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THE MESSAGE

Exodus 25:5

This verse is not available in the MSG!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Badger;   Colors;   Dyeing;   Gold;   Liberality;   Porpoise;   Seal;   Skin;   Tabernacle;   Thompson Chain Reference - Acacia Wood;   Arts and Crafts;   Badger's Skins;   Dyeing, of Garments;   Dyers;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Arts of the;   Beasts;   Sheep;   Tabernacle;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Badger;   Tabernacle;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Acacia;   Badger;   Skin, Coats Made of;   Tabernacle;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Rams' Skins Dyed Red;   Writing;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Animals;   Exodus, Book of;   Sea Cow;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Arts and Crafts;   Badgers' Skins;   Colours;   Leviticus;   Porpoise;   Shittah Tree;   Tabernacle;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Priest (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Badgers' Skins;   Dyeing;   Rams' Skins;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Badgers;   Sheep;   Shepherd;   Shittim-wood;   Tabernacle;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Badger Skins;   Sheep;   Tabernacle;   Taxes;   Writing;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Ram;   Red;   Skin;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Badger;   Shittim;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Events of the Encampment;   Tabernacle, the;   Moses, the Man of God;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Acacia;   Color;   Crafts;   Dye;   Porpoise;   Rams' Skins;   Sealskin;   Shittah Tree;   Skin;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Badger;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Color;   Dyes and Dyeing;   Sidra;   Taḥash;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
rams' skins dyed red, sea cow hides, shittim wood,
King James Version
And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
Lexham English Bible
and red-dyed ram skins, and fine leather, and acacia wood,
New Century Version
sheepskins that are dyed red; fine leather; acacia wood;
New English Translation
ram skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood,
Amplified Bible
rams' skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood,
New American Standard Bible
rams' skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood,
Geneva Bible (1587)
And rammes skinnes coloured red, and the skinnes of badgers, and the wood Shittim,
Legacy Standard Bible
rams' skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood,
Contemporary English Version
tanned ram skins; fine leather; acacia wood;
Complete Jewish Bible
tanned ram skins and fine leather; acacia-wood;
Darby Translation
and rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins; and acacia-wood;
Easy-to-Read Version
ram skins dyed red, and fine leather; acacia wood;
English Standard Version
tanned rams' skins, goatskins, acacia wood,
George Lamsa Translation
And rams skins dyed red, skins dyed with vermilion, and shittim wood,
Good News Translation
rams' skin dyed red; fine leather; acacia wood;
Christian Standard Bible®
ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood;
Literal Translation
and rams' skin dyed red, and dugong skins, and acacia wood;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
reed skynnes of rammes, doo skynnes, Fyrre tre,
American Standard Version
and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia wood,
Bible in Basic English
And sheepskins coloured red, and leather, and hard wood;
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Rammes skynnes that are red, & the skynnes of Tarus, & Sittim wood.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia-wood;
King James Version (1611)
And rammes skinnes died red, and badgers skinnes, and Shittim wood:
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
and rams’ skins dyed red, and blue skins, and incorruptible wood,
English Revised Version
and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia wood;
Berean Standard Bible
ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and skynnes of iacynt,
Young's Literal Translation
and rams' skins made red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
Update Bible Version
and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia wood,
Webster's Bible Translation
And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood.
World English Bible
rams' skins dyed red, sea cow hides, acacia wood,
New King James Version
ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood;
New Living Translation
tanned ram skins and fine goatskin leather; acacia wood;
New Life Bible
rams' skins made red, badgers' skins, acacia wood,
New Revised Standard
tanned rams' skins, fine leather, acacia wood,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins and acacia wood;
Douay-Rheims Bible
And rams’ skins dyed red, and violet skins, and setim wood:
Revised Standard Version
tanned rams' skins, goatskins, acacia wood,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
rams' skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood,

