Parsha Terumah תְּרוּמָה is translated as “offerings”, “contributions” or “gifts”. It’s the nineteenth Torah reading in the annual reading cycle and seventh in sefer Shemot, the book of Exodus. I found four different spellings – “Terumah”, “Terumoh”, “Terimuh”, or “Trumah”
Parsha Terumah Summary
Parsha Terumah begins with Yehovah giving instructions to Moses. He is to speak to the children of Israel to voluntarily set aside an offering (gift or contribution) to Yehovah. He provides a list of items for the offering and the reason for it. Yehovah states he will give a “blueprint” of the Mishkan and its furniture to Moses.
Next Yehovah provides information about the items that contain gold: (1) the ark, (2) the table and its tools, and (3) the Menorah (candlestand). After these comes the bronze and textiles items; (1) the curtains, (2) the altar and its tools, and (3) the courtyard.
Terumah תְּרוּמָה is the twelfth word and in the Hebrew text (see text below).
Parsha Terumah Readings
Torah: Exodus (Shemot) 25.1 – 27.19
Halftorah: 1 Kings 5.26 – 6.13
Brit Hahagaddah: 1 Cor 9.1-15
Parsha Terumah Aliyah
First reading — Exodus (Shemot) 25.1–16
Second reading — Exodus (Shemot) 25.17–30
Third reading — Exodus (Shemot) 25.31–26:14
Fourth reading — Exodus (Shemot) 26.15–30
Fifth reading — Exodus (Shemot) 26.31–37
Sixth reading — Exodus (Shemot) 27.1–8
Seventh reading — Exodus (Shemot) 27.9–19
Parsha Terumah Stats
- Hebrew letters – 4,692
- Hebrew words – 1,145
- Pesukim (sentences) – 96
- Lines in a Torah Scroll – 155
- Double Count – 0
- Scribal Practices – 0
- See Hebrew text for Parsha Terumah
- Number of Mitzvot in Parsha Exodus
- Maimonides says: 3
- Positive – 2
- Negative – 1
- Sefer ha-Chinuch says: 3
- Positive – 2
- Negative – 1
Parsha Terumah Scriptures
Exodus (Shemot) 25.1–16 (Parsha Terumah, Aliyah 1)
Exo 25:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
Exo 25:2 ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, that they take for Me an offering; of every man whose heart maketh him willing ye shall take My offering.
Exo 25:3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them: gold, and silver, and brass;
Exo 25:4 and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair;
Exo 25:5 and rams’ skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia-wood;
Exo 25:6 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense;
Exo 25:7 onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate.
Exo 25:8 And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
Exo 25:9 According to all that I show thee, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the furniture thereof, even so shall ye make it.
Exo 25:10 And they shall make an ark of acacia-wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
Exo 25:11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.
Exo 25:12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four feet thereof; and two rings shall be on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.
Exo 25:13 And thou shalt make staves of acacia-wood, and overlay them with gold.
Exo 25:14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings on the sides of the ark, wherewith to bear the ark.
Exo 25:15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.
Exo 25:16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
Exodus (Shemot) 25.17–30 (Parsha Terumah, Aliyah 2)
Exo 25:17 And thou shalt make an ark-cover of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
Exo 25:18 And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold; of beaten work shalt thou make them, at the two ends of the ark-cover.
Exo 25:19 And make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end; of one piece with the ark-cover shall ye make the cherubim of the two ends thereof.
Exo 25:20 And the cherubim shall spread out their wings on high, screening the ark-cover with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the ark-cover shall the faces of the cherubim be.
Exo 25:21 And thou shalt put the ark-cover above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
Exo 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will speak with thee from above the ark-cover, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
Exo 25:23 And thou shalt make a table of acacia-wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
Exo 25:24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about.
Exo 25:25 And thou shalt make unto it a border of a handbreadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.
Exo 25:26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.
Exo 25:27 Close by the border shall the rings be, for places for the staves to bear the table.
Exo 25:28 And thou shalt make the staves of acacia-wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.
Exo 25:29 And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and the pans thereof, and the jars thereof, and the bowls thereof, wherewith to pour out; of pure gold shalt thou make them.
Exo 25:30 And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before Me alway.
Exodus (Shemot) 25.31-40 (Parsha Terumah, Aliyah 3)
Exo 25:31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made, even its base, and its shaft; its cups, its knops, and its flowers, shall be of one piece with it.
Exo 25:32 And there shall be six branches going out of the sides thereof: three branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the candle-stick out of the other side thereof;
Exo 25:33 three cups made like almond-blossoms in one branch, a knop and a flower; and three cups made like almond-blossoms in the other branch, a knop and a flower; so for the six branches going out of the candlestick.
Exo 25:34 And in the candlestick four cups made like almond-blossoms, the knops thereof, and the flowers thereof.
