Exodus 27:9-19 · Bible study
Exodus 27:9-19 Commentary: The Court of the Tabernacle, Dimensions, Materials
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the theological significance of the tabernacle court's dimensions, materials, and layout in Exodus 27:9-19, with insights from classic commentaries.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The court of the tabernacle was a rectangular enclosure open to the sky, where the people gathered to offer sacrifices and meet with God.
- Key words: chatser (courtyard), mishkan (tabernacle), qela'im (hangings/curtains), shesh moshzar (fine twined linen), nechoshet (bronze), kesef (silver), vav (hook), chashuq (band/fillet).
- Main debate: How far to press the typological symbolism, court as church (Wesley), condition of mankind (Calvin), or simply literal construction instructions.
- Theological theme: God provides a defined, orderly, accessible space where a holy God meets an unholy people, bridging distance through prescribed means.
- Best use: Teaching about worship order, sacred space, and the gracious provision of access to God in the Old Testament.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
9You are also to make a courtyard for the tabernacle. On the south side of the courtyard make curtains of finely spun linen, a hundred cubits long on one side,
10with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and silver hooks and bands on the posts.
11Likewise there are to be curtains on the north side, a hundred cubits long, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
12The curtains on the west side of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits wide, with ten posts and ten bases.
13The east side of the courtyard, toward the sunrise, is to be fifty cubits wide.
14Make the curtains on one side fifteen cubits long, with three posts and three bases,
15and the curtains on the other side fifteen cubits long, with three posts and three bases.
16The gate of the courtyard shall be twenty cubits long, with a curtain embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and finely spun linen. It shall have four posts and four bases.
17All the posts around the courtyard shall have silver bands, silver hooks, and bronze bases.
18The entire courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with curtains of finely spun linen five cubits high, and with bronze bases.
19All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, including all its tent pegs and the tent pegs of the courtyard, shall be made of bronze.
WEB World English Bible 2000
9“You shall make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen one hundred cubits long for one side.
10Its pillars shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty, of bronze. The hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.
11Likewise for the length of the north side, there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, and its pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty, of bronze; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.
12For the width of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits; their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.
13The width of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.
14The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
15For the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
16For the gate of the court shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer; their pillars four, and their sockets four.
17All the pillars of the court around shall be filleted with silver; their hooks of silver, and their sockets of bronze.
18The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, and the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits, of fine twined linen, and their sockets of bronze.
19All the instruments of the tabernacle in all its service, and all its pins, and all the pins of the court, shall be of bronze.
KJV King James Version 1769
9And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side:
10And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.
11And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.
12And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.
13And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.
14The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.
15And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.
16And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.
17All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass.
18The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.
19All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
9And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side:
10and the pillars thereof shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.
11And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, and the pillars thereof twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.
12And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits; their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.
13And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.
14The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
15And for the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
16And for the gate of the court shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer; their pillars four, and their sockets four.
17All the pillars of the court round about shall be filleted with silver; their hooks of silver, and their sockets of brass.
18The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits, of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.
19All the instruments of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
9`And thou hast made the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward, hangings for the court of twined linen, a hundred by the cubit is the length for the one side,
10and its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets are of brass, the pegs of the pillars and their fillets are of silver;
11and so for the north side in length, hangings of a hundred cubits in length, and its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets are of brass, the pegs of the pillars and their fillets are of silver.
12`And for the breadth of the court at the west side are hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.
13And for the breadth of the court at the east side, eastward, are fifty cubits.
14And the hangings at the side are fifteen cubits, their pillars three, and their sockets three.
15And at the second side are hangings fifteen cubits , their pillars three, and their sockets three.
16`And for the gate of the court a covering of twenty cubits, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, work of an embroiderer; their pillars four, their sockets four.
17All the pillars of the court round about are filleted with silver, their pegs are silver, and their sockets brass.
18`The length of the court is a hundred by the cubit, and the breadth fifty by fifty, and the height five cubits, of twined linen, and their sockets are brass,
19even all the vessels of the tabernacle, in all its service, and all its pins, and all the pins of the court, are brass.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
9And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side, southward, hangings for the court of twined byssus; a hundred cubits the length for the one side,
10and the twenty pillars thereof, and their twenty bases of copper, the hooks of the pillars and their connecting-rods of silver.
