Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Moses erects the tabernacle and arranges it suitably in all its parts and members. Secondly, verse 32, the cloud of the glory of the Lord covers the tabernacle and thereafter rests upon it.
Vulgate Text: Exodus 40:1-36
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2. On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the testimony, 3. and you shall place the ark in it, and you shall let down the veil before it; 4. and when the table has been brought in, you shall set upon it the things that have been duly commanded. The lampstand shall stand with its lamps, 5. and the golden altar on which the incense is burned, before the ark of the testimony. You shall place the curtain at the entrance of the tabernacle, 6. and before it the altar of holocaust; 7. the laver between the altar and the tabernacle, which you shall fill with water. 8. And you shall surround the court with hangings and its entrance. 9. And taking the oil of anointing you shall anoint the tabernacle with its vessels, that they may be sanctified; 10. the altar of holocaust and all its vessels, 11. the laver with its base: you shall consecrate all things with the oil of anointing, that they may be the Holy of Holies. 12. And you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tabernacle of the testimony, and having washed them with water, 13. you shall clothe them with the holy vestments, that they may minister to Me, and that their anointing may profit unto an everlasting priesthood. 14. And Moses did all things that the Lord had commanded. 15. So on the first day of the first month of the second year, the tabernacle was set up. 16. And Moses erected it, and placed the boards and the bases and the bars, and set up the columns, 17. and he spread the tent over the tabernacle, having placed the covering over it, as the Lord had commanded. 18. He placed also the testimony in the ark, putting the bars underneath and the oracle above. 19. And when he had brought the ark into the tabernacle, he hung the veil before it, to fulfill the Lord's command. 20. He placed also the table in the tabernacle of the testimony on the north side, outside the veil, 21. setting the showbread in order before it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 22. He placed also the lampstand in the tabernacle of the testimony, opposite the table on the south side, 23. having set the lamps in order, according to the Lord's command. 24. He placed also the golden altar under the tent of the testimony before the veil, 25. and he burned upon it the incense of aromatic spices, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26. He placed also the curtain at the entrance of the tabernacle of the testimony, 27. and the altar of holocaust in the vestibule of the testimony, offering upon it the holocaust and the sacrifices, as the Lord had commanded. 28. He also set the laver between the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar, filling it with water. 29. And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and feet, 30. when they entered the tent of the covenant and approached the altar, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 31. He also erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and drew the curtain at its entrance. After all things were completed, 32. the cloud covered the tabernacle of the testimony, and the glory of the Lord filled it. 33. Nor could Moses enter the tent of the covenant, the cloud covering all things and the majesty of the Lord shining, because the cloud had covered all things. 34. Whenever the cloud departed from the tabernacle, the children of Israel set forth in their companies: 35. if it hung above, they remained in the same place. 36. For the cloud of the Lord rested upon the tabernacle by day, and fire by night, in the sight of all the people of Israel through all their encampments.
Verse 1: And the Lord Spoke to Moses
1. AND THE LORD SPOKE TO MOSES — in this same first year of the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt, while the Hebrews were still staying at Sinai, and when the construction of the tabernacle was already nearly completed, namely toward the end of the first year, with the second year approaching. So says Abulensis.
Verse 2: On the First Month
ON THE FIRST MONTH — Understand: of the second year of the departure from Egypt, as is clear from verse 15.
YOU SHALL SET UP THE TABERNACLE OF THE TESTIMONY — In Hebrew: you shall set up miscan ohel, that is, the tabernacle of the testimony; for miscan, that is the tabernacle, is the name given to the lowest embroidered curtain, which above it stood the ohel, that is, the tent, or covering made of goatskins.
Allegorically, the tabernacle was erected when the body of Christ was formed in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, and after 33 years was again raised from the dead, says St. Cyril, book 4 on John, chapter 28. Again, when the Church of Christ was formed and gathered; see what was said at chapter 26, verse 1.
Verse 4: The Lampstand Shall Stand with Its Lamps
Verse 4. THE LAMPSTAND SHALL STAND WITH ITS LAMPS — For "shall stand" the Hebrew is haaleta, that is, you shall cause to ascend, which the Septuagint and our translator render as "you shall lift up," so that it stands erect on high. Secondly, the Chaldean and more recent scholars translate it as "you shall light"; this too is fitting, if you understand: you shall light, namely in the evening, according to what was prescribed in chapter 27, verse 11; for both were done by Moses. Likewise also the table was set up with its bread. See Numbers chapter 4, at the beginning.
