27:1 VE ASIYTA ET HA MIZBE'ACH ATSEY SHITIM CHAMESH AMOT ORECH VE-CHAMESH AMOT ROCHAV RAVU'A YIHEYEH HA MIZBE'ACH VE SHALOSH AMOT KOMATO
וְעָשִׂיתָ אֶת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים חָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת אֹרֶךְ וְחָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת רֹחַב רָבוּעַ יִהְיֶה הַמִּזְבֵּחַ וְשָׁלֹשׁ אַמּוֹת קֹמָתוֹ
KJ (King James translation): And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.
BN (BibleNet translation): And you shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be four-square; and it shall be three cubits high.
AMOT: For biblical weights and meaures, click here.
AMOT: For biblical weights and meaures, click here.
27:2 VE ASIYTA KARNOTAV AL ARBA PINUTAV MIMENU TIHEYEYNA KARNOTAV VE TSIPIYTA OTO NECHOSHET
וְעָשִׂיתָ קַרְנֹתָיו עַל אַרְבַּע פִּנֹּתָיו מִמֶּנּוּ תִּהְיֶיןָ קַרְנֹתָיו וְצִפִּיתָ אֹתוֹ נְחֹשֶׁת
KJ: And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.
The concept of a horned altar needs explaining (see "A Myrtle Among Reeds", page 108). Egyptian altars were literally horned, being an image of the horned throne of the Egyptian Pharaoh, who took his authority from the bull-god Hor; and it is likely that an altar erected by Mosheh would have followed that pattern, as clearly the Golden Calf will do shortly. Mosheh will himself (Exodus 34:29 and 35) be described as "wearing" those horns when he comes down the mountain, though they are generally regarded by scholars as having been metaphorical horns, an aureole of light, a kind of halo, emanating around his head - so at least rabbinic commentators have explained it, though this is not how Michelangelo understood it, or how Saint Jerome translated it; and it does not match the image of the priests of Mitsrayim (Egypt), who wore horned masks.
However, the altar in the Temple in Yeru-Shala'im did not follow this pattern. It was "horned" only in the metaphorical sense that the side walls of the altar continued up beyond the flat surface where the pyres were laid, extending a full arm's length to make a kind of unroofed stove; but the extensions were themselves flat, not literally horned. The Kohen would circulate on the ledge, at each corner dipping his right index finger into the bowl of blood and depositing it on the horn (the same procedure used by all Jews on Passover Eve for the plague ritual).
BN: And you shall make horns for it at each of the four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it; and you shall overlay it with brass.
 |
| Horned altar from Megiddo |
However, the altar in the Temple in Yeru-Shala'im did not follow this pattern. It was "horned" only in the metaphorical sense that the side walls of the altar continued up beyond the flat surface where the pyres were laid, extending a full arm's length to make a kind of unroofed stove; but the extensions were themselves flat, not literally horned. The Kohen would circulate on the ledge, at each corner dipping his right index finger into the bowl of blood and depositing it on the horn (the same procedure used by all Jews on Passover Eve for the plague ritual).
But nevertheless - it cannot be left unsaid - this, and not some Disneyesque or Damien Hirstesque bovine, this (see illustration, above) may very well be the Golden Calf, and they were told to make it!
27:3 VE ASIYTA SIYROTAV LE DASHNO VE YA'AV U MIZ'ROKOTAV U MIZLEGOTAV U MACHTOTAV LE CHOL KELAV TA'ASEH NECHOSHET
וְעָשִׂיתָ סִּירֹתָיו לְדַשְּׁנוֹ וְיָעָיו וּמִזְרְקֹתָיו וּמִזְלְגֹתָיו וּמַחְתֹּתָיו לְכָל כֵּלָיו תַּעֲשֶׂה נְחֹשֶׁת
KJ: And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.
BN: And you shall make pots for it, to take away the ashes, and shovels for it, and basins, and flesh-hooks, and fire-pans; all its vessels you shall make of brass.
MIZLEGOTAV: The pointing places a chirik (a single dot, pronounced like the "i" in "pin") under the Lamed (ל), but this is surely an error; I have put back the segol which I believe belongs there, though I would be willing to accept a chateph segol.
NECHOSHET: Everything has been made of brass; important to note this fact, which confirms that we have not yet entered the Iron Age, which is reckoned to have started around 1200 BCE. We may need to remember this, when Betsal-El starts undertaking his work, very shortly.
