The Tabernacle
GOD spoke to Moses, saying:

“Speak to the Israelites and have the treasurers take the materials that the people donate for the Tabernacle from their personal belongings as a contribution for Me. Tell the treasurers: ‘You must take the contribution for Me from every man whose heart prompts him to give.

The following materials constitute the contribution that you must take from them: gold, silver, and copper, of which they have plenty from the spoils of Egypt and the Sea of Reeds;

wool dyed turquoise with the blood of a sea creature called the chilazon, wool dyed purple, and wool dyed scarlet, from the wool of their flocks; linen, of which there is an abundance in Egypt and which they took when they left; goat hair

and red-dyed ram skins from their flocks; skins of the tachash, an animal with a multi-colored hide that they will find here in the desert; acacia wood, which Jacob foresaw they would need and told them to take with them when they left Egypt;

pure olive oil, which you took with you from Egypt and which is to be used for kindling the lamps of the luminary (i.e., the Candelabrum) regularly; and spices for the anointing oil – used to anoint the Tabernacle, its furnishings, and the priests – and for the incense-offering;

and onyx stones and inset stones, the onyx stones for the Ephod and the inset stones for the Breastplate, which are two of the high priest’s garments that will be described later on.’

They must make Me a sanctuary from these materials; when they do so they must specifically intend thereby to infuse holiness into these materials. The purpose of the sanctuary is that I may dwell among them.

They must make this dwelling, or Tabernacle, according to all that I am showing you here, on Mount Sinai – i.e., the form of the Tabernacle and the form of all its furnishings. You, yourself, however, will not actually make any part of the Tabernacle or its furnishings. And so must you, i.e., the community, make replacements for these furnishings, if necessary, and similar furnishings for the permanent Temple that will eventually be constructed in the Land of Israel.

The Ark
They must make an Ark of acacia wood, two-and-a-half cubits long, one-and-a-half cubits wide, and one-and-a-half cubits high. It must have no legs, but rest directly on the ground.

You must have them overlay it with pure gold: you must have them overlay it inside and out by making two golden boxes – one slightly larger and one slightly smaller than the wooden ark – and inserting the wooden ark between them. Have them make the outer, golden box a handbreadth taller than the other two boxes, in order to enclose the Cover that will be placed upon them. In addition, upon the outer golden box you must have them make a decorative gold rim all around. This rim will signify the dignity that is due scholars of the Torah, for the Ark will house the tablets of the Torah.

You must have them cast four gold rings for the Ark and place them on its four corners, two rings on one side and two rings on the opposite side.

You must have them make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

You must have them insert the poles through the rings on the sides of the Ark, so that the Ark can be carried with them.

The poles must remain in the rings of the Ark; they may not be removed from it, even when the Ark is not being carried.

You must place in the Ark the Tablets of the Testimony that I will give you. The tablets are called ‘Tablets of the Testimony’ since they bear witness to the fact that I have commanded you all that is written on them.

The Cover of the Ark
You must have them make for the Ark a Cover of pure gold, two-and-a-half cubits long, one-and-a-half cubits wide – these being the outer dimensions of the wooden Ark – and one handbreadth thick. Since it will be quite heavy, it will require more than one person to lift it and place it on top of the Ark.

The Cherubim
You must have them make two golden cherubim: statuettes of winged angels with infant faces. You must have the craftsmen make them by hammering them out of the two ends of the Cover. Do not let them make the cherubim out of a separate piece of gold and then attach them to the Cover.

Have them make one cherub out of one end and one cherub out of the other end; you must have them make the cherubim from the Cover itself, at its two ends. The cherubim must be 10 handbreadths tall.

The cherubim must have their wings spread aloft, slightly above the level of their heads, so that their wings shield the Cover, 10 handbreadths above it. They must face one another, the faces of the cherubim being inclined downward toward the Cover.

You must have them place the Cover on top of the Ark after having placed in the Ark the Tablets of Testimony that I will give you.

This Cover is not just an accessory of the Ark, but has its own, distinct purpose: I will convene with you there: I will speak to you from above the Cover. Even though you will be standing on the opposite side of the partitioning Curtain between the inner and outer chambers of the Tabernacle, My voice will issue from between the two cherubim that are on the Ark of Testimony and you will hear it where you will be standing. In this way I will convey to you everything that I will command you concerning the Israelites.

The Table
You must have them make a Table of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one-and-a-half cubits high, this last measurement including the height of its legs and the thickness of the board that served as the tabletop.

