Éxodo 39

VBL · Chapter 39/40

1Estos hombres confeccionaron ropa tejida con hilos azules, púrpura y carmesí para servir en el santuario. También hicieron vestimentas sagradas para Aarón, como el Señor le había ordenado a Moisés.

2Hicieron el efod de lino finamente tejido bordado con oro, y con hilos azules, púrpura y carmesí.

3Martillaron finas láminas de oro y cortaron hilos para tejerlos con los hilos azul, púrpura y escarlata, junto con lino fino, todo hábilmente trabajado.

4Dos piezas de hombro fueron unidas a las piezas delanteras y traseras

5La cintura del efod era una pieza hecha de la misma manera, usando hilo de oro, con hilo azul, púrpura y carmesí, y con lino fino, como el Señor había ordenado a Moisés.

6Colocaron las piedras de ónix en engastes de oro ornamental, grabando los nombres de las tribus israelitas de la misma manera que un joyero graba un sello personal.

7Pusieron ambas piedras en los hombros del efod como recordatorio para las tribus israelitas, como el Señor le había ordenado a Moisés.

8También hicieron un pectoral para las decisiones de la misma manera hábil que el efod, para ser usado en la determinación de la voluntad del Señor. Lo hicieron usando hilo de oro, con hilos azules, púrpura y carmesí, y con lino finamente tejido.

9Era cuadrado cuando se doblaba, midiendo alrededor de nueve pulgadas de largo y ancho.

10Adjuntaron un arreglo de piedras preciosas en cuatro filas como sigue. En la primera fila cornalina, peridoto y esmeralda.

11En la segunda fila turquesa, lapislázuli y sardónice.

12En la tercera fila jacinto, ágata y amatista.

13En la cuarta fila topacio, berilo y jaspe. Todos ellos fueron colocados en un marco de oro ornamental.

14Cada una de las doce piedras estaba grabada como un sello personal con el nombre de una de las doce tribus israelitas y las representaba.

15Confeccionaron cordones de cadenas trenzadas de oro puro para sujetar el pectoral.

16Hicieron dos ajustes de oro y dos anillos de oro y sujetaron los anillos a las dos esquinas superiores del pectoral.

17Fijaron las dos cadenas de oro a los dos anillos de oro de las esquinas del pectoral,

18y luego sujetaron los extremos opuestos de las dos cadenas a los adornos de oro de los hombros de la parte delantera del efod.

19Hicieron dos anillos de oro más y los fijaron a las dos esquinas inferiores del pectoral, en el borde interior junto al efod.

20Hicieron dos anillos de oro más y los fijaron en la parte inferior de las dos hombreras de la parte delantera del efod, cerca de donde se une a su cintura tejida.

21Ataron los anillos del pectoral a los anillos del efod con un cordón de hilo azul, para que el pectoral no se soltara del efod, como el Señor había ordenado a Moisés.

22Hicieron la túnica que acompaña al efod exclusivamente de tela azul tejida,

23con una abertura en el centro en la parte superior. Cosieron un cuello tejido alrededor de la abertura para reforzarla y que no se rompiera.

24Hicieron granadas usando hilos azules, púrpura y carmesí y lino finamente tejido y las unieron alrededor de su dobladillo.

25Hicieron campanas de oro puro y las unieron entre las granadas alrededor de su dobladillo,

26haciendo que las campanas y las granadas se alternaran. La túnica debía ser usada para el servicio sacerdotal, como el Señor le había ordenado a Moisés.

27Confeccionaron túnicas con lino finamente hilado hechas por un tejedor para Aarón y sus hijos.

28Tambiénelaboraron turbantes, tocados y diademas de lino fino, y calzoncillos de lino finamente tejidos,

29así como fajas de lino finamente tejidas bordadas con hilos azules, púrpura y carmesí, como el Señor había ordenado a Moisés.

30Diseñaron la placa de la corona santa de oro puro y escribieron en ella, grabada como un sello, “Consagrado al Señor”.

31Le ataron un cordón azul para atarlo a la parte delantera del turbante, como el Señor le había ordenado a Moisés.

32Así que todo el trabajo para el Tabernáculo, el Tarbernáculo de Reunión, estaba terminado. Los israelitas hicieron todo lo que el Señor le había ordenado a Moisés.

