Dedication of the Dwelling
40 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 2 “On the first day of the first month you are to raise up the Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting. 3 Put the Ark of the Testimony in it, and screen the ark with the veil. 4 Bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be on it. Bring in the lampstand, and light its lamps. 5 Set the golden[a] altar for incense in front of the Ark of the Testimony, and put the screen in the doorway to the tent. 6 Set the altar for burnt offerings in front of the entrance of the Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting. 7 Set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 Set up the courtyard around it, and hang up the screen of the gate of the courtyard. 9 Take the anointing oil, and anoint the tent and everything that is in it. You shall make it and all its furniture holy, and it will be holy. 10 Anoint the altar for burnt offerings with all its utensils. Consecrate the altar, and the altar will be most holy. 11 Anoint the large basin and its pedestal, and consecrate it.
12 Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and wash them with water. 13 Put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, so that he may minister to me in the priest’s office. 14 Bring his sons and put tunics on them. 15 Anoint them, as you anointed their father, so that they may minister to me in the priest’s office. Their anointing will give them a permanent priesthood throughout their generations.” 16 Moses did so. He did everything exactly as the Lord had commanded him.
17 And so in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, the Dwelling was raised. 18 Moses raised the Dwelling. He laid out its socket bases, set up its boards, inserted its crossbars, and raised its posts. 19 He spread the tent over the Dwelling and put the cover for the tent above it,[b] just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
20 He took the Testimony and put it into the ark. He set the poles in place on the ark and placed the atonement seat on top of the ark. 21 He brought the ark into the tent. He set up the special veil to screen the Ark of the Testimony, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
22 He put the table in the Tent of Meeting, on the north side of the tent, outside of the veil. 23 He set the bread in order on the table in the presence of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
24 He put the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tent. 25 He lit the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
26 He put the golden altar in the Tent of Meeting in front of the veil. 27 He burned incense of fragrant spices on it, just as the Lord commanded Moses. 28 He put up the screen for the entryway to the tent. 29 He set the altar of burnt offering at the door of the Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting, and offered the burnt offering and the grain offering on it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
30 He set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it, with which to wash. 31 Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons washed their hands and their feet there. 32 When they went into the Tent of Meeting and when they came near the altar, they washed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
33 He erected the courtyard around the tent and the altar and set up the screen of the gate of the courtyard. So Moses completed the work.
34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Glory of the Lord filled the tent. 35 Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud stayed over it, and the Glory of the Lord filled the tent. 36 Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tent, the people of Israel would move forward. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they would not travel until the day when it was taken up. 38 For in the sight of the whole house of Israel, the cloud of the Lord was above the tent by day, and there was fire in the cloud by night, throughout all their journeys.
Footnotes
- Exodus 40:5 The altar is called golden rather than gold because it was plated with gold rather than made of gold.
- Exodus 40:19 Here Dwelling refers to the structure as a whole. The tent refers to the first layer of the four coverings, and the cover is the second layer.