Exodus 26:37 · Bible study
Exodus 26:37 Commentary: The Entrance Screen's Five Pillars
Hebrew · 6 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why five pillars with bronze sockets for the tabernacle entrance, while the inner veil had four with silver?
Research Summary
- Meaning: The screen covered the entrance to the holy place, marking a threshold less sacred than the inner veil but still requiring proper materials.
- Key words: screen (מָסָךְ, masak, a covering); pillars (עַמּוּד, ammud); overlay (צָפָה, tsaphah, to plate); sockets (אֶדֶן, eden, base); bronze (נְחשֶׁת, nechoshet).
- Main debate: Whether the five pillars were purely structural (to support the ten-cubit entrance) or symbolic (representing something like the five books of Moses or human weakness). Most commentators treat the number as practical.
- Theological theme: Graded holiness, the tabernacle's materials teach that God's presence is approached in stages, each requiring reverence.
- Best use: Teaching the nature of Old Testament worship and its fulfilment in Christ as the mediator who grants full access.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Make five posts of acacia wood for the curtain, overlay them with gold hooks, and cast five bronze bases for them.
WEB World English Bible 2000
You shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold. You shall cast five sockets of bronze for them.
KJV King James Version 1769
And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And thou shalt make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold: their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
and thou hast made for the covering five pillars of shittim wood , and hast overlaid them with gold, their pegs are of gold, and thou hast cast for them five sockets of brass.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And thou shalt make for the curtain five pillars of acacia[-wood], and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be of gold; and thou shalt cast five bases of copper for them.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And thou shalt overlay with gold five pillars of setim wood, before which the hanging shall be drawn: their heads shall be of gold, and the sockets of brass.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y harás para la cortina cinco columnas de madera de Sittim, las cuales cubrirás de oro, con sus capiteles de oro: y hacerlas has de fundición cinco basas de metal.
E farás para a cortina cinco colunas de madeira de acácia, as quais cobrirás de ouro, com seus capitéis de ouro: e as farás de fundição cinco bases de bronze.
Tu feras pour le rideau cinq colonnes d’ acacia, et tu les couvriras d’ or; elles auront des crochets d’ or, et tu fondras pour elles cinq bases d’ airain.
Und sollst dem Tuch fünf Säulen machen von Akazienholz, mit Gold überzogen, mit goldene Haken, und sollst ihnen fünf eherne Füße gießen.
En gij zult tot dit deksel vijf pilaren van sittim hout maken, en die met goud overtrekken; hun haken zullen van goud zijn; en gij zult hun vijf koperen voeten gieten.
E farai cinque colonne di acacia per sospendervi la portiera; le rivestirai d’oro, e avranno i chiodi d’oro e tu fonderai per esse cinque basi di rame.
A uczynisz do tej zasłony pięć słupów z drzewa sytym, które powleczesz złotem; haki ich będą złote, a ulejesz do nich pięć podstawków miedzianych.
и сделай для завесы пять столбов из ситтим и обложи их золотом; крючки к ним золотые; и вылей для них пять подножий медных.
