Bible Strands
Exodus 40:35
Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative places Moses at the moment the tabernacle is consecrated and the cloud settles upon it. He stands before the Tent of Meeting while the glory of the LORD fills the structure.
The words — The Hebrew יָכֹל (ya.Khol) denotes capacity, combined with לֹא (lo') to state inability. מוֹעֵד (mo.'Ed) identifies the Tent of Meeting as the designated place of divine assembly.
The thread — This pattern of divine presence blocking entry appears when the cloud fills Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 8:11), restricts Aaron from the Most Holy Place (Leviticus 16:2), and prevents priests from ministering in the house of the LORD (2 Chronicles 7:2).
Why it lands — The text states that Moses could not enter because the cloud settled on the tent and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. It requires the reader to acknowledge that God’s manifested presence establishes a boundary that dictates proximity and access.
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
King James Version
And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 8:11 so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud. For the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.
- Leviticus 16:2 And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
- 2 Chronicles 7:2 The priests were unable to enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled it.
- Isaiah 6:4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.
- 2 Chronicles 5:13 The trumpeters and singers joined together to praise and thank the LORD with one voice. They lifted up their voices, accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and musical instruments, in praise to the LORD: “For He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.” And the temple, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud
- Revelation 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.