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Then set up the courtyard around the outside of the tent, and hang the curtain for the courtyard entrance.
Exodus 40:8 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB You shall set up the court around it, and hang up the screen of the gate of the court.
  • KJV And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate.
  • BSB Set up the surrounding courtyard and hang the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard.
  • NKJV You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate.
  • NASB You shall also set up the courtyard all around and hang up the curtain for the gate of the courtyard.

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 set up the surrounding courtyard and hang the screen at its gate. The sacred enclosure with its single entrance was completed.

Overview

The courtyard's curtains marked off holy ground, with one gate as the appointed way in. This single entrance reinforced that God is approached only as He directs, not by any path one chooses. It points to Christ, the one door and the only way to the Father, through whom alone access to God is found.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Exod 40:33He 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.
  • Exod 38:9–20He made the court: for the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, one hundred cubits;
  • Exod 27:9–19“You shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen one hundred cubits long for one side:
  • Eph 4:11–12He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers;
  • 1 Cor 12:28God has set some in the assembly: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, and various kinds of languages.
  • Matt 16:18I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Exodus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Exodus 40:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ExodusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 40:8 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.