11And likewise on the north side in length, hangings a hundred [cubits] long, and its twenty pillars, and their twenty bases of copper; the hooks of the pillars and their connecting-rods of silver.
12— And the breadth of the court on the west side, hangings of fifty cubits; their pillars ten, and their bases ten.
13— And the breadth of the court on the east side, eastward, fifty cubits;
14the hangings on the one wing, of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their bases three.
15And on the other wing hangings of fifteen [cubits]; their pillars three, and their bases three.
16— And for the gate of the court a curtain of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus, embroidered with needlework; their pillars four, and their bases four.
17All the pillars of the court round about shall be fastened together with [rods of] silver; their hooks of silver, and their bases of copper.
18The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty everywhere, and the height five cubits of twined byssus; and their bases of copper.
19All the utensils of the tabernacle for the service thereof and all the pegs thereof, and all the pegs of the court shall be of copper.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
9Thou shalt make also the court of the tabernacle, in the south side whereof southward there shall be hangings of fine twisted linen of a hundred cubits long for one side.
10And twenty pillars with as many sockets of brass, the heads of which, with their engraving, shall be of silver.
11In like manner also on the north side there shall be hangings of a hundred cubits long, twenty pillars, and as many sockets of brass, and their heads with their engraving of silver.
12But in the breadth of the court, that looketh to the west, there shall be hangings of fifty cubits, and ten pillars, and as many sockets.
13In that breadth also of the court, which looketh to the east, there shall be fifty cubits.
14In which there shall be for one side, hangings of fifteen cubits, and three pillars, and as many sockets.
15And in the other side, there shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, with three pillars, and as many sockets.
16And in the entrance of the court there shall be made a hanging of twenty cubits of violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, with embroidered work: it shall have four pillars, with as many sockets.
17All the pillars of the court round about shall be garnished with plates of silver, silver heads, and sockets of brass.
18In length the court shall take up a hundred cubits, in breadth fifty, the height shall be of five cubits, and it shall be made of fine twisted linen, and shall have sockets of brass.
19All the vessels of the tabernacle for all uses and ceremonies, and the pins both of it and of the court, thou shalt make of brass.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Exodus 27:9
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that the court described in Exodus 27:9-19 formed a rectangular enclosure around the tabernacle proper. The dimensions were one hundred cubits (roughly 150 feet) long and fifty cubits wide, with linen hangings five cubits high. That height was half the tabernacle's own height of ten cubits, so the sacred structure remained visible to the people standing outside. The court was open to the sky, a yard, not a roofed building. Wesley calls it 'a type of the church, enclosed, and distinguished from the rest of the world.' Calvin sees it as the court of the people, where victims were offered and prayers made, illustrating both the distance between humanity and God and the gracious provision for approach. The materials are consistent: bronze for the sixty bases (suggesting strength and judgment), silver for the hooks and connecting rods (often linked to redemption), and fine twined linen for the hangings (righteousness). The gate screen, woven with blue, purple, and scarlet thread, matched the inner veil and the entrance screen of the tabernacle itself, a deliberate echo that marked the court gate as the sole point of access.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The court was a rectangular, open-air enclosure with specific dimensions, made of linen hangings supported by bronze-based pillars with silver fittings, and it provided the space where Israelites brought their sacrifices and prayers before the tabernacle.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Symbolic meaning of materials | Bronze and silver are not random; their placement (bronze at ground level, silver on the pillars) suggests intentional design with symbolic weight. | Some commentators (e.g., Wesley, Henry) read a clear typology: bronze for judgment, silver for redemption, linen for righteousness. Others (Keil, modern scholars) caution against allegorizing every detail, preferring to see practical durability and preciousness as the primary consideration. |
| The court as a type of the church | The court separated God's people from the surrounding world. | Wesley explicitly calls it 'a type of the church.' Calvin, while not rejecting typology, focuses more on the court as the arena of reconciliation and reminder of human unworthiness. Some Reformed and Baptist traditions see it as foreshadowing the division between the saved and the world. |
| The meaning of the gate screen | The screen was the only entrance and was made of the same materials as the tabernacle veil. | Some see this as emphasizing Christ as the only way (John 10:9); others stress the continuity of the entrance imagery throughout the tabernacle, suggesting a progressive revelation of access to God's presence. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The tabernacle court belongs to a wider ancient Near Eastern tradition of sacred enclosures. Egyptian temples, for example, typically had open courts surrounded by colonnades. But the instructions given at Sinai are distinctive in their materials, proportions, and theological intent. The court was a working space. Here the people brought their offerings, the priests washed at the laver, and the bronze altar consumed the sacrifices. Smoke rose where the congregation could see it. The court was not merely decorative; it was functional for the entire sacrificial system.
