What Does Exodus 26:23 Mean in the King James?

And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides.

Exodus 26:23 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

The tabernacle is a dwelling, and its corners receive paired supports so its sides can hold together as one space.

THE MEANING

A dwelling takes shape where its sides meet, and its corners carry paired supports. The joining points help the enclosure hold together as one space.

THE ROOT

מִשְׁכָּן

mishkan

GROWS FROM

שכן

sh-k-n

To dwell, settle, or inhabit.

The word translated “tabernacle” names a dwelling, so the structure is understood through the inhabiting it makes possible. Its corner boards serve the shape of a space meant to be dwelt in.

ALSO GROWS

shakan: To dwell or settle.

שָׁכַן

This verb shares the root of “tabernacle,” tying the structure to the act of dwelling.

shakhen: Neighbor; one who dwells nearby.

שָׁכֵן

The neighbor is linked to dwelling and nearness, echoing a dwelling made to stand among people.

יַרְכָּתָיִם

yarkatayim

GROWS FROM

ירך

y-r-kh

Thigh or bodily flank, extended to mean a side or flank of a place.

The Hebrew word rendered “sides” carries the bodily sense of thigh or flank, which English smooths away. The structure is described with bodily contours: its corner boards brace the flanks where its sides turn.

ALSO GROWS

yarekh: Thigh, hip, or flank.

יָרֵךְ

This bodily word supplies the concrete image behind the verse’s description of the tabernacle’s sides.

yarkah: Side, flank, or rear part.

יַרְכָּה

This form names the side or flank of a place, clarifying the bodily language in “the two sides.”

THE PATTERN

A dwelling holds together at its turning points, where joined supports make its sides one space.

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

Exodus 25:8 · KJVThe sanctuary’s purpose is named as dwelling, the same purpose served by the tabernacle’s supporting frame.

The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

Psalm 118:22 · KJVThe corner becomes a decisive joining point in the structure, where a rejected stone takes its place.

In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:22 · KJVPeople are joined together as a habitation, extending the pattern from structural supports to a shared dwelling.

THE THREAD

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

Exodus 25:8 · KJV

“Tabernacle” here and “dwell” in Exodus 25:8 share the Hebrew root ⁨שכן⁩ (shakan), meaning “to dwell, settle.” The corner boards serve the dwelling named as the structure’s purpose.

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