You must have them overlay it with pure gold, and you must have them make a decorative gold rim for it all around. This rim will signify the dignity that is due the office of the Jewish leader – which will eventually be vested in the king.

You must have them make a frame for it all around, one handbreadth high. You must have them make a gold rim – the same gold rim spoken of in the previous verse – to attach to the Table’s frame all around.

You must have them make four gold rings for the Table, and you must have them place the rings on the four corners of its four legs.

The rings must be close to the frame, to serve as holders for the poles with which to carry the Table.

You must have them make the poles out of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, and the Table will be carried with them.

The purpose of the Table will be to hold 12 loaves of special, unleavened bread. Each loaf is to be baked by forming a rectangle of dough five handbreadths by 10 handbreadths and attaching four cubes of dough at this rectangle’s four corners. The lengthwise ends of the rectangle are then to be folded over so that the two sets of two cubes of dough ‘see’ each other; it is therefore called ‘showbread.’ The 12 loaves will be baked in iron forms and then placed in gold forms until they are placed on the Table. There will be two stacks, each of six loaves; the bottom loaf of each stack will rest directly on the Table; the other 10 loaves will rest on shelving half-tubes, which in turn will rest on supporting frames driven into the earth. Thus, the weight of the upper loaves will not bear down on the lower ones. In between the two stacks of loaves will be placed two spoons full of frankincense. Thus, you must have the artisans make its bread-forms, its spoons for the frankincense, its shelving tubes with which the bread will be covered, and its supporting frames for the tubes; you must have them make all these of pure gold.

New loaves of showbread are to be baked every Friday and placed on the Table on the Sabbath, where they will remain until the following Sabbath, when they will be replaced by a newly baked set of loaves. In this fashion, you must have them place showbread on the Table such that it will remain before Me at all times. After the loaves have been replaced, the two spoonfuls of frankincense are to be burned on the Outer Altar and the old loaves – miraculously still fresh – are to be eaten by the priests.

The Candelabrum
You must make a Candelabrum of pure gold. The Candelabrum must be formed as if by hammering: its box-shaped, three-legged base; its central, upright stem; its decorative goblets; its apple-shaped spheres; and its flowers must all be an integral part of the same ingot of gold. They must not be made from separate pieces of gold and then attached.

The Candelabrum will be 18 handbreadths tall. Six branches must extend diagonally from out of its two sides, three branches of the Candelabrum from one side of it and three branches of the Candelabrum from its other side. The branches must extend out of the main stem at the ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth handbreadth from the ground. They must extend upward to the height of the middle stem.

The Goblets, Spheres, and Flowers
There must be three engraved goblets, as well as a sphere and a flower, on the upper three handbreadths of one branch, and three engraved goblets, as well as a sphere and a flower, on the upper three handbreadths of the next branch; the same will apply to all six branches extending from the stem of the Candelabrum.

On the stem of the Candelabrum there must be four goblets: three in the upper three handbreadths, similar to the other six branches, and one in the sixth handbreadth from the ground, below the point where the branches begin to extend from the stem. The two spheres and flowers of the stem must both be engraved. One sphere and one flower will be situated in the upper three handbreadths of the stem, similar to the other six branches, and the second sphere and flower will be situated next to the goblet at the sixth handbreadth. In addition, there will be one flower just above the base. The base, its legs, and this flower together must be three handbreadths tall.

Besides the spheres just mentioned, there must be one sphere situated on the stem below the first two branches – that is, at the point on the stem where the branches extend from it; another sphere must be situated below the next two branches – that is, at the point on the stem where they extend from it; and a third sphere must be situated below the last two branches – that is, at the point on the stem where they extend from it. These three spheres will thus serve as base-points for all the six branches extending from the stem of the Candelabrum. There will thus be 9 flowers, 11 spheres, and 22 goblets on the Candelabrum.

Together with the base, the stem, the goblets, and the flowers, the spheres – as stated above – and the branches of the Candelabrum must be an integral part of it; it must all be hammered out of a single ingot of pure gold.

The Lamps
You must make seven lamps for it separately; these lamps will not be hammered out of the same single ingot of gold. Fashion these lamps such that when the officiating priest kindles its lamps, they will shine toward its center.

Make its tongs, used for positioning the wicks and removing them after they have been used, and its ash-pans, used for removing the ashes left after the wicks burn out, also out of pure gold.

