Exodus 38:21

“This is the sum of the tabernacle, etc.] Not of the several parts of the tabernacle, and the several things belonging to it, before enumerated, as made and delivered to the care and custody of the Levites, but of the materials of which they were made, particularly the gold and silver, and the brass; the several sums and weight of which are given in the following verses: [even] of the tabernacle of the testimony; in which the law, the testimony of the will of God, was put enclosed in the ark: as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses; when it was brought in to him by the people, and delivered by him to Bezaleel, Aholiab, and the artificers; [for] the service of the Levites; or…”

“This is the sum of the tabernacle--Having completed his description of the component parts of the tabernacle, the inspired historian digresses into a statement respecting the gold and silver employed in it, the computation being made according to an order of Moses--by the Levites, under the direction of Ithamar, Aaron's youngest son.”

“This is the sum ... - “This is the reckoning of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony as it was reckoned up according to the commandment of Moses, by the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar,” etc. The weight of the metals was taken by the Levites, under the direction of Ithamar. The tabernacle is called the tabernacle of the testimony, or the depository of the testimony, i. e. the tables of the law Exodus 25:16. return to 'Top of Page'”

“By the hand of Ithamar - Here we have a breviate of the account which by Moses's appointment the Levites took and kept of the gold, silver, and brass, that was brought in for the tabernacle's use, and how it was employed. Ithamar the son of Aaron was appointed to draw up this account. All the gold amounted to twenty nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels over; Which some compute to be about one hundred and fifty thousand pounds worth of gold, according to the present value of it. The silver amounted to about thirty - four thousand pounds of our money. The raising of the gold by voluntary contribution, and of the silver by way of tribute, shews that either way may be taken for the…”

“38:21-29 The immense amount of metal reported in this inventory of materials (more than a ton of gold, almost four tons of silver, and two and a half tons of bronze) reflects the Egyptians’ eagerness to get the Israelites out of Egypt, giving the Israelites anything they asked for in order to hurry them on their way (see 12:35-36). 38:21 Since the Tabernacle contained the Ark of the Covenant, it is called the Tabernacle of the Covenant.”

“tabernacle of testimony: Exo 25:16, Exo 26:33, Exo 40:3; Num 1:50, Num 1:53, Num 9:15, Num 10:11, Num 17:7, Num 17:8, Num 18:2; Ch2 24:6; Act 7:44; Rev 11:19; The word tabernacle is used in many different senses, and signifies: Tabernacle Symbolism Characteristic References 1. A tent or pavilion Num 24:5 Mat 17:4 2\. A house or dwelling Job 11:4, Job 22:23 3\. A kind of tent, which is designated, to speak after the manner of the men, the palace of the Most High, the dwelling of the God of Israel Exo 26:1 Heb 9:2, Heb 9:3 4\. Christ's human nature, of which the Jewish tabernacle was a type, wherein God dwells really, substantially, and personally Heb 8:2, Heb 9:11 5\. The true church militant…”

“Estimate of the Amount of Metal Used. - Exo 38:21. "These are the numbered things of the dwelling, of the dwelling of the testimony, that were numbered at the command of Moses, through the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest." פּקוּדים does not mean the numbering (equivalent to מפקד Sa2 4:9, or פּקדּה Ch2 17:14; Ch2 26:11), as Knobel supposes, but here as elsewhere, even in Num 26:63-64, it signifies "the numbered;" the only difference being, that in most cases it refers to persons, here to things, and that the reckoning consisted not merely in the counting and entering of the different things, but in ascertaining their weight and estimating their…”