33Luego presentaron el Tabernáculo a Moisés: la tienda con todos sus muebles, sus pinzas, sus marcos, sus travesaños y sus postes y soportes;

34la cubierta de pieles de carnero curtidas, la cubierta de cuero fino y el velo;

35el Arca del Testimonio con sus varas y la cubierta de expiación;

36la mesa con todos sus equipos y el Pan de la Presencia;

37el candelabro de oro puro con sus lámparas puestas en fila, y todos sus equipos, así como el aceite de oliva para las lámparas;

38el altar de oro, el aceite de la unción, el incienso aromático y el biombo para la entrada de la tienda;

39el altar de bronce con su reja de bronce, sus postes y todos sus utensilios; la palangana más su soporte;

40las cortinas del patio y sus postes y soportes; la cortina para la entrada del patio, sus cuerdas y estacas de la tienda, y todo el equipo para los servicios del Tabernáculo, el Tabernáculo de Reunión;

41y las vestimentas tejidas para servir en el santuario, las ropas sagradas para el sacerdote Aarón y para sus hijos para servir como sacerdotes.

42Los israelitas hicieron todo el trabajo que el Señor había ordenado a Moisés.

43Moisés inspeccionó todo el trabajo y se aseguró de que lo habían hecho como el Señor se los había indicado. Entonces Moisés los bendijo.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Aaron's sacred garments are made, including the ephod, the breastplate with its twelve precious stones, and the golden plate; the entire work of the tabernacle is finally completed and presented to Moses, who inspects it and blesses the people.

Explanation

This chapter completes the long section devoted to building the tabernacle, now focusing on the elaborate priestly garments that had been specified back in chapter 28. The detailed repetition of each element — from the golden ephod to the plate inscribed 'Holiness to the Lord' — once again reinforces the people's exact faithfulness in following every divine instruction. The emotional climax of the chapter comes at its end, when Moses personally inspects the entire finished work and, finding it made 'as the Lord had commanded,' blesses the people — a moment of satisfaction and approval after months of careful, collective labor. This scene of successful completion stands in powerful contrast to the failure of the golden calf episode, showing a trajectory of restoration: from a people who quickly turned to idolatry to a people who, with patience and generosity, faithfully completed a complex sacred work exactly as God had planned.

