What Does Exodus 38:21 Mean in the King James?
This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest.
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’s “sum” comes from a root that also means to attend to what is entrusted, so its count is attention made visible.
THE MEANING
The verse holds sacred presence together with a clear count: the dwelling, its testimony, and its service remain visible through the hands entrusted with them. What is holy in your life can be brought into careful account without losing its sacredness.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that careful accounting diminishes what is sacred; here, the counted details belong to its testimony and service.
THE ROOT
פְּקֻדֵי
pequdey
GROWS FROM
פקד
p-q-d
Attend to, appoint, muster, or count.
“sum” in this verse is pequdey. This root joins counting with attending and oversight: the inventory’s language carries responsibility for what is in view. The verse makes the dwelling’s material count part of its testimony, not an interruption to it.
ALSO GROWS
paqad: Attend to, appoint, number, or visit.
פָּקַד
This verb’s range shows that counting can be an act of attending to what is entrusted.
pequddah: Oversight, charge, or appointed responsibility.
פְּקֻדָּה
This branch makes the “sum” sound like a record of what has been placed under care.
מִשְׁכָּן
mishkan
GROWS FROM
שכן
sh-k-n
Dwell, settle, or remain.
“tabernacle” in this verse is mishkan. The counted thing is named through the root of dwelling: it is a place where someone settles among others. The related word for a neighbor brings dwelling into relation, while the verse keeps its focus on service and count.
ALSO GROWS
shakan: Dwell, settle, or remain.
שָׁכַן
The tabernacle’s name grows from the act of dwelling, giving the structure its purpose.
shakhen: Neighbor, one who dwells nearby.
שָׁכֵן
This branch links dwelling with presence among others rather than with a structure alone.
מֹשֶׁה
Moshe
GROWS FROM
משׁה
m-sh-h
Draw out, especially from water.
Moses’ name is linked in the text to being drawn out of the water; here the count is made according to his command. The name carries a trace of emergence while the verse stays close to the Levites’ and Ithamar’s precise work.
ALSO GROWS
mashah: Draw out, especially from water.
מָשָׁה
This verb gives the name Moses its stated connection to being drawn out of the water.
Moshe: Moses, named in connection with being drawn out.
מֹשֶׁה
The name places the command governing this accounting under a name marked by that act of drawing out.
THE PATTERN
What is entrusted for service is kept in view through careful attention and account.
According to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the LORD commanded Moses.Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.THE THREAD
And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.The Hebrew פָּקַד (paqad, attend to or visit) behind “visited” shares the root פקד (p-q-d) behind “sum” here. The root can name visitation and reckoning, joining being attended to with being counted.
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