Exodus 38:8 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Exodus 38:8
And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
to do or make · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
laver
הַכִּיּ֣וֹרha.ki.Yor
H3595
properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
brass
נְחֹ֔שֶׁתne.Cho.shet
H5178
copper · noun, common feminine singular absolute
foot
כַּנּ֣וֹka.No
H3653
a stand · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
brass
נְחֹ֑שֶׁתne.Cho.shet
H5178
copper · noun, common feminine singular absolute
lookingglasses
בְּמַרְאֹת֙be.mar.'Ot
H4759
a vision · preposition + noun, common feminine plural construct
assembling
הַצֹּ֣בְאֹ֔תha.Tzoe.'Ot
H6633
to mass (an army or servants) · definite article + verb, qal active participle, feminine plural absolute
assembled
צָֽבְא֔וּtza.ve.'U
H6633
to mass (an army or servants) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
door
פֶּ֖תַחPe.tach
H6607
an opening (literally) · noun, common masculine singular construct
tabernacle
אֹ֥הֶל'O.hel
H168
a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance) · noun, common masculine singular construct
congregation
מוֹעֵֽדmo.'Ed
H4150
properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Samuel 2:22 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tab…
Luke 2:37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night an…
Exodus 40:7 And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein.
1 Timothy 5:5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.
Titus 3:5-6 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of th…
Psalms 26:6 I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD:
Zechariah 13:1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
John 13:10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Exodus 38:1-8
Bezaleel having finished the gold-work, which, though the richest, yet was ordered to lie most out of sight, in the tabernacle itself, here goes on to prepare the court, which lay open to the view of all. Two things the court was furnished with, and both made of brass: -
I. An altar of burnt-offering, Exo 38:1-7. On this all their sacrifices were offered, and it was this which, being sanctified itself for this purpose by the divine appointment, sanctified the gift that was in faith offered on it. Christ was himself the altar to his own sacrifice of atonement, and so he is to all our sacrifices of acknowledgment. We must have an eye to him in offering them, as God has in accepting them.
II.…
laver of brass . . . of the looking glasses of the women--The word mirrors should have been used, as those implements, usually round, inserted into a handle of wood, stone, or metal, were made of brass, silver, or bronze, highly polished [WILKINSON]. It was customary for the Egyptian women to carry mirrors with them to the temples; and whether by taking the looking glasses of the Hebrew women Moses designed to put it out of their power to follow a similar practice at the tabernacle, or whether the supply of brass from other sources in the camp was exhausted, it is interesting to learn how zealously and to a vast extent they surrendered those valued accompaniments of the female toilet.
of t…
He made the laver - See Clarke's note on Exo 30:18, etc.
The looking-glasses - The word מראת maroth, from ראה raah, he saw, signifies reflectors or mirrors of any kind. Here metal, highly polished, must certainly be meant, as glass was not yet in use; and had it even been in use, we are sure that looking - Glasses could not make a Brazen laver. The word therefore should be rendered mirrors, not looking-glasses, which in the above verse is perfectly absurd, because from those maroth the brazen laver was made. The first mirrors known among men were the clear, still, fountain, and unruffled lake; and probably the mineral called mica, which is a very general substance through all parts of the ea…
The Church Fathers
For Moses places the bronze laver in which the priests ought to be washed and enter the holy of holies, because the law of God first commands us to be washed through compunction, so that our uncleanness may not be unworthy for penetrating the purity of God's secrets.
