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Exodus 39 Bible study: As the LORD commanded
Seven times the chapter says a piece of the priests' clothing was made "as the LORD commanded Moses" (39:1-31). Then everything is brought to Moses, who sees it was done "as the LORD had commanded" and blesses the people (39:43), in some of the same Hebrew words Genesis uses when God saw, finished and blessed (Genesis 1:31-2:3).
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“Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded. They had done so; and Moses blessed them.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“After Moses saw that the work had been done as the LORD commanded, he blessed the people.”
Is that in Exodus 39, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
As the LORD commanded Moses
Seven times in the first thirty-one verses, a piece of the priests' clothing is finished with the same words: "as the LORD commanded Moses" (39:1, 39:5, 39:7, 39:21, 39:26, 39:29, 39:31). The garments, the ephod's band, the onyx stones, the breastplate, the robe, the linen and the gold plate each close with it. Then the whole work is summed up: "The children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses; so they did" (39:32), and again, "According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work" (39:42). In Hebrew the verb tsavah, commanded, comes ten times in this chapter. The next chapter, where the tabernacle is raised up, says "as the LORD commanded Moses" seven more times (40:19-32).
Where it leads to Jesus
As the Father commanded me
Exodus 39:32leads toJohn 14:31
"The children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses; so they did" (39:32), and Moses saw that "they had done it as the LORD had commanded" (39:43). Speaking to his disciples, Jesus said of himself, "But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, even so I do" (John 14:31). Jesus doesn't cite Exodus 39 or mention the tabernacle, so setting the two side by side is a reading: some hear in his words the same doing-as-commanded that runs through this chapter, now tied to his love for the Father; others read them only in their own setting, among his words to his disciples in John 14.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Exodus 39
That was a taste
The rest of Exodus 39 is waiting in Favor
- Everything brought to Moses
- Seen, and blessed
- So they did, like Noah
- Side by side with chapter 28
- When Solomon's temple was finished
- 15 questions as you read
- 8 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it
צָוָהtsavahsay tsa-VAH
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "lay charge (upon), give charge (to), charge, command, order". It comes ten times in this chapter, more than in any other chapter of Exodus. Seven times it closes a piece of the priests' clothing, "as the LORD commanded Moses" (39:1, 39:5, 39:7, 39:21, 39:26, 39:29, 39:31). Twice it sums up the whole work (39:32, 39:42). And once it is what Moses sees: "they had done it as the LORD had commanded" (39:43). Its first appearance in the Hebrew Bible is in the garden: "The LORD God commanded the man" (Genesis 2:16). When Moses dresses Aaron in these garments, Leviticus uses the same words again: "as the LORD commanded Moses" (Leviticus 8:9).
For your group
Exodus 39 Bible study questions
- 1Seven times this chapter says a piece was made "as the LORD commanded Moses" (39:1-31). Where is it hardest for you to do what God has said the way he said it, rather than your own way?
- 2Moses looked over all the work and blessed the people who had done it (39:43). Whose faithful work around you could you notice and thank this week?
- 3Jesus said he did as the Father commanded him "that the world may know that I love the Father" (John 14:31). How are doing what God says and loving him connected for you?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Exodus 39 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