Exodus 25:8 kjv
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Exodus 25:8 nkjv
And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
Exodus 25:8 niv
"Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.
Exodus 25:8 esv
And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.
Exodus 25:8 nlt
"Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them.
Exodus 25 8 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Exod 29:43 | "There I will meet with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by My glory." | God's glory will consecrate His dwelling. |
| Exod 29:45 | "I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God." | God's intention to indwell His people. |
| Exod 40:34 | "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." | God's physical presence filling the sanctuary. |
| Lev 26:11 | "Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not abhor you." | Assurance of God's continued presence. |
| Num 5:3 | "and you shall put them outside the camp so that they will not defile their camp where I dwell in their midst." | Emphasizes God dwelling in the midst of the camp. |
| 1 Kgs 6:13 | "and I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will not abandon My people Israel." | God's promise to dwell in the Temple (later). |
| 1 Kgs 8:27 | "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You..." | Acknowledgment of God's transcendence yet condescension. |
| Ps 78:60 | "So that He abandoned the dwelling of Shiloh, The tent which He had pitched among men." | God's abandonment of His dwelling due to Israel's sin. |
| Ps 132:13-14 | "For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it as His dwelling place. 'This is My resting place forever...'" | Zion as God's chosen dwelling place. |
| Isa 57:15 | "For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy... I also dwell with the contrite and humble of spirit..." | God's dwelling extends beyond structures to human hearts. |
| Ezek 37:26 | "I will make a covenant of peace with them... I will establish them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever." | Future dwelling of God in restored Israel. |
| Joel 3:21 | "And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion." | God's presence as assurance of justice. |
| Hag 2:7 | "...and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts." | Promise of future glory filling the Temple. |
| Zech 2:10 | "Shout for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord." | Prophecy of God dwelling among His people personally. |
| Jn 1:14 | "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father..." | Jesus as the ultimate dwelling of God among humanity. |
| Jn 2:19-21 | "Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.'... But He was speaking of the temple of His body." | Jesus himself is the living temple. |
| Rom 8:9 | "...but if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." | The Holy Spirit's indwelling in believers. |
| 1 Cor 3:16 | "Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" | Believers individually as temples of God. |
| 1 Cor 6:19 | "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you..." | Individual body as a sacred dwelling for the Spirit. |
| 2 Cor 6:16 | "For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'" | New covenant believers as collective temple. |
| Eph 2:21-22 | "in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." | Church as a spiritual dwelling place for God. |
| Col 2:9 | "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form..." | The fullness of God dwelling in Christ. |
| Rev 21:3 | "And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them...'" | Ultimate fulfillment: God's eternal dwelling with His people in New Jerusalem. |
Exodus 25 verses
Exodus 25 8 Meaning
Exodus 25:8 lays down God's command for His people, the Israelites, to construct a sacred space, a "sanctuary," with the explicit purpose of enabling His divine presence to reside among them. This verse signifies God's desire for intimate communion and accessibility to His covenant people, moving beyond the remote and fearful encounter at Mount Sinai to a continuous and personal dwelling.
Exodus 25 8 Context
Exodus chapter 25 begins a new section of the Book of Exodus, detailing God's instructions to Moses on Mount Sinai regarding the construction of the Tabernacle and its furnishings. This comes immediately after the giving of the Ten Commandments (Exod 20) and the book of the covenant (Exod 21-23), which formalized the covenant between God and Israel. Chapter 24 describes the covenant's ratification. Following these declarations of His law and covenant, God now outlines the means by which His holy presence will physically reside among His chosen people. The "sanctuary" serves as the concrete manifestation of God's covenant faithfulness and His commitment to be with Israel as they journey through the wilderness. This provision for God's dwelling countered any pagan notions of distant or contained deities, presenting a God who is both transcendent (holy and uncontainable) and immanent (desiring to dwell with His people).
Exodus 25 8 Word analysis
- And: Hebrew "וְ" (ve-) - A connective particle, linking this command directly to the preceding events of covenant establishment and law-giving on Sinai, indicating continuity in God's redemptive plan.
