And place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and shall put water therein.
- KJV And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein.
- NKJV And you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.
- NASB Then you shall set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.
- NLT Set the washbasin between the Tabernacle and the altar, and fill it with water.
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
Moses was to place the basin between the tent and the altar and fill it with water. Provision was made for the priests' cleansing.
Overview
The bronze basin stood between the altar of sacrifice and the tent, holding water for the priests to wash before serving. It signified that those who minister before God must be cleansed, not only atoned for. This pictures the washing of regeneration and the cleansing by God's word that prepare believers, made priests in Christ, for holy service (Titus 3:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Heb 10:22let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
- Ps 26:6I wash my hands in innocence that I may go about Your altar, O LORD,
- 1 Jn 1:7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- Zech 13:1“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the people of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
- Titus 3:5He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
- Exod 40:30–32He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing;
- Exod 30:18–21“You are to make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. Set it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it,
- Exod 38:8Next he made the bronze basin and its stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
- Rev 1:5–6and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood,
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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 40:7 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
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