It must be made, together with all these utensils, out of one talent [about 48 kilograms or 106 pounds] of pure gold. In addition, make stone steps for the priest to ascend in order to kindle the lamps.”

Moses did not understand all the details of the instructions how to make the Candelabrum, so God showed him the image of a fiery Candelabrum and its utensils. He then told him, “Observe their forms that you are being shown on the mountain, and make them in that manner.” But it was still too complicated for Moses to envision, so God told him he would be able to simply throw the gold into the fire and it would assume the proper form.

The Coverings
God then instructed Moses how to make the coverings that were to form the roof and external wall-coverings of the Tabernacle: “You must have them make the first cover of the Tabernacle out of 10 tapestries. These tapestries will be woven out of threads composed of 24 strands: six intertwined strands of linen, six intertwined strands of turquoise wool, six intertwined strands of purple wool, and six intertwined strands of scarlet wool. You must have them make them with a woven design of cherubim. These cherubim will have the appearance of lions on one side of the tapestries and of eagles on the other.

The length of each tapestry must be 28 cubits and the width of each tapestry must be four cubits, all the tapestries being of the same size.

Five tapestries must be attached to one another by sewing, and the other five must likewise be attached to one another by sewing. Thus, there will be two sets of tapestries, each set measuring 28 cubits by 20 cubits.

You must have them make loops of turquoise wool along the edge of the tapestry at the end of the first set, and you must have them do the same along the edge of the endmost tapestry of the second set.

You must have them make 50 loops on one tapestry, and you must have them make another 50 loops along the edge of the tapestry of the second set, each loop being exactly aligned with its counterpart.

You must have them make 50 golden clasps, and you must join the two sets of tapestries to each other with the clasps, so that the cover of the Tabernacle will become one. The two sets of joined tapestries will thus together be 28 cubits wide and 40 cubits long. As will be explained further, the Tabernacle itself is 12 cubits wide, 32 cubits long, and 10 cubits high. Thus, when you spread this cover over the Tabernacle, leaving the front entrance uncovered, its width will cover the 12 cubits of the Tabernacle’s width and the upper eight cubits of the outside of each side wall. Its length will cover the Tabernacle’s length and the upper part of the outside of the back wall. The loops and clasps will be on the underside of the tapestries.

For the second cover, you must have them make sheets of goat hair as a Tent to spread over the tapestries that form the first cover of the Tabernacle; you must have them make not 10, as was the case with the tapestries, but 11 such sheets.

The length of each sheet must be 30 cubits and the width of each sheet must be four cubits, all 11 sheets being of the same size.

You must have the artisans attach five of the sheets by themselves by sewing, making a set 30 cubits long and 20 cubits wide, and attach the remaining six sheets by themselves by sewing, making a set 30 cubits long and 24 cubits wide. When you spread the goat-hair cover over the Tabernacle, you must fold half of the sixth sheet of this second set – that is, two cubits of this cover – over the front entrance of the Tent – that is, the Tabernacle – as will be explained presently.

You must have the artisans make 50 loops of goat hair along the edge of the endmost sheet of the first set, and 50 loops of goat hair along the edge of the endmost sheet of the second set.

You must have them make 50 copper clasps, and you must have them insert the clasps into the loops, thus joining the two halves of the goat-hair Tent together and making it one cover, 30 cubits wide and 44 cubits long. Of these 44 cubits, 32 will cover the Tabernacle’s length, two will hang over the front entrance (as just stated), and 10 will cover the back wall completely. The loops and clasps will be on the topside of the sheets.

Thus, with regard to the overlapping remainder of the sheets of the goat-hair Tent in excess of the tapestries, one extra half-sheet will overhang the entrance of the Tabernacle – like a veil covering the face of a bride – and the other extra half-sheet will overhang beyond the tapestries covering the back of the Tabernacle.

As for the extra two cubits in the width of this cover, beyond the width of the tapestries, the extra cubit at either end of the length of the sheets of the goat-hair Tent must hang down over the two sides of the lower cover of the Tabernacle, to cover it. Thus, the back of the Tabernacle will be completely covered, while the bottommost cubit of the sidewalls will remain exposed. Since the tapestries are more beautiful and more costly than the goat-hair cover, it is appropriate that the former be protected by the latter.

