You shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
Parallel translations
- KJV And thou shalt make staves of shittim 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 37:4He made poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold.
- Exod 25:28You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be carried with them.
- Exod 40:20He took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the mercy seat above on the ark.
- Exod 27:6You shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with brass.
- Num 4:11“On the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles.
- 1 Chr 15:15The children of the Levites bore God’s ark on their shoulders with its poles, as Moses commanded according to Yahweh’s word.
- Num 4:8They shall spread on them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles.
- Exod 30:5You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
- Num 4:6and shall put a covering of sealskin on it, and shall spread over it a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles.
- Num 4:14They shall put on it all its vessels, with which they minister about it, the fire pans, the meat hooks, the shovels, and the basins; all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of sealskin, and put in its poles.
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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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