Thou shalt couple, etc. As with the inner awning of linen, so with the goats' hair tent-cloth. The whole when made up was to be in two pieces, for convenience of transport. (See the comment on Exodus 26:3.
) The number of breadths in the tent-cloth being uneven, the two pieces were to be of different sizes, one containing five, and the other six, "breadths." Thou shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle.
"Tabernacle" here is a mistranslation; since the Hebrew word is 'ohel, "tent." The meaning may be, either that the sixth breadth was to be doubled back upon the fifth, or that half of it was to be doubled back upon the other half.
The latter view is to be preferred, since otherwise the extra breadth would have been superfluous.