If you are looking for Exodus 36 Bible study questions, this page gives you a set you can use in a small group, a Sunday class, or your own quiet time. Exodus 36 tells how Bezalel, Oholiab and the skilled workers build the tabernacle, and how the people give so generously that Moses has to ask them to stop. The questions below move from what the text says, to what it means, to how it shapes daily life.
Exodus 36 at a Glance
The chapter opens with Bezalel and Oholiab taking up the work that God assigned to them in the previous chapters. The gifts that the Israelites brought are handed over to these craftsmen, and the flow of offerings is so steady that the workers finally report there is more than enough. Moses then orders that no one bring anything further.
From there the chapter moves through the construction itself: the woven curtains of the tabernacle, the goat-hair covering, the frames of acacia wood set in silver sockets, the crossbars overlaid with gold, and finally the screen for the entrance. The steady repetition of measurements is part of the point, showing a dwelling built exactly as God instructed.
Observation Questions
Use these first to get the group looking closely at the text. Ask people to find the answers in the passage before anyone offers an interpretation, and let quieter members point to the verse numbers.
Exodus 36:2
Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to the work to do it…
(WEB)
Reading this verse aloud shows the group how the people were called and how Moses responded to their willing hearts. It sets the tone for the whole chapter, so begin your discussion here.
Exodus 36:5-7
5 They spoke to Moses, saying, “The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the LORD commanded to make.” 6 Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman make anything else for the offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing. 7 For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.
(WEB)
This passage captures the surprising report that the people had given more than enough. Reading it aloud lets the group feel the moment of Moses’ restraining command.
Exodus 36:8-13
8 All the wise-hearted men among those who did the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains; of fine twined linen, blue, purple, and scarlet, with cherubim, the work of the skillful workman, they made them. 9 The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains had one measure. 10 He coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another. 11 He made loops of blue on the edge of the one curtain from the edge in the coupling. Likewise he made in the edge of the curtain that was outermost in the second coupling. 12 He made fifty loops in the one curtain, and he made fifty loops in the edge of the curtain that was in the second coupling. The loops were opposite to one another. 13 He made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains to one another with the clasps: so the tabernacle was a unit.
(WEB)
Reading the craftsmanship details aloud helps the group notice the careful, unified construction. Pause after verse 13 to let the word “unit” sink in.
Exodus 36:20-22
20 He made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing up. 21 Ten cubits was the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the width of each board. 22 Each board had two tenons, joined to one another. He made all the boards of the tabernacle this way.
(WEB)
These verses describe the frames of the tabernacle with precise measurements. Reading them slowly reminds the group of how much effort went into a dwelling for God’s presence.
Exodus 36:35-36
35 He made the veil of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubim. He made it the work of a skillful workman. 36 He made four pillars of acacia for it, and overlaid them with gold. Their hooks were of gold. He cast four sockets of silver for them.
(WEB)
The veil is central to the chapter’s theme of holy separation and access. Reading it aloud is a good place to transition into interpretation questions about the holy and the ordinary.
Memory Verse for Exodus 36
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we thank you for the people you stir to serve and for the skill you place in ordinary hands. Thank you that your holy presence was once carefully made room for among your people, and that the work of building your dwelling was done with care and joy. As we leave this time together, help us notice where you are calling us to give, to create and to serve. Keep us from giving out of pressure, and from holding back out of fear. Teach us to see our daily work as an offering to you, and make us a community bound together in you, as the curtains were bound into one. Amen.
