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Exodus 38 Bible study: Mirrors, silver and a count
The bronze basin was made "out of the mirrors of the ministering women" (38:8). The silver sockets under the sanctuary came from "a beka a head", paid for 603,550 men (38:26-27), the same total Numbers gives (Numbers 1:46). And the Hebrew verb for counting them is the one in Joseph's promise, "God will surely visit you" (Genesis 50:24).
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“Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses.”
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“In Exodus 38, the bronze basin was made out of the mirrors of the women who ministered at the door of the Tent of Meeting.”
Is that in Exodus 38, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
The command, turned into a deed
Much of this chapter repeats chapter 27, with "You shall make" turned into "He made". The command: "You shall make its horns on its four corners. Its horns shall be of one piece with it" (27:2). The deed: "He made its horns on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it" (38:2). "You shall make it hollow with planks" (27:8) becomes "He made it hollow with planks" (38:7). The court's numbers match too: "Its pillars shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty, of bronze" (27:10) becomes "their pillars were twenty, and their sockets twenty, of bronze" (38:10). The basin commanded in 30:18 is made here (38:8). And the whole is summed up in one line: Bezalel "made all that the LORD commanded Moses" (38:22).
Where it leads to Jesus
The temple that sanctifies the gold
Exodus 38:24leads toMatthew 23:16-17
This chapter weighs "All the gold that was used for the work in all the work of the sanctuary" (38:24). Jesus spoke of the gold of God's house when he rebuked those who said, "Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated" (Matthew 23:16). He said, "You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?" (Matthew 23:17). Jesus is speaking of oaths and of the temple in Jerusalem; he doesn't mention the tabernacle or Exodus 38. Setting his words beside this chapter's gold of the sanctuary is an interpretation, not a fulfillment.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Exodus 38
That was a taste
The rest of Exodus 38 is waiting in Favor
- A basin made from mirrors
- Silver from every head
- Ithamar and the Levites
- About six hundred thousand
- The altar Bezalel made
- 10 questions as you read
- 9 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it
פָּקַדpaqadsay pa-KAD
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "attend to, visit, muster, appoint". Strong's: "to visit (with friendly or hostile intent); by analogy, to oversee, muster". It comes four times in this chapter's count: in "These are the amounts" (38:21), where Brown-Driver-Briggs gives the plural noun as "musterings, i.e. expenses", and in "as they were counted" (38:21) and "those who were counted" (38:25, 38:26). The same verb is used for God visiting his people. Its first appearance in the Hebrew Bible is "The LORD visited Sarah as he had said" (Genesis 21:1). Joseph's last words use it four times: he says "God will surely visit you" twice (Genesis 50:24, 50:25), and each time the Hebrew has the verb twice, which the WEB gives as "surely visit". And the LORD sends Moses to say, "I have surely visited you" (3:16).
For your group
Exodus 38 Bible study questions
- 1The basin was made from the mirrors of women who served at the door of the Tent (38:8). What ordinary thing of yours could be put to use in serving God?
- 2Each man gave the same "beka a head" (38:26), and together it became the sockets the sanctuary stood on (38:27). How does your part, however small, fit into what your group or church is building?
- 3Everything given was counted and written down (38:21-31). Where would being more open about shared things, like money, time or promises, help the people around you trust each other?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Exodus 38 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.
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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.
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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