27:4 VE ASIYTA LO MICHBAR MA'ASEH RESHET NECHOSHET VE ASIYTA AL HA RESHET ARBA TAB'OT NECHOSHET AL ARBA KETSOTAV
וְעָשִׂיתָ לּוֹ מִכְבָּר מַעֲשֵׂה רֶשֶׁת נְחֹשֶׁת וְעָשִׂיתָ עַל הָרֶשֶׁת אַרְבַּע טַבְּעֹת נְחֹשֶׁת עַל אַרְבַּע קְצוֹתָיו
KJ: And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof.
BN: And you shall make a grate for it out of a network of brass; and in the four corners of the grate you shall set four brass rings.
27:5 VE NATATAH OTAH TACHAT KARKOV HA MIZBE'ACH MI LEMATA VE HAYETA HA RESHET AD CHATSI HA MIZBE'ACH
וְנָתַתָּה אֹתָהּ תַּחַת כַּרְכֹּב הַמִּזְבֵּחַ מִלְּמָטָּה וְהָיְתָה הָרֶשֶׁת עַד חֲצִי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ
KJ: And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar.
BN: And you shall put it under the ledge that goes around and underneath the altar, so that the grate reaches halfway up the altar.
27:6 VE ASIYTA VADIM LA MIZBE'ACH BADEY ATSEY SHITIM VE TSIPIYTA OTAM NECHOSHET
וְעָשִׂיתָ בַדִּים לַמִּזְבֵּחַ בַּדֵּי עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים וְצִפִּיתָ אֹתָם נְחֹשֶׁת
KJ: And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass.
BN: And you shall make staves for the altar out of acacia wood, and overlay them with brass.
27:7 VE HUVA ET BADAV BA TABA'OT VE HAYU HA BADIM AL SHETEY TSAL'OT HA MIZBE'ACH BI SE'ET OTO
וְהוּבָא אֶת בַּדָּיו בַּטַּבָּעֹת וְהָיוּ הַבַּדִּים עַל שְׁתֵּי צַלְעֹת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ בִּשְׂאֵת אֹתוֹ
KJ: And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it.
BN: And you shall put the staves inside the rings, as well as staves on the two sides of the altar, in order to carry it.
27:8 NEVUV LUCHOT TA'ASEH OTO KA ASHER HER'AH OT'CHA BA HAR KEN YA'ASU
נְבוּב לֻחֹת תַּעֲשֶׂה אֹתוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר הֶרְאָה אֹתְךָ בָּהָר כֵּן יַעֲשׂוּ
KJ: Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.
BN: You shall make it hollow, using wooden planks; as has been shown you here on the mountain, so shall they make it.
samech break; end of 6th fragment
27:9 VE ASIYTA ET CHATSER HA MISHKAN LIPH'AT NEGEV TEYMANAH KELA'IM LECHATSER SHESH MASHZAR ME'AH VA AMAH ORECH LA PE'AH HA ECHAT
וְעָשִׂיתָ אֵת חֲצַר הַמִּשְׁכָּן לִפְאַת נֶגֶב-תֵּימָנָה קְלָעִים לֶחָצֵר שֵׁשׁ מָשְׁזָר מֵאָה בָאַמָּה אֹרֶךְ לַפֵּאָה הָאֶחָת
KJ: And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side:
BN: And you shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side of the court, facing southward, there shall be hangings of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits long for each side.
NEGEV TEYMANAH: See my note to Exodus 26:18.
And why do they need to make a court anyway? In Yeru-Shala'im, later on, for the Temple, yes, a courtyard; but this is a portable desert shrine, and even if they don't know it is about to be a forty-year journey, they are going to have to carry all of this with them as they plod through the desert, moaning about the lack of water, living on manna for want of any other food... and forced, like slaves, to drag the pillars and drapes of a courtyard one hundred and fifty feet in length! As well as the altar, the Mishkan, the boxes of bowls and tongs...
On the other hand, if they are simply Egyptians on pilgrimage, undertaking the covenant renewal just 3-days journey from the capital, re-establishing the mountain shrine (and leaving all of these new-mades there for future pilgrimages)...
And why do they need to make a court anyway? In Yeru-Shala'im, later on, for the Temple, yes, a courtyard; but this is a portable desert shrine, and even if they don't know it is about to be a forty-year journey, they are going to have to carry all of this with them as they plod through the desert, moaning about the lack of water, living on manna for want of any other food... and forced, like slaves, to drag the pillars and drapes of a courtyard one hundred and fifty feet in length! As well as the altar, the Mishkan, the boxes of bowls and tongs...
On the other hand, if they are simply Egyptians on pilgrimage, undertaking the covenant renewal just 3-days journey from the capital, re-establishing the mountain shrine (and leaving all of these new-mades there for future pilgrimages)...
