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Exodus 40

Exodus closes with Moses completing the tabernacle as commanded and YHWH filling it with glory, directing Israel’s movements.

YHWH tells Moses to raise the tabernacle on the first day of the first month and arrange its furnishings. He commands the anointing of the tent and the consecration of Aaron and his sons for priestly service. Moses carries out the work as commanded, setting each object in place. When the work is finished, the cloud covers the tent and YHWH’s glory fills it. The cloud then governs when Israel travels and when it stays.

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2“On the first day of the first month you shall raise up the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting.
3You shall put the ark of the covenant in it, and you shall screen the ark with the veil.
4You shall bring in the table, and set in order the things that are on it. You shall bring in the lamp stand, and light its lamps.
5You shall set the golden altar for incense before the ark of the covenant, and put the screen of the door to the tabernacle.
6“You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting.
7You shall set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and shall put water therein.
8You shall set up the court around it, and hang up the screen of the gate of the court.
9“You shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and shall make it holy, and all its furniture, and it will be holy.
10You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering, with all its vessels, and sanctify the altar, and the altar will be most holy.
12“You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water.
13You shall put on Aaron the holy garments; and you shall anoint him, and sanctify him, that he may minister to me in the priest’s office.
14You shall bring his sons, and put tunics on them.
15You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office. Their anointing shall be to them for an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”
16Moses did so. According to all that the LORD commanded him, so he did.
17In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was raised up.
18Moses raised up the tabernacle, and laid its sockets, and set up its boards, and put in its bars, and raised up its pillars.
19He spread the covering over the tent, and put the roof of the tabernacle above on it, as the LORD commanded Moses.
20He took and put the covenant into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the mercy seat above on the ark.
21He brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the covenant, as the LORD commanded Moses.
22He put the table in the Tent of Meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside of the veil.
23He set the bread in order on it before the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
24He put the lamp stand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle.
25He lit the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
26He put the golden altar in the Tent of Meeting before the veil;
27and he burned incense of sweet spices on it, as the LORD commanded Moses.
28He put up the screen of the door to the tabernacle.
29He set the altar of burnt offering at the door of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, as the LORD commanded Moses.
30He set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water therein, with which to wash.
31Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and their feet there.
32When they went into the Tent of Meeting, and when they came near to the altar, they washed, as the LORD commanded Moses.
33He raised up the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.
34Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the LORD’s glory filled the tabernacle.
35Moses wasn’t able to enter into the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud stayed on it, and the LORD’s glory filled the tabernacle.
36When the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward, throughout all their journeys;
38For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
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Key verses
Exodus 40:34YHWH’s glory fills the completed tent, bringing the account of its construction to its climax.
Exodus 40:20Moses places the covenant inside the ark and the mercy seat above it before screening the ark with the veil.
Exodus 40:16This summary establishes the pattern repeated throughout the account: Moses carries out YHWH’s commands.
Where this chapter reaches

Numbers continues the account of the cloud over the tabernacle, with Israel’s departures and encampments governed by its movement. Leviticus shares the concern for priestly consecration and holy worship, while Hebrews takes up the tabernacle’s furnishings and restricted access in its teaching about Christ’s priesthood.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What do you notice about the repeated phrase “as the LORD commanded Moses” as the work unfolds?

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How does Moses being unable to enter the tent shape your understanding of God’s presence among Israel?

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Questions people ask about Exodus 40

Why couldn’t Moses enter the tabernacle in Exodus 40?

Verse 35 gives the reason: the cloud remained on the tent, and YHWH’s glory filled the tabernacle. The passage presents God’s presence as overwhelming even for Moses, who had completed the work. It does not describe this inability to enter as punishment for wrongdoing.

When was the tabernacle set up in Exodus 40?

Verse 17 dates the raising of the tabernacle to the first day of the first month in the second year. This fulfills the date God gives Moses in verse 2. The chapter then recounts the placement of the furnishings and ends with the cloud covering the tent.

What did the cloud and fire mean in Exodus 40?

The cloud marked YHWH’s presence over the tabernacle, with fire visible in it at night. It also governed Israel’s travel: the people moved when the cloud rose and stayed when it remained. The closing verse stresses that all Israel could see this sign by day and night.

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Exodus · 40 chapters
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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).