要用皂莢 木為簾子 做 五根 柱子，用金子 包裹。柱子上當有金 鉤；又要為柱子 用銅 鑄造 五 個帶卯的座。」
And make five pillars for the curtain, of hard wood plated with gold; their hooks are to be of gold and their bases of brass
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Exodus 26:37
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators broadly agree that the screen described in this verse served as the outer entrance to the tabernacle proper, distinct from the inner veil. Gill explicitly calls the bronze sockets a “meaner metal” than the silver sockets of the inner veil, because this opening led into the holy place rather than into the holy of holies where God's presence dwelt. The Cambridge Bible notes the screen lacked the cherubim worked into the inner curtain and was made by an embroiderer rather than a pattern-weaver, marking it as less elaborate. Keil and Delitzsch observe that the pillars were not fully gilded, only the capitals and girders were covered with gold, and that the screen hung on the side toward the holy place, so that the wooden framework was hidden from view. Matthew Henry treats this verse as part of the tabernacle's typology, with the screen and veil together teaching that divine grace was veiled under the old covenant. The shared point: the screen's materials and construction deliberately signal a diminished degree of holiness compared to the inner veil, while still marking the threshold of God's house.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The screen formed the outer entrance to the tabernacle's holy place, was made with five acacia pillars overlaid with gold, and stood on bronze sockets — a material distinction from the inner veil's silver sockets, signaling a lesser but still significant degree of holiness.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Function of the screen | It covered the entrance to the tent of meeting, forming the door into the holy place. | Commentators differ on whether its primary role was to protect the holy place from casual view, to provide a curtain that priests could push aside, or to act as a symbolic barrier marking human sinfulness. |
| Number of pillars (five vs four) | The five pillars were necessary to span the ten-cubit entrance width. | Gill suggests the pillars created four passageways for priests; Keil and Delitzsch hold that an architrave connected them, with the screen hung on hooks. No consensus on symbolic meaning: some see a reference to the five books of Moses, others deny any symbolism. |
| Bronze sockets vs silver sockets | Bronze was considered a less precious metal than silver, placed at a less holy threshold. | The degree of intentional theological gradation is debated: whether the bronze simply reflects available materials and economy, or was deliberately chosen to teach that the outer entrance was less holy than the veil to the holy of holies. |
| Typological meaning for Christ | The tabernacle's structure prefigures Christ's work of opening access to God. | Protestant and Catholic traditions agree broadly, but differ on whether the screen specifically prefigures Christ as 'the door' (John 10) or if that typology is more properly attached to the inner veil. Orthodox tradition often incorporates the screen into a larger iconographic theology of the sanctuary veil. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The tabernacle, a portable sanctuary, had three zones of increasing holiness: the outer court, the holy place, and the holy of holies. This verse describes the screen that covered the entrance to the holy place, the first door a priest would pass through from the outer court. The screen hung on five acacia-wood pillars, each set in a cast bronze socket. Acacia was the only substantial timber available in the Sinai wilderness; it is dense, resistant to insects, and light enough for a mobile structure. Bronze (or copper, as some translations render נְחֹשֶׁת) was a common metal in Egypt, used for bowls, tools and structural fittings. It was cheaper and less precious than silver or gold.
The number five corresponds to the ten-cubit width of the tabernacle entrance. Gill suggests the five pillars were arranged to create four passageways for priests, though Keil and Delitzsch think the pillars simply supported the screen and a connecting architrave. The verb יָצַק (yatzakta, “you shall cast”) indicates the sockets were made by pouring molten bronze into molds, a familiar technique in the ancient Near East. By contrast, the inner veil (Exodus 26:31, 33) was suspended on four pillars with silver sockets, using more precious materials. The gradation in metals, bronze at the door, silver at the veil, gold inside the sanctuary, mirrors the escalating holiness of the spaces. The cross-reference Exodus 36:38 confirms that the execution followed these instructions exactly, with gold overlay applied only to the capitals and fillets (connecting rods), not to the entire pillar. This economical gilding preserved the wood's appearance while dignifying the entrance.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, and the major ancient translations (Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac) render the verse consistently with only minor differences in phrasing (e.g., the Septuagint uses χαλκός for bronze).
Reception History
Reading this verse within the tabernacle typology, Christian interpreters from the early church onward saw the screen and veil as shadows of Christ. The Epistle to the Hebrews (9:8, 12, 10:19, 22) draws directly on the tabernacle's two rooms to explain that Jesus entered the true sanctuary once for all. Matthew Henry, in the 18th century, connected the screen to the gospel's “open face” compared to the veiled glory of the old covenant. Reformed and Puritan commentators typically developed the graded materials as a picture of progressive sanctification. More recently, scholars have focused on the historical and architectural context, noting how the bronze sockets reflect the portable nature of the sanctuary and the practical constraints of desert materials.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God's design for approach. The screen's specifications, five pillars, acacia wood, gold overlay, bronze sockets, were not arbitrary. Each material telegraphs a truth: acacia is durable and humble; gold reflects the glory of the house; bronze, though strong, is less costly than silver, signaling a step away from the innermost sanctuary. The screen says: you can come closer, but you are not yet at the centre.
