Shared ground
Exodus 40:16 is a compressed conclusion: Moses carried out what he was told, and what he did matched what Yahweh commanded. The verse makes two explicit points at once—Moses acted, and his actions aligned with the divine instructions.
The wording stresses completeness. The key term all highlights that the narrator is not describing partial compliance or selective follow-through, but a full match within the intended scope of the command.
This line also frames what follows. It stands as a summary at the hinge between instructions already given and the narrated setup that continues afterward.
Where interpretation differs (only where needed)
Some read this sentence as summing up the entire tabernacle project (planning, crafting, and setting up), because it sounds global and because Exodus repeatedly ties the whole tabernacle enterprise to Yahweh’s instructions.
Others read it more narrowly as summing up the setup phase about to be narrated in detail (placing items, arranging, anointing), since the surrounding verses move into step-by-step actions and keep repeating “as Yahweh commanded Moses.”
Why the disagreement exists
The verse is intentionally broad and does not list specific tasks. That makes its referent depend on context: it can naturally look backward to all that has been commanded so far, or forward as a headline for the setup narrative that begins immediately after.
What this passage clearly contributes
Explicitly, the text presents Moses as the responsible agent who executes Yahweh’s instructions, and it measures success by correspondence to Yahweh’s command (commanded). As a narrative signal, it confirms that the tabernacle instructions were not merely spoken but carried out, and it sets a pattern for the repeated refrain of exact obedience in the tabernacle setup scenes that follow.
