Tent
Exodus chapters 36 through 39 list the items of the Tent that Oholiab and team built. The following table maps those items to the tribes.
| Tribe | Item |
|---|---|
| Judah | Tent |
|
8All the skilled men among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman. Exodus 36:8-13 (Exodus 36:8 NIV) | |
| Reuben | Ark |
|
1Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood -- two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. Exodus 37:1-5 (Exodus 37:1 NIV) | |
| Gad | Table |
|
10They made the table of acacia wood -- two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high. Exodus 37:10-16 (Exodus 37:10 NIV) | |
| Asher | Candle |
|
17They made the lampstand of pure gold and hammered it out, base and shaft; its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms were of one piece with it. Exodus 37:17-22 (Exodus 37:17 NIV) | |
| Naphtali | Incense |
|
25They made the altar of incense out of acacia wood. It was square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high -- its horns of one piece with it. Exodus 37:25-28 (Exodus 37:25 NIV) | |
| Manasseh | Altar |
|
1They built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. Exodus 38:1-7 (Exodus 38:1 NIV) | |
| Simeon | Basin |
|
8They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Exodus 38:8 (Exodus 38:8 NIV) | |
| Levi | Court |
|
9Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits long and had curtains of finely twisted linen,
10with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
11The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. Exodus 38:9-11 (Exodus 38:9-11 NIV) | |
| Issachar | Gate |
|
14Curtains fifteen cubits long were on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, (Exodus 38:14 NIV) | |
| Zebulun | Rigging |
|
17The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver; so all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands. (Exodus 38:17 NIV) | |
| Joseph | Ephod |
|
2They made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. Exodus 39:2-5 (Exodus 39:2 NIV) | |
| Benjamin | Breastplate |
|
8They fashioned the breastpiece -- the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. Exodus 39:8-14 (Exodus 39:8 NIV) | |
| Dan | Robe |
|
22They made the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth -- the work of a weaver -- Exodus 39:22-26 (Exodus 39:22 NIV) 30They made the plate, the sacred diadem, out of pure gold and engraved on it, like an inscription on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD. Exodus 39:30-31 (Exodus 39:30 NIV) | |
Notes
After the three chapter narrative of building all the various items a short list summarizes the whole process. It confirms that the above map is essentially correct, with one difference, it collapses the Ephod, Breastplate and Robe into one line item titled "vestments."
Judah is the tent itself. Need to study this further.
Reuben is the Ark, in the inner chamber. The Ark is where you meet with God in person and speak face to face. It's a place of intimacy. Reuben seems to have an intimacy theme. He's intimate with his father's wife, in that case not being selective enough about who to share his intimacy with. You can think about this inner room in the Tent as being the bedroom or bridal chamber. It's behind the curtain, it's private.
Gad is the Table. He's also the start of Unleavened Bread.
Asher is the candle.
Naphtali is the altar of incense which matches his "goodly words" as per Jacob's blessing. Words or prayers are like incense. They have a scent. They are a sample of something. Like First Fruits, Naphtali's holiday, when the first cutting of the crop is sampled as a witness to the whole crop that will come in.
Manasseh is the bronze altar of burnt offering. It's metal network may play to the united states that make up the tribe. The ashes of the altar match those thrown into the air to create boils for Manasseh's plague and the boils Job has.
Simeon is the basin of water. Simeon has other water items on the grid such as the Water Gate and the plague of hail, which is frozen water.
Levi is the courtyard.
Issachar is the gate into/out of the complex. He's the East Gate elsewhere in the grid. The gate on the Tent complex faced east so these are the same.
Zebulun is the rigging, the ropes, poles, bases, hooks, pegs and other items that hold the whole thing together. I say "rigging" because Zebulun becomes Greece and has various prophecies about shipping. Zebulun has a theme of origins which is picked up in the bases and poles and items that uphold or give foundation to the rest of the complex.
Joseph is the ephod. The ephod picks up the two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, since it rests across the shoulders (like shoulder pads used for American football).
Benjamin is the breastplate. This needs more study, but is probably correct as elsewhere Benjamin seems to be the chest and he is spoken of as being embraced by God and is often embraced by others.
Dan is the robe and probably the rest of the clothing used by the priest, such as the mitre and gold plate. The gold plate may play to Dan's authority (as Judge) and his call to know and follow god carefully (which is essentially what the inscription "holy" means when you break down the spelling).