Verse 5: You Shall Place the Curtain at the Entrance
5. YOU SHALL PLACE THE CURTAIN (that is, the veil) AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE TABERNACLE — namely before the Holy Place, about which see chapter 26, verse 36; for throughout this passage curtains are called veils, as in verses 8, 26, 31.
Verse 13: Their Anointing Shall Profit unto an Everlasting Priesthood
Verse 13. THEIR ANOINTING SHALL PROFIT UNTO AN EVERLASTING PRIESTHOOD — as if to say: This consecration will make them priests as long as they live; just as in the New Testament, priests by the character of Holy Orders, which they received once at consecration, remain priests forever. So says Abulensis; hence the Septuagint and the Hebrew for "shall profit" have "shall be"; the Chaldean translates: you shall anoint him and sanctify him, that he may minister before Me.
Verse 15: On the First Day of the First Month of the Second Year
Verse 15. ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE FIRST MONTH OF THE SECOND YEAR THE TABERNACLE WAS SET UP — Note: Moses came down from the mountain with the tablets of the law on the 28th day of the fifth month of the first year of the departure from Egypt, as I showed at chapter 34, verse 28; from that day, therefore, until the end of the year, for seven months Moses constructed the tabernacle with its vessels, so that at the beginning of the following year, namely on the first day, he erected the tabernacle.
Note secondly: With this setting up or erection of the tabernacle, the book of Exodus ends; hence it is clear that Exodus concludes and terminates the history of the Hebrews in the second year, the first month, of their departure from Egypt, when they were staying at the 12th encampment at Sinai, which was in the year of the world 2455, in the year 798 after the flood.
Verse 17: The Tent
Verse 17. THE TENT — that is, the second covering of goatskin, which in Hebrew is called ohel; and over this he spread the third covering of the tabernacle made of skins, which in Hebrew is called michse.
Verse 18: He Placed the Testimony in the Ark
Verse 18. HE PLACED ALSO THE TESTIMONY (that is, the law, namely the tablets of the law) IN THE ARK.
Verse 24: He Placed the Golden Altar under the Tent of the Testimony
Verse 24. HE PLACED THE GOLDEN ALTAR UNDER THE TENT OF THE TESTIMONY — under the tent containing the ark, in which was the testimony, that is, the law, or the tablets of the law.
BEFORE THE VEIL — There is a weighty question here: where was this golden altar placed, namely the altar of incense — was it inside the Holy of Holies, or outside? For Origen, homily 9 on Leviticus, St. Augustine, Question 173, and others whom Theophylact names without identification in chapter 9 of Hebrews, think it was inside the Holy of Holies; hence St. Augustine takes "before the veil" as if it said "within the veil." And this is proved, first, from the fact that in chapter 30, verse 10, it says: "And Aaron shall make atonement upon the horns of it (the altar of incense) once a year with blood"; but this seems to be understood of the Holy of Holies, for into that place the high priest entered only once a year, but into the Holy Place daily. Secondly, because in 3 Kings chapter 6, verse 22, it says: "He also covered the whole altar of the oracle with gold," which can be nothing other than the altar of incense; therefore this was the altar of the oracle, that is, within the oracle and the Holy of Holies. Thirdly, Hebrews chapter 9, verse 3, says that the Holy of Holies had a golden censer; but this seems to be nothing other than the altar of incense, for the Apostle does not mention this altar by any other name when he describes the things that were in the tabernacle; nor does Moses mention such a censer as distinct from the altar of incense, placed within the Holy of Holies.
There is also this reason: for that altar was made for burning incense before God; therefore it had to be placed within the Holy of Holies before the ark, where God most especially manifested His presence.
