Exodus Chapter 25 verse 3 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 3. - This is the offering - gold and silver and brass. Gold was needed for the overlaying of the boards, whereof the ark was composed (ver. 11); for the "crown of gold," which surmounted it (ibid.); for the "rings" (ver. 12); the "mercy-seat" (ver. 17) - the cherubim (ver. 18); the dishes, the spoons, the covers, the bowls (ver. 29); the candlestick (ver. 31); the tongs and snuff dishes (ver. 28); the hooks and taches (Exodus 26:6, 32); for the covering of the table of shew bread (Exodus 25:24); and of the staves and pillars (ib, 28: Exodus 26:32, 37); and also for many parts of the dress of the High Priest (Exodus 28:6, 8, 11, 14, etc.). Silver was required for the sockets which supported the hoards of the Tabernacle (Exodus 26:19); and for the "hooks" and "fillets" of the pillars of the court (Exodus 27:10) Brass, or rather bronze, was wanted for the "taches" which coupled together the curtains of the tent (Exodus 26:11); for the "sockets" which received the pillars or tent-poles (ib, 37); for the external coating of the altar (Exodus 27:2); for the vessels and utensils of the altar (ib, 3); for the covering of its staves (ib, 6); for the sockets of the pillars of the Court (Exodus 27:10); for the "pins" of the Court (ib, 19); and generally for the vessels of the Tabernacle (ibid.). To understand how the Israelites could supply all that was wanted, we must remember, 1. That they had a certain amount of ancestral wealth, as that which Joseph had accumulated, and what Jacob and his sons had brought with them into Egypt. 2. That they had received large presents of gold and silver from the Egyptians just before their departure (Exodus 12:35); and 3. That they had recently defeated, and no doubt despoiled, the Amalekites (Exodus 16:8-13). Whether they had further made money by trade since they entered the Sinaitic peninsula, may be doubted. The supposition is not at all needed in order to account for their wealth.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(3) Gold, and silver, and brass.--The Israelites had brought out of Egypt (1) their ancestral wealth--the possessions of Abraham and the accumulations of Joseph, and (2) the rich gifts received from the Egyptians at the moment of their departure. They had added to their wealth by the plunder of the Amalekites. Thus they possessed a considerable store of the precious metals; and there is no difficulty in supposing that they furnished the gold needed for the tabernacle without seriously impoverishing themselves. The silver, which was of small amount comparatively, appears ultimately to have been furnished in another way (Exodus 30:12-16; Exodus 38:25-28) The brass, or rather bronze, for brass seems to have been unknown at this time, was small in amount (Exodus 38:29), and of no great value. It would have constituted no serious drain on the resources of the people.