And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Gather thou all the congregation together, х haqheel (H6950)] - summon, convoke, without regard to the object of the meeting. The order was given to Moses, who could have no difficulty in executing it by speedily circulating the intelligence through the whole congregation; because he had only to announce it to the elders, who were the established media of communication with the people; and, besides, he had thousands of Levites at command, whose business it was to perform every kind of secular work connected with the tabernacle. By the agency of those numerous officers information could be rapidly conveyed to all parts of the camp. It may be presumed that, on an occasion of so great national interest as the consecration of the Aaronic priesthood-the first ceremonial of its kind that had taken place-piety or curiosity must have led all to give a prompt obedience to the call, and that no Israelite would be absent unless he were prevented by age, sickness, local duties, or other unavoidable circumstances.
Unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, х 'ohel (H168) mow`eed (H4150)] - the tent of meeting, 'the appointed tent,' where God promised to meet His people (see the notes at Exodus 25:22; Exodus 29:43). The door was the usual place of concourse; and not an instance is on record, during the lifetime of Moses, of the people being admitted further.
Dr. Colenso has directed against this point the full force of his sceptical battering-ram, with a view to demolish the credibility of the Pentateuch. He pronounces it impossible that the people could witness the ceremony in such a place, unless they had been admitted into the court; and yet, since that court was only 180 feet long and 90 feet wide, it could scarcely have accommodated 5,000, much less the 600,000 male adults; while the door of the tabernacle being 10 cubits, or 18 feet wide, and allowing 2 feet for each Man 1:9 men only could have stood in front of it. Had the people, then, been ranged according to regimental order in rows of 9, the mighty throng would have extended back 20 miles; or had they stood in front of the whole end, they would have reached back 4 miles.
These extraordinary conclusions are grounded on two false assumptions in relation both to the door of the tabernacle and to the actual scene of the inauguration service. It is assumed that the service was to be performed within the tabernacle. But that is an error. Though God appointed the tabernacle as a place for meeting with His people, the divine oracles were issued from above the mercyseat in the most holy place, into which none but the high priest was privileged to enter, and by him they were communicated to the people outside. None but the priests and some of the Levites on certain occasions were admitted into any part of the sanctuary, while all others designated "strangers" were prohibited, under the penalty of death (Numbers 3:10; Numbers 4:18-19).
It is especially observable that Aaron and his sons could not enter on the day of their consecration without washing their feet (Exodus 40:30-32); and if the members of the congregation were to be admitted indiscriminately within the court, they must have undergone the same ablutions also, which would have occupied a great length of time.
It is said (Leviticus 9:5) that they stood "before the Lord," which is equivalent to 'before the tabernacle;' and this (namely, the tabernacle) is evidently to be taken in the widest sense, as denoting not the sanctuary merely, but also the court belonging to it-as in Exodus 31:7-9 the altar of burnt offering and the laver, neither of which were stationed in the sanctuary, are included among the contents of the tabernacle. The word bears the same general acceptation also, Exodus 33:7; Numbers 2:2; Numbers 7:1; and in Exodus 39:33, where the tent is specified as part of the tabernacle. That it must be viewed in the same light here, as denoting the whole of the sacred establishment, appears from Leviticus 8:33, where the priests are prohibited from going out of the door of the tabernacle for seven days; while in Leviticus 8:35 they are enjoined to "abide at the door;" and hence, "the door of the tabernacle of the congregation" - the appointed place of muster-must be the door of the court. The people therefore were without, not within the tabernacle (Leviticus 9:22-24).
Indeed, it is apparent upon the face of the record that the transactions took place under the open sky. The court of the tabernacle was an unroofed enclosure; and as the laver stood there, the priests must have been washed and attired in their official robes there also (Leviticus 8:7-9). Besides, the anointing of the altar of burnt offering (Leviticus 8:10-11) and of the head of the high priest (Leviticus 8:12), the offering of special sacrifices in succession, particularly of the sin offering, in which the bullock was brought to the door of the tabernacle, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon it-all required the court to be kept vacant and clear for the performance of so diversified and solemn a ceremonial. [Moreover, in the phrase, 'el (H413) petach (H6607), unto the door, 'el (H413) denotes motion toward, in the direction of, a place; petach (H6607), a doorway-not a solid door, as Colenso takes it to be, for which delet (H1817) is used, but an opening, an entrance to a tent as well as a house; and as he speaks of the end of the tabernacle as distinguished from the door, it may be proper to state that the end was the door, formed by maacaak, a hanging drawn across (Exodus 26:36).] At or unto the door is distinguished from in the tent door (Genesis 18:1), and denotes the front of the tabernacle-the place where the people were summoned to assemble.