27:10 VE AMUDAV ESRIM VE ADNEYHEM ESRIM NECHOSHET VAVEY HA AMUDIM VE CHASHUKEYHEM KASEPH
וְעַמֻּדָיו עֶשְׂרִים וְאַדְנֵיהֶם עֶשְׂרִים נְחֹשֶׁת וָוֵי הָעַמֻּדִים וַחֲשֻׁקֵיהֶם כָּסֶף
KJ: And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.
BN: And it shall have twenty pillars, with twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be made of silver.
27:11 VE CHEN LIPH'AT TSAPHON BA ORECH KELA'IM ME'AH ORECH VE AMUDAV ESRIM VE ADNEYHEM ESRIM NECHOSHET VAVEY HA AMUDIM VE CHASHUKEYHEM KASEPH
וְכֵן לִפְאַת צָפוֹן בָּאֹרֶךְ קְלָעִים מֵאָה אֹרֶךְ וְעַמֻּדָו עֶשְׂרִים וְאַדְנֵיהֶם עֶשְׂרִים נְחֹשֶׁת וָוֵי הָעַמֻּדִים וַחֲשֻׁקֵיהֶם כָּסֶף
KJ: And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubitslong, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.
BN: And likewise for the length of the north side, there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, and twenty pillars, and twenty brass sockets, and the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be made of silver.
27:12 VE ROCHAV HE CHATSER LIPH'AT YAM KELA'IM CHAMISHIM AMAH AMUDEYHEM ASARAH VE ADNEYHEM ASARAH
וְרֹחַב הֶחָצֵר לִפְאַת יָם קְלָעִים חֲמִשִּׁים אַמָּה עַמֻּדֵיהֶם עֲשָׂרָה וְאַדְנֵיהֶם עֲשָׂרָה
KJ: And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.
BN: And for the breadth of the court on the west side there shall be hangings of fifty cubits: ten pillars, ten sockets.
27:13 VE ROCHAV HE CHATSER LIPH'AT KEDMAH MIZRACHA CHAMISHIM AMAH
וְרֹחַב הֶחָצֵר לִפְאַת קֵדְמָה מִזְרָחָה חֲמִשִּׁים אַמָּה
KJ: And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.
BN: And the breadth of the court on the east side, facing eastwards, shall be fifty cubits.
KEDMAH and MIZRACHAH both mean east, as NEGEV and TEYMANAH both mean south, but NEGEV only means south if you are in Yisra-El, and Teymanah only means south if you are in Midyan. See my notes at Exodus 26:27.
27:14 VE CHAMESH ESREY AMAH KELA'IM LE KATEPH AMUDEYHEM SHELOSHAH VE ADNEYHEM SHELOSHAH
חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה קְלָעִים לַכָּתֵף עַמֻּדֵיהֶם שְׁלֹשָׁה וְאַדְנֵיהֶם שְׁלֹשָׁה
KJ: The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.
BN: The hangings for one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: three pillars, three sockets.
27:15 VE LA KATEPH HA SHENIT CHAMESH ESREH KELA'IM AMUDEYHEM SHELOSHAH VE ADNEYHEM SHELOSHAH
וְלַכָּתֵף הַשֵּׁנִית חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה קְלָעִים עַמֻּדֵיהֶם שְׁלֹשָׁה וְאַדְנֵיהֶם שְׁלֹשָׁה
KJ: And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.
BN: The hangings for the other side shall be of fifteen cubits: three pillars, three sockets.
27:16 U LE SHA'AR HE CHATSER MASACH ESRIM AMAH TECHELET VE ARGAMAN VE TOLA'AT SHANI VE SHESH MASHZAR MA'ASEH ROKEM AMUDEYHEM ARBA'AH VE ADNEYHEM ARBA'AH
וּלְשַׁעַר הֶחָצֵר מָסָךְ עֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה תְּכֵלֶת וְאַרְגָּמָן וְתוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי וְשֵׁשׁ מָשְׁזָר מַעֲשֵׂה רֹקֵם עַמֻּדֵיהֶם אַרְבָּעָה וְאַדְנֵיהֶם אַרְבָּעָה
KJ: And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.
BN: And for the gate of the court there shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue, purple and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the weaver in colours: with four pillars and four sockets.
27:17 KOL AMUDEY HE CHATSER SAVIV MECHUSHAKIM KESEPH VAVEYHEM KASEPH VE ADNEYHEM NECHOSHET
כָּל עַמּוּדֵי הֶחָצֵר סָבִיב מְחֻשָּׁקִים כֶּסֶף וָוֵיהֶם כָּסֶף וְאַדְנֵיהֶם נְחֹשֶׁת
KJ: All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass.
BN: All the surrounding pillars of the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks of silver, and their sockets of brass.