But I say with St. Jerome, Theophylact on Hebrews chapter 9, Bede, book 3 On the Tabernacle chapters 11 and 12, St. Thomas, I-II, Question 102, article 4, reply to 6, Lyra, Abulensis, Cajetan, Lipomanus, Ribera, and others, that the altar of incense was outside the Holy of Holies, and therefore the veil was between it and this altar. This is the express opinion of Josephus, Antiquities book 3, chapters 7 and 8, chapter 2. It is proved first from the fact that in chapter 30, verse 6, it says: "You shall place the altar before the veil, which hangs before the ark," where in Hebrew it reads: before the veil, or in front of the veil, and not within the veil.
Secondly, because in this chapter 40, verses 4 and 5, where the arrangement of the tabernacle is described, it says that Moses placed the ark in the tabernacle and hung the veil before it; then he placed the table in the tabernacle, and the lampstand, and the altar of incense before the veil; therefore this altar was not behind the veil, inside the Holy of Holies, but before it, namely together with the table and the lampstand.
Thirdly, because, as chapter 30, verse 8, says, the priest had to burn incense daily on this altar; but the Holy of Holies could be entered only once a year; therefore this altar was not inside the Holy of Holies. Hence Leviticus chapter 16, verse 18, speaking of the Day of Atonement (about which also chapter 30, verse 23, Moses speaks), when the priest, after entering the Holy of Holies, made atonement at the altar of incense, he says thus: "And when he has gone out (of the Holy of Holies) to the altar that is before the Lord"; therefore he had to go out from the Holy of Holies to the altar of incense; therefore this altar was not inside the Holy of Holies.
Fourthly, only the high priest was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies; but even lesser priests entered to the altar of incense and placed incense upon it, as is evident in the case of Zechariah, Luke 1, who, since he was of the course of Abijah, which was the eighth lot of priests, 1 Chronicles 24, and was not the high priest, was chosen by lot to place incense. For the claim by some that the high priest entered the Holy of Holies once with shed blood, but at other times entered frequently without shedding blood, plainly contradicts the Apostle in Hebrews 9:6-7 and Leviticus 16:2.
To the first objection I reply that the Lord is not speaking of the incense that was burned daily, but of the atonement of the altar of incense, which, as I said in the third argument, was atoned for by the priest once a year together with the entire tabernacle, after entering the Holy of Holies.
To the second objection I reply that it is called the altar of the oracle because it was made for the purpose of sending incense vapor toward the oracle; and the veil that was interposed between the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place did not extend all the way from the bottom to the top, but some space was left open at the top through which the smoke of the aromatic spices entered the oracle. Although it can also be called the altar of the oracle because it was adjacent to the oracle, and not far removed from it, as the altar of holocausts was. Indeed, this altar of incense corresponded directly to the oracle, and was separated from it only by the veil. The Hebrew expresses this more clearly, reading: the altar at the oracle, which the Septuagint translates: the altar before the face of the oracle.
To the third objection: many interpreters, such as Anselm, St. Thomas, and Lyra on Hebrews chapter 9, want the censer of which the Apostle speaks to be the one with which the high priest entering the Holy of Holies burned incense. But St. Augustine and Origen, homily 9, rightly teach here that this censer was nothing other than the altar of incense, and Abulensis powerfully confirms this, Question 6. For besides the arguments already proposed, if that censer of the high priest entering the Holy of Holies was in the Holy of Holies, then the high priest would have entered the Holy of Holies at least three times: first, to bring out the censer; second, when he returned with it filled with incense and fire, to burn the incense and fumigate the Holy of Holies; third, when he again had to go out to dispose of the ashes and fire and return again to replace the censer — even though he was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies only once, and that only with the censer and incense. For the high priest who entered without these would otherwise have died, as is clear from Leviticus chapter 16, verses 12 and 13.
I respond, therefore, that this censer is the same as the altar of incense; nor is it surprising that the altar is called a censer, because it was like a large censer and had no other use than a censer, namely to contain fire and incense. This is clearer in the Greek of Hebrews chapter 9, for there this censer is called thymiaterion, by which very same name Josephus calls the altar of incense, Antiquities book 3, chapter 7, and Wars book 6, chapter 6. And if you look at the etymology, it means "a place for fumigation," which can be understood both of a censer properly so called and of an altar. By a similar ending, thysiasteerion means altar, as if "a place for sacrifice."