Fun facts

  • The phrase repeated throughout the chapter, 'as the Lord commanded Moses' (used at least seven times), deliberately emphasizes the complete faithfulness of the execution, a rhetorical pattern that biblical scholars associate with the idea of 'perfect,' complete obedience in contrast to the people's earlier failures.
  • Moses' blessing upon seeing the finished work (v. 43) echoes the narrative structure of Genesis 1, where God 'saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good' — suggesting an intentional literary connection between the completion of the creation of the world and the completion of the place where God would dwell among his people.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Éxodo 39:1This chapter is the practical execution of the instructions about the priestly garments given earlier in chapter 28: the ephod, the breastplate, the robe, and the other pieces. The refrain “as the Lord commanded Moses”—exactly the KJV’s wording—appears several times throughout the chapter, reinforcing that every detail was followed to the letter.
  2. Éxodo 39:2The ephod is made exactly as specified, combining gold threads with the colored fabrics and fine linen.
  3. Éxodo 39:3Sheets of gold are hammered out into very fine threads, woven by hand into the other fabrics using a painstaking embroidery technique.
  4. Éxodo 39:4The shoulder straps are made and attached to the two ends of the ephod, following exactly the design specified before.
  5. Éxodo 39:5The ephod’s belt is made with the same materials and the same technique as the main piece, carrying out to the letter the order given to Moses.
  6. Éxodo 39:6The two precious stones are prepared and engraved with the names of the tribes of Israel, using the same seal-engraving technique from the ancient world.
  7. Éxodo 39:7The engraved stones are fastened onto the shoulders of the ephod, becoming a permanent visual reminder of the whole people of Israel.
  8. Éxodo 39:8The breastplate is made with the same careful technique and the same colored materials used on the ephod.
  9. Éxodo 39:9The breastplate is made folded in half, forming a kind of square pouch, a little over eight inches on each side.
  10. Éxodo 39:10The first row of precious stones is set with sardius, topaz, and carbuncle, following exactly the order specified before.
  11. Éxodo 39:11The second row holds emerald, sapphire, and diamond, continuing the sequence of twelve stones.
  12. Éxodo 39:12The third row brings ligure, agate, and amethyst, keeping the pattern of three stones per row.
  13. Éxodo 39:13The fourth row completes the set with beryl, onyx, and jasper, all set in gold mountings.
  14. Éxodo 39:14Each of the twelve stones bears the engraved name of a tribe of Israel, reproducing the same symbolic function as the shoulder stones.
  15. Éxodo 39:15Chains of pure braided gold are made for the breastplate, using the same technique as the shoulder chains of the ephod.
  16. Éxodo 39:16Two gold settings and two gold rings are made and fixed to the upper edges of the breastplate.
  17. Éxodo 39:17The braided chains are fastened into these rings, preparing the connection between the breastplate and the ephod.
  18. Éxodo 39:18The other ends of the chains are fastened to the shoulder settings, permanently joining the two pieces at the front.
  19. Éxodo 39:19Two more gold rings are fixed to the lower part of the breastplate, on the inner side facing the ephod.
  20. Éxodo 39:20Two more rings are positioned on the lower part of the shoulder straps, near the ephod’s belt, completing the attachment system.
  21. Éxodo 39:21A blue cord ties the rings of the breastplate to the rings of the ephod, ensuring the piece would never come loose, exactly as God had commanded.
  22. Éxodo 39:22The robe worn under the ephod is woven entirely in blue, with no other colors mixed in, as specified before.
  23. Éxodo 39:23The opening for the head receives a reinforced, woven edge, similar to the collar of a coat of mail, to keep the fabric from tearing.
  24. Éxodo 39:24Pomegranates embroidered in blue, purple, and scarlet are sewn all around the hem of the robe.
  25. Éxodo 39:25Bells of pure gold are made and set between the embroidered pomegranates, following the specified decorative pattern.
  26. Éxodo 39:26The pattern repeats continuously all around the hem: a bell, a pomegranate, alternating without interruption, exactly as God had ordered.
  27. Éxodo 39:27The inner tunics of fine linen are woven for both Aaron and his sons, following the same plain-material pattern.
  28. Éxodo 39:28The turban, the headbands, and the breeches are also made of fine linen, completing the basic pieces of the priestly attire.
  29. Éxodo 39:29The sash receives a more elaborate embroidered finish, combining fine linen with the colored fabrics used on other pieces.
  30. Éxodo 39:30This small gold plate, fastened to the front of the high priest’s turban, bore the engraved phrase “HOLINESS TO THE LORD”—the exact KJV wording—a kind of permanent identification of that office’s unique role. It was the final and most visible piece of the whole priestly attire.
  31. Éxodo 39:31The gold plate with the sacred inscription is tied with a blue cord to the front of the turban, exactly as specified.
  32. Éxodo 39:32It marks the completion of the entire work of the tabernacle, confirming that the Israelites carried out every instruction exactly as God had commanded.
  33. Éxodo 39:33The people bring Moses the complete structure of the tabernacle: the tent, its clasps, boards, bars, pillars, and sockets, all ready for inspection.
  34. Éxodo 39:34Along with it come the layers of outer covering, the red-dyed hides, and the sturdy hides used on top, plus the inner veil.
  35. Éxodo 39:35The ark of the covenant, already complete with its poles and the mercy seat, is also presented to Moses for a final check.
  36. Éxodo 39:36The table of the bread, with all its utensils and the showbread itself, completes the list of pieces delivered.
  37. Éxodo 39:37The lampstand of pure gold, with its lamps already arranged and the necessary oil, is also presented ready for use.
  38. Éxodo 39:38The gold incense altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the entrance curtain of the tent complete this part of the inventory.
  39. Éxodo 39:39The copper altar, its grate, poles, and utensils, together with the washing basin, are also delivered ready to Moses.
  40. Éxodo 39:40All the pieces of the outer courtyard—curtains, pillars, sockets, cords, and pegs—complete the long list of items checked off by Moses.
  41. Éxodo 39:41Finally, the complete priestly garments, both the everyday ones and the special ones for Aaron and his sons, close out the inventory delivered.
  42. Éxodo 39:42It repeats, for the last time, the formula of obedience: every detail of the work was carried out exactly as God had commanded Moses.
  43. Éxodo 39:43After months of collective work, Moses carries out a kind of final inspection of everything that was built, checking each piece against what had been commanded. His closing blessing marks the successful end of this stage, setting the stage for the tabernacle’s assembly in the following chapter.

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