Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
The priestly vestments are made, and the entire construction of the tabernacle with all its furnishings is completed.
Vulgate Text: Exodus 39:1-43
1. And of hyacinth and purple, scarlet and fine linen he made the vestments in which Aaron was to be clothed when he ministered in the holy places, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 2. So he made the ephod of gold, hyacinth, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, 3. with embroidered work, and he cut plates of gold and drew them into threads, so that they could be twisted with the woof of the former colors, 4. and two edges joined to each other on either side at the top, 5. and a girdle of the same colors, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 6. He prepared also two onyx stones, set and enclosed in gold, and engraved with the art of a jeweler with the names of the children of Israel; 7. and he set them on the sides of the ephod, as a memorial of the children of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 8. He made also the breastplate of embroidered work, after the pattern of the ephod, of gold, hyacinth, purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen: 9. four-square, double, the measure of a palm. 10. And he set in it four rows of precious stones. In the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald. 11. In the second, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a jasper. 12. In the third, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. 13. In the fourth, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a beryl, surrounded and enclosed in gold in their rows. 14. And the twelve stones themselves were engraved with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, each one with its own name. 15. They made also in the breastplate little chains linked to one another, of the purest gold, 16. and two clasps and as many gold rings. And they placed the rings on either side of the breastplate, 17. from which two golden chains hung, which they inserted into the clasps that projected from the corners of the ephod. 18. These fitted together both front and back, so that the ephod and the breastplate were mutually fastened, 19. being drawn tight to the girdle and more firmly joined by rings, which a band of hyacinth tied together, so that they would not hang loose and be pulled apart from each other, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 20. They also made the tunic of the ephod entirely of hyacinth, 21. and the opening at the upper part toward the middle, and the border around the opening of the opening woven; 22. and below at the feet pomegranates of hyacinth, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen; 23. and bells of the purest gold, which they set among the pomegranates at the bottom of the tunic all around: 24. a golden bell and a pomegranate, with which the high priest walked adorned when he performed his ministry, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 25. They also made tunics of fine linen by the art of weaving for Aaron and his sons, 26. and mitres with their small crowns of fine linen: 27. also linen drawers of fine linen; 28. and a girdle of fine twisted linen, hyacinth, purple, and scarlet twice dyed, with the art of needlework, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 29. They also made the plate of sacred veneration of the purest gold, and wrote upon it with the work of a jeweler, Holy to the Lord; 30. and they bound it to the mitre with a band of hyacinth, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 31. So all the work of the tabernacle and of the tent of the testimony was completed, and the children of Israel did all things that the Lord had commanded Moses. 32. And they brought the tabernacle and the tent and all the furnishings, the rings, the boards, the bars, the columns and bases, 33. the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the other covering of violet skins, 34. the veil, the ark, the bars, the propitiatory, 35. the table with its vessels and the showbread; 36. the lampstand, the lamps and their utensils with oil; 37. the golden altar, and the ointment, and the incense of aromatic spices, 38. and the curtain at the entrance of the tabernacle; 39. the bronze altar, the grating, the bars and all its vessels, the laver with its base, the hangings of the court, and the columns with their bases; 40. the curtain at the entrance of the court, and its cords and pegs. Nothing of the vessels was missing that were commanded to be made for the ministry of the tabernacle and for the tent of the covenant. 41. The vestments also, which the priests use in the Sanctuary, namely Aaron and his sons, 42. the children of Israel presented, as the Lord had commanded. 43. And when Moses saw all things completed, he blessed them.
Verse 4: And Two Edges
Verse 4. AND TWO EDGES — supply: he made. On these edges see chapter 28, verse 10.
Verse 29: They Wrote upon It, Holy to the Lord
Verse 29. AND THEY WROTE UPON IT WITH THE WORK OF A JEWELER (that is, they engraved on the plate, as jewelers are accustomed to engrave on seals), HOLY TO THE LORD.
Verse 31: Of the Tent
Verse 31. OF THE TENT — that is, the covering of goat-hair cloth, which in Hebrew is called ohel, about which see chapter 26, verse 7.
Verse 43: He Blessed Them
Verse 43. HE BLESSED THEM — namely, Moses blessed the children of Israel, who had so generously offered their possessions to the Lord, and who had so zealously labored at the work of the tabernacle, obeying most readily the voice of the Lord. This is clear from the Hebrew. Therefore Abulensis does not correctly explain it thus: "He blessed them," namely the instruments of the tabernacle, as if this blessing were their consecration; for that was not done here, but afterwards in chapter 40, verse 9, when the tabernacle was erected, they were consecrated through anointing.
Tropologically, those who build a tabernacle of God in their soul, through humility, charity, prayer, and other virtues, when it is completed will be blessed by the Lord, because they will be heaped with grace and glory. "The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the just; but iniquity covers the mouth of the wicked," says the Wise Man, Proverbs chapter 10. Thus Abraham was blessed: "By My own self I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not spared your only-begotten son: I will bless you, and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed," Genesis chapter 22, verse 16. Hence Ecclesiasticus chapter 11, verse 24: "The blessing of God hastens to reward the just." And chapter 39, verse 27: "His blessing shall overflow like a river," especially on the day of judgment, when He shall say to His elect: "Come, blessed of My Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."