Limitless Word
olive oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense;
Exodus 25:6 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense,
  • KJV Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,
  • BSB olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;
  • NKJV oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense;
  • NASB oil for lighting, balsam oil for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense,

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

They were to bring oil for the lamp and spices for the anointing oil and fragrant incense. Provisions were made for light, consecration, and worship.

Overview

The oil fueled the lampstand's continual light, while the spices made the holy anointing oil and the sweet incense used in worship. Each served the daily ministry within the tabernacle. Light, anointing, and incense all carry rich symbolism of God's presence, consecration, and prayer ascending to Him. These point forward to Christ, the Anointed One and Light of the world, and to the prayers of the saints.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Exod 27:20“You shall command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.
  • Exod 40:24–25He put the lamp stand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.
  • Exod 25:37You shall make its lamps seven, and they shall light its lamps to give light to the space in front of it.
  • Exod 30:23–38“Also take fine spices: of liquid myrrh, five hundred shekels; and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, even two hundred and fifty; and of fragrant cane, two hundred and fifty;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 25:6YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 25:6 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.