Éxodo 25

VBL · Chapter 25/40

1Entonces el Señor le dijo a Moisés:

2“Ordena a los israelitas que me traigan una ofrenda. Recibirás mi ofrenda de todos los que quieran darla.

3“Estos son los artículos que debes aceptar de ellos como contribuciones: oro, plata y bronce;

4hilos azules, púrpura y carmesí; lino y pelo de cabra finamente hilados;

5pieles de carnero curtidas y cuero fino; madera de acacia;

6aceite de oliva para las lámparas; especias para el aceite de oliva usado en la unción y para el incienso fragante;

7y piedras de ónix y otras gemas para ser usadas en la fabricación del efod y el pectoral.

8“Me harán un santuario para que pueda vivir entre ellos.

9Debes hacer el Tabernáculo y todos sus muebles según el diseño que te voy a mostrar.

10“Deben hacer un Arca de madera de acacia que mida dos codos y medio de largo por codo y medio de ancho por codo y medio de alto.

11Cúbranla con oro puro por dentro y por fuera, y hagan un adorno de oro para rodearla.

12Fundirán cuatro anillos de oro y fijarlos a sus cuatro pies, dos en un lado y dos en el otro.

13Harán palos de madera de acacia y cubrirlos con oro.

14Colocarán las varas en los anillos de los lados del Arca, para que pueda ser transportada.

15Las varas deben permanecer en los anillos del Arca; no las saques.

16Pongan dentro del Arca el testimonio que os voy a dar.

17“Harás una tapa de expiación de oro puro, de dos codos y medio de largo por codo y medio de ancho.

18Haz dos querubines de oro forjado para los extremos de la cubierta de la expiación,

19y pon un querubín en cada extremo. Todo esto debe ser hecho a partir de una sola pieza de oro.

20Los querubines deben ser diseñados con alas extendidas apuntando hacia arriba, cubriendo la cubierta de expiación. Los querubines se colocarán uno frente al otro, mirando hacia abajo, hacia la cubierta de expiación.

21Pondrán la cubiertade expiación encima del Arca, y también podrán el testimonio que les daré dentro del Arca.

22Me reuniré contigo allí como está dispuesto sobre la tapa de la expiación, entre los dos querubines que están de pie sobre el Arca del Testimonio, y hablaré contigo sobre todas las órdenes que daré a los israelitas.

23“Entonces harás una mesa de madera de acacia de dos codos de largo por un codo de ancho por un codo y medio de alto.

24Cúbrela con oro puro y haz un adorno de oro para rodearla.

25Haz un borde a su alrededor del ancho de una mano y pon un ribete de oro en el borde.

26Haz cuatro anillos de oro para la mesa y sujétalos a las cuatro esquinas de la mesa por las patas.

27Los anillos deben estar cerca del borde para sostener los palos usados para llevar la mesa.

28Haránlas varas de madera de acacia para llevar la mesa y las cubrirán con oro.

29Harán platos y fuentes para la mesa, así como jarras y tazones para verter las ofrendas de bebida. Todos serán de oro puro.

30Pongan el Pan de la Presencia sobre la mesa para que esté siempre en mi presencia.

31“Haz un candelabro de oro puro, modelado con martillo. Todo debe ser hecho de una sola pieza: su base, su eje, sus copas, sus capullos y sus flores.

32Debe tener seis ramas que salgan de los lados del candelabro, tres en cada lado.

33Tiene tres tazas en forma de flores de almendra en la primera rama, cada una con capullos y pétalos, tres en la siguiente rama. Cada una de las seis ramas que salen tendrá tres tazas en forma de flores de almendra, todas con brotes y pétalos.

34“En el eje principal del candelabro se harán cuatro tazas en forma de flores de almendra, con capullos y pétalos.

35En las seis ramas que salen del candelabro, colocarás un capullo bajo el primer par de ramas, un capullo bajo el segundo par y un capullo bajo el tercer par.

36Los brotes y las ramas deben hacerse con el candelabro como una sola pieza, modelada con martillo en oro puro.

