And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
- BSB And they are to make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them.
- NKJV And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
- NASB Have them construct a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them.
- NLT “Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them.
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
God commanded Israel to make Him a sanctuary so that He might dwell among them. The astonishing purpose of the tabernacle is God dwelling with His people.
Overview
This verse states the heart of the whole tabernacle project: God's desire to dwell in the midst of His redeemed people. That the holy God would tabernacle among sinful Israel is an act of immense grace, rooted in the covenant. The sanctuary made His presence accessible, though still veiled. This longing of God to dwell with us is fulfilled in Christ, who 'tabernacled' among us, and finally in the new creation where God dwells with His people forever.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 2 Cor 6:16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
- 1 Kgs 6:13And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.
- Rev 21:3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
- Exod 29:45And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
- Heb 9:1–2Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.
- Zech 2:10Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.
- Heb 3:6But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
- Zech 8:3Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.
- Isa 12:6Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
- Num 5:3Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell.
- Lev 21:12Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.
- Exod 15:2The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
- Lev 4:6And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary.
- Lev 10:4And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.
- Exod 36:1–5Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 25:8 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.