And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side.

EXODUS 26:35KJV
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Exodus 26:35 (KJV)

What does Exodus 26:35 mean?

Exodus 26:35 gives instructions for arranging the furniture inside the tabernacle: the table is to be placed outside the inner curtain (the veil), on the north side, and the lampstand (candlestick) is to be set across from it on the south side. This verse is about the specific placement of these sacred objects as part of the tabernacle’s layout.

God is speaking to Moses, giving detailed directions for setting up the tabernacle, which was the portable sanctuary used by the Israelites during their journey in the wilderness. The verse shows that every item in the tabernacle had a set place, reflecting order and purpose in worship.

The Hebrew behind Exodus 26:35

  • "Vail" (פָּרֹכֶת, parokhet) refers to the inner curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. The instruction to set the table "without the vail" means it was placed in the Holy Place, not in the innermost sanctuary.
  • "Candlestick" (מְנוֹרָה, menorah) is the lampstand, a key feature in the tabernacle. Its placement "over against the table" means it was directly across from the table, emphasizing symmetry and intentional design.
  • "Side" (צֵלָע, tsela) means "side" or "panel." The use here clarifies that the table and lampstand were set on opposite sides of the tabernacle, not just anywhere in the room.

Why Exodus 26:35 matters

  • This verse clears up exactly where the table and lampstand were to be placed, which helps readers visualize the tabernacle’s interior and understand the careful order God required.
  • The detailed arrangement highlights that worship in ancient Israel was not random but followed a pattern, showing reverence and respect for God’s instructions.
  • Seeing these details in context helps make sense of later passages about the tabernacle’s use and the symbolism of its furnishings.

Where else these words appear

“against” Hebrew H5227 · used in 22 verses

  • Genesis 25:21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
  • Judges 19:10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him.
  • Proverbs 5:21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.

“south” Hebrew H8486 · used in 22 verses

  • Exodus 26:18 And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward.
  • Deuteronomy 3:27 Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
  • Song of Solomon 4:16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

“vail” Hebrew H6532 · used in 23 verses

  • Exodus 26:31 And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:
  • Exodus 39:34 And the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the covering,
  • Leviticus 16:2 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.

“candlestick” Hebrew H4501 · used in 31 verses

  • Exodus 25:31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.
  • Exodus 37:19 Three bowls made after the fashion of almonds in one branch, a knop and a flower; and three bowls made like almonds in another branch, a knop and a flower: so throughout the six branches going out of the candlestick.
  • Numbers 8:4 And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the LORD had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.