CHATSER: The idea of side-chapels in the Temple is not problematic, but for a travelling Ark, carried on poles - where would these side-chapels actually be. And ditto the courtyard. This is a description of a temple, even perhaps, the Temple, not the desert Mishkan.
27:18 ORECH HE CHATSER ME'AH VA AMAH VE ROCHAV CHAMISHIM BA CHAMISHIM VE KOMAH CHAMESH AMOT SHESH MASHZAR VE ADNEYHEM NECHOSHET
אֹרֶךְ הֶחָצֵר מֵאָה בָאַמָּה וְרֹחַב חֲמִשִּׁים בַּחֲמִשִּׁים וְקֹמָה חָמֵשׁ אַמּוֹת שֵׁשׁ מָשְׁזָר וְאַדְנֵיהֶם נְחֹשֶׁת
KJ: The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.
BN: The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty and fifty, and the height five cubits, of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.
27:19 LE CHOL KELEY HA MISHKAN BE CHOL AVODATO VE CHOL YETEDOTAV VE CHOL YITDOT HE CHATSER NECHOSHET
לְכֹל כְּלֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן בְּכֹל עֲבֹדָתוֹ וְכָל יְתֵדֹתָיו וְכָל יִתְדֹת הֶחָצֵר נְחֹשֶׁת
KJ: All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.
BN: All the instruments of the tabernacle that are to be used in worship, including all its pins, and all the pins of the court, shall be made of brass.
The sedra ends here, but the Christian chapters include in 27 what are the first two verses of the next sedra; for convenience I have therefore placed those two verses here, and then repeated them as a preface to chapter 28.
27:20 VE ATAH TETSAVEH ET BENEY YISRA-EL VE YIKCHU ELEYCHA SHEMEN ZAYIT ZACH KATIV LA MA'OR LEHA'ALOT NER TAMID
וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ כָּתִית לַמָּאוֹר לְהַעֲלֹת נֵר תָּמִיד
KJ: And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.
BN: And you shall instruct the Beney Yisra-El, that they bring pure, beaten olive oil to you for the light, so that a lamp may burn continually [in the tent of meeting]
27:21 BE OHEL MO'ED MI CHUTS LA PAROCHET ASHER AL HA EDUT YA'AROCH OTO AHARON U VANAV ME EREV AD BOKER LIPHNEY YHVH CHUKAT OLAM LE DOROTAM ME ET BENEY YISRA-EL
בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד מִחוּץ לַפָּרֹכֶת אֲשֶׁר עַל הָעֵדֻת יַעֲרֹךְ אֹתוֹ אַהֲרֹן וּבָנָיו מֵעֶרֶב עַד בֹּקֶר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה חֻקַּת עוֹלָם לְדֹרֹתָם מֵאֵת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
KJ: In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.
BN: ... [in the tent of meeting], outside the veil which is before the testimony; Aharon and his sons shall set it in order, to burn from evening to morning before YHVH; this is a statute in perpetuity for the Beney Yisra-El, for all the generations yet to come.
BE OHEL MO'ED really belongs at the end of the previous verse, but for some reason it has slipped to the following line; the error is in all Christian translations, but the original fault appears to lie with the Septuagint. The Yehudit scroll, being one continuous text, is broken only by the ends of columns or the pey and samech breaks within columns, so the error does not appear there.
Throughout this lengthy passage the same questions arise again and again. First, is it really conceivable that YHVH summoned Mosheh to the summit of the mountain to discuss the fine details of the Mishkan, especially when the summons is intended to be the giving of the Law? Second, why would YHVH involve himself so much in such infinitesimal detail? Yes, he gave detail of the Ark to No'ach, and this is the next Ark - but he did not specify the curtain materials and the crockery to No'ach. Thirdly, what is being described is not the desert Mishkan anyway; it is really the Yeru-Shala'im Temple, though whether the First or Second Temple is another matter for speculation, as we do not know how far the Second was modeled on the first. Nevertheless we can say this: whichever Temple it was, the design, the structure, the materials, must have been extremely controversial, and the need was felt to specify every detail in the Mosaic text, to give it legitimacy: "Mosheh told us to build it this way, and so we must; you think it's wrong - too bad; who are we to argue with the god of Mount Sinai?"
And why would it have been controversial? If it was the First Temple, then because there was no central shrine, and this was designated to replace all other shrines; and also because the model was Phoenician, and probably very different from traditional Kena'ani shrines; possibly also because the materials were the ones that suited the builders. If it was the Second Temple, perhaps it was all that gold and silver and fine linen and brass and people felt this was too lavish a project at a time of returning exiles and economic hardship.
samech break
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