Exodus 25:5
New International Version
ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood;

New Living Translation
tanned ram skins and fine goatskin leather; acacia wood;

English Standard Version
tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood,

Berean Standard Bible
ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood;

King James Bible
And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,

New King James Version
ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood;

New American Standard Bible
rams’ skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood,

NASB 1995
rams’ skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood,

NASB 1977
rams’ skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood,

Legacy Standard Bible
rams’ skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood,

Amplified Bible
rams’ skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood,

Christian Standard Bible
ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood;

Holman Christian Standard Bible
ram skins dyed red and manatee skins; acacia wood;

American Standard Version
and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia wood,

Contemporary English Version
tanned ram skins; fine leather; acacia wood;

English Revised Version
and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia wood;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
rams' skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood,

Good News Translation
rams' skin dyed red; fine leather; acacia wood;

International Standard Version
ram skins dyed red, dolphin skins, and acacia wood;

Majority Standard Bible
ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood;

NET Bible
ram skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood,

New Heart English Bible
rams' skins dyed red, sea cow hides, acacia wood,

Webster's Bible Translation
And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood.

World English Bible
rams’ skins dyed red, sea cow hides, acacia wood,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and rams’ skins made red, and tachashim skins, and shittim wood,

Young's Literal Translation
and rams' skins made red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,

Smith's Literal Translation
And skins of rams made red, and tahash skins, and acacia wood;
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And rams' skins dyed red, and violet skins, and setim wood:

Catholic Public Domain Version
and the skins of rams, dyed red, and skins of violet, and setim wood,

New American Bible
rams’ skins dyed red, and tahash skins; acacia wood;

New Revised Standard Version
tanned rams’ skins, fine leather, acacia wood,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And rams' skins dyed red, skins dyed with vermilion, and shittim wood,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And skin of rams that is dyed red, and skin of vermilion or sky blue, and wood of box tree,
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia-wood;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
and rams' skins dyed red, and blue skins, and incorruptible wood,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Offerings for the Tabernacle
4blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; 5ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood; 6olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;…

Cross References
Hebrews 9:4
containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.

1 Kings 6:23-28
In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim, each ten cubits high, out of olive wood. / One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing was five cubits long as well. So the full wingspan was ten cubits. / The second cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same size and shape, ...

2 Chronicles 3:10-13
In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of sculptured work, and he overlaid them with gold. / The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long and touched the wall of the temple, and its other wing was five cubits long and touched the wing of the other cherub. / The wing of the second cherub also measured five cubits and touched the wall of the temple, while its other wing measured five cubits and touched the wing of the first cherub. ...

Ezekiel 16:10
I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.

Revelation 1:13
and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest.

Revelation 4:4
Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and on these thrones sat twenty-four elders dressed in white, with golden crowns on their heads.

Revelation 5:8
When He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Revelation 8:3
Then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.

Revelation 11:19
Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.

Revelation 15:5
After this I looked, and the temple—the tabernacle of the Testimony—was opened in heaven.

Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.

Revelation 21:22
But I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

Leviticus 16:2
And the LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to enter freely into the Most Holy Place behind the veil in front of the mercy seat on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

Numbers 4:6
They are to place over this a covering of fine leather, spread a solid blue cloth over it, and insert its poles.

Numbers 4:14
and place on it all the vessels used to serve there: the firepans, meat forks, shovels, and sprinkling bowls—all the equipment of the altar. They are to spread over it a covering of fine leather and insert the poles.


Treasury of Scripture

And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,

Exodus 26:14
And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers' skins.

shittim wood

Exodus 26:15,26,37
And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up…

Exodus 27:1
And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.

Exodus 36:20
And he made boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood, standing up.

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Acacia Acacia-Wood Badgers Coloured Cow Cows Dyed Goatskins Hard Hides Leather Porpoise Ram Rams Red Sea Sealskins Sheepskins Shittim Skins Tanned Wood
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Acacia Acacia-Wood Badgers Coloured Cow Cows Dyed Goatskins Hard Hides Leather Porpoise Ram Rams Red Sea Sealskins Sheepskins Shittim Skins Tanned Wood
Exodus 25
1. What the Israelites were to offer for the building of the tabernacle
10. The dimensions of the ark
17. The mercy seat, with the cherubim
23. The table of show bread, with the furniture thereof
31. The golden candlestick, with the instruments thereof














ram skins dyed red
The Hebrew term for "ram skins" is "עֹרֹת אֵילִם" (orot elim), which refers to the hides of rams. Rams were significant in ancient Israelite culture, often symbolizing strength and sacrifice. The dyeing of these skins red likely involved a process using natural dyes available at the time, such as those derived from plants or insects. The color red in the Bible often symbolizes sacrifice, atonement, and redemption, pointing forward to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. The use of ram skins dyed red in the tabernacle construction signifies the covering and protection provided by sacrificial atonement, a theme central to the narrative of salvation history.

fine leather
The Hebrew word here is "תְּחָשִׁים" (tachashim), which has been variously translated as "fine leather," "porpoise skins," or "badger skins." The exact identity of this material is uncertain, but it was considered valuable and durable, suitable for the sacred purpose of constructing the tabernacle. This material's inclusion highlights the importance of using the best available resources for worship and the dwelling place of God. It serves as a reminder of the call to offer our best to God, reflecting His glory and holiness in our acts of worship and service.

acacia wood
The Hebrew term "עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים" (atzei shittim) refers to the wood of the acacia tree, known for its durability and resistance to decay. Acacia wood was abundant in the Sinai region, making it a practical choice for the Israelites. Its use in the tabernacle construction symbolizes the enduring and incorruptible nature of God's presence among His people. In a broader theological context, acacia wood can be seen as a foreshadowing of the incorruptible nature of Christ, who is the true tabernacle and dwelling place of God with humanity. The use of acacia wood in the tabernacle construction underscores the theme of God's enduring covenant and faithfulness to His people.

(5) Rams' skins dyed red.--North Africa has always been celebrated for the production of the best possible leather. Herodotus describes the manufacture of his own times (Hist. iv. 189). Even at the present day, we bind our best books in morocco. Brilliant colours always were, and still are, affected by the North African races, and their "red skins" have been famous in all ages. It is probable that the Israelites had brought with them many skins of this kind out of Egypt.

Badgers' skins.--The badger is not a native of North Africa, nor of the Arabian desert; and the translation of the Hebrew takhash by "badger" is a very improbable conjecture. In Arabic, tukhash or dukhash is the name of a marine animal resembling the seal; or, perhaps it should rather be said, is applied with some vagueness to a number of sea-animals, as seals, dugongs, dolphins, sharks, and dog-fish. The skins here spoken of are probably those of some one or more of these animals. They formed the outer covering of the Tabernacle (Exodus 26:14).

Shittim wood.--That the shittah (plural, shittim) was a species of Acacia is now generally admitted.

It was certainly not the palm; and there are no trees in the Sinaitic region from which boards could be cut (see Exodus 26:15) except the palm and the acacia. The Sinaitic acacia (A. Seyal) is a "gnarled and thorny tree, somewhat like a solitary hawthorn in its habit and manner of growth, but much larger" (Tristram). At present it does not, in the Sinaitic region, grow to such a size as would admit of planks, ten cubits long by one and a half wide, being cut from it; but, according to Canon Tristram (Nat. Hist. Of the Bible, p. 392), it attains such a size in Palestine, and therefore may formerly have done so in Arabia. The wood is "hard and close-grained, of an orange colour with a darker heart, well adapted for cabinetwork."

Verse 5. - And rams' skins dyed red. The manufacture of leather was well-known in Egypt from an early date, and the Libyan tribes of North Africa were celebrated for their skill in preparing and dyeing the material (Herod. 4:189). Scarlet was one of the colours which they peculiarly affected (ibid.). We must suppose that the skins spoken of had been brought with them by the Israelites cut of Egypt. And badgers' skins. It is generally agreed among moderns that this is a wrong translation. Badgers are found in Palestine, but not either in Egypt or in the wilderness. The Hebrew takhash is evidently the same word as the Arabic tukhash or dukhash, which is applied to marine animals only, as to seals, dolphins, dugongs, and perhaps sharks and dog-fish. "Seals' skins" would perhaps be the best translation. (Compare Plin. H. N. 2:55; Sueton. Octav § 90.) Shittim wood. It is generally agreed that the Shittah (plural Shittim) was an acacia, whether the seyal (Acacia seyal) which now grows so abundantly in the Sinaitic peninsula, or the Acacia Nilotica, or the Serissa, is uncertain. The seyal wood is "hard and close-grained of an orange colour with a darker heart, well-adapted for cabinet work;" but the tree, as it exists nowadays, could certainly not furnish the planks, ten cubits long by one and a half wide, which were needed for the Tabernacle (Exodus 35:21). The Serissa might do so, but it is not now found in the wilderness. We are reduced to supposing either that the seyal grew to a larger size anciently than at present, or that the serissa was more widely spread than at the present day.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
ram
אֵילִ֧ם (’ê·lim)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 352: Strength, strong, a chief, a ram, a pilaster, an oak, strong tree

skins
וְעֹרֹ֨ת (wə·‘ō·rōṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 5785: Skin, hide, leather

dyed red
מְאָדָּמִ֛ים (mə·’ād·dā·mîm)
Verb - Pual - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 119: Flush, turn rosy

and fine leather;
תְּחָשִׁ֖ים (tə·ḥā·šîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8476: Perhaps porpoise (a kind of leather or skin)

acacia
שִׁטִּֽים׃ (šiṭ·ṭîm)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 7848: Acacia (a tree and a wood)

wood;
וַעֲצֵ֥י (wa·‘ă·ṣê)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 6086: Tree, trees, wood


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OT Law: Exodus 25:5 Rams' skins dyed red sea cow hides (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 25:4
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