6 And I have made selection of Oholiab with him, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are wise I have put the knowledge to make whatever I have given you orders to have made;
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their work. And if one has a fall, the other will give him a hand; but unhappy is the man who is by himself, because he has no helper. So again, if two are sleeping together they are warm, but how may one be warm by himself? And two attacked by one would be safe, and three cords twisted together are not quickly broken.
Do not be turned from the right way, dear brothers. Every good and true thing is given to us from heaven, coming from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change or any shade made by turning.
Now the names of the twelve are these: The first, Simon, who is named Peter, and Andrew, his brother; James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax-farmer; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who was false to him.
And he took me to the doorway looking to the east: And there was the glory of the God of Israel coming from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of great waters, and the earth was shining with his glory. And the vision which I saw was like the vision I had seen when he came for the destruction of the town: and like the vision which I saw by the river Chebar; and I went down on my face. And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the doorway looking to the east. And the spirit, lifting me up, took me into the inner square; and I saw that the house was full of the glory of the Lord. And the voice of one talking to me came to my ears from inside the house; and the man was by my side. And he said to me, Son of man, this is the place where the seat of my power is and the resting-place of my feet, where I will be among the children of Israel for ever: and no longer will the people of Israel make my holy name unclean, they or their kings, by their loose ways and by the dead bodies of their kings; By putting their doorstep by my doorstep, and the pillar of their door by the pillar of my door, with only a wall between me and them; and they have made my holy name unclean by the disgusting things which they have done: so in my wrath I sent destruction on them. Now let them put their loose ways and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, and I will be among them for ever. You, son of man, give the children of Israel an account of this house, so that they may be shamed because of their evil-doing: and let them see the vision of it and its image. And they will be shamed by what they have done; so give them the knowledge of the form of the house and its structure, and the ways out of it and into it, and all its laws and its rules, writing it down for them: so that they may keep all its laws and do them. This is the law of the house: On the top of the mountain all the space round it on every side will be most holy. See, this is the law of the house. And these are the measures of the altar in cubits: (the cubit being a cubit and a hand's measure;) its hollow base is a cubit high and a cubit wide, and it has an overhanging edge as wide as a hand-stretch all round it: And from the base on the earth level to the lower shelf, the altar is two cubits high and a cubit wide; and from the smaller shelf to the greater shelf it is four cubits high and a cubit wide. And the fireplace is four cubits high: and coming up from the fireplace are the horns, a cubit high. And the fireplace is twelve cubits long and twelve cubits wide, square on its four sides. And the shelf is fourteen cubits long and fourteen cubits wide, on its four sides; the edge round it is half a cubit; the base of it is a cubit all round, and its steps are facing the east. And he said to me, Son of man, the Lord God has said, These are the rules for the altar, when they make it, for the offering of burned offerings on it and the draining out of the blood. You are to give to the priests, the Levites of the seed of Zadok, who come near to me, says the Lord God, to do my work, a young ox for a sin-offering. You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns and on the four angles of the shelf and on the edge all round: and you are to make it clean and free from sin. And you are to take the ox of the sin-offering, and have it burned in the special place ordered for it in the house, outside the holy place. And on the second day you are to have a he-goat without any mark on it offered for a sin-offering; and they are to make the altar clean as they did with the young ox. And after you have made it clean, let a young ox without a mark be offered, and a male sheep from the flock without a mark. And you are to take them before the Lord, and the priests will put salt on them, offering them up for a burned offering to the Lord. Every day for seven days you are to give a goat for a sin-offering: and let them give in addition a young ox and a male sheep from the flock without any mark on them. For seven days they are to make offerings to take away sin from the altar and to make it clean; so they are to make it holy. And when these days have come to an end, then on the eighth day and after, the priests will make your burned offerings on the altar and your peace-offerings; and I will take pleasure in you, says the Lord.
And the Lord was angry with Moses, and said, Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? To my knowledge he is good at talking. And now he is coming out to you: and when he sees you he will be glad in his heart. Let him give ear to your voice, and you will put my words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his, teaching you what you have to do.
For the Lord gives wisdom; out of his mouth come knowledge and reason: He has salvation stored up for the upright, he is a breastplate to those in whom there is no evil;
Now the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the son of Iddo, were preaching to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel. Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, got up and made a start at building the house of God at Jerusalem: and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.
Then Solomon made a start at building the house of the Lord on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, where the Lord had been seen by his father David, in the place which David had made ready in the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. The building was started in the second month in the fourth year of his rule. And Solomon put the base of the house of God in position; by the older measure it was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. And the covered way in front of the house was twenty cubits long, as wide as the house, and a hundred and twenty cubits high, all plated inside with the best gold.