But then we truly preach right things to others if we show our words by deeds, if we ourselves are pierced with divine love, and wash with tears the daily stains of human life, which can in no way pass without fault. But then we are truly pierced with compunction about ourselves if we carefully consider the deeds of the fathers who went before, so that from beholding their glory, our own life may become vile in our own eyes. Then we are truly pierced with compunction when we diligently search the commandments of the Lord, and through these we ourselves strive to advance, through which we know those whom we venerate have already advanced. For hence it is written of Moses: He placed also the bronze laver in which Aaron and his sons were to wash when they entered the holy of holies, which he made from the mirrors of the women who kept watch at the door of the tabernacle. For Moses places the bronze laver in which the priests ought to be washed and enter the holy of holies, because the law of God first commands us to be washed through compunction, so that our uncleanness may not be unworthy for penetrating the purity of God's secrets. Which laver is rightly said to have been made from the mirrors of the women who ceaselessly kept watch at the door of the tabernacle. For the mirrors of the women are the commandments of God, in which holy souls always behold themselves, and detect if there are any stains of defilement in them. They correct the faults of their thoughts, and as if arranging resisting countenances, they compose them as from a reflected image, because while they diligently attend to the Lord's commandments, in them they doubtless recognize both what pleases and what displeases the heavenly spouse in themselves. As long as they are in this life, they can in no way enter the eternal tabernacle. But yet the women keep watch at the door of the tabernacle, because holy souls, even while they are still weighed down by the weakness of the flesh, nevertheless with continual love await the entrance of eternal entry. Therefore Moses made the laver for the priests from the mirrors of the women, because the law of God provides the washing of compunction for the stains of our sins, while it presents for our contemplation the heavenly commandments through which holy souls have pleased the heavenly spouse. If we diligently attend to these, we see the stains of our…
Dictionary and topics
Copper — Derived from the Greek kupros (the island of Cyprus), called “Cyprian brass,” occurs only in the Authorized Version in Ezra 8:27. Elsewhere the Hebrew word (nehosheth) is improperly rendered “brass,”…
Glass — Was known to the Egyptians at a very early period of their national history, at least B.C. 1500. Various articles both useful and ornamental were made of it, as bottles, vases, etc. A glass bottle…
Laver — (Heb. kiyor), a “basin” for boiling in, a “pan” for cooking (1 Sam. 2:14), a “fire-pan” or hearth (Zech. 12:6), the sacred wash-bowl of the tabernacle and temple (Ex. 30:18, 28; 31:9; 35:16; 38:8;…
Mirror — (Exodus 38:8; Job 37:18) The Hebrew women on coming out of Egypt probably brought with them mirrors like those which were used by the Egyptians, and were made of a mixed metal, chiefly copper,…
Brass · .Mirrors — .Mirrors
Brass, Or Copper · Made into: Mirrors — Made into: Mirrors
Laver · .In connection with — .In connection with
Laver Of Brass · Made of brazen mirrors of the women — Made of brazen mirrors of the women
Liberality · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Mirror · tabernacle — tabernacle
Woman · Had a court of the tabernacle assigned to them — Had a court of the tabernacle assigned to them
Women · Took part in ancient worship — Took part in ancient worship
And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass,.... Not of the brass of the offering, for of that were made the brazen altar, its grate and vessels, the sockets of the court and court gate, and the pins of the tabernacle, Exodus 38:29 but no mention is made there of the laver; for that was made, as here said:
of the looking glasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; though these are called looking glasses, it is not to be supposed that they were made of glass as ours are; for of what use could such be in the making of a brazen laver? Some indeed choose to read the words "with the looking glasses" (d), and take the sense t…
And he made the altar of burnt-offering. The purport of this chapter is the same as that of the last, except that the order of some parts of it is transposed, though not a word is changed. He begins with the altar of burnt-offering, which he states to have been made of the materials and the form prescribed by God, in order that the people might there offer with surer confidence their sacrifices for the expiation of sin, and for thanksgiving. One thing which had not been mentioned before, is here added respecting the laver of brass, or cauldron (concha,) from whence they took the water of sprinkling for expiation, viz., that this laver was ornamented with the mirrors of the women. Some explai…
While the plans for the washbasin (30:17-21) were included in the instructions to the priests (29:38–30:38), here its construction is reported in logical sequence. • This bronze, which could be polished to a mirror-like finish, was probably of especially high quality, as was fitting for use in God’s Tabernacle.
Rashi on Exodus 38:8
במראת הצבאת OF THE MIRRORS OF THE WOMEN CROWDING — The Israelitish women possessed mirrors of copper into which they used to look when they adorned themselves. Even these did they not hesitate to bring as a contribution towards the Tabernacle. Now Moses was about to reject them since they were made to pander to their vanity, but the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “Accept them; these are dearer to Me than all the other contributions, because through them the women reared those huge hosts in Egypt!” For when their husbands were tired through the crushing labour they used to bring them food and drink and induced them to eat. Then they would take the mirrors, and each gazed at herself in…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