You must also have them make a third cover, to act as a roof over the goat-hair Tent, out of red-dyed ram skins. It must measure 30 by 10 cubits, and thus cover only the interior of the Tabernacle, not the tops or sides of the planks. In addition, have them also make a fourth cover, a roof of tachash skins to be placed above the roof of ram skins. This cover must also measure 30 by 10 cubits. The tachash skins will be the uppermost cover because they are the most beautiful of all the skins, and because their beauty is intrinsic to the hide rather than added to it by dyeing.”

The Building
God then gave Moses the instructions for constructing the Tabernacle building itself. “You must have the artisans make the planks for the Tabernacle out of acacia wood. These planks must be placed vertically, side by side, to form the three walls of the Tabernacle.

The length of each plank must be 10 cubits, and thus the height of the Tabernacle will be 10 cubits. The width of each plank must be one-and-a-half cubits and the breadth of each must be one cubit.

Have the artisans whittle the bottom of each plank so as to fashion two tenons, each one cubit long, half a cubit wide, and a quarter of a cubit broad, parallel to each other; you must have them do likewise to all the planks of the Tabernacle. Have them leave a space of half a cubit between the two tenons of each plank.

You must have them make the following number of planks for the Tabernacle: 20 planks for the southern side. The interior length of the Tabernacle will thus be 30 cubits, since each plank is a cubit-and-a-half wide.

You must have them make 40 silver bases, each one cubit tall, one cubit wide, and three-quarters-of-a cubit thick. These 40 bases will be placed under the 20 planks, two bases under one plank. Each base will be hollowed out to accommodate one of the two tenons protruding from the plank above it. Similarly, there will be two bases under each following plank, each base hollowed out to accommodate one of the two tenons protruding from the plank above it.

For the second side of the Tabernacle, to the north, there must likewise be 20 planks

with their 40 silver bases: two bases under one plank, and two bases under each following plank.

For the back of the Tabernacle, to the west, you must have them make six planks, each of whose one-and-a-half-cubit width will be fully exposed inside the Tabernacle,

and you must have them make another two planks for the back corners of the Tabernacle. One cubit of each of these corner planks will be covered by the breadth of the planks forming the northern and southern walls, and therefore only a half a cubit of each corner plank will be exposed inside the Tabernacle. Thus, the interior width of the Tabernacle will be 10 cubits.

All the planks must be flush against each other at the bottom. This will be accomplished by shaving the perimeter of the lower cubit of each plank so that its tenons fit snugly into the bases underneath them, thus making the outsides of the bases flush with the planks and the planks flush against each other. The planks must also be flush against each other at the top. This will be accomplished by notching the tops of the planks so that every pair of adjoining planks can be fitted together into a rectangular band. This must also be done with the two planks on the two corners.

Thus, on the west side, there will be a total of eight planks with their silver bases – 16 bases in all: two bases under one plank, and two bases under each following plank.

As for how these planks will be held together, you must have them make crossbars out of acacia wood: five for the planks of one long side of the Tabernacle,

five crossbars for the planks of the other long side of the Tabernacle, and five crossbars for the planks of the back wall of the Tabernacle, to the west. Have them make four of each wall’s crossbars half as long as the wall, and one crossbar the wall’s full length. Two of the half-length crossbars will traverse the wall at a height of seven-and-a-half cubits, and the other two half-length crossbars will traverse the wall at a height of two-and-a-half cubits. The full-length crossbar will traverse the wall at the wall’s mid height, i.e., five cubits from the ground.

The full-length crossbar at the wall’s mid height must be inserted into holes drilled through the planks, from one end of the Tabernacle to the other.

You must have the artisans overlay the planks with gold. The half-length crossbars, unlike the full-length crossbar, will be affixed to the planks externally, on the outside perimeter of the walls: You must have the artisans make gold rings for the planks, affixed to their outer surface, to hold the half-length crossbars at the correct height, and gold half-tubes to cover the crossbars over the rest of the width of the planks, and thereby the artisans will, in effect, overlay the crossbars with gold. Since all the crossbars will be either inside the planks or on their outside surface, none of them will be visible from the inside of the Tabernacle.

When you erect the Tabernacle for the purpose of installing the priests in their service, you may be assisted by others. When, however, it comes time to erect the Tabernacle for its ongoing use, you must erect the Tabernacle in its proper order yourself, as you will have been shown by Me on the mountain.”

The Curtain
God then instructed Moses how to divide the inside of the Tabernacle into two chambers. “You must have the artisan make a partitioning Curtain woven out of the same material as the lower cover of the Tabernacle: threads composed of six strands each of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and twined linen. Just like that cover, he must make it with a woven design of cherubim having the appearance of eagles on one side and lions on the other. The Curtain will be 10 cubits tall, 10 cubits wide, and a handbreadth thick.

