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And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side:
Exodus 27:9 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB “You shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen one hundred cubits long for one side:
  • BSB You are also to make a courtyard for the tabernacle. On the south side of the courtyard make curtains of finely spun linen, a hundred cubits long on one side,
  • NKJV “You shall also make the court of the tabernacle. For the south side there shall be hangings for the court made of fine woven linen, one hundred cubits long for one side.
  • NASB “Now you shall make the courtyard of the tabernacle. On the south side there shall be hangings for the courtyard of fine twisted linen, a hundred cubits long for one side;
  • NLT “Then make the courtyard for the Tabernacle, enclosed with curtains made of finely woven linen. On the south side, make the curtains 150 feet long.

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

A surrounding court was to be made, with linen hangings one hundred cubits long on the south side. This enclosed the sacred space of the tabernacle.

Overview

The courtyard, screened by white linen hangings, set apart the holy precinct from the common camp around it. The barrier marked the boundary between the holy and the ordinary. The fine white linen, often associated with righteousness (Revelation 19:8), suggests that entrance into God's presence requires a holiness ultimately supplied by Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 21

  • Exod 38:9–20And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits:
  • Ezek 42:3Over against the twenty cubits which were for the inner court, and over against the pavement which was for the utter court, was gallery against gallery in three stories.
  • Ezek 40:20And the gate of the outward court that looked toward the north, he measured the length thereof, and the breadth thereof.
  • 1 Kgs 8:64The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.
  • Ezek 40:23And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits.
  • 2 Chr 33:5And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
  • Exod 26:31–37And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:
  • Exod 39:40The hangings of the court, his pillars, and his sockets, and the hanging for the court gate, his cords, and his pins, and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of the congregation,
  • Ezek 40:28And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;
  • Exod 36:17And he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second.
  • Exod 40:8And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate.
  • Ps 84:10For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
  • Ezek 42:19–20He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed.
  • Ezek 40:14He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate.
  • Ezek 46:20–24Then said he unto me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering; that they bear them not out into the utter court, to sanctify the people.
  • Ezek 40:32And he brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures.
  • Ps 116:19In the courts of the LORD’s house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.
  • Ps 92:13Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
  • Ps 100:4Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
  • Ezek 40:44And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.
  • 1 Kgs 6:36And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

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 27:9YouTube · 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 27:9 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.