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Exodus 26

God directs the tabernacle’s construction in detail, setting its structure and the boundary around the most holy place.

God gives Moses instructions for building the tabernacle, beginning with linen curtains woven with cherubim and the coverings laid over them. He specifies the wooden framework, its silver bases, and the bars that hold it together. Moses must follow the pattern shown on the mountain. A veil will divide the holy place from the most holy place, with the ark inside and the table and lamp stand outside.

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1“Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim. You shall make them with the work of a skillful workman.
2The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits: all the curtains shall have one measure.
3Five curtains shall be coupled together to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another.
4You shall make loops of blue on the edge of the one curtain from the edge in the coupling, and you shall do likewise on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second coupling.
6You shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains to one another with the clasps. The tabernacle shall be a unit.
7“You shall make curtains of goats’ hair for a covering over the tabernacle. You shall make eleven curtains.
14You shall make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of sea cow hides above.
15“You shall make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright.
17There shall be two tenons in each board, joined to one another: thus you shall make for all the boards of the tabernacle.
19You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons.
24They shall be double beneath, and in the same way they shall be whole to its top to one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners.
25There shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.
26“You shall make bars of acacia wood: five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,
29You shall overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars. You shall overlay the bars with gold.
30You shall set up the tabernacle according to the way that it was shown to you on the mountain.
31“You shall make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cherubim. It shall be the work of a skillful workman.
32You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold; their hooks shall be of gold, on four sockets of silver.
33You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring the ark of the covenant in there within the veil. The veil shall separate the holy place from the most holy for you.
34You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant in the most holy place.
35You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lamp stand opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south. You shall put the table on the north side.
36“You shall make a screen for the door of the Tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer.
37You shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold. You shall cast five sockets of bronze for them.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Exodus 26:1The opening command establishes the tabernacle’s inner fabric, joining costly materials and skilled work with images of cherubim.
Exodus 26:31The veil repeats the curtains’ colors and cherubim, marking the inner boundary with the same careful workmanship.
Exodus 26:33This verse states the veil’s purpose: separating the holy place from the most holy, where the ark belongs.
Where this chapter reaches

Hebrews takes up the tabernacle’s divided rooms and veil when explaining priestly access and Christ’s work as high priest. Numbers describes the care and transport of these same curtains, coverings, and structural parts, carrying the building instructions into Israel’s life on the move.

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What stands out to you about the care given to joining separate pieces into one tabernacle?

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How does the placement of the veil and ark shape your understanding of holiness?

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Questions people ask about Exodus 26

What was the purpose of the veil in Exodus 26?

The veil separated the holy place from the most holy place. The ark of the covenant and its mercy seat stood inside it; the table and lamp stand stood outside. Its linen fabric carried cherubim, matching the inner curtains. This chapter establishes the boundary without explaining the rules for crossing it.

What were the tabernacle coverings made of in Exodus 26?

The chapter specifies ten inner curtains of fine linen with colored yarn and cherubim, then eleven goats’ hair curtains over them. Above these were rams’ skins dyed red and another hide covering. The supplied translation calls the outer material “sea cow hides,” though the animal meant by the Hebrew term is uncertain.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).