על חיי משה, ספר ב י״חOn the Life of Moses, Book II 18
א׳
1[88] But, in choosing the materials for the woven work, he selected as the best out of a vast number possible four, as equal in number to the elements—earth, water, air, fire—out of which the world was made, and with a definite relation to those elements; the byssus, or bright white, coming from the earth, purple from the water, while dark red is like the air, which is naturally black, and scarlet like fire, since both are bright red. For it was necessary that in framing a temple of man’s making, dedicated to the Father and Ruler of All, he should take substances like those with which that Ruler made the All.
ב׳
2[89] The tabernacle, then, was constructed to resemble a sacred temple in the way described. Its precincts contained an area of a hundred cubits long by fifty broad, with pillars at equal intervals of five cubits from each other, so that the total number was sixty, with forty arranged on the long sides and twenty on the broad sides,
ג׳
3[90] in both cases half to each side. The material of the columns was of cedar wood overlaid by silver. The bases in all cases were of brass, and the height was five cubits. For the master craftsman thought it proper to cut down the height of what he calls the court by a complete half, in order that the tabernacle should be conspicuous by rising up to double the height. Five linen sheets like sails were attached to the pillars, both on the length and the breadth, so that no impure person could enter the place.