Exodus 26:36

“And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, etc.] At the east end of the tabernacle, which lay open and exposed, and for which as yet there was no provision; the west end of it, where stood the holy of holies, was enclosed with six boards, and two corner ones, (<022622>Exodus 26:22,23) and the linen curtains hung down there to the silver bases, and so did the curtains of goats’ hair, even to the ground, and half a curtain to spare, (see <022612>Exodus 26:12,33) but for the east end, or entrance into the tabernacle, there was nothing till now ordered, only the sixth curtain of the goats’ hair curtains was there turned up double, (<022609>Exodus 26:9), but now here an “hanging” is…”

“an hanging for the door of the tent--Curtains of rich and elaborate embroidery, made by the women, are suspended over the doors or entrances of the tents occupied by Eastern chiefs and princes. In a similar style of elegance was the hanging finished which was to cover the door of this tabernacle--the chosen habitation of the God and King of Israel. It appears from Exo 26:12, Exo 26:22-23, that the ark and mercy seat were placed in the west end of the tabernacle, and consequently the door or entrance fronted the east, so that the Israelites in worshipping Jehovah, turned their faces towards the west; that they might be thus figuratively taught to turn from the worship of that luminary which…”

“(Compare Exodus 36:8-33.) The tabernacle was to comprise three main parts, the tabernacle Exodus 26:1-6, more strictly so-called, its tent Exodus 26:7-13, and its covering Exodus 26:14 (Compare Exodus 35:11; Exodus 39:33-34; Exodus 40:19, Exodus 40:34; Numbers 3:25, etc.). These parts are very clearly distinguished in the Hebrew, but they are confounded in many places of the English Version (see Exodus 26:7, Exodus 26:9, etc.). The tabernacle itself was to consist of curtains of fine linen woven with colored figures of cherubim, and a structure of boards which was to contain the holy place and the most holy place; the tent was to be a true tent of goats’ hair cloth to contain and shelter the…”

“26:36-37 The curtain that covered the opening at the eastern end of the structure was similar to the one separating the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The bases of these supporting posts were of bronze instead of silver.”

“hanging: This may be termed the first vail, as it occupied the door or entrance to the tabernacle; the vail that separated the Holy of Holies is called the second vail, Heb 9:3. Mr. Morier (Second Journey Through Persia, p. 251), describing the tent of a chief of the Eelauts, says, "It was composed of a wooden frame of circular laths, which were fixed on the ground, and then covered over with large felts, that were fastened down by a cord, ornamented by tassels of various colours. A curtain, curiously worked by the women, with coarse needle-work of various colours, was suspended over the door. In the king of Persia's tents, magnificent perdahs, or hangings of needle-work, are suspended, as…”

“For the entrance to the tent they were also to make a curtain (מסך, lit., a covering, from סכך to cover) of the same material as the inner curtain, but of work in mixed colours, i.e., not woven with figures upon it, but simply in stripes or checks. רקם מעשׂה does not mean coloured needlework, with figures or flowers embroidered with the needle upon the woven fabric (as I asserted in my Archologie, in common with the Rabbins, Gesenius, Bhr, and others); for in the only other passage in which רקם occurs, viz., Psa 139:15, it does not mean to embroider, but to weave, and in the Arabic it signifies to make points, stripes, or lines, to work in mixed colours (see Hartmann die Hebrerinn am…”