Pacian of Barcelona : The tabernacle is a type of the church. So God says to Moses that the bases of the four pillars placed within it should be silver. What does silver mean except the clarity of the divine Word? Scripture says, "The words of the Lord are chaste words, silver tried by fire, cleansed from earth." The bases are overlaid with silver and hold up the four pillars of the tabernacle, just as the preachers of the church are adorned with divine eloquence. They provide an example in every way; they have the words of the four Evangelists on their lips and in their deeds. Exposition of the Old and New Testament, Exodus Paterius : The tabernacle is a type of the church. So God says to Moses that the bases of the four pillars placed within it should be silver. What does silver mean except the clarity of the divine Word? Scripture says, "The words of the Lord are chaste words, silver tried by fire, cleansed from earth." The bases are overlaid with silver and hold up the four pillars of the tabernacle, just as the preachers of the church are adorned with divine eloquence. They provide an example in every way; they have the words of the four Evangelists on their lips and in their deeds. — EXPOSITION OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, Exodus 44