- let them make: Hebrew "עָשׂוּ" (asu) - A jussive form of the verb "to make" or "to do." It conveys both a command and an invitation, suggesting active participation. The plural "them" refers to the entire Israelite community, implying this sacred task is a communal effort and responsibility, dependent on the freewill offerings mentioned in the previous verse (Exod 25:2).
- me: Hebrew "לִי" (li) - A dative pronoun "to me" or "for me." This specifies that the sanctuary's purpose is exclusively for God. It emphasizes that the Tabernacle's design and function are not according to human ideas or for human glory, but solely to facilitate God's divine will and presence.
- a sanctuary: Hebrew "מִקְדָּשׁ" (miqdash) - Derived from the root "ק-ד-שׁ" (qadosh), meaning "to be holy" or "to be set apart." Thus, a miqdash is a "holy place" or a "set-apart place." It denotes a specific physical location consecrated and purified for sacred use, distinct from the common or profane. This emphasizes God's holiness and the necessary separation required to approach Him. This term applies to both the mobile Tabernacle and later the permanent Temple in Jerusalem.
- that I may dwell: Hebrew "וְשָׁכַנְתִּי" (veshakhanti) - A prefixed conjunction "and" + perfect verb from the root "שׁ-כ-ן" (shakan), meaning "to settle down," "to reside," or "to tabernacle." This is the verbal root from which the later Jewish concept of the Shekinah (the glorious presence of God) is derived. It signifies God's intention to take up permanent residence among His people, not merely to visit, indicating an intimate, tangible, and continuous divine presence, fulfilling His covenant promise to be "God with them."
- in their midst: Hebrew "בְּתוֹכָם" (betokham) - Literally "in their middle" or "in their center." This phrase highlights the proximity and centrality of God's presence. It is not about a God far removed, but a God who desires to be intimately involved in the daily life of His people, guiding them, protecting them, and hearing their cries from within their community. This location also ensures that God's holiness and glory would always be central to their collective identity and journey.
Exodus 25 8 Bonus section
The instructions for the Tabernacle (Exod 25-31) were incredibly precise, emphasizing divine design over human creativity. This precision pointed to its function as a pattern of heavenly realities, as later revealed in Hebrews 8:5. The "sanctuary" was to be supported by the "freewill offering" (Exod 25:2) of the people, showing that participation in God's purposes is an act of love and obedience. This dwelling was conditional upon Israel's covenant faithfulness (Lev 26:11-12), reminding them that a holy God dwells with a people striving for holiness. While the Tabernacle and Temple served as physical expressions, God's true desire was always for an inner dwelling—a sanctuary of the heart (Isa 57:15).
Exodus 25 8 Commentary
Exodus 25:8 is a pivotal statement, articulating the very heart of God's covenant relationship with Israel: His desire for active, intimate presence among His redeemed people. The command to "make Me a sanctuary" reveals God's initiative; it is not for His necessity, as the heavens cannot contain Him, but for humanity's need to know and experience His closeness. The "sanctuary" (Tabernacle) became the tangible representation of this presence, a holy space signifying God's set-apart nature while simultaneously serving as the focal point for meeting Him.
The ultimate purpose, "that I may dwell in their midst," moves beyond the thunderous pronouncements of Sinai to an enduring and accessible fellowship. This indwelling (the "Shekinah" presence) provided constant reassurance of God's covenant faithfulness, guidance, and protection in the wilderness and beyond. This Old Testament dwelling finds its supreme fulfillment in the Person of Jesus Christ (Jn 1:14), God tabernacling among humanity in flesh. It continues in the Holy Spirit's indwelling in believers, making each one a "temple of God" (1 Cor 3:16). Finally, it culminates in the eternal state, where God's "tabernacle is among men" in the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:3), realizing His perfect, eternal dwelling with His people. This verse, therefore, underpins the entire biblical narrative of God pursuing a dwelling place with humanity, from Tabernacle to Christ to the church to eternity.