In the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year that Solomon was king of Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, the building of the Lord's house was started. The house which Solomon made for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. The covered way before the Temple of the house was twenty cubits long, as wide as the house, and ten cubits wide in front of the house. And for the house he made windows, with network across. And against the walls all round, and against the walls of the Temple and of the inmost room, he put up wings, with side rooms all round: The lowest line of them being five cubits wide, the middle six cubits wide and the third seven cubits; for there was a space all round the outside walls of the house so that the boards supporting the rooms did not have to be fixed in the walls of the house. (And the stones used in the building of the house were squared at the place where they were cut out; there was no sound of hammer or axe or any iron instrument while they were building the house.) The door to the lowest side rooms was in the right side of the house; and they went up by twisting steps into the middle rooms, and from the middle into the third.
And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Let the sons of Kohath, from among the sons of Levi, be numbered by their families, in the order of their fathers' houses; All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting. And this is to be the work of the sons of Kohath in connection with the most holy things. When all the people go forward, Aaron is to go in with his sons, and take down the veil of the curtain, covering the ark of witness with it; And putting over it the leather cover and over that a blue cloth; and putting its rods in place. And on the table of the holy bread they are to put a blue cloth, and on it all the vessels, the spoons and the basins and the cups; and the holy bread with them; And over them they are to put a red cloth, covering it with a leather cover, and putting its rods in their places. And they are to take a blue cloth, covering with it the light-support with its lights and its instruments and its trays and all the oil vessels which are used for it: All these they are to put in a leather cover, and put it on the frame. On the gold altar they are to put a blue cloth, covering it with a leather cover; and they are to put its rods in their places. All the vessels which are used in the holy place they are to put in a blue cloth, covering them with a leather cover, and put them on the frame. And they are to take away the burned waste from the altar, and put a purple cloth on it; Placing on the cloth all its vessels, the fire-baskets, the meat-hooks, the spades, and the basins; all the vessels of the altar; they are to put a leather cover over all these, and put its rods in their places. And after the holy place and all its vessels have been covered up by Aaron and his sons, when the tents of the people go forward, the sons of Kohath are to come and take it up; but the holy things may not be touched by them for fear of death. And Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, is to be responsible for the oil for the light, and the sweet perfumes for burning, and the regular meal offering, and the holy oil; the House and the holy place and everything in it will be in his care. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Do not let the family of the Kohathites be cut off from among the Levites; But do this to them, so that life and not death may be theirs when they come near the most holy things; let Aaron and his sons go in and give to every one his work and that which he is to take up; But they themselves are not to go in to see the holy place, even for a minute, for fear of death. And the Lord said to Moses, Let the sons of Gershon be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses; All those from thirty to fifty years old who are able to do the work of the Tent of meeting. This is to be the work of the Gershonites, the things they are to do and take up. They are to take up the curtains of the House, and the Tent of meeting with its cover and the leather cover over it, and the hangings for the door of the Tent of meeting; And the hangings for the open space round the House and the altar, and the curtain for its doorway, with the cords and all the things used for them; whatever is necessary for these, they are to do. From the mouth of Aaron and his sons the Gershonites will have word about all the things they are to do and take up; you are to give them their orders. This is the work of the family of the Gershonites in the Tent of meeting, and they will be under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest. The sons of Merari are to be numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses; Every one from thirty to fifty years old who is able to do the work of the Tent of meeting. And this is their part in the work of the Tent of meeting: the transport of the boards and the rods of the Tent, with the pillars and their bases; And the pillars of the open space outside it, with their bases and their nails and cords and all the instruments used, and everything which has to be done there; all the instruments for which they are responsible are to be numbered by name. This is the work which the sons of Merari are to do in connection with the Tent of meeting, under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest. So Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the people took in hand the numbering of the sons of the Kohathites, by families, in the order of their fathers' houses; Numbering all those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work in the Tent of meeting; And the number of all these was two thousand, seven hundred and fifty. This is the number of those of the Kohathites who did the work in the Tent of meeting, as they were numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord. And those of the sons of Gershon who were numbered by families, All those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work in the Tent of meeting, Who were numbered by families in the order of their fathers' houses, were two thousand, six hundred and thirty. This is the number of the sons of Gershon who did the work in the Tent of meeting, as they were numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord. And those of the sons of Merari who were numbered by families, in the order of their fathers' houses, All those from thirty to fifty years old who did the work in the Tent of meeting, Who were numbered by families, were three thousand, two hundred. This is the number of the sons of Merari, numbered by Moses and Aaron at the order of the Lord. And all the Levites who were numbered by Moses and Aaron and the chiefs of the people, by families, in the order of their fathers' houses, Those from thirty to fifty years old who were able to do the work of the Tent of meeting and of its transport, Came to eight thousand, five hundred and eighty. At the order of the Lord they were numbered by Moses, every one in relation to his work and to his part in the transport; so they were numbered by Moses at the order of the Lord.