You must have them hang it on four pillars of acacia wood, each of which will be 10 cubits tall, one cubit thick, and three quarters of a cubit wide. These pillars will be overlaid with gold and will be equipped with hooks of gold. Have the artisans whittle the bottom of each pillar so as to fashion one tenon – one cubit long, half-a-cubit wide, and a quarter-of-a-cubit broad, just like the tenons of the Tabernacle planks. By means of these tenons, the four pillars will be set in four bases of silver, each of which will have the same form and dimensions as the bases under the planks of the Tabernacle. They must wrap the top of the Curtain around a horizontal pole that rests on the hooks that project out of the four pillars.

You must have them position the Curtain under the clasps that couple the two sets of lower tapestries, that is, 10 cubits from the west wall. There, on the inner side of the Curtain, you must bring the Ark of Testimony. The Curtain will thus separate for you between the outer chamber of the Tabernacle, known as the Sanctuary, and its inner chamber, the Holy of Holies.

You must then have them place the Cover on the Ark of Testimony, in the Holy of Holies. The Ark and its Cover are to be the only furnishings in the Holy of Holies.

You must have them place the Table outside the Curtain, and the Candelabrum opposite the Table on the south side of the Tabernacle, two-and-a-half cubits from the south wall, the lamps aligned perpendicularly to the Curtain. You must have them place the Table on the north side, two-and-a-half cubits from the north wall. There will be a third article in the outer chamber as well – the Inner Altar, on which the incense will be burned – but the instructions for its construction will be given later.

The Screen
You must have them make a Screen for the entrance to the Tent, i.e., of the Tabernacle, out of the same material as the Curtain: threads composed of six strands each of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and twined linen. It must be the work of an embroiderer – not a weaver – with figures of eagles and lions, the same figures appearing on both sides of the cloth. The Screen, like the Curtain, will be 10 cubits tall and 10 cubits wide.

You must have the artisans make five pillars of acacia wood for the Screen: The top of the Screen will be wrapped around a horizontal pole that will rest on hooks projecting from the pillars. These pillars must be 10 cubits tall, one cubit wide, and one cubit thick. You must have them overlay these pillars and their tops with gold and affix decorative, gold-overlaid bands around them. Equip the pillars with their hooks, which must also be of gold. Have the artisans whittle the bottom of each pillar so as to fashion a tenon one cubit long. You must have the artisans cast five copper bases for them, one cubit tall, one cubit wide, and one cubit thick.”

The Outer Altar
God then instructed Moses how to construct the furnishings placed in the Courtyard outside the Tabernacle. “You must have the artisans make the Outer Altar out of panels of acacia wood, assembled into a hollow box five cubits long and five cubits wide – the Altar must be square – and 10 cubits tall. Its bottom cubit will extend outward an additional cubit on each side, thus forming the Altar’s base. The Altar will be three cubits high above its Border, as will be described presently.

You must have them make protrusions for it on its top, at its four corners, the protrusions being of one piece with it. Each protrusion will be one cubit tall, one cubit long, and one cubit wide. The cubit-wide space inward of these protrusions will serve as space for the priests to walk on the top of the Altar when they burn up the offerings. This will leave one square cubit in the center of the Altar’s top for the woodpile. Although most of the other furnishings of the Tabernacle are to be overlaid with gold, you must overlay this Altar with copper, because the word for “copper” (nechoshet) is similar to the word for “stubborn” (nachush), and the sacrifices offered up on this Altar atone for inadvertent sins, which a person generally commits out of his stubborn deference to the animal side of his personality.

Inasmuch as this Altar will be used for burning up animal sacrifices, you must have the artisans make its pots with which to remove the ashes from it; its scoops, with which the ashes will be shoveled into the pots; its basins, into which the blood of the slaughtered animals will flow and from which this blood will be applied to the Altar; its flesh hooks, which will be used to turn over the flesh of the sacrifices as it burns; and its fire pans, which will be used to carry coals from this Altar into the Sanctuary and place them on the Inner Altar for the purpose of burning the incense. You must have them make all its implements of copper.

You must have them make a Grate of copper network to girdle the Altar, one cubit wide, occupying the sixth cubit of the Altar’s height. You must have them make on the network four copper rings, one on each of the four corners of the Grate.

