What are the curtains of goats hair for the tent over the tabernacle?

The curtains of goats’ hair were the main fabric for the tent that covered the tabernacle. There were eleven long curtains, all the same size. Five were joined together in one set and six in another set. These goats’ hair curtains formed an outer layer over the inner tabernacle structure as part of the tent’s covering.

Why were there eleven curtains, with five and six joined separately?

The passage says there were eleven curtains of goats’ hair, with five coupled together in one group and six in another. The edges of these two groups were then joined so the whole tent would become one piece. The text does not explain why there were eleven or why they were arranged as five and six, but it does show that the pieces were carefully joined to make one tent.

What is the meaning of the fifty loops and brass taches in this passage?

The fifty loops and brass taches (small clasps) were used to fasten the two sets of goats’ hair curtains together along their edges. There were loops on the edge of each set and brass clasps joining loop to loop. This kept the whole tent from pulling apart so it would be one complete covering, as the passage says it was made "that it might be one."

Why did God command rams skins dyed red and badgers skins as coverings?

After the goats’ hair tent was made, another covering of rams’ skins dyed red went over it, and then a covering of badgers’ skins above that. The passage simply reports these materials and their order: goats’ hair for the tent, then rams’ skins dyed red, then badgers’ skins on top. It does not give a further explanation of their meaning, but it shows that the tent had multiple layers of covering.

How do these verses describe the structure of the tent over the tabernacle?

These verses describe the outer tent as being made from eleven goats’ hair curtains of equal size, joined in two groups (five and six), then fastened together with fifty loops and fifty brass clasps so that it formed one tent. On top of this tent there was a covering of rams’ skins dyed red and then a covering of badgers’ skins above that.

What does this passage clearly state and what does it leave unexplained?

The passage clearly states the number of curtains, their size, how they were grouped and joined, the use of fifty loops and fifty brass taches to make the tent one, and the materials and order of the coverings (goats’ hair, rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins). It does not explain why these numbers, materials, or colors were chosen, nor does it give symbolic meanings for them.

Why might this detailed description of fabric and skins feel hard to understand?

These verses can feel difficult because they focus on measurements, materials, and construction details that are far from everyday experience for many readers. The passage is concerned with how the tent over the tabernacle was actually made, so it records sizes, numbers, and layers rather than giving direct explanations or applications.

Exod.36.14

Exodus 36:14

KJV

¶ And he made curtains of goats’ hair for the tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them.

The Eleven Curtains of Goat Hair

¶ And he made curtains of goats’ hair for the tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them.

The length of one curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one curtain: the eleven curtains were of one size.

And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves.

And he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second.

And he made fifty taches of brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one.

And he made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers’ skins above that.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.