37Hagan siete lámparas y colóquenlas en el candelabro para que iluminen el área que está delante de él.

38Las pinzas de la mecha y sus bandejas deben ser de oro puro.

39El candelabro y todos estos utensilios requerirán un talento de oro puro.

40Asegúrate de hacer todo de acuerdo con el diseño que te mostré en la montaña”.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God gives Moses detailed instructions for building the ark of the covenant, the table of showbread, and the golden lampstand, central elements of the tabernacle that would be built in the wilderness.

Explanation

This chapter opens an extensive section of the book devoted to painstaking instructions for building the tabernacle, the portable sanctuary where God would dwell symbolically among his people during their journey through the wilderness. The invitation for the people to bring offerings 'of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart' (v. 2) establishes from the outset that this sacred work would be built through genuine generosity, not forced obligation. The ark of the covenant, with its cover called the 'mercy seat' and its golden cherubim, would become the most sacred object in all of Israelite worship, representing God's own earthly throne, the place where he promised to meet and speak with Moses. Every technical detail — exact measurements, specific materials, ornamentation — communicates that worshiping God demanded excellence and care, reflecting the holiness of what was being represented.

Fun facts

  • The ark of the covenant, with its precise dimensions (roughly 1.15m x 0.7m x 0.7m), became one of the most legendary and sought-after objects in history, inspiring even modern works of fiction, though its final fate after the destruction of the first temple in Jerusalem remains an unresolved historical mystery.
  • The repeated command 'according to all that I shew thee, after the pattern' (v. 9) suggests that Moses received some kind of vision or heavenly blueprint of the tabernacle, an idea taken up again in Hebrews 8:5, which describes the earthly tabernacle as 'the example and shadow of heavenly things.'

