Then you shall set 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.
- BSB And place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it.
- NKJV And you shall set the laver between the tabernacle 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’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed with pure water,
- Ps 26:6I will wash my hands in innocence, so I will go about your altar, Yahweh;
- 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 Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
- Zech 13:1“In that day there will be a spring opened to David’s house and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
- Titus 3:5not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
- Exod 40:30–32He set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water therein, with which to wash.
- Exod 30:18–21“You shall also make a basin of brass, and its base of brass, in which to wash. You shall put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it.
- Exod 38:8He made the basin of brass, and its base of brass, out of the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
- Rev 1:5–6and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed 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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