Exodus 38:27

38:21-31 The foundation of massy pieces of silver showed the solidity and purity of the truth upon which the church is founded. Let us regard the Lord Jesus Christ while reading of the furniture of the tabernacle. While looking at the altar of burnt-offering, let us see Jesus. In him, his righteousness, and salvation, is a full and sufficient offering for sin. In the laver of regeneration, by his Holy Spirit, let our souls be washed, and they shall be clean; and as the people offered willingly, so may our souls be made willing. Let us be ready to part with any thing, and count all but loss to win Christ.

And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail,.... The sockets for the boards of the tabernacle, into which they were put; and the sockets for the vail, which divided between the holy and the most holy place, in which the pillars were set the vail was hung upon, and which was the silver foundation of the whole fabric: one hundred sockets of the one hundred talents, a talent for a socket; there were ninety six sockets for the sanctuary or tabernacle, and four for the vail; and on each of these a talent of silver was expended; which, according to Dr. Cumberland, was three hundred and fifty three pounds, eleven shillings, and some odd pence; so much every socket cost.

(27) The sockets of the sanctuary. —On these, see Exodus 26:19 ; Exodus 26:21 ; Exodus 26:25 . They consisted of forty for each side, and sixteen for the western end—total, ninety-six. The sockets of the vail.—On these, see Exodus 26:32. They were four in number, and supported the four pillars on which the vail was hung. Thus the total number of the silver sockets was, as the text expresses, one hundred.

25. the silver of them that were numbered—603,550 men at half a shekel each would contribute 301,775 shekels; which at 2s. 4d. each, amounts to £35,207 sterling. It may seem difficult to imagine how the Israelites should be possessed of so much wealth in the desert; but it should be remembered that they were enriched first by the spoils of the Egyptians, and afterwards by those of the Amalekites. Besides, it is highly probable that during their sojourn they traded with the neighboring nations who bordered on the wilderness [Hewlett].

Of the silver, all that is mentioned is the amount of atonement-money raised from those who were numbered (see at Exodus 30:12 .) at the rate of half a shekel for every male, without including the freewill-offerings of silver ( Exodus 35:24 , cf. Exodus 25:3 ), whether it was that they were too insignificant, or that they were not used for the work, but were placed with the excess mentioned in Exodus 36:7 . The result of the numbering gave 603,550 men, every one of whom paid half a shekel. This would yield 301,775 shekels, or 100 talents and 1775 shekels, which proves by the way that a talent contained 3000 shekels. A hundred talents of this were used for casting 96 sockets for the 48 boards, and 4 sockets for the 4 pillars of the inner court, - one talent therefore for each socket, - and the 1775 shekels for the hooks of the pillars that sustained the curtains, for silvering their capitals, and "for binding the pillars," i.e., for making the silver connecting rods for the pillars of the court ( Exodus 27:10-11 ; Exodus 38:10 .).