Exodus 37:1

Bezalel went on to construct the ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The narrator records Bezalel executing the divine blueprint for the ark immediately after the tabernacle specifications were issued to the Israelites.

The words — The Hebrew verb וַ/יַּ֧עַשׂ (va/i.Ya.'as) translates literally as "and he made," while עֲצֵ֣י שִׁטִּ֑ים ('a.Tzei shi.Tim) means "woods of acacia."

The thread — This construction matches the dimensions in Exodus 25:10, dictates the ark's placement behind the veil in Exodus 26:33, and establishes the object carried during the wilderness journey in Numbers 10:33.

Why it lands — The text states that a specific artisan built a precisely measured container from designated materials, requiring the reader to recognize that sacred function depends on exact compliance rather than human preference.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיַּ֧עַשׂva/i.Ya.'asand/ he made בְּצַלְאֵ֛לbe.tzal.'ElBezalel אֶת־'et-<obj.>הָאָרֹ֖ןha./'a.Ronthe/ ark עֲצֵ֣י'a.Tzeiwood<s> of שִׁטִּ֑יםshi.Timacacia אַמָּתַ֨יִם'a.ma.Ta.yim[was] two cubits וָחֵ֜צִיva./Che.tziand/ a half אָרְכּ֗וֹ'a.re.K/olength/ its וְאַמָּ֤הve./'a.Mahand/ [was] a cubit וָחֵ֙צִי֙va./Che.tziand/ a half רָחְבּ֔וֹra.che.B/obreadth/ its וְאַמָּ֥הve./'a.Mahand/ [was] a cubit וָחֵ֖צִיva./Che.tziand/ a half קֹמָתֽוֹ׃ko.ma.T/oheight/ its

King James Version

And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it:

Cross-references

Exodus 25:10 And they are to construct an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.
Exodus 26:33 And hang the veil from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the veil. So the veil will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.
Numbers 10:33 So they set out on a three-day journey from the mountain of the LORD, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a resting place for them.
Exodus 31:7 the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat upon it, and all the other furnishings of the tent—
Exodus 40:3 Put the ark of the Testimony in it and screen off the ark with the veil.
Exodus 40:20 Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark.

People named

Bezalel