Exodus 26:15 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

And thou shalt make boards— The boards or planks, which were to form, as it were, the walls of the tabernacle, are next described. They were to be of shittim-wood, each plank ten cubits long, and a cubit and a half broad; that is, about five yards and two feet long,—which marks the height of the tabernacle; and about two and thirty inches broad, which marks the length of the tabernacle,—which was thirty cubits, i.e. about seventeen yards and a half long: for there were to be twenty planks on the south, and twenty planks on the north side; and for the corners of the tabernacle, in the two sides, two planks; and for the west end, or backside of the tabernacle, there were to be six planks; which shews the breadth of the tabernacle to have been about five yards and some odd inches, Exodus 26:22 where sides should be rendered side, or, at least, the plural understood for the singular. The front or entrance was at the east; it being thus contrived, says Theodoret, that the sun might pay a kind of symbolical adoration to Jehovah, by darting his first rays into the sanctuary; and that the Israelites might be thus figuratively taught to turn from the worship of that luminary, the grand idol of the Gentiles, and to adore the God who made it. (See Jablonski Pantheon. Egypt. lib. 2:) These planks, each of them having two tenons, [hands, in the Hebrew, as they were to answer the end of hands by holding] were to be placed each in two sockets of silver, formed for the two tenons. The planks at the corners, Exodus 26:23 were to serve as a kind of pillars to compact the whole firmly together by means of mortices, into which the planks of the three sides were jointed; and, to make all more firm, these corner planks were to be knit to the other planks, both at the top and bottom, with a golden ring, perfected (in the Hebrew;) i.e. uniformly joined both at top and bottom, Exodus 26:24 and thus at the west-end, Exodus 26:25 there were to be eight planks in all, six for the end, and the two single ones for the two corners. To strengthen these uprights, wooden bars, (Exodus 26:26.) were to be made, five for each side; the middle one of which only was to reach from end to end: these, as well as the planks, were to be overlaid with gold, and were to run into rings or staples of gold, fastened in the planks for that purpose, Exodus 26:29. Mechanics commonly call these transoms, girders, or cross bars. For the two sides westward, at the end of the 27th verse, we should certainly read for the two corners west-ward—five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, at, or for the two corners westward: The words rendered side and sides in our version, are different. St. Paul, 1 Timothy 3:15 alludes to this tabernacle, with its pillars and sockets, when he calls the church the pillar and stay of the truth. Beauty and strength unite in the church of Christ: beauty, which renders it the admiration of angels; and strength, which defies all the malice of devils.