The dimensions are precise. A cubit is generally understood as about eighteen inches, making the court roughly 150 feet long, 75 feet wide. The hangings were seven and a half feet high, tall enough to screen the activities inside, but low enough that the tabernacle itself, at fifteen feet, could be seen rising above them. The east side, the front, held the gate. The gate was twenty cubits wide, flanked on each side by fifteen cubits of hanging. That makes fifty cubits in total, matching the west side. This symmetry reinforced the sense of order that pervades the whole passage.
Material choices carried weight. Bronze (or copper) was used for the bases of the pillars and for all the utensils and tent pegs. It was a common metal, strong and durable, suited for ground contact and heavy use. Silver was reserved for the hooks and the connecting rods, chashuqim, bands or fillets that linked the pillars. The fine linen, spun and twisted, was both beautiful and durable, a fabric associated with purity and priestly garments. The gate screen alone featured embroidered work in three dyed colours, a step richer than the plain linen of the surrounding hangings. This material hierarchy echoed the pattern of increasing holiness as one moved closer to the dwelling of God.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Exodus 27:9-19. The Cambridge Bible observes a possible reading in verse 19 with the LXX adding 'all' before 'the vessels,' but this does not change the meaning. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts. The measurements and material assignments are consistent with the parallel account in Exodus 38:9-20.
Reception History
Early Christian writers, following the New Testament's use of the tabernacle as a pattern of heavenly realities (Hebrews 8-9), saw the court as a stage in approaching God, a place of preparation before entering the Holy Place. Origen and others allegorized the measurements as representing the breadth of the world or the ages. The Reformation brought a more literal-historical reading: Calvin stressed the court as the people's gathering place for sacrifice and prayer, while Tyndale saw in the hangings the pure doctrine of Scripture. In the Wesleyan tradition, the court became an image of the visible church, enclosed and distinct. Modern scholarship focuses on the court's function within the priestly system and its relationship to other ancient Near Eastern temple enclosures. The passage has also informed Christian architecture, with many churches designing narthexes or gathering spaces that echo the idea of a court before the sanctuary.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Order and Access, The court is a defined space with measured boundaries. God specifies dimensions and materials. This shows that approaching Him is neither casual nor chaotic. The single gate in the east wall points to one way of entering.
- Materials That Speak, Bronze bases, silver hooks and rods, fine linen hangings. Each material fits its purpose: bronze withstands the earth; silver connects and beautifies; linen screens and yet allows the tabernacle to be seen. Together they form a picture of strength, redemption, and righteousness.
- Where Heaven Meets Earth, The court was the meeting place between God and His people. Sacrifices were offered here, prayers lifted. The open sky above reminded worshippers that the God of heaven dwelt in their midst.
Five-point outline
- The court as boundary: separating holy from common, yet providing a place for the people.
- The pillars and their bases: stability grounded in bronze, lifted by silver connections.
- The gate screen: the only entrance, coloured like the sanctuary veil, marking a way in.
- The height of the hangings: five cubits, low enough to see the tabernacle, high enough to screen its courts.
- The bronze vessels and pegs: every tool and tent peg serves the service of the tabernacle.
Illustration hooks
- A modern church sanctuary versus its foyer or narthex, the transition from public to sacred space.
- Planning a garden or a home: the way dimensions and materials shape how a space feels ordered and intentional.
