5. The tabernacle courtyard 27:1-19In this section Moses described the altar of burnt offerings, the courtyard itself, and the oil for the lamps on the lampstand that the priests evidently prepared in the courtyard. read more
The courtyard 27:9-19The courtyard was 50 cubits wide by 100 cubits long (75 feet by 150 feet, half the length of an American football field). This area is about the size of a modest home site in the United States. The curtains that formed its perimeter were only half as high as those surrounding the tabernacle building (7 feet instead of 15 feet). So the Israelites outside the courtyard could see the top part of the tabernacle building."All its vessels were of copper-brass, which, being allied... read more
The Altar of Burnt Offering. The Court of the Tabernacle. The Oil for the Lamps1-8. Altar of Burnt Offering.This is a hollow chest of acacia wood overlaid with bronze, and stands within the court, midway between the outer entrance and the door of the tabernacle.1. The approximate size of the altar is 7½ ft. square and 4½ ft. high: see on Exodus 20:26.2 The horns] The form and significance of these horns are doubtful. They were very important, and seem to have been regarded as the most sacred... read more
THE COURT OF THE TABERNACLE.(9-18) Almost every ancient temple stood within a sacred enclosure, which isolated it from the common working world, and rendered its religious character more distinctly apparent. Such enclosures were particularly affected by the Egyptians, and were usually oblong squares, surrounded by walls, with, for the most part, a single entrance. An open space of this kind, always desirable, was absolutely necessary where the sanctuary itself was covered in, since it would... read more
(11, 12) The north side . . . This side of the court was to be in exact correspondence with the south. The western side was to be of only half the length (fifty cubits), and required therefore only half the number of pillars and sockets. read more
CHAPTER XXVII.THE OUTER COURT.Exodus 27:1-21Before describing the tabernacle, its furniture was specified. And so, when giving instructions for the court of the tabernacle, the altar has to be described: "Thou shalt make the altar of acacia wood." The definite article either implies that an altar was taken for granted, a thing of course; or else it points back to chap. Exodus 20:24, which said "An altar of earth shalt thou make." Nor is the acacia wood of this altar at all inconsistent with... read more
CHAPTER 27 The Tabernacle Concluded 1. The altar of brass (Exodus 27:1-8 ) 2. The court of the tabernacle (Exodus 27:9-19 ) 3. The oil for the lamp (Exodus 27:20-21 ) The brazen altar stood at the door of the tabernacle. Later we find in this book the golden altar of incense mentioned. It stood between the golden candlestick and the brazen altar. This altar was likewise of shittim wood. Instead of gold, here was brass, because the altar is the type of the cross where Christ met the... read more
THE BRAZEN (OR COPPER) ALTAR (vs.1-8) On entering the courtyard, one would stand immediately before the brazen altar. Then the laver stood between the altar and the tabernacle entrance. This altar (of acacia wood), again speaks of Christ in His pure Humanity. But it was overlaid with brass, or most likely copper, the fiery colored metal, which speaks of Christ also as the perfect expression of the holiness of God. "Our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29). The altar was square, five... read more
The two chief objects within the Court were the Brazen Altar and the Tabernacle. Sacrificial worship was old, but the local Sanctuary was quite new. The Tabernacle is most frequently called the Tabernacle of the Congregation. A better rendering is supposed to be, "The Tent of Meeting." The Tabernacle was also called "The Tent of the Testimony," in allusion to the fact that it was the depositary of the Tables of the Law. The highest meaning of the structure was expressed by the Ark, which... read more
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Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Exodus 27:9-19
THE COURT OF THE TABERNACLE"And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side: and the pillars thereof shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver. And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, and the pillars thereof twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the... read more