Contextual Overview

1 God spoke to Moses: "Tell the Israelites that they are to set aside offerings for me. Receive the offerings from everyone who is willing to give. These are the offerings I want you to receive from them: gold, silver, bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet material; fine linen; goats' hair; tanned rams' skins; dolphin skins; acacia wood; lamp oil; spices for anointing oils and for fragrant incense; onyx stones and other stones for setting in the Ephod and the Breastpiece. Let them construct a Sanctuary for me so that I can live among them. You are to construct it following the plans I've given you, the design for The Dwelling and the design for all its furnishings.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Exodus 26:14

shittim wood: Exodus 26:15, Exodus 26:26, Exodus 26:37, Exodus 27:1, Exodus 36:20

Reciprocal: Exodus 35:9 - General Numbers 33:49 - Abelshittim Deuteronomy 10:3 - I made Ezekiel 16:10 - badgers' skin

Cross-References

Genesis 25:7
Abraham lived 175 years. Then he took his final breath. He died happy at a ripe old age, full of years, and was buried with his family. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, next to Mamre. It was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried next to his wife Sarah. After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac lived at Beer Lahai Roi.
Genesis 25:12
This is the family tree of Ishmael son of Abraham, the son that Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's maid, bore to Abraham.
Genesis 25:21
Isaac prayed hard to God for his wife because she was barren. God answered his prayer and Rebekah became pregnant. But the children tumbled and kicked inside her so much that she said, "If this is the way it's going to be, why go on living?" She went to God to find out what was going on. God told her, Two nations are in your womb, two peoples butting heads while still in your body. One people will overpower the other, and the older will serve the younger.
Matthew 11:27
Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. "The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen.
Matthew 28:18
Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."
Colossians 1:19
I, Paul, have been sent on special assignment by Christ as part of God's master plan. Together with my friend Timothy, I greet the Christians and stalwart followers of Christ who live in Colosse. May everything good from God our Father be yours! Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings. We can't quit thanking God our Father and Jesus our Messiah for you! We keep getting reports on your steady faith in Christ, our Jesus, and the love you continuously extend to all Christians. The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope. The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn't diminish or weaken over time. It's the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. From the very first day you heard and recognized the truth of what God is doing, you've been hungry for more. It's as vigorous in you now as when you learned it from our friend and close associate Epaphras. He is one reliable worker for Christ! I could always depend on him. He's the one who told us how thoroughly love had been worked into your lives by the Spirit. Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven't stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you'll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us. God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He's set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating. We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God's side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don't walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message. I want you to know how glad I am that it's me sitting here in this jail and not you. There's a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world—the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church's part of that suffering. When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God's way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth. This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And rams' skins died red,.... Of these were made a covering for the tent or tabernacle:

and badgers' skins, which were for the same use: the Septuagint version calls them hyacinth or blue skins; according to which, they seem to be the rams' skins died blue; and so Josephus b seems to have understood it; and it is much questionable whether the same creature is meant we call the badger, since that with the Israelites was an unclean creature; nor is its skin made use of for shoes, or well could be, as the skin of this creature is said to be, Ezekiel 16:10. Jarchi says it was a kind of beast only at that time; and Aben Ezra says, it was known in those days but not now: and

shittim wood; supposed by the Jewish writers, as Kimchi c, and Ben Melech from him, to be the best and most excellent kind of cedar: Aben Ezra conjectures, and he delivers it but as a conjecture, that there might be near Mount Sinai a forest of "shittim" trees; and while the Israelites were there they cut them down for booths, which they might carry with them when they removed from thence; for, he says, Moses did not speak of the tabernacle till after the day of atonement: and since Acacia is by much the largest and the most common tree of the deserts of Arabia, as Dr. Shaw d observes, he thinks there some reason to conjecture, that the "shittim wood", whereof the several utensils of the tabernacle, c. were made, was the wood of Acacia: and long ago it was the opinion of Cordus e that the "shittim wood" was the Acacia of Dioscorides and it is the same with the Senton or Santon of the Arabians, which is the Egyptian thorn that grows in the wilderness, of which Herodotus f says, they cut wood of two cubits out of and make ships of burden of it: this is said to grow in the parts of Egypt at a distance from the sea; in the mountains of Sinai, at the Red sea, about Suez, in the barren wilderness; which circumstances seem to determine it to be the "shittim wood" g: some places where it might grow in plenty seem to have had their names from it, see