Have them make a decorative Border around the Altar, one cubit thick, occupying the seventh cubit of the Altar’s height from the ground. You must have them place the Grate below the decorative Border of the Altar, extending downward until the middle of the height of the Altar, i.e., until the point five cubits from the ground. It is necessary to mark the midpoint of the Altar’s height because there are certain offerings whose blood must be applied to the upper half of the Altar and others whose blood must be applied to its lower half.

You must have them make poles for the Altar, poles of acacia wood, and you must have them overlay them with copper.

Its poles must be inserted through the rings, so that the poles will be on both sides of the Altar when it is carried.

You must have them make the Altar a hollow structure, of panels, and fill it with earth every time it is set up. It will not be solid, and it will not have a built-in roof. As He (that is, I) showed you on the mountain, so must they make it. In order to ascend the Altar, have the artisans build a ramp, since it is forbidden to ascend the Altar by stairs. This ramp will be positioned to the south of the Altar. There is an additional article that will be placed outside the Tabernacle – the Laver – but the instructions for its construction will be given later.”

The Courtyard
The walls of the Tabernacle set off the area occupied by it as holy space. In order to define the area of the surrounding Courtyard, God told Moses, “You must have them make the Courtyard of the Tabernacle as follows: On the south side there must be loosely crocheted nettings made of twined linen for the Courtyard, 100 cubits long, to make one side of the enclosure. These nettings must be five cubits tall.

For this side of the enclosure, have them make 20 pillars, with their 20 copper bases, on which to hang the nettings. There will thus be five cubits between one pillar and the next. The pillars must be made out of acacia wood overlaid with copper on the sides and silver on the top. The pillars must be a cubit wide, a cubit thick, and just over five cubits tall. The bases must be one cubit tall. Have the artisans whittle away the bottom of each pillar so as to fashion a tenon one cubit long, by which the pillars must be inserted into the bases. Have them make hooks that will protrude out of each pillar at the top, and wooden blocks – one cubit long and half a cubit wide – that will hang from the hooks by a copper ring. The nettings will be attached to these blocks by ropes, and this is how they will hang from the pillars. Have them also affix decorative bands around the pillars. The hooks of the pillars and their bands must be made of silver.

Likewise, along the length of the north side, there must be crocheted nettings 100 cubits in length, with their 20 pillars and their 20 copper bases; the hooks of the pillars and their bands must be made of silver.

For the width of the Courtyard on the west side there must be crocheted nettings 50 cubits in length, with their 10 pillars and their 10 bases.

The width of the Courtyard on the front, the east side, must also be 50 cubits.

Of this width, there must be 15 cubits of crocheted nettings to one side of the entrance, with their three pillars and their three bases, five cubits apart,

and likewise, there must be 15 cubits of crocheted nettings to the other side of the entrance, with their three pillars and their three bases, five cubits apart.

To close the entrance to the Courtyard, have the artisans make a 20-cubit-wide Screen out of the same material used for the tapestries of the Tabernacle, its Screen, and its Curtain: threads composed of six strands each of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and twined linen, the work of an embroiderer, with figures of eagles and lions, the same figures appearing on both sides of the cloth. It must have four pillars and four bases.

Although it was only mentioned previously that the hooks and bands of the pillars on the northern and southern sides of the enclosure should be made of silver, and that the bases on these sides should be made of copper, these instructions in fact apply to all four sides of the enclosure: All the pillars surrounding the Courtyard must be banded with silver; their hooks must be made of silver and their bases of copper.

Although the length of the Courtyard must be 100 cubits, the Tabernacle must be situated only in the western half of the Courtyard. Thus, the width and breadth of the empty, eastern half of the Courtyard must be 50 cubits by 50. The Outer Altar and the Laver must be placed in this area. The height of the enclosure must be five cubits. The entire height of the enclosure will consist of the nettings made of twined linen. The bases of pillars that hold up the Courtyard Screen, like the bases of the other pillars of the Courtyard, must be made of copper.

All the utensils of the Tabernacle used in the work of constructing and dismantling it, such as hammers to pound the stakes into the ground, must be made of copper. Stakes will be used to anchor ropes tied to the goat-hair covering to the ground, so that it not flap in the wind. Similarly, stakes will be used to anchor ropes tied to the netting of the Courtyard enclosure, so it also does not flap in the wind. All the stakes of the Tabernacle and all the stakes for the Courtyard must be made of copper.”