- Graded holiness invites reverence. The progression from bronze to silver to gold within the tabernacle teaches that the presence of God is approached in stages. The screen was the first threshold. It protected the holy place from casual entry and reminded every priest that worship requires preparation and respect.
- Fulfilment in Christ. The writer of Hebrews explains that the old tabernacle system was a shadow. Jesus, through His flesh, became a “new and living way” into the holy of holies (Hebrews 10:19, 20). Where the screen once separated, the cross opens access.
Five-point outline
- Precision: God gave exact measurements and materials, worship follows His pattern.
- Access: The screen was both an entry and a barrier; it allowed priests into the holy place but kept out the unqualified.
- Progression: Bronze at the entrance, silver at the veil, gold beyond, each step deeper into divine glory.
- Mediation: The screen required a priest to pass; the veil required the high priest on Yom Kippur. Only Christ permanently removes both.
- Cost: The mixture of wood and precious metals shows that approaching God involves material and labour. Our approach today is through the costly sacrifice of Christ.
Illustration hooks
- A high-security government building with layered access: one badge for the lobby, another for the office, a third for the classified room. Each level demands more clearance. The tabernacle worked similarly, with bronze at the first door.
- A family heirloom kept in a special cabinet: the outer door is simply varnished wood, the inner door is inlaid with silver. The difference in craftsmanship signals that what is inside is more precious.
Questions your congregation is asking
- What does the difference between the screen and the inner veil mean for how we approach God today?
- Why would God command such specific materials for a tent that would eventually be replaced?
- Does the bronze remind us that we cannot rush into God's presence, or that He provides a way forward?
Leading a Discussion
This verse comes amid a long list of instructions for building the tabernacle. The screen for the entrance is the doorway through which priests entered to serve. As you read the passage, notice what is similar to the inner veil (Exodus 26:31, 33) and what is different. The materials themselves teach us about the holy God and the nature of access to Him.
Discussion questions
- What details stand out in this verse: the number of pillars, the types of metal, the method of construction?
- How does the screen compare with the veil described earlier in the chapter? What differences do you see?
- Why do you think the sockets for the screen were bronze, while those for the inner veil were silver?
- What does the progression of metals, bronze, silver, gold, suggest about God's holiness and how people approach Him?
- Read Hebrews 9:1, 14. How does the New Testament use the tabernacle's structure to explain Christ's work?
- If the screen was the entrance into the holy place, what does that say about the need for preparation before worship?
- How does knowing the details of the tabernacle affect your understanding of Jesus' statement, “I am the door” (John 10:9)?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 36:38 | and the five pillars of it with their hooks. He overlaid their capitals and their fillets with gold, and their five sockets were of bronze. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
6 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The screen covering the Dwelling's entrance shared the same materials as the inner veil but was plainer. Its workmanship was done by an embroiderer rather than a pattern-weaver, and it lacked cherubim, being intentionally less elaborate since it stood farther from the holy shrine.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
And thou shalt make for the hanging fiue pillars of Shittim, and couer them with gold: their heads shalbe of golde, and thou shalt cast fiue sockets of brasse for them.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill notes the five pillars at the tabernacle entrance had brass sockets, not gold like the inner veil's pillars, because this door led only to the holy place where priests served, not to the Holy of Holies where God's glory dwelled. The pillars were overlaid with gold only on their capitals and fillets, leaving the wood visible elsewhere.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch see deep symbolic meaning in the tabernacle's dimensions. The oblong shape of the whole building represents the present incompleteness of God's kingdom, while the perfect cube of the Most Holy Place points to its ultimate perfection. This geometry foreshadows the heavenly Jerusalem, a cube in Revelation.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange sees the tabernacle not simply as a place of worship but as the living centre of the entire law, where God Himself dwells and rules. For him, the sanctuary ensures the
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Matthew Henry sees the inner veil as a deliberate barrier that kept the old covenant worshiper at a distance, concealing divine grace. Its tearing at Christ's death marked the end of that hiddenness, opening the way into God's presence that the law's ceremonies could never accomplish.