271 'And thou hast made the altar of shittim wood, five cubits the length, and five cubits the breadth—the altar is square—and three cubits its height. 2 And thou hast made its horns on its four corners, its horns are of the same, and thou hast overlaid it 'with' brass. 3 And thou hast made its pots to remove its ashes, and its shovels, and its bowls, and its forks, and its fire-pans, even all its vessels thou dost make of brass. 4 'And thou hast made for it a grate of net-work of brass, and hast made on the net four rings of brass on its four extremities, 5 and hast put it under the compass of the altar beneath, and the net hath been unto the middle of the altar. 6 'And thou hast made staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and hast overlaid them 'with' brass. 7 And the staves have been brought into the rings, and the staves have been on the two sides of the altar in bearing it. 8 Hollow with boards thou dost make it, as it hath been shewed thee in the mount, so do they make 'it'.
9 'And thou hast made the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward, hangings for the court of twined linen, a hundred by the cubit 'is' the length for the one side, 10 and its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets 'are' of brass, the pegs of the pillars and their fillets 'are' of silver; 11 and so for the north side in length, hangings of a hundred 'cubits' in length, and its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets 'are' of brass, the pegs of the pillars and their fillets 'are' of silver. 12 'And 'for' the breadth of the court at the west side 'are' hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. 13 And 'for' the breadth of the court at the east side, eastward, 'are' fifty cubits. 14 And the hangings at the side 'are' fifteen cubits, their pillars three, and their sockets three. 15 And at the second side 'are' hangings fifteen 'cubits', their pillars three, and their sockets three. 16 'And for the gate of the court a covering of twenty cubits, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, work of an embroiderer; their pillars four, their sockets four. 17 All the pillars of the court round about 'are' filleted 'with' silver, their pegs 'are' silver, and their sockets brass. 18 'The length of the court 'is' a hundred by the cubit, and the breadth fifty by fifty, and the height five cubits, of twined linen, and their sockets 'are' brass, 19 even all the vessels of the tabernacle, in all its service, and all its pins, and all the pins of the court, 'are' brass.
20 'And thou—thou dost command the sons of Israel, and they bring unto thee pure beaten olive oil for the light, to cause the lamp to go up continually; 21 in the tent of meeting, at the outside of the vail, which 'is' over the testimony, doth Aaron—his sons also—arrange it from evening till morning before Jehovah—a statute age-during to their generations, from the sons of Israel.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Exodus 27:1-22
Commentary on Exodus 27:1-8
(Read Exodus 27:1-8)
In the court before the tabernacle, where the people attended, was an altar, to which they must bring their sacrifices, and on which their priests must offer them to God. It was of wood overlaid with brass. A grate of brass was let into the hollow of the altar, about the middle of which the fire was kept, and the sacrifice burnt. It was made of net-work like a sieve, and hung hollow, that the ashes might fall through. This brazen altar was a type of Christ dying to make atonement for our sins. The wood had been consumed by the fire from heaven, if it had not been secured by the brass: nor could the human nature of Christ have borne the wrath of God, if it had not been supported by Divine power.
Commentary on Exodus 27:9-19
(Read Exodus 27:9-19)
The tabernacle was enclosed in a court, about sixty yards long and thirty broad, formed by curtains hung upon brazen pillars, fixed in brazen sockets. Within this enclosure the priests and Levites offered the sacrifices, and thither the Jewish people were admitted. These distinctions represented the difference between the visible nominal church, and the true spiritual church, which alone has access to God, and communion with him.
Commentary on Exodus 27:20-21
(Read Exodus 27:20-21)
The pure oil signified the gifts and graces of the Spirit, which all believers receive from Christ, the good Olive, and without which our light cannot shine before men. The priests were to light the lamps, and tend them. It is the work of ministers, by preaching and expounding the Scriptures, which are as a lamp, to enlighten the church, God's tabernacle upon earth. Blessed be God, this light is not now confined to the Jewish tabernacle, but is a light to lighten the gentiles, and for salvation unto the ends of the earth.