Exodus
Chapter 40
Command of the Lord
The Lord spoke to Moses and said:
“On the first day of the first month, you are to erect the Holy Tent, the Tent of Meeting,
and place the Ark of the Covenant in it, screening it with the veil.
Bring in the lampstand, too, and set up its lamps.
Place the golden altar of incense in front of the Ark of the Covenant and set up the screen at the entrance of the Holy Tent.
Place the altar for burnt offerings in front of the entrance to the Holy Tent, the Tent of Meeting.
Place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and fill it with water.
Set up the enclosure of the court and hang the curtain at the gateway of the court.
Then, taking the sacred oil, anoint the Holy Tent and everything in it, consecrating it with its furniture to make it a holy place.
Anoint the altar for burnt offerings with all its furnishings; consecrate the altar, which will be a most holy thing.
Anoint the basin with its stand and consecrate it.
Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and have them bathe.
Then clothe Aaron with the priestly garments, anoint him, and consecrate him to serve me in the priesthood.
Next, bring his sons and dress them in shirts.
Anoint them as you have anointed their father, so they can serve me in the priesthood. This anointing is to establish the priesthood for them forever, from generation to generation.
Execution of the Orders
Moses did this, exactly as the Lord had commanded him.
The Holy Tent was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year.
Moses assembled the Holy Tent. He fixed the bases, put up its frames, positioned the crossbars, and set up the posts.
He covered the Holy Tent with the tent cloth and, on top of that, the covering for the tent, as the Lord commanded Moses.
He took the Covenant and placed it inside the Ark. He installed the poles and put the Mercy Seat on it.
He brought the Ark into the Holy Tent and placed the screening veil in position; thus, he concealed the Ark of the Covenant, as the Lord commanded Moses.
He placed the table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the Holy Tent, outside the veil,
and arranged the loaves before the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.
He set the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the southern side of the Holy Tent,
and he set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
He put the golden altar in the Tent of Meeting in front of the veil,
and on it burned fragrant incense, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Then he put the screen at the entrance to the Holy Tent.
Then he put the altar for the burnt offerings at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and on it offered the burnt offering and grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
He filled the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar with water.
This was for Aaron and his sons to wash their hands and feet:
Whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, they washed, just as the Lord commanded Moses.
Moses then set up the court around the Holy Tent and the altar and placed the screen at the gateway to the court. Thus, Moses completed the work.
The Glory of the Lord II
Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Glory of the Lord filled the Holy Tent.
Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because of the cloud that rested on it and the Glory of the Lord filled the Holy Tent.
At every stage of their journey, the people of Israel continued their march whenever the cloud lifted from the Holy Tent.
If the cloud did not rise, they waited and did not move their camp until it did.
The cloud rested on the Holy Tent during the day, and a fire shone within the cloud by night for all the house of Israel to see. Thus it was at every stage of their journey.
Commentaries
[A] Command of the Lord – [B] Execution of the Orders.
While the construction of the Sanctuary and all its adornments has been entrusted to craftsmen with exceptional skills, the assembly and consecration of each object, along with the priests for worship, are solely the responsibility of Moses. Everything is crucial for the priestly school (P). The phrase “everything was done according to what the Lord had commanded” appears eight times with slight variations in this passage. In the priestly theological perspective (P), there is a clear concern: Israel is the dwelling place of the divine presence, and therefore, it must be organized in a way that ensures this presence remains, thus preventing any risk of being overtaken by foreign powers. It’s important to note that this construction, along with all its details, represents an ideal development likely from the time of the exile; it aims to revitalize the people and project them into the future as a holy nation, thanks to the enduring presence of the Lord among his people. The means that enable this divine permanence will be the worship performed by those specially chosen and consecrated from the very beginning of Israel as a nation.
The Glory of the Lord II.
The final touch on all the described works comes with the arrival of the cloud that surrounds the Glory of the Lord and fills the Sanctuary. For the priestly tradition (P), this detail is crucial because it must be clear in the Israelite consciousness that the same cloud and Glory of God that once rested on Sinai (Ex 24:15b-16a) is now the one that “fills” the Sanctuary (34). Thus, the Sanctuary in the desert captures the theophanic experience of Sinai and keeps it alive. All that Moses and the people did to ensure God’s glory would remain among them receives God’s approval, and the sign of that approval is that it rests in the tent and fills the Sanctuary. Additionally, it serves as a symbol of departure or a stopping point in the wilderness. This presence thus functions as a guide and companionship for the people. For the Israelites in exile, this is “good news” because it helps them envision a future where God’s presence will never be absent.