he continueth forty days.

Before

Chap. XXV. ver. 4. blue, and purple, &c.] These were probably woollen or yarn cloths; not made of silk, which it is thought, was not discovered in those early times; of fine linen there was a peculiar kind among the Egyptians called Byssus. It is supposed that the Israelites either brought the materials here mentioned with them from Egypt, or else obtained them by trafficking with some neighbouring tribes, and giving in exchange other valuables which they had brought with them. Bp. Patrick.

-goats' hair,] Many ancient and modern writers describe the goats of Asia, Phrygia, and Cilicia: their hair is very long, white, bright, and fine, and hangs to the ground; in beauty it almost equals silk, and it is never sheared, but combed off. The shepherds carefully wash their goats often in the rivers. The women spin the hair, and it is carried to Angora, where it is worked and finely dyed. It affords at this day a great trade at Angora and Aleppo. Calmet.

5.-badgers' skins,] There are doubts respecting the meaning of the Hebrew word, translated badgers' skins. The most ancient interpreters think that it does not signify any skin, but a colour. Bp. Patrick, Pyle.

-shittim wood,] The shittim wood, of which very frequent mention is made in Scripture, grew in the neighbourhood of mount Sinai, as well as in other places, being exceedingly durable, smooth, and strong. Bp. Patrick.

St. Jerome says that the shittim wood resembles the

saying,

Before CHRIST 1491.

take for me.

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: + Heb. of every man that giveth it willingly Or, with his heart ye shall take my offering.

3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,

heave offering.

a Chap. 35. 5.

4 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and || fine linen, and goats' hair, Or, silk. 5 And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood, 6 Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, 7 Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breast- b Chap. 28. 4. plate.

b

с

8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

d

c Chap. 28.

15.

10 And they shall make an ark d Chap. 37.1. of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.

white thorn; that it is of an admirable beauty, solidity, strength, and smoothness. It is thought he means the Black Acacia, which, they say, is the only tree found in the deserts of Arabia. Calmet. The Acacia being by far the largest and the most common tree of these deserts, (Arabia Petrea,) we have some reason to conjecture that the shittim wood, of which the utensils, &c. of the tabernacle (Exod. xxv.) were made, was the wood of the Acacia. This tree abounds with flowers of a globular figure and of an excellent smell, which may further induce us to take it for the same with the shittah tree, which, in Is. xli. 19, is joined with the myrtle and other sweetsmelling plants. Dr. Shaw. The Acacia Vera seems to be the only indigenous tree in Upper Egypt. From it proceeds the gum-Arabick, which chiefly comes from Arabia Petrea, where these trees are most numerous : but it is the most common tree of all the deserts from the northernmost part of Arabia to the extremity of Ethiopia. Bruce.

8. -a sanctuary ;] A tabernacle or tent, called a sanctuary or holy place, because it was appropriated to God, and because no uncircumcised or unclean person might enter into it without profanation: there God was to dwell or to manifest His presence in a peculiar manner by a cloud or visible glory. Bp. Patrick.

10. -an ark] A chest or coffer. Bp. Patrick. A cubit, according to Bp. Cumberland, was about twentyone inches of our measure. See the tables.

11.

- a crown of gold round about.] A mixed border

The mercy seat.

Before CHRIST 1491.

12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.

13 And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. 15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark they shall not be taken from it.

16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. 17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.

19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the

Or, of the other end: even | of the mercy seat shall make the cherubims on the ye two ends thereof.

matter of the mercy seat.

20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.

21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.

22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from

which went round the top of it. Bp. Patrick. A cornice or rim of massy gold. Pyle.

16.-put into the ark the testimony] The two tables of stone, containing the Ten Commandments, which testified what the will of God was, which the Israelites consented to observe. Hence the ark itself is frequently called the ark of the testimony, chap. xl. 21.Bp. Patrick. 17. thou shalt make a mercy seat] The lid or covering of the ark was called the mercy seat, or propitiatory, because God here shewed Himself to be propitious, being appeased by the blood of the sacrifices which was sprinkled on this place. Bp. Patrick.

18.- cherubims] These were winged figures: and the circumstance of their being placed in the Holy of Holies, (a type of the highest heaven, Heb. ix. 24,) makes it probable that they represent the angels which stand before God continually, Matt. xviii. 10, ready to do God's will, Heb. i. 14. Bp. Kidder. It is uncertain of what shape they were. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. The Jewish doctors have always represented the cherubim

e

The furniture

Before CHRIST 1491.

between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of 89. Israel.

e Numb. 7.

23 ¶Thou shalt also make a table fChap. 37.10. of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about.

25 And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.

26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.

27 Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table.

28 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.

29 And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt | Or, to pour thou make them.

30 And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.

out withal.

31 ¶ And thou shalt make a can- g Chap. 37.17. dlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.

on the holy ark under the shape of winged boys. Archdeacon Sharp. It was between the cherubim, over the lid of the ark, that the glory of the Lord resided. Hence God is said to dwell between the cherubims, Ps. lxxx. 1, and the ark is called His footstool, Ps. xcix. 5. Here He displayed the token of His immediate presence, and hence He delivered out His orders and commands. Pyle. 29. the dishes — spoons · covers- -bowls] It is thought that in the "dishes" the shewbread was placed. The " spoons," vials or cups, as some translate, used in conveying the incense. The "covers," with which the leaves and the incense were covered. The "bowls," for the wine used in the sacrifices. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells. "To cover withal," the most probable meaning is, that the above-mentioned utensils were to cover or furnish out the table. Bp. Kidder.

30.- shewbread] In Hebrew, the bread of the face or presence, because it was set before the ark of the covenant, where God was present. Bp. Patrick. See it described at Levit. xxiv. 5, 7.