38:24 All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary 9 (namely, 10 the gold of the wave offering) was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels, 11 according to the sanctuary shekel.
1 tn “month” has been supplied.
2 tn The clause is repeated to show the distributive sense; it literally says, “and two bases under the one frame for its two projections.”
3 sn Each man was to pass in front of the counting officer and join those already counted on the other side.
4 sn The half shekel weight of silver would be about one-fifth of an ounce (6 grams).
5 sn It appears that some standard is in view for the amount of a shekel weight. The sanctuary shekel is sometimes considered to be twice the value of the ordinary shekel. The “gerah,” also of uncertain meaning, was mentioned as a reference point for the ancient reader to understand the value of the required payment. It may also be that the expression meant “a sacred shekel” and looked at the purpose more – a shekel for sanctuary dues. This would mean that the standard of the shekel weight was set because it was the traditional amount of sacred dues (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 333). “Though there is no certainty, the shekel is said to weigh about 11,5 grams…Whether an official standard is meant [by ‘sanctuary shekel’] or whether the sanctuary shekel had a different weight than the ‘ordinary’ shekel is not known” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:181).
6 tn Or “contribution” (תְּרוּמָה, tÿrumah).
7 tn The clause is repeated to show the distributive sense; it literally says, “and two bases under the one frame for its two projections.”
8 tn Heb “from this and from this” (cf, 17:12; 25:19; 26:13; 32:15; Josh 8:22, 33; 1 Kgs 10:19-20; Ezek 45:7).
9 tn These words form the casus pendens, or independent nominative absolute, followed by the apodosis beginning with the vav (ו; see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 469).
10 tn Heb “and it was.”
11 sn There were 3000 shekels in a talent, and so the total weight here in shekels would be 87,730 shekels of gold. If the sanctuary shekel was 224 grs., then this was about 40,940 oz. troy. This is estimated to be a little over a ton (cf. NCV “over 2,000 pounds”; TEV “a thousand kilogrammes”; CEV “two thousand two hundred nine pounds”; NLT “about 2,200 pounds”), although other widely diverging estimates are also given.
12 sn The weight would be about half an ounce.
13 tn Heb “upward.”
14 tn The phrase “in all” has been supplied.