The people brought special offerings of gold totaling 2,193 pounds, as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel. This gold was used throughout the Tabernacle.
Parallel translations
- WEB All the gold that was used for the work in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents, and seven hundred thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
- KJV All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
- BSB All the gold from the wave offering used for the work on the sanctuary totaled 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.
- NKJV All the gold that was used in all the work of the holy place, that is, the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
- NASB All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary, which was the gold of the wave offering, was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.
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
This records the total gold used in the sanctuary, about twenty-nine talents and seven hundred thirty shekels of freely offered gold. The wealth devoted to God's house was immense.
Overview
The 'gold of the offering' was given willingly by the people (Exodus 35:22), and the precise tally testifies to its careful use. Such an enormous quantity of precious metal, weighed by the sanctuary standard, reflects both Israel's generosity and the high honor due to the place where God would meet them. It points forward to the priceless cost of true redemption, accomplished not with gold or silver but with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Lev 27:25All your valuations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs to the shekel.
- Num 3:47you shall take five shekels apiece for each one; after the shekel of the sanctuary you shall take them (the shekel is twenty gerahs ):
- Num 18:16You shall redeem those who are to be redeemed of them from a month old, according to your estimation, for five shekels of money, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which weighs twenty gerahs.
- Exod 30:24and of cassia five hundred, after the shekel of the sanctuary; and a hin of olive oil.
- Lev 27:3your valuation of a male from twenty years old even to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.
- Exod 25:2“Speak to the children of Israel, that they take an offering for me. From everyone whose heart makes him willing you shall take my offering.
- 1 Chr 29:2–7Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, the brass for the things of brass, iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood; also onyx stones, stones to be set, stones for inlaid work, of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.
- Exod 29:24You shall put all of this in Aaron’s hands, and in his sons’ hands, and shall wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh.
- Exod 35:22They came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought brooches, earrings, signet rings, and armlets, all jewels of gold; even every man who offered an offering of gold to Yahweh.
- Lev 5:15“If anyone commits a trespass, and sins unwittingly, in the holy things of Yahweh; then he shall bring his trespass offering to Yahweh, a ram without defect from the flock, according to your estimation in silver by shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering.
- Exod 30:13–14They shall give this, everyone who passes over to those who are counted, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs ); half a shekel for an offering to Yahweh.
- Hag 2:8The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’ says Yahweh of Armies.
- 1 Chr 22:14–16Now, behold, in my affliction I have prepared for Yahweh’s house one hundred thousand talents of gold, one million talents of silver, and brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance. I have also prepared timber and stone; and you may add to them.
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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 38:24 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.
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