- A wedding ceremony where guests gather in a designated area, waiting for a door to open, anticipation and boundary.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does God care about exact measurements for a tent courtyard?
- What does it mean that the court was open to the sky while the tabernacle itself was covered?
- How does this passage apply to us when we no longer have a physical sanctuary with curtains and bronze pegs?
Leading a Discussion
This passage can feel like a tedious list of numbers and fabric types. But the details matter. The court was the space where ordinary Israelites could come, bringing sacrifices and prayers. As you read Exodus 27:9-19 together, consider both the precision of the instructions and the pastoral function of the court: it made approach to God possible while also maintaining the holiness of His dwelling.
Discussion questions
- What stands out to you most in this description, a specific number, a material, a phrase?
- Why do you think the court was open to the sky while the tabernacle itself was covered with layers of fabric and skins?
- The hangings were five cubits high, while the tabernacle was ten cubits. What might that difference suggest about visibility and access?
- Bronze bases and silver fillets: what do the different metals convey about the nature of this sacred space?
- The gate screen was made of the same materials as the veil at the entrance of the tabernacle (Ex. 26:36). Why do you think that pattern was repeated?
- In what ways does the idea of an enclosed, single-entrance court challenge or comfort you when you think about how people draw near to God today?
- How could the precision of these instructions shape your own approach to worship, not in outward form, but in heart and attention?
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 26:31 | “You shall make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cherubim. It shall be the work of a skillful workman. |
| Exodus 26:37 | 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. |
| Exodus 36:17 | He made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the coupling, and he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain which was outermost in the second coupling. |
| Exodus 38:9 | He made the court: for the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, one hundred cubits; |
| Exodus 38:20 | All the pins of the tabernacle, and around the court, were of bronze. |
| Exodus 39:40 | the hangings of the court, its pillars, its sockets, the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, its pins, and all the instruments of the service of the tabernacle, for the Tent of Meeting, |
| Exodus 40:8 | You shall set up the court around it, and hang up the screen of the gate of the court. |
| I Kings 6:36 | He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and a course of cedar beams. |
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
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the court walls were only half the height of the tabernacle, allowing the sacred building to be seen by the people from outside. He also explains that the vessels of the altar were made of brass rather than precious metals because the severity of the service would quickly wear them out.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes clarifies the technical details of the tabernacle courtyard: the entrance curtain could be drawn aside unlike the fixed side hangings, and the "fillets" were silver connecting rods between the pillars. He further explains that the "vessels" were working tools for construction and repair, and that "tabernacle" here includes both the inner shrine and the tent.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin sees the court of the tabernacle as a twofold lesson: it reminded Israelites of their unworthy and outcast condition by barring them from the sanctuary, yet also showed that God still receives those who seek him with sincere humility and awareness of their own unworthiness.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary observes a deliberate numerical pattern in the tabernacle court: the text assigns 20 pillars to the long sides and 10 to the short, yet the actual count including corners and entrance yields only 56 pillars, not 60. The writer accounts for this by noting the author's preference for symmetry over precise arithmetic.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill highlights that the court's linen hangings were woven like network, so people outside could see inside even though they could not enter
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
jfb describes the tabernacle court as a rectangular space enclosed by fine linen curtains woven into a network, letting people see through. The entrance curtain was different, embroidered with colors and rigged to be raised or drawn aside. Bronze pillars with silver capitals and hooks supported the curtains, and pins held them down against the wind.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch interprets the court not merely as an enclosure but as a symbol of the kingdom of God on earth, the dwelling-place of Israel. Its lower height and materials of copper, silver, and byssus point to the earthly and incomplete nature of this threshold to God's sanctuary, where the altar of burnt-offering stands as its focal point.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights the practical dimensions of the tabernacle court, translating the biblical cubits into a familiar yard measurement: fifty yards long and twenty-five yards wide. He notes the enclosure was made of the finest linen, the same quality used for tents.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley sees the tabernacle court as a type of the church, enclosed and separate from the world. His distinctive point is that this court held only a few worshippers, but he thanks God that the enclosure is now removed, making room for all who call on Christ.