A covering upon the tabernacle - A tent over the tabernacle. The Hebrew word here used, is the regular one for a tent of skins or cloth of any sort.

Curtains of goats' hair - Stuff made of goats' hair. See Clarke's note on Exodus 25:4. This was the second covering.

And thou shalt make curtains [of] goats' [hair] to be a (d) covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make.
(d) Lest rain and weather should mar it.

And thou shalt make curtains of goats' hair,.... Jarchi calls it the flower or down of goats, the softer and finer part of their hair, which was spun by women, as appears from Exodus 35:26, and was made up into a stuff somewhat like our camelot; these curtains were coarser than the former, and were made to be put over them, to preserve them from the weather, as it follows:
to be a covering upon the tabernacle: which, by the curtains of linen coupled together, became one tabernacle, as in the preceding verse: and these curtains were to be a tent or covering over them: they were somewhat like, being made of the same matter, with the coverings with which the ancient Arabs covered their tents, which were made of goats' hair, as were the tents of Kedar alluded to in Song 1:5, these curtains of goats' hair denote the outward appearance of Christ in human nature, who, attended with all human infirmities, excepting sin, was in the form of a servant, in great meanness and poverty, covered with reproach, and had in the greatest contempt, and especially at the time of his sufferings and death; though all rich and glorious within, full of grace, and of all the blessings of grace, of righteousness and life, of light, joy, peace, and comfort for his people; and may also denote the mean appearance of the church and people of God outwardly; being, generally speaking, a poor and an afflicted people, subject to the scorn, reproach, and persecutions of men, but all glorious within, enriched with the grace of God and righteousness of Christ; and so, in one respect, like these curtains of goats' hair, and, in another respect, like the curtains of fine linen:
eleven curtains shalt thou make; one more than the other; the reason of which was, that there might be one at the entrance of the tabernacle, there being no linen curtain there, see Exodus 26:9.

The curtains of meaner materials, being made both longer and broader, covered the others, and were defended by coverings of skins. The whole represents the person and doctrine of Christ, and the church of true Christians, and all heavenly things, which outwardly are mean, but inwardly, and in the sight of God, are glorious and precious.

curtains of goats' hair--These coarse curtains were to be one more in number than the others, and to extend a yard lower on each side, the use of them being to protect and conceal the richer curtains.

The outer tent-cloth, "for the tent over the dwelling," was to consist of eleven lengths of goats' hair, i.e., of cloth made of goats' hair;
(Note: The coverings of the tents of the Bedouin Arabs are still made of cloth woven from black goats' hair, which the women spin and weave (see Lynch's Expedition of the United States to the Jordan and Dead Sea).)
each piece being thirty cubits long and four broad.