Numbers 25:1.

b Ut supra. (Antiq. l. 3. c. 6. sect. 1.) c Sepher Shorash. rad. שוט d Travels, p. 144. Ed. 2. e Apud Drus. Heb. Adag. Decur. 3. Adag. 4. f Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 96. g Vid. Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 2. p. 204.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Yahweh had redeemed the Israelites from bondage. He had made a covenant with them and had given them laws. He had promised, on condition of their obedience, to accept them as His own “peculiar treasure,” as “a kingdom of priests and an holy nation” Exodus 19:5-6. And now He was ready visibly to testify that He made his abode with them. He claimed to have a dwelling for Himself, which was to be in external form a tent of goats’ hair Exodus 19:4, to take its place among their own tents, and formed out of the same material (see Exodus 26:7 note). The special mark of His presence within the tent was to be the ark or chest containing the Ten Commandments on two tables of stone Exodus 31:18, symbolizing the divine law of holiness, and covered by the mercy-seat, the type of reconciliation. Moses was divinely taught regarding the construction and arrangement of every part of the sanctuary. The directions which were given him are comprised in Exodus 25:1-11. The account of the performance of the work, expressed generally in the same terms, is given Exodus 35:21-33.

Moses is commanded to invite the people to bring their gifts for the construction and service of the sanctuary and for the dresses of the priests.

Exodus 25:2

An offering - The word is used here in its general sense, being equivalent to korban, κορβᾶν korban, (compare Mark 7:11). On the marginal rendering “heave offering,” see the note at Exodus 29:27.

That giveth it willingly with his heart - The public service of Yahweh was to be instituted by freewill offerings, not by an enforced tax. Compare 1 Chronicles 29:3, 1 Chronicles 29:9,1 Chronicles 29:14; Ezra 2:68-69; 2 Corinthians 8:11-12; 2 Corinthians 9:7. On the zeal with which the people responded to the call, see Exodus 35:21-29; Exodus 36:5-7.

Exodus 25:3

Gold, and silver, and brass - The supply of these metals possessed by the Israelites at this time probably included what they had inherited from their forefathers, what they had obtained from the Egyptians Exodus 12:35, and what may have been found amongst the spoils of the Amalekites Exodus 17:8-13. But with their abundant flocks and herds, it can hardly be doubted that they had carried on important traffic with the trading caravans that traversed the wilderness, some of which, most likely, in the earliest times were furnished with silver, with the gold of Ophir (or gold of Sheba, as it seems to have been indifferently called), and with the “brass” (the alloy of copper and tin, called bronze) of Phoenicia and Egypt. Compare Exodus 38:24 note.

Exodus 25:4

Blue, and purple, and scarlet - i. e. the material dyed with these colors. The Jewish tradition has been very generally received that this material was wool. Compare Hebrews 9:19 with Leviticus 14:4, Leviticus 14:49, etc. When spun and dyed by the women, it was delivered in the state of yarn; and the weaving and embroidering was left to Aholiab and his assistants, Exodus 35:25, Exodus 35:35. The “blue” and “purple” dye are usually thought to have been obtained from shell-fish, the “scarlet” from the cochineal insect of the holm-oak.

Fine linen - The fine flax or the manufactured linen, for which Egypt was famous Ezekiel 27:7, and which the Egyptians were in the habit of using for dresses of state Genesis 41:42. It was used as the groundwork of the figured curtains of the tabernacle as well as of the embroidered hangings of the tent and the court. See Exodus 35:35.

Exodus 25:5

Rams’ skins dyed red - Skins tanned and colored like the leather now known as red morocco.

Badgers’ skins - Rather, leather, probably of a sky-blue color, formed from the skins of the תחשׁ tachash (a general name for marine animals), which was well adapted as a protection against the weather.

Shittim wood - The word שׁטים shı̂ṭṭâm is the plural form of שׁטה shı̂ṭâh, which occurs as the name of the growing tree, Isaiah 41:19. The tree is satisfactorily identified with the Acacia seyal, a gnarled and thorny tree, somewhat like a solitary hawthorn in its habit and manner of growth, but much larger. It flourishes in the driest situations, and is scattered more or less numerously over the Sinaitic Peninsula. It appears to be the only good wood produced in the wilderness. No other kind of wood was employed in the tabernacle or its furniture. In the construction of the temple cedar and fir took its place 1 Kings 5:8; 1 Kings 6:18; 2 Chronicles 2:8.

Exodus 25:6-7

See the notes to Exodus 27:0; Exodus 28:0; Exodus 30:0,

Exodus 25:8

sanctuary - i. e. a hallowed place. This is the most comprehensive of the words that relate to the place dedicated to Yahweh. It included the tabernacle with its furniture, its tent, and its court.

That I may dwell among them - The purpose of the sanctuary is here definitely declared by the Lord Himself. It was to be the constant witness of His presence among His people. Compare the marginal references.

Exodus 25:9

According to all that I shew thee - The tabernacle and all that pertained to it were to be in strict accordance with the ideas revealed by the Lord to Moses (compare Exodus 25:40; Exodus 26:30; Acts 7:44; Hebrews 8:5). The word here translated “pattern” is also used to denote the plans for the temple which were given by David to Solomon 1 Chronicles 28:11-12, 1 Chronicles 28:19; it is elsewhere rendered “form, likeness, similitude,” Deuteronomy 4:16-17; Ezekiel 8:3, Ezekiel 8:10.

The tabernacle - The Hebrew word signifies the “dwelling-place.” It here denotes the wooden structure, containing the holy place and the most holy place, with the tent which sheltered it. See Exodus 26:1 note.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 25:5. Rams' skins dyed red — ערת אילם מאדמים oroth eylim meoddamim, literally, the skins of red rams. It is a fact attested by many respectable travellers, that in the Levant sheep are often to be met with that have red or violet-coloured fleeces. And almost all ancient writers speak of the same thing. Homer describes the rams of Polyphemus as having a violet-coloured fleece.

Αρσενες οΐες ησαν εΰτρεφεες, δασυμαλλοι,

Καλοι τε, μεγαλοι τε, ιοδνεφες ειρος εχοντες.

Odyss., lib. ix., ver. 425.

"Strong were the rams, with native purple fair,

Well fed, and largest of the fleecy care."

POPE.


Pliny, Aristotle, and others mention the same. And from facts of this kind it is very probable that the fable of the golden fleece had its origin. In the Zetland Isles I have seen sheep with variously coloured fleeces, some white, some black, some black and white, some of a very fine chocolate colour. Beholding those animals brought to my recollection those words of Virgil: -

Ipse sed in pratis Aries jam suave rubenti

Murice, jam croceo mutabit vellera luto.

Eclog. iv., ver. 43.

"No wool shall in dissembled colours shine;

But the luxurious father of the fold,

With native purple or unborrow'd gold,

Beneath his pompous fleece shall proudly sweat,

And under Tyrian robes the lamb shall bleat."

DRYDEN.


Badgers' skins — ערת תחשים oroth techashim. Few terms have afforded greater perplexity to critics and commentators than this. Bochart has exhausted the subject, and seems to have proved that no kind of animal is here intended, but a colour. None of the ancient versions acknowledge an animal of any kind except the Chaldee, which seems to think the badger is intended, and from it we have borrowed our translation of the word. The Septuagint and Vulgate have skins dyed a violet colour; the Syriac, azure; the Arabic, black; the Coptic, violet; the modern Persic, ram-skins, c. The colour contended for by Bochart is the hysginus, which is a very deep blue. So Pliny, Coccoque tinctum Tyrio tingere, ut fieret hysginum. "They dip crimson in purple to make the colour called hysginus." - Hist. Nat., lib. ix., c. 65, edit. Bipont.

Shittim wood — By some supposed to be the finest species of the cedar by others, the acacia Nilotica, a species of thorn, solid, light, and very beautiful. This acacia is known to have been plentiful in Egypt, and it abounds in Arabia Deserta, the very place in which Moses was when he built the tabernacle; and hence it is reasonable to suppose that he built it of that wood, which was every way proper for his purpose.


 
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