Building: Ark, Table, Lampstand, Incense Altar, and Anointing Oil: After the people finished making the tent of meeting, they created the furnishings. The text continues to repeat, almost verbatim, the details of the instructions God gave to Moses in Exodus 25 and 30. The craftsman Bezalel, with focused labor, carries out the instructions using the generous materials that the people provided.

The text of Exodus 37 is a somewhat shorter form of Exodus 25 and 30. It omits some of the detail, as generally makes good sense for this kind of repeated list. The omissions are usually descriptions of the function of the furniture. The account of building the incense altar (vv. 25–28; 30:1–6) does not repeat the description of Aaron’s regular burning of incense (30:7–10). The text here also omits the…