And Bezalel made the ark of hard wood, two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide and a cubit and a half high; Plating it inside and out with the best gold, and putting an edge of gold all round it. And he made four gold rings for its four angles, two on one side and two on the other, And rods of the same wood plated with gold. These rods he put in the rings at the sides of the ark, for lifting it. And he made the cover all of gold, two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. And he made two winged ones, hammered out of one bit of gold, for the two ends of the cover; Placing one at one end and one at the other; the winged ones were part of the cover. And their wings were stretched out over the cover; the faces of the winged ones were opposite one another and facing the cover. And he made the table of hard wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high; Plating it with the best gold and putting a gold edge all round it. And he made a frame all round it about as wide as a man's hand, edged with gold all round. And he made four gold rings, and put the rings at the angles of its four feet. The rings were fixed under the frame to take the rods with which the table was to be lifted. The rods for lifting the table he made of hard wood plated with gold. And all the table-vessels, the plates and spoons and basins and the cups for liquids, he made of the best gold. Then he made the support for the lights, all of the best gold; its base and its pillar were of hammered gold; its cups and buds and flowers were all made out of the same metal: It had six branches coming out from its sides, three from one side and three from the other; Every branch having three cups made like almond flowers, every cup with a bud and a flower on all the branches; And on its pillar, four cups like almond flowers, every one with its bud and its flower; And under every two branches a bud, made with the branch, for all six branches of it. The buds and the branches were made of the same metal, all together one complete work of the best hammered gold. And he made the seven vessels for the lights, and all the necessary instruments for it, of gold. A talent of the best gold was used for the making of it and its vessels. And he made the altar for the burning of spices, using the same hard wood; it was square, a cubit long and a cubit wide and two cubits high; the horns made of the same. The top and the sides and the horns were all plated with the best gold; and he put an edge of gold all round it. And he made two gold rings, placing them on the two opposite sides under the edge, to take the rods for lifting it. The rods he made of the same hard wood, plating them with gold. And he made the holy oil and the perfume of sweet spices for burning, after the art of the perfume-maker.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on Exodus 31
Commentary on Exodus 31 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 31
In this chapter an account is given of the persons whom God had chosen, and qualified for the work of building the tabernacle, and all things relating to it, and for the direction and oversight thereof, Exodus 31:1 and an enumeration is made of the several things that were to be wrought, some in one way, some in another, Exodus 31:7 the law of the sabbath is repeated, and the violation of it made death, Exodus 31:12 and the chapter is concluded with observing, that at the close of the above orders, two tables of stone, with the law written upon them by the finger of God, were given to Moses, Exodus 31:18.
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... After the Lord had given Moses instructions about building a tabernacle, the model of which he had shown him, and what should be the furniture of it, who should minister in it, and what clothes they should wear, he acquaints him that he had provided artificers for this service; which would prevent doubts and objections that might rise up in the mind of Moses, how and by whom all this should be done; since the children of Israel had not been brought up, nor used to any curious work in Egypt, out of which they were but just come:
saying; as follows:
See, I have called by name Bezaleel,.... Had pitched upon, chosen, and distinguished him particularly from all other men to be the architect or chief master builder of the tabernacle, and to be the director and overseer of the whole work relating to it: the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase it,""I have called with a good name Bezaleel";'as if respect was to be had to his name Bezaleel, as given him by God, and very expressive and significant; whereas the phrase of calling "by name" does not signify the imposing of a name upon him, but the singular and personal choice of him to an office: indeed, his name Bezaleel is very significant, and may be rendered, "in the shadow of God"; and he was under the shadow, influence, and protection of the Lord, and was called to be concerned in making those things, which were shadows of good things to come; and he may be considered in all as a type of Christ, who is the chief and master builder of his church, has the care and oversight of it, and under whom others work; for except he built the house, they labour in vain that build it; he was called by name, or eminently chosen to this work, he took not this honour to himself, but was called of God, as Bezaleel was, and was hid and abode under the shadow of the Almighty all the while he was concerned in it, see Psalm 91:1.
the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; Bezaleel's father's name was Uri, which signifies, "my light"; and his grandfather's name Hur, which has the signification of liberty or freedom; the same that Moses left with Aaron to judge the people of Israel during his stay in the mount, and is thought to have been the husband of Miriam; so that his grandfather being living, he may be supposed to be but a young man: the Jews sayF14Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 6. 2. he was but thirteen years of age when he was employed in this service, but that is not probable; though indeed his antitype, when but twelve years of age, said, "wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" his Father, whom he calls Uri, my light, Psalm 27:1 he being the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person; and is the Son of God that makes men free, and they are free indeed; and of whom it is evident that he sprung out of the tribe of Judah, a tribe greatly honoured of God.
And I have filled him with the Spirit of God,.... Not with the special graces of the Spirit, or with spiritual gifts fitting for spiritual service in the knowledge of spiritual things, and the instruction of men in them, though, no doubt, he might have them; but with the gifts of ingenuity and skