Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Exodus 38:21 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 21. 21This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
At 38:21, “This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of…” narrows the reader's attention to the person, object, instruction, danger, gift, or outcome active in this section.
Read It With
- Exodus 38:21–31
Read Exodus 38:21 with 38:21–31. At 38:21, “This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of…” narrows the reader's attention to the person, object, instruction, danger, gift, or outcome active in this section. The whole unit shows: Ithamar oversees an inventory naming Bezalel and Oholiab and accounting for gold, silver redemption money, bronze, bases, hooks, vessels, and pegs.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The material inventory audits the metals used across the dwelling project and makes resource accountability part of the completion narrative. Within the book's larger movement, this unit makes the following contribution: Ithamar oversees an inventory naming Bezalel and Oholiab and accounting for gold, silver redemption money, bronze, bases, hooks, vessels, and pegs. At 38:21, the wording “This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of…” makes this verse's contribution precise. At 38:21, “This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of…” narrows the reader's attention to the person, object, instruction, danger, gift, or outcome active in this section.
What Remains True
Because Exodus 38:21 contributes “This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of…” to “The Materials Are Audited,” its proportionate enduring truth is: Materials, design, skilled labor, boundaries, and willing gifts are ordered toward the stated purpose of divine presence among the people.
How It Can Shape Life
- At Exodus 38:21, the line “This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of…” serves this contextual meaning: Ithamar oversees an inventory naming Bezalel and Oholiab and accounting for gold, silver redemption money, bronze, bases, hooks, vessels, and pegs. The bounded action is: A proportionate application of “The Materials Are Audited” is this: For any sacred or public project, trace the purpose through budget, sourcing, labor credit, accessibility, craftsmanship, maintenance, and limits on leaders' benefit.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Exodus 38:21–31 — The Materials Are AuditedSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Exodus 38:21–31, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 38:21–31
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Exodus with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, PDF generated 2026-08-12
Supports: Unit-bounded Hebrew, syntax, lexical, textual, name, measure, legal, ritual, and older-English notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Exodus PDF, complete 127-page PDF, translation and verse-attached translator notes for 38:21–31
Open source ↗