Exodus 40

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¹Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²“On the first day of the first month you shall raise up the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting. ✦ ³You shall put the ark of the testimony in it, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. ✦ ⁴You shall bring in the table, and set in order the things that are on it. You shall bring in the lamp stand, and light its lamps. ✦ ⁵You shall set the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the screen of the door to the tabernacle. ✦ ⁶“You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting. ✦ ⁷You shall set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and shall put water therein. ✦ ⁸You shall set up the court around it, and hang up the screen of the gate of the court. ✦ ⁹“You shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is in it, and shall make it holy, and all its furniture: and it will be holy. ✦ ¹⁰You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering, with all its vessels, and sanctify the altar: and the altar will be most holy. ✦ ¹¹You shall anoint the basin and its base, and sanctify it. ¹²“You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water. ✦ ¹³You shall put on Aaron the holy garments; and you shall anoint him, and sanctify him, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office. ✦ ¹⁴You shall bring his sons, and put coats on them. ✦ ¹⁵You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office. Their anointing shall be to them for an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.” ✦ ¹⁶Moses did so. According to all that Yahweh commanded him, so he did. ✦ ¹⁷In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was raised up. ✦ ¹⁸Moses raised up the tabernacle, and laid its sockets, and set up its boards, and put in its bars, and raised up its pillars. ✦ ¹⁹He spread the covering over the tent, and put the roof of the tabernacle above on it, as Yahweh commanded Moses. ✦ ²⁰He took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the mercy seat above on the ark. ✦ ²¹He brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as Yahweh commanded Moses. ✦ ²²He put the table in the Tent of Meeting, on the side of the tabernacle northward, outside of the veil. ✦ ²³He set the bread in order on it before Yahweh, as Yahweh commanded Moses. ✦ ²⁴He put the lamp stand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward. ✦ ²⁵He lit the lamps before Yahweh, as Yahweh commanded Moses. ✦ ²⁶He put the golden altar in the Tent of Meeting before the veil; ✦ ²⁷and he burned incense of sweet spices on it, as Yahweh commanded Moses. ✦ ²⁸He put up the screen of the door to the tabernacle. ✦ ²⁹He set the altar of burnt offering at the door of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, as Yahweh commanded Moses. ✦ ³⁰He set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water therein, with which to wash. ✦ ³¹Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and their feet there. ✦ ³²When they went into the Tent of Meeting, and when they came near to the altar, they washed, as Yahweh commanded Moses. ✦ ³³He raised up the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work. ✦ ³⁴Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and Yahweh’s glory filled the tabernacle. ✦ ³⁵Moses wasn’t able to enter into the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud stayed on it, and Yahweh’s glory filled the tabernacle. ✦ ³⁶When the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward, throughout all their journeys; ✦ ³⁷but if the cloud wasn’t taken up, then they didn’t travel until the day that it was taken up. ✦ ³⁸For the cloud of Yahweh was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys. ✦

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 40 ·22 Exod 26 ·13 Exod 30 ·11 Heb 10 ·9 Exod 25 ·9 1 Jn 2 ·7 Exod 38 ·6 Exod 37 ·6

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 40 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 40YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Exodus 40David 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 40Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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