shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle.

The Covers
For weatherproofing there will be a covering of tanned rams' skin and a covering outside this of fine leather.

The Framework: Exodus 26.15-30

All these curtains have to be draped over something - the framework.

Frames, made of acacia wood, measure 10 cubits long by 1.5 cubits wide. Two pegs in each frame will fit the frames together. Each frame should be overlaid in gold.

North and South Sides
The north and south sides shall consist of a structure of 20 connected frames with 2 bases of silver under each.

West Side (Rear)
This should be comprised of six frames. Corners should be comprised of one frame. Under each of the 8 frames should 2 silver bases

The Bars
Fifteen bars of acacia wood should be overlaid with gold, each arranged parallel to the ground. The middle bar, in the middl of the frames, should extend the length of the framework. Rings of gold on the frames will hold the bars.

The Curtain: Exodus 26.31-37

The Holy of Holies
A curtains is to be made of fine twisted linen yarn, with cherubim worked in. The yarns should be blue, purple, and crimson. It is to hang on four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold, which have gold hooks on them and rest on four silver bases. The curtain shall hang up on the pillars and the ark of the covenant will rest inside.

This is to be the most sacred part of the tabernacle, the most holy part in a holy place.

[Holy has the connotation of "separateness" - notice the layers of separation in this passage. Each layer builds on the previous to the most separate and most sacred object, the ark of the covenant. Atop this is the mercy seat upon which God sits (holy, e.g. separate from humanity), much like a king. Each successive layer creates a tension.]

Misc.
Outside the curtain should be the table (toward the north) and the lampstand (toward the south).

The tent should have a screen of fine twisted linen yarn, with needlework (not cherubim!). The yarns should be blue, purple, and crimson. Five pillars of acacia overlaid with gold and each with a gold hook shall rest in five bronze bases. These will hold up the screen.