Exodus 26:24

And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of it unto one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(24) They shall be coupled together beneath.—The corner boards were to be coupled to the others in two places, below and above, in each place by means of one ring. Rings, through which passed the ends of the bars mentioned in Exodus 26:26-29, are supposed to be meant.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

26:15-30 The sockets of silver each weighed about 115 pounds; they were placed in rows on the ground. In every pair of these sockets, a strong board of shittim-wood, covered with plates of gold, was fitted by mortises and tenons. Thus walls were formed for the two sides, and for the west end. The wall was further held together by bars, which passed through rings of gold. Over this the curtains were spread. Though movable, it was strong and firm. The materials were very costly. In all this it was a type of the church of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief Corner-stone, Eph 2:20,21.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The corner boards appear to have been of such width, and so placed, as to add 18 in. to the width of the structure, making up with the six boards of full width Exodus 26:22 about 15 ft. in the clear (see Exodus 26:18). The "ring" was so formed as to receive two bars meeting "beneath" and "above" at a right angle.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

15-30. thou shalt make boards … rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion … which was showed thee—The tabernacle, from its name as well as from its general appearance and arrangements, was a tent; but from the description given in these verses, the boards that formed its walls, the five (cross) bars that strengthened them, and the middle bar that "reached from end to end," and gave it solidity and compactness, it was evidently a more substantial fabric than a light and fragile tent, probably on account of the weight of its various coverings as well as for the protection of its precious furniture.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Coupled together, Heb. as twins, i.e. equal and equally joined together, and exactly answering one to the other.

Unto one ring, which ring was exactly in the corner, and with the help of the bars kept the corner boards, and with them the other boards of the tabernacle, close together. But you must note, that here were two rings in each corner, the one in the upper, the other in the lower parts.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And they shall be coupled together beneath,.... At the bottom of the boards or planks:

and they shall be coupled together above the head of it unto one ring at the top of the boards there was a ring, to which they were coupled and fastened, and so at the bottom of them, though not expressed: some understand this of all the planks, both at the two sides and at the west end; but it seems rather to respect only the corner planks, since it follows:

thus shall it be for them both, they shall be for the two corners; which were coupled and joined alike at each corner as if they were twins, as the word used signifies; or the meaning is, that these were double boards, and so like twins, which were so closely put together that they seemed but one board; which was done that the corners might be thicker and stronger, and so for the greater firmness of the building.

Geneva Study Bible

And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be {i} coupled together above the head of it unto one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners.

(i) The Hebrew word signifies twins declaring that they should be as perfect and well joined as possible.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

24. A most obscure verse, the crux of all interpreters. It must suffice here to state Kennedy’s view (p. 661); for a discussion of others, the reader is referred to McNeile, p. lxxv f. (see also W. R. Smith, Journ. of Phil. xvi. 76). After v. 22 these two extra frames do not really appear to be required: apparently, however, they are intended to strengthen the two corners, at the back of the Dwelling, the idea being that the last frame at each end of the hinder wall is to be doubled, the second frame forming a buttress, sloping upwards from the outside and terminating just under the uppermost of the bars described in v. 26 f. The verse may be rendered, And they shall be twinned (so AVm.: i.e. twin-pieces to the two extreme frames of the end wall, and braced to them to give additional strength) from beneath, and together (i.e. both alike, as Deuteronomy 12:22) they shall be twinned (reading תאמים, as just before, for תמים) unto the top thereof (viz. of the Dwelling) unto the first ring (i.e. the topmost ring (see v. 29) at the back of the Dwelling): thus shall it be, &c. The sense, it must be admitted, is contortedly expressed: but no explanation is free from objection, and nothing more satisfactory has been proposed.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 24. - They shall be coupled together beneath... unto one ring. This is very obscure, and might be explained in several ways. Perhaps it is best to suppose that the coupling was by the "bars," cf. vers. 26-29, the ends of which fitted into a sort of double ring, like the figure 8, attached to the corner posts. Above the head. Rather "at" or near the head." Exodus 26:24

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Six boards were to be made for the back of the dwelling westwards (ימּה), and two boards "for the corners or angels of the dwelling at the two outermost (hinder) sides." למקצּעת (for cornered), from מקצּע, equivalent to מקצוע an angle (Exodus 26:24; Ezekiel 46:21-22), from קצע to cut off, lit., a section, something cut off, hence an angle, or corner-piece. These corner boards (Exodus 26:24) were to be "doubled (תּאמם) from below, and whole (תּמּים, integri, forming a whole) at its head (or towards its head, cf. אל Exodus 36:29) with regard to the one ring, so shall it be to both of them (so shall they both be made); to the two corners shall they be" (i.e., designed for the two hinder corners). The meaning of these words, which are very obscure in some points, can only be the following: the two corner beams at the tack were to consist of two pieces joined together at a right angle, so as to form as double boards one single whole from the bottom to the top. The expressions "from below" and "up to its head" are divided between the two predicates "doubled" (תּאמים) and "whole" (תּמּים), but they belong to both of them. Each of the corner beams was to be double from the bottom to the top, and still to form one whole. There is more difficulty in the words האחת אל־הטּבּעת in Exodus 26:24. It is impossible to attach any intelligible meaning to the rendering "to the first ring," so that even Knobel, who proposed it, has left it unexplained. There is hardly any other way of explaining it, than to take the word אל in the sense of "having regard to a thing," and to understand the words as meaning, that the corner beams were to form one whole, from the face that each received only one ring, probably at the corner, and not two, viz., one on each side. This one ring was placed half-way up the upright beam in the corner or angle, in such a manner that the central bolt, which stretched along the entire length of the walls (Exodus 26:28), might fasten into it from both the side and back.