Exodus 25 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

* v. 1–7: Instructions for gifts the Israelites may give to help build the place where they will worship God* v. 8–9: Introductory building instructions* v. 10–22: Instructions for building the Box of the Testimony* v. 23–30: Instructions for building the table* v. 31–39: Instructions for building the lampstand* v. 40: Summary instruction

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

* The tent of meeting and Box of the Testimony are introduced in this chapter.* Translators will need to take special care in translating the concept of atonement.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

* There are many unfamiliar items in this chapter. Fortunately they are mostly all physical items. Translators will have to try to understand what each item is and translate it into the closest equivalent in their culture. It may be helpful for translators to try to find images depicting some of the items the Israelites were to make.* There are some biblical weights and measurements that translators may not have encountered before.* From [25:11](../25/11.md) until the end of chapter 30, almost every instruction regarding the construction of the tent of meeting and all the associated items are given with a singular form of “you,” as if Moses himself would make them. However, it is clear and made explicit in [chapter 31](../31/01.md) that certain skilled craftsmen will receive these instructions from Moses and make these items. In some languages you may need to change from second to third person throughout, following the pattern in [25:10](../25/10.md). There are a few exceptions which will have their own note. See: figs-123person and figs-youcrowd.