26:14 “You are to make a covering 4 for the tent out of ram skins dyed red and over that a covering of fine leather. 5
26:36 “You are to make a hanging 6 for the entrance of the tent of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twined linen, the work of an embroiderer. 7
29:4 “You are to present 8 Aaron and his sons at the entrance of the tent of meeting. You are to wash 9 them with water
36:37 He made a hanging for the entrance of the tent of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer,
38:8 He made the large basin of bronze and its pedestal of bronze from the mirrors of the women who served 11 at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
40:12 “You are to bring 12 Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.
40:30 Then he put the large basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it 13 for washing.
1 sn The text seems to describe this part as being in front of the tabernacle, hanging down to form a valence at the entrance (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 284).
2 tn Heb “one”
3 sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 353) cites b. Shabbat 98b which says, “What did the tabernacle resemble? A woman walking on the street with her train trailing behind her.” In the expression “the half of the curtain that remains,” the verb agrees in gender with the genitive near it.
4 sn Two outer coverings made of stronger materials will be put over the tent and the curtain, the two inner layers.
5 tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.
6 sn This was another curtain, serving as a screen in the entrance way. Since it was far away from the special curtain screening the Most Holy Place, it was less elaborate. It was not the work of the master designer, but of the “embroiderer,” and it did not have the cherubim on it.
7 tn The word רֹקֵם (roqem) refers to someone who made cloth with colors. It is not certain, however, whether the colors were woven into the fabric on the loom or applied with a needle; so “embroiderer” should be understood as an approximation (cf. HALOT 1290-91 s.v. רקם).
8 tn Here too the verb is Hiphil (now imperfect) meaning “bring near” the altar. The choice of this verb indicates that they were not merely being brought near, but that they were being formally presented to Yahweh as the offerings were.
9 sn This is the washing referred to in Lev 8:6. This is a complete washing, not just of the hands and feet that would follow in the course of service. It had to serve as a symbolic ritual cleansing or purifying as the initial stage in the consecration. The imagery of washing will be used in the NT for regeneration (Titus 3:5).
10 tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.
11 sn The word for “serve” is not the ordinary one. It means “to serve in a host,” especially in a war. It appears that women were organized into bands and served at the tent of meeting. S. R. Driver thinks that this meant “no doubt” washing, cleaning, or repairing (Exodus, 391). But there is no hint of that (see 1 Sam 2:22; and see Ps 68:11 [12 Hebrew text]). They seem to have had more to do than what Driver said.
12 tn The verb is “bring near,” or “present,” to Yahweh.
13 tn Heb “there.”
14 tn The construction is the infinitive construct with the temporal preposition and the suffixed subjective genitive. This temporal clause indicates that the verb in the preceding verse was frequentative.
15 tn This is another infinitive construct in a temporal clause.
16 tn In this explanatory verse the verb is a customary imperfect.