Exodus 25:9

Pattern] This does not imply any visible or material model. It expresses the fact that Moses, during his long retirement with God on the mount, was divinely directed as to the most fitting way in which God might be worshipped. This inspiration does not exclude the exercise of the natural faculties, but presupposes them as the basis on which it may operate: see on Exodus 31:4. Hor does it exclude the appropriation, under divine sanction, of ideas suggested by certain features in the ritual of other nations with which Moses was already acquainted. See Intro, to Exodus, § 2, near the end.

Tabernacle] lit. 'dwelling.' Here it seems to denote the entire fabric. The name is applied in particular to the sacred tent, standing in the midst of the court: see Exodus 26:1.

10-22. The Ark of the Testimony.