Exodus 37

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¹Now Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was two and a half cubits, its width one and a half cubits, and its height one and a half cubits; ✦ ²and he overlaid it with pure gold inside and out, and made a gold molding for it all around. ✦ ³He cast four rings of gold for it on its four feet; two rings on one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. ⁴And he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. ✦ ⁵He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry it. ✦ ⁶He also made an atoning cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. ✦ ⁷And he made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered work at the two ends of the atoning cover: ✦ ⁸one cherub at the one end and one cherub at the other end; he made the cherubim of one piece with the atoning cover at the two ends. ⁹And the cherubim had their wings spread upward, covering the atoning cover with their wings, with their faces toward each other; the faces of the cherubim were toward the atoning cover. ✦ ¹⁰Then he made the table of acacia wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high. ✦ ¹¹He overlaid it with pure gold, and made a gold molding for it all around. ¹²And he made a rim for it of a hand width all around, and made a gold molding for its rim all around. ¹³He also cast four gold rings for it and put the rings on the four corners that were on its four legs. ¹⁴Close by the rim were the rings, the holders for the poles to carry the table. ¹⁵And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table. ¹⁶He also made the utensils which were on the table, its dishes, its pans, its libation bowls, and its jars, with which to pour out drink offerings, of pure gold. ✦ ¹⁷Then he made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work, its base and its shaft; its cups, its bulbs, and its flowers were of one piece with it. ✦ ¹⁸There were six branches going out of its sides; three branches of the lampstand from the one side of it and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it; ¹⁹three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a bulb and a flower on one branch, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a bulb and a flower on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. ²⁰And on the lampstand there were four cups shaped like almond blossoms, its bulbs and its flowers; ✦ ²¹and a bulb was under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the second pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand. ✦ ²²Their bulbs and their branches were of one piece with it; the whole of it was a single hammered work of pure gold. ✦ ²³And he made its seven lamps with its tongs and its trays of pure gold. ✦ ²⁴He made it and all its utensils from a talent of pure gold. ²⁵Then he made the altar of incense of acacia wood: a cubit long and a cubit wide, square, and two cubits high; its horns were of one piece with it. ✦ ²⁶And he overlaid it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around, and its horns; and he made a gold molding for it all around. ²⁷He also made two golden rings for it under its molding, on its two sides—on opposite sides—as holders for poles with which to carry it. ²⁸And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. ²⁹Then he made the holy anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense of spices, the work of a perfumer. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Where this chapter connects

Exod 25 ·10 Exod 40 ·7 John 1 ·4 Rev 1 ·3 1 Pet 1 ·3 Exod 30 ·3 1 Jn 2 ·3 Zech 4 ·3

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 37 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical
On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"
★ Start hereVideoBibleProject — video overviews & word studiesBibleProject · 5–10 min · Free · evangelical
Free animated overviews of every book of the Bible, plus themes and Hebrew/Greek word studies — the best visual on-ramp to any book. (Biblical-theology, broadly evangelical, not distinctly Reformed.)
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.
VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical
Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.
DocumentaryPatterns of Evidence: The ExodusTim Mahoney · Paid · evangelical
Investigates the archaeological evidence for the Exodus. Note: it advances a minority biblical chronology that mainstream scholars dispute — engaging, but weigh its conclusions critically.

Pastoral

★ Start hereCommentaryExodus (New American Commentary)Douglas K. Stuart · Paid · evangelical
The best evangelical, semi-technical commentary on Exodus — accessible to pastors and serious students.
DocumentaryThat the World May KnowRay Vander Laan · Paid · evangelical
Ray Vander Laan's on-location series immersing you in the Bible's historical and cultural world. (Mostly paid via Focus on the Family; some free clips.)
SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 37YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Exodus 37David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Exodus 37Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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