9 "You shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen one hundred cubits long for one side:
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
And thou shalt make the court. There were two courts divided from the sanctuary, one for the priests, the other common to the whole people. To the first chambers were annexed, in which the Levites dwelt, who were the keepers of the tabernacle; and thus sometimes the courts are spoken of in the plural number, and especially in the Psalms, (Psalm 64:4; 84:2; 92:13; 96:8.) It is the court of the people which is here referred to, where they consecrated the victims, offered their prayers, and were reconciled to God. In this manner the condition of mankind was shewn to the Israelites, by their being forbidden to enter the Temple, whilst at the same time they were reminded that men, although unworthy outcasts, are received by God, if only they seek Him simply, and with due humility, mindful of their own unworthiness. Hence the consolation in which David gloried, [1] "I had rather dwell in the courts of the Lord, than in the splendid tents of the ungodly." The court was formed by four curtains, two of which, on the north and south sides, were 100 cubits long, and supported by 20 pillars, whose bases were of brass, and their capitals [2] and fillets of silver; on the east and west, each curtain was 50 cubits long, supported by 10 pillars. The length spoken of is not from the ground upwards, but from their opposite corners: for the court was twice as long as it was broad, as is said in ver. 18. There would be an appearance of contradiction in the fact that Moses afterwards speaks of two sides, and assigns fifteen cubits to each, if he did not immediately go on to mention the hanging or curtain, which covered the gate of the court, and which he sets at twenty cubits. Thus the measure will be correct, and the passage will be quite accordant; for, after he has said in ver.
1 - It will be seen that he quotes Psalm 84:10, somewhat parathrastically.
2 - A. V., hooks.
The court of the tabernacle - (Compare Exodus 38:9-20)
The south side southward - The south side on the right. See Exodus 26:18.
The court of the tabernacle - The tabernacle stood in an enclosure or court, open at the top. This court was made with pillars or posts, and hangings. It was one hundred cubits, or about fifty-eight yards and a half, in length; the breadth we learn from Exodus 27:12, Exodus 27:18; and five cubits, or nearly three yards, high, Exodus 27:18. And as this was but half the height of the tabernacle, Exodus 26:16, that sacred building might easily be seen by the people from without.
And thou shalt make the (c) 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:
(c) This was the first entry into the tabernacle, where the people abode.
And thou shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward,.... This was a large court yard to the house of God, or tabernacle, which stood in it at the upper end of it; it was enclosed, but open to the air; and in it, between the entrance into it and the holy place, stood the altar of burnt offering before described, and on one side of that the laver for the priests to wash in; into this the people of Israel were admitted, and where they brought their sacrifices and worshipped: it was typical of the visible church of God on earth, which, though an enclosure, and is separated from the world, yet consists of professors, good and bad, of real saints and hypocrites; as into this court Israelites of every character, sex, and state entered. In David's time it was divided into various courts, and what answered to it when the temple was built were the several apartments called the courts of the priests, where they sacrificed, and the court of Israel, where the men Israelites worshipped, and the court of the women, where they were by themselves; and in later times there was another court separate from these, called the court of the Gentiles, into which they might enter; and the description of this court begins with that side of it which lay full south: there shall be
hangings for the court of fine twined linen of one hundred cubits long for one side; for the south side; and these hangings, with the rest all around, made the court, and were the walls of it; and from hence we learn, that it was one hundred cubits or fifty yards long, according to the common computation of a cubit; though it was three hundred inches more, this cubit being three inches more than is commonly supposed. These hangings, vails, or curtains, for so in the versions they are differently called, were the enclosure of the court; they were made of fine linen, six times twisted, but not of various colours, and curiously wrought with cunning work, as the curtains of the tabernacle were; and according to the signification of the word, they were wrought full of holes, like eyelet holes, or in the manner of network; so that though they kept persons from entering in, they might be seen through, and through them might be seen what was doing in the court: and all this may signify that the visible church of God on earth is separated from the world, and should consist of men called out of it, and of such who are clothed with that fine linen, clean and white, the righteousness of the saints, and which is the righteousness of Christ, and who have both inward and outward holiness; and though none but those who are admitted members of it may partake of its ordinances, yet others may be spectators of what is done in it.
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.
the court of the tabernacle--The enclosure in which the edifice stood was a rectangular court, extending rather more than fifty yards in length and half that space in breadth, and the enclosing parapet was about three yards or half the height of the tabernacle. That parapet consisted of a connected series of curtains, made of fine twined linen yarn, woven into a kind of network, so that the people could see through; but that large curtain which overhung the entrance was of a different texture, being embroidered and dyed with variegated colors, and it was furnished with cords for pulling it up or drawing it aside when the priests had occasion to enter. The curtains of this enclosure were supported on sixty brazen pillars which stood on pedestals of the same metal, but their capitals and fillets were of silver, and the hooks on which they were suspended were of silver also.
(cf. Exodus 38:9-20). The Court of the dwelling was to consist of קלעים "hangings" of spun byssus, and pillars with brass (copper) sockets, and hooks and fastenings for the pillars of silver. The pillars were of course made of acacia-wood; they were five cubits high, with silvered capitals (Exodus 38:17, Exodus 38:19), and carried the hangings, which were fastened to them by means of the hooks and fastenings. There were twenty of them on both the southern and northern sides, and the length of the drapery on each of these sides was 100 cubits (באמּה מאה, 100 sc., measured by the cubit), so that the court was a hundred cubits long (Exodus 27:18).
Before the tabernacle there was to be a court, enclosed with hangings of fine linen. This court, according to the common computation, was 50 yards long, and 25 broad. Pillars were set up at convenient distances, in sockets of brass, the pillars filleted with silver, and silver tenterhooks in them, on which the linen hangings were fastened: the hanging which served for the gate was finer than the rest. This court was a type of the church, enclosed, and distinguished from the rest of the world; the inclosure supported by pillars, noting the stability of the church hung with the clean linen, which is said to be the righteousness of saints, Revelation 19:8. Yet this court would contain but a few worshippers; thanks be to God, now the inclosure is taken down; and there is room for all that in every place call on the name of Christ.
*More commentary available at chapter level.