And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
- BSB And make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
- NKJV And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
- NASB And you shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
- NLT Make poles from acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Poles of acacia wood overlaid with gold were to be made for the ark. They provided a reverent means of carrying the holy object.
Overview
Like the ark itself, the poles combined durable wood with pure gold, befitting their sacred use. They allowed the Levites to bear the ark without touching it, guarding its holiness. The matching materials maintained the consistency and dignity of the whole. This attention to reverent handling underscores that approach to God's presence must be on His terms.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Exod 37:4And he made staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold.
- Exod 25:28And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.
- Exod 40:20And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
- Exod 27:6And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass.
- Num 4:11And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:
- 1 Chr 15:15And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD.
- Num 4:8And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put in the staves thereof.
- Exod 30:5And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
- Num 4:6And shall put thereon the covering of badgers’ skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.
- Num 4:14And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basons, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers’ skins, and put to the staves of it.
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 25:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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