Exo 25:35 And a knop under two branches of one piece with it, and a knop under two branches of one piece with it, and a knop under two branches of one piece with it, for the six branches going out of the candlestick.
Exo 25:36 Their knops and their branches shall be of one piece with it; the whole of it one beaten work of pure gold.
Exo 25:37 And thou shalt make the lamps thereof, seven; and they shall light the lamps thereof, to give light over against it.
Exo 25:38 And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.
Exo 25:39 Of a talent of pure gold shall it be made, with all these vessels.
Exo 25:40 And see that thou make them after their pattern, which is being shown thee in the mount.
Exodus (Shemot) 26.1-14 (Parsha Terumah, Aliyah 3)
Exo 26:1 Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains: of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim the work of the skilful workman shalt thou make them.
Exo 26:2 The length of each curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall have one measure.
Exo 26:3 Five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and the other five curtains shall be coupled one to another.
Exo 26:4 And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the first set; and likewise shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is outmost in the second set.
Exo 26:5 Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite one to another.
Exo 26:6 And thou shalt make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to another with the clasps, that the tabernacle may be one whole.
Exo 26:7 And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains shalt thou make them.
Exo 26:8 The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains shall have one measure.
Exo 26:9 And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double over the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tent.
Exo 26:10 And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the first set, and fifty loops upon the edge of the curtain which is outmost in the second set.
Exo 26:11 And thou shalt make fifty clasps of brass, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one.
Exo 26:12 And as for the overhanging part that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth over shall hang over the back of the tabernacle.
Exo 26:13 And the cubit on the one side, and the cubit on the other side, of that which remaineth over in the length of the curtains of the tent, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.
Exo 26:14 And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red and a covering of sealskins above.
Exodus (Shemot) 26.15–30 (Parsha Terumah, Aliyah 4)
Exo 26:15 And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia-wood, standing up.
Exo 26:16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board.
Exo 26:17 Two tenons shall there be in each board, joined one to another; thus shalt thou make for all the boards of the tabernacle.
Exo 26:18 And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side southward:
Exo 26:19 And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards: two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons;
Exo 26:20 and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, twenty boards.
Exo 26:21 And their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.
Exo 26:22 And for the hinder part of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards.
Exo 26:23 And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the hinder part.
Exo 26:24 And they shall be double beneath, and in like manner they shall be complete unto the top thereof unto the first ring; thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners.
Exo 26:25 Thus there shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets: two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.
Exo 26:26 And thou shalt make bars of acacia-wood: five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,
Exo 26:27 and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the hinder part westward;
Exo 26:28 and the middle bar in the midst of the boards, which shall pass through from end to end.
Exo 26:29 And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for holders for the bars; and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold.
Exo 26:30 And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which hath been shown thee in the mount.
Exodus (Shemot) 26.31–37 (Parsha Terumah, Aliyah 5)
Exo 26:31 And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; with cherubim the work of the skilful workman shall it be made.
Exo 26:32 And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks being of gold, upon four sockets of silver.
Exo 26:33 And thou shalt hang up the veil under the clasps, and shalt bring in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony; and the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.
Exo 26:34 And thou shalt put the ark-cover upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.
Exo 26:35 And thou shalt set the table without the veil, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and thou shalt put the table on the north side.
Exo 26:36 And thou shalt make a screen for the door of the Tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the weaver in colours.
Exo 26:37 And thou shalt make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be of gold; and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.
Exodus (Shemot) 27.1–8 (Parsha Terumah, Aliyah 6)
Exo 27:1 And thou shalt make the altar of acacia-wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be four-square; and the height thereof shall be three cubits.
Exo 27:2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof; the horns thereof shall be of one piece with it; and thou shalt overlay it with brass.
Exo 27:3 And thou shalt make its pots to take away its ashes, and its shovels, and its basins, and its flesh-hooks, and its fire-pans; all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.
Exo 27:4 And thou shalt make for it a grating of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen rings in the four corners thereof.
Exo 27:5 And thou shalt put it under the ledge round the altar beneath, that the net may reach halfway up the altar.
Exo 27:6 And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of acacia-wood, and overlay them with brass.
Exo 27:7 And the staves thereof shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, in bearing it.
Exo 27:8 Hollow with planks shalt thou make it; as it hath been shown thee in the mount, so shall they make it.
Exodus (Shemot) 27.9–19 (Parsha Terumah, Aliyah 7)
Exo 27:9 And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side.
Exo 27:10 And the pillars thereof shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.
Exo 27:11 And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, and the pillars thereof twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.
Exo 27:12 And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.
Exo 27:13 And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.
Exo 27:14 The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.
Exo 27:15 And for the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.
Exo 27:16 And for the gate of the court shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the weaver in colours: their pillars four, and their sockets four.
Exo 27:17 All the pillars of the court round about shall be filleted with silver; their hooks of silver, and their sockets of brass.