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Éxodo 25:1After forty days on the mountain, a long block of instructions begins here about building the tabernacle, the sanctuary tent that will accompany the people through the desert.
  2. Éxodo 25:2The construction of the tabernacle would be funded by voluntary donations from the people themselves, not by a mandatory tax — each one contributing according to his own will.
  3. Éxodo 25:3Begins the list of materials accepted as an offering: the three metals used in the structure, gold, silver, and bronze, in quantities and uses that vary by piece.
  4. Éxodo 25:4Continues the list of materials with the colored fabrics, blue, purple, and scarlet, plus the fine linen and the goats’ hair used in the outer coverings.
  5. Éxodo 25:5“Badgers’ skins” is an old and debated translation: the original Hebrew term probably refers to the hide of a sea animal, such as a dolphin or dugong, used to waterproof the tent’s outer covering. “Shittim wood,” meanwhile, is acacia, a sturdy tree common in the Sinai desert, used throughout the tabernacle’s wooden structure.
  6. Éxodo 25:6Also includes the oil to keep the lamps burning and the spices used both in the anointing oil and in the incense burned in the sanctuary.
  7. Éxodo 25:7Closes the list of materials with precious stones intended specifically for the high priest’s garments, detailed later in chapter 28.
  8. Éxodo 25:8Explains the purpose of this entire construction: to give God a physical place to dwell visibly in the midst of the Israelite camp.
  9. Éxodo 25:9God gives Moses a specific pattern to follow, suggesting some kind of vision or detailed plan shown to him on the mountain, which had to be reproduced exactly.
  10. Éxodo 25:10The cubit was an ancient unit based on the length of the forearm, from the elbow to the fingertips, somewhere between about 18 and 20 inches depending on the period and region. Using that, the ark of the covenant was roughly 3 feet 9 inches long by 2 feet 3 inches wide and high, about the size of a large chest.
  11. Éxodo 25:11The ark was to be overlaid with pure gold both inside and outside, with a decorative rim running around the top.
  12. Éxodo 25:12Four gold rings fixed to the corners of the ark were meant to hold the carrying poles described in the next verse.
  13. Éxodo 25:13The poles used to carry the ark also had to be made of acacia and overlaid with gold, keeping the same material standard as the main piece.
  14. Éxodo 25:14The poles ran through the ark’s side rings, allowing it to be carried on the shoulders without anyone needing to touch it directly.
  15. Éxodo 25:15Determines that the poles had to stay permanently fitted in the ark, even when it was not being carried, preventing any accidental direct contact.
  16. Éxodo 25:16“The testimony” is the name given to the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments, which God would still give Moses on the mountain. They were called that because they attested to, recorded, the agreement between God and the people, which is why the ark that held them is also called the “ark of the testimony” in the following chapters.
  17. Éxodo 25:17The mercy seat, the ark’s lid of pure gold, had exactly the same length and width as the ark itself, fitting perfectly on top of it.
  18. Éxodo 25:18The two cherub figures had to be made of beaten gold, the same technique of hammering a single block of metal used in other important pieces of the tabernacle.
  19. Éxodo 25:19The two cherubim had to form a single piece with the mercy seat itself, with no separately welded parts, one at each end of the lid.
  20. Éxodo 25:20The cherubim’s wings stretched upward and met above the mercy seat, with the faces of the two figures turned toward each other, looking down.
  21. Éxodo 25:21Once finished, the mercy seat would be placed on the ark already containing the tablets of the law, joining the two most sacred pieces of the tabernacle.
  22. Éxodo 25:22The “mercy seat” was the ark’s gold lid, between the two cherub figures carved at its ends. It was there, between those two figures, that God said He would appear to speak with Moses, the most sacred point in the whole tabernacle.
  23. Éxodo 25:23Besides the ark, the tabernacle also needed a smaller acacia table, meant for a specific use explained in the following verses.
  24. Éxodo 25:24The table also received an overlay of pure gold and a decorative rim around it, following the same visual pattern as the ark.
  25. Éxodo 25:25An extra frame around the table, about a hand’s width, reinforced the structure and received its own golden rim.
  26. Éxodo 25:26Just like the ark, the table also had four gold rings, one at each leg, to make it easier to carry.
  27. Éxodo 25:27The rings were positioned close to the frame, at exactly the right spot to receive the carrying poles.
  28. Éxodo 25:28The table’s poles followed the same pattern as the ark’s: acacia wood overlaid with gold, used solely to carry the piece.
  29. Éxodo 25:29The table came with specific utensils, dishes, spoons, pitchers, and bowls, all made of pure gold for use in the ritual described in the next verse.
  30. Éxodo 25:30The “shewbread” was twelve loaves, one for each tribe of Israel, kept continually on a table inside the tabernacle as a standing offering before God. They were exchanged for fresh loaves every week, and the old ones were left for the priests to eat.
  31. Éxodo 25:31The lampstand described here, with six branches coming out of a central shaft, is the piece that would later inspire the menorah, a Jewish symbol to this day. “Of beaten work” means the entire piece, shaft, branches, and flowers, had to be hammered out of a single block of gold, with no welds or separate parts.
  32. Éxodo 25:32The lampstand had six branches coming out of a central shaft, three on each side, forming the basic structure of the piece later associated with the Jewish menorah.
  33. Éxodo 25:33Each branch of the lampstand was decorated with almond-flower shapes, an ornamental pattern repeated on all six side branches.
  34. Éxodo 25:34The lampstand’s central shaft, unlike the side branches, received four sets of this same floral ornament.
  35. Éxodo 25:35Details the exact position of each apple-shaped ornament at the base where each pair of branches met the central shaft.
  36. Éxodo 25:36Reinforces that the entire piece, ornaments and structure, had to be hammered out of a single block of gold, with no separately welded parts.
  37. Éxodo 25:37The lampstand held seven lamps, positioned to light the space in front of it inside the tabernacle.
  38. Éxodo 25:38Even the small accessories used to tend the lamps, such as wick trimmers and snuff dishes, had to be made of pure gold.
  39. Éxodo 25:39Determines the exact amount of metal used: a full talent of pure gold for the lampstand and all its utensils.
  40. Éxodo 25:40Closes the chapter repeating the central requirement: to follow exactly the pattern shown to Moses on the mountain, without inventing variations of his own.

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