Favor · the best way to learn the Bible
Exodus 37 Bible study: Bezalel made the ark
Exodus 37 repeats the LORD's measurements to the half cubit and names one maker: "Bezalel made the ark" (37:1). What it leaves out is just as telling: no "There I will meet with you", no bread, no lit lamps, no incense burned. The bread, the lamps and the incense wait for the day the tent is raised (40:23-27).
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the words behind the words, what most readers miss, and how it all leads to Jesus.
First week free, then $10 a month per person
“The cherubim spread out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another. The faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“The only person Exodus 37 names is Bezalel.”
Is that in Exodus 37, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
One name, at the ark
The chapter opens with a name: "Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood" (37:1). When the LORD gave the command, he said, "They shall make an ark of acacia wood" (25:10), and later, "I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah" (31:2). The making began with many hands: "All the wise-hearted men among those who did the work made the tabernacle" (36:8). From there to 38:20 the account simply says "He made" (36:11), for the curtains, the boards, the veil and the altar, and the only maker it names is Bezalel, at the ark (37:1). The summary at the end says the same: "Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses" (38:22).
Where it leads to Jesus
The temple of his body
Exodus 37:1leads toJohn 2:21
Bezalel made the ark and the gold furniture of the tabernacle (37:1-28), and when it was set up, "the LORD’s glory filled the tabernacle" (40:34). In the temple in Jerusalem (John 2:13-14), Jesus said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19). His hearers took him to mean the building (John 2:20). "But he spoke of the temple of his body" (John 2:21), and "When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he said this" (John 2:22). Jesus spoke in the temple in Jerusalem and of his own body. He says nothing about the tabernacle or Exodus 37. Setting this chapter beside his words is an interpretation.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Exodus 37
That was a taste
The rest of Exodus 37 is waiting in Favor
- Made to the half cubit
- What the chapter doesn't say
- Gold over wood, and gold all through
- The same things, in Hebrews
- 11 questions as you read
- 9 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Exodus 37 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
עָשָׂהasahsay a-SAH
Brown-Driver-Briggs gives "do, make"; Strong's, "to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application". It is the verb that carries this chapter: 22 times in 29 verses, from "Bezalel made the ark" (37:1) to "He made the holy anointing oil" (37:29). The commands used it too: "even so you shall make it" (25:9). Its first use in the Hebrew Bible is "God made the expanse" (Genesis 1:7), and it comes again in "God saw everything that he had made" (Genesis 1:31). When the tent's work was finished, "Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded" (39:43): "done" there is the same verb.
For your group
Exodus 37 Bible study questions
- 1Bezalel is named once, at the ark (37:1), and after that the chapter only says what he made. What faithful work are you doing, or could you do, that no one will ever put your name on? How do you feel about that?
- 2This chapter does what chapters 25 and 30 said, down to the half cubit. Where is it hardest for you to do what God has said the way he said it, rather than a version of your own?
- 3The chapter makes the mercy seat but leaves out "There I will meet with you" (25:22); the LORD's glory fills the tabernacle when the work is set in place (40:34). How do you tell the difference between working for God and meeting with him? Which comes easier to you?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Exodus 37 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
Start a Bible studyThe best way to learn the Bible
Favor opens up every chapter as you read.
Favor is a Bible study app for your phone or computer. It takes you through the Bible one chapter at a time, a few minutes a day, and shows you what's really there: the words behind the words, the moments most people miss, and how the whole story fits together. For you. For everyone.
Every chapter explains itself
As you read, short notes open up what's really going on, the details most readers walk past, and the honest questions people ask.
The Hebrew and Greek behind it
Tap a highlighted word to see the original, how to say it, and what it means, checked against the original-language texts.
Every page leads to Jesus
Watch promises made in Genesis kept in Jesus. Each line lights up on your map as you read.
Better together
Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together.
- 1
Start your free week
Sign up in a minute with your email.
- 2
Read a few minutes a day
Each chapter opens itself up as you go. Tap what you're curious about.
- 3
Bring your people, if you like
Send one link. Everyone reads the same chapter, then meets to talk.
First week free, then $10 a month per person
Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
How much does it cost?
Your first week is free. After that it's $10 a month per person, the same for everyone, including groups and churches. There are no tiers and nothing extra to unlock.
Can I read Exodus 37 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Exodus 37 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
Start with Exodus 37
The best way to learn the Bible. For you. For everyone.
There's a seat for you at the table.
Start your free weekFirst week free, then $10 a month per person · Log in
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home