Exo 27:18 The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits, of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.
Exo 27:19 All the instruments of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.
1 Kings 5.12-18 [vv. 26–32 Heb] (Parsha Terumah, Haftarah)
1Ki 5:12 (5:26) And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.
1Ki 5:13 (5:27) And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.
1Ki 5:14 (5:28) And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home; and Adoniram was over the levy.
1Ki 5:15 (5:29) And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bore burdens, and fourscore thousand that were hewers in the mountains;
1Ki 5:16 (5:30) besides Solomon’s chief officers that were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who bore rule over the people that wrought in the work.
1Ki 5:17 (5:31) And the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with hewn stone.
1Ki 5:18 (5:32) And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites did fashion them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.
1 Kings 6:1-13 (Parsha Terumah, Haftarah)
1Ki 6:1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
1Ki 6:2 And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.
1Ki 6:3 And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.
1Ki 6:4 And for the house he made windows broad within, and narrow without.
1Ki 6:5 And against the wall of the house he built a side-structure round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the sanctuary; and he made side-chambers round about;
1Ki 6:6 the nethermost story of the side-structure was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad; for on the outside he made rebatements in the wall of the house round about, that the beams should not have hold in the walls of the house. –
1Ki 6:7 For the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready at the quarry; and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. –
1Ki 6:8 The door for the lowest row of chambers was in the right side of the house and they went up by winding stairs into the middle row, and out of the middle into the third.
1Ki 6:9 So he built the house, and finished it; and he covered in the house with planks of cedar over beams.
1Ki 6:10 And he built the stories of the side-structure against all the house, each five cubits high; and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
1Ki 6:11 And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying:
1Ki 6:12 ‘As for this house which thou art building, if thou wilt walk in My statutes, and execute Mine ordinances, and keep all My commandments to walk in them; then will I establish My word with thee, which I spoke unto David thy father;
1Ki 6:13 in that I will dwell therein among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.’
1 Cor 9:1-15 (Parsha Terumah, Renewed Covenant)
1Co 9:1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?
1Co 9:2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
1Co 9:3 This is my defense to those who would examine me.
1Co 9:4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink?
1Co 9:5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?
1Co 9:6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?
1Co 9:7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?
1Co 9:8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same?
1Co 9:9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned?
1Co 9:10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop.
1Co 9:11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?
1Co 9:12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.
1Co 9:13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings?
1Co 9:14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
1Co 9:15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting.
Offline Resources:
- Covenant & Conversation Commentary – Rabbi Sacks book on Amazon. Parsha Terumah contains a total of 4 different articles on pages 188 – 219.
- Exploring Exodus: The Origin of Biblical Israel – Nahum Sarna
- The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon – One of the most used Hebrew and English Lexicons among serious Bible students.
WSB Resources:
Worksheets
- None
Media
WSB Show Podcast
- None
VIDEO
- The Tabernacle of Moses – Teaching done at Beth Shalom Israel
Scripture Text
- Exodus (Shemot) Introduction
- Exodus 25 (Shemot) | Bible Hub Interlinear Exodus 25
- Exodus 26 (Shemot) | Bible Hub Interlinear Exodus 26
- Exodus 27 (Shemot) | Bible Hub Interlinear Exodus 27
Parshoit List
- Shemot – 13th Parsha – Ex. 1.1 – 6.1
- Vaeira – 14th Parsha – Ex. 6.2 – 9.35
- Bo – 15th Parsha – Ex. 10.1 – 13.16
- Beshalach – 16th Parsha – Ex. 13.17 – 17.16
- Yitro – 17th Parsha – Ex. 18.1 – 20.23 (26)
- Mishpatim – 18th Parsha – Ex. 21.1 – 24.18
- Terumah – 19th Parsha – Ex. 25.1 – 27.19
- Tetzaveh – 20th Parsha – Ex. 27.20 – 30-10
- Ki Tisa– 21st Parsha – Ex. 30.11 – 34.35
- Vayakhel – 22nd Parsha – Ex. 35.1 -38.20
- Pekudei – 23rd Parsha – Ex. 38.21 – 40.38
Additional Links:
Articles:
Media:
AUDIO
- Hebrew in Israel – Torah Portion Terumah – Yoel HaLevi’s teaching series Learn Torah on Parsha Terumah
- Hebrew in Israel – Haftarah Portion Terumah – Yoel HaLevi teaching series Learn Torah on the Haftarah on Parsha Terumah
- Torah Pearls #13 – Terumah- Nehemia Gordan’s teaching on Parsha Terumah
- Prophet Pearls #13 – Terumah- Nehemia Gordan’s teaching series on the Haftarah for Parsha Terumah
VIDEO
- Covenant and Conversion – Rabbi Sacks Video teaching in 5771 on Terumah.