To the main argument I reply that when the Apostle says the Holy of Holies had a golden censer, that is, the altar of incense, understand that it did not have it within itself, but outside the veil, facing it and erected for its worship and reverence; hence it is also called the altar of the oracle, as I said in the response to the second objection. For there are various modes of having, says Aristotle in the Post-Predicaments: thus a house has a courtyard, a river has a bank, a temple has a tower, not indeed within itself. See Ribera, book On the Temple, chapter 7. Therefore this altar was before the veil, facing directly toward the propitiatory, says Cajetan, and consequently it was in the middle of the breadth of the tabernacle, so that the priest burning incense upon it and praying would have his face directed toward the propitiatory, though with the veil intervening, so that he would thus turn himself, as it were, toward God. See Villalpando, page 341.
To the fourth objection I reply that this altar was erected for burning incense before God, but not by the Blessed in heaven in the clear presence of God, who were signified by the Holy of Holies, but rather by the Church Militant, which was signified by the Holy Place. For the Church Militant knows, worships, and adores God through the veil, as in an enigma; hence this altar had to be placed in the Holy Place, that is, in the Church Militant, and not in the Holy of Holies, that is, in heaven.
Verse 31: The Cloud Covered the Tabernacle
Verse 31. AFTER ALL THINGS WERE COMPLETED, THE CLOUD COVERED THE TABERNACLE OF THE TESTIMONY, AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD FILLED IT — "The glory of the Lord" is the name given to that august cloud which, although it was dense, was nevertheless bright and shining, and as it were veiled and signified the majesty of God. So says St. Augustine, Question 173. Thus "glory" is often understood as light, brightness, and splendor, as in Exodus chapter 24, verse 17, and chapter 33, verses 18 and 22; Leviticus chapter 9, verse 23; Numbers chapter 4, verse 10; 3 Kings chapter 8, verse 11; Ecclesiasticus chapter 45, verse 3; Ezekiel chapter 44, verse 4.
Verse 33: Nor Could Moses Enter the Tent of the Covenant
33. NOR COULD MOSES ENTER THE TENT OF THE COVENANT — both out of reverence for the majesty of the Lord, says Cajetan, and because that dense cloud covered everything, so that Moses could not see.
A similar thing happened at the dedication of the temple, 3 Kings chapter 8, verse 11. And this occurred only the first time, when the tabernacle was dedicated; for at other times Moses did enter it.
St. Augustine and Rabanus give the allegorical reason. For Moses bore the person of the Jews, to whom the glory of the Lord that is in the tabernacle — that is, the grace of Christ that is in the Church — is set before them like a cloud, so that they do not understand it, do not believe it, and consequently neither grasp it nor enter into it.
Verse 34: The Children of Israel Set Forth in Their Companies
Verse 34. THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SET FORTH IN THEIR COMPANIES — In Hebrew: by their journeys, by which, namely, they set forth in companies or by their troops.
WHENEVER THE CLOUD DEPARTED FROM THE TABERNACLE, THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SET FORTH — In the Hebrew it reads: whenever the cloud went up and was lifted above the tabernacle; for then the cloud itself, that is, the pillar of cloud, was the first to begin the journey and went before the Hebrews, so that they would follow in the same direction. More on this in Numbers chapter 9.
Mystically, this pillar that guides the way, not to Canaan but to heaven, is faith, grace, and the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Let us fix our gaze upon it, let us follow it diligently night and day, so that it may lead us, made illustrious, into the heavenly and eternal kingdom of God.
Zeuxis the famous painter, when asked why he painted his images so painstakingly and precisely in every direction, replied: I paint for eternity. Let us therefore also diligently and precisely paint our life in all things. Paint — nay, live — for God, live for heaven, live for ETERNITY.
O stupor, O madness, O insanity of the children of Adam! You were created for the possession of eternal and infinite goods: why do you, with such affection, cast yourselves away after fleeting and most vain trifles? God has inscribed you as heirs of heaven, possessors of eternity: why do you so eagerly pursue earthly, temporary, and perishable things? Be wise, be wise, live for ETERNITY.
You, O heralds of the word of God, sowers, I say, of eternity, cry out, lift up your voice like a trumpet, call everyone to eternity, sound forth with Christ: Do penance, ETERNITY draws near, says eternal life: why do you love vanity? LIVE FOR ETERNITY.