Bible Strands
Exodus 40:8
Set up the surrounding courtyard and hang the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God commands Moses to finalize the physical layout of the tabernacle complex during its consecration sequence. The directive immediately follows the placement of the bronze basin and precedes the anointing of the sanctuary furnishings.
The words — The Hebrew חָצֵר (cha.Tzer) denotes the enclosed courtyard, while מָסַךְ (ma.Sakh) refers to the screen or curtain. The text commands the builder to position the courtyard boundary and suspend the entrance covering.
The thread — This construction sequence echoes the initial courtyard specifications in Exodus 27:9 and the completed measurements recorded in Exodus 38:9. The same actions are later confirmed as executed by Moses in Exodus 40:33.
Why it lands — The verse demands precise adherence to divine spatial instructions before sacred rites can proceed. It requires the reader to recognize that ordered boundaries and designated entrances establish the framework for approaching the holy.
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 thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate.
Cross-references
- Exodus 27:9 You are also to make a courtyard for the tabernacle. On the south side of the courtyard make curtains of finely spun linen, a hundred cubits long on one side,
- Exodus 38:9 Then he constructed the courtyard. The south side of the courtyard was a hundred cubits long and had curtains of finely spun linen,
- Exodus 40:33 And Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and the altar, and he hung the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard. So Moses finished the work.
- Matthew 16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
- 1 Corinthians 12:28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues.
- Ephesians 4:11 And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,