Exodus 27

1 And thou shalt make an altare of sethim wodd: fyue cubettes longe ad .v. cubettes brode, that it be fouresquare, and .iij. cubettes hye.

2 And make it hornes proceding out in the .iiij. corners of it, and couer it with brasse.

3 And make his asshepannes, shovels, basens, fleshhokes, fyrepannes and all the apparell there of, of brasse

4 after the fascyon of a net, ad put apon the nette .iiij. rynges: euen in the .iiij. corners of it,

5 and put it beneth vnder the compasse of the altare, and let the net reache vnto the one halfe of the altare,

6 And make staues for the altare of sethim wodd, and couer the wyth brasse,

7 and let them be put in rynges alonge by the sydes off the altare, to bere it with all.

8 And make the altare holowe with bordes: euen as it was shewed the in the mount, so lett them make it,

9 And thou shalt make a courte vnto the habitacion, which shall haue in the south syde hagynges of twyned bysse, beyng an hundred cubettes longe,

10 and .xx. pilers thereof with there xx. sokettes of brasse: but the knoppes of the pilers and their whopes shalbe syluer.

11 In like wise on the north syde there shalbe hagynges of an hundred cubettes longe and .xx. pilers with their sokettes of brasse, and the knoppes and the whopes of syluer.

12 And in the bredth of the courte westwarde, there shalbe hangynges of fyftye cubettes longe, and .x. pilers with their .x. sokettes.

13 And in the bredth of the courte eastwarde towarde the rysynge of the sonne, shalbe hangynges of .l. cubyttes.

14 Hagynges of .xv. cubittes in the one syde of it with iij. pilers and .iij. sokettes:

15 and likewise on the other syde shalbe hangynges of .xv. cubettes with .iij. pilers and .iij. sokettes.

16 And in the gate of the courte shalbe a vayle of .xx. cubettes: of Iacyncte, scarlet, purpul and twyned bysse wroughte with nedle worke, and .iiij. pilers with their .iiij. sokettes.

17 All the pilers rounde aboute the courte shalbe whoped with syluer, and their knoppes of syluer, and their sokettes of brasse.

18 The length of the courte, shall be an hundred cubettes, and the bredth fiftye, and the heygth fyue, and the hangynges shalbe of twyned bysse and the sokettes of brasse.

19 And all the vessels of the habitacion to all maner seruyce ad the pynnes there of: ye and the pynne also of the courte, shalbe brasse.

20 And commaunde the childern of Israel that they geue the pure oyle olyue beaten for the lyghtes to poure all way in to the lampes.

21 In the tabernacle of witnesse without the vayle wich is before the wytnesse, shall Aaron ad his sonnes dresse it both even and mornynge before the Lorde: And it shalbe a dewtie for euer vnto youre generacyous after you: to be geuen of the childern of Israel.

Exodus 27 Commentary

Chapter 27

The altar of burnt offerings. (1-8) The court of the tabernacle. (9-19) The oil for the lamps. (20,21)

Verses 1-8 In the court before the tabernacle, where the people attended, was an altar, to which they must bring their sacrifices, and on which their priests must offer them to God. It was of wood overlaid with brass. A grate of brass was let into the hollow of the altar, about the middle of which the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burnt. It was made of net-work like a sieve, and hung hollow, that the ashes might fall through. This brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins. The wood had been consumed by the fire from heaven, if it had not been secured by the brass: nor could the human nature of Christ have borne the wrath of God, if it had not been supported by Divine power.

Verses 9-19 The tabernacle was enclosed in a court, about sixty yards long and thirty broad, formed by curtains hung upon brazen pillars, fixed in brazen sockets. Within this enclosure the priests and Levites offered the sacrifices, and thither the Jewish people were admitted. These distinctions represented the difference between the visible nominal church, and the true spiritual church, which alone has access to God, and communion with him.

Verses 20-21 The pure oil signified the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which all believers receive from Christ, the good Olive, and without which our light cannot shine before men. The priests were to light the lamps, and tend them. It is the work of ministers, by preaching and expounding the Scriptures, which are as a lamp, to enlighten the church, God's tabernacle upon earth. Blessed be God, this light is not now confined to the Jewish tabernacle, but is a light to lighten the gentiles, and for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 27

This chapter treats of the altar of burnt offering, and of all things relative to it, Ex 27:1-8, of the court of the tabernacle, its hangings on each side, with pillars, sockets, and hooks for them, Ex 27:9-19 and it is concluded with an order to the Israelites to bring oil olive for the lamp of the sanctuary, Ex 27:20,21.