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“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.
Exodus 27:9 · New 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:
  • KJV 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:
  • 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,
  • 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 38:9–20He made the court: for the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, one hundred cubits;
  • Ezek 42:3Over against the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner court, and over against the pavement which belonged to the outer court, was gallery against gallery in the third floor.
  • Ezek 40:20The gate of the outer court whose prospect is toward the north, he measured its length and its width.
  • 1 Kgs 8:64The same day the king made the middle of the court holy that was before Yahweh’s house; for there he offered the burnt offering, and the meal offering, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before Yahweh was too little to receive the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the fat of the peace offerings.
  • Ezek 40:23There was a gate to the inner court facing the other gate, on the north and on the east; and he measured from gate to gate one hundred cubits.
  • 2 Chr 33:5He built altars for all the army of the sky in the two courts of Yahweh’s house.
  • Exod 26:31–37“You shall make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cherubim. The work of the skillful workman shall it be made.
  • Exod 39:40the hangings of the court, its pillars, its sockets, the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, its pins, all the instruments of the service of the tabernacle, for the Tent of Meeting,
  • Ezek 40:28Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measurements;
  • Exod 36:17He made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the coupling, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain which was outermost in the second coupling.
  • Exod 40:8You shall set up the court around it, and hang up the screen of the gate of the court.
  • Ps 84:10For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would 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, sixty cubits; and the court reached to the posts, around the gate.
  • Ezek 46:20–24He said to me, This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the meal offering; that they not bring them out into the outer court, to sanctify the people.
  • Ezek 40:32He brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measurements;
  • Ps 116:19in the courts of Yahweh’s house, in the middle of you, Jerusalem. Praise Yah!
  • Ps 92:13They are planted in Yahweh’s house. They will flourish in our God’s courts.
  • Ps 100:4Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his name.
  • Ezek 40:44Outside of the inner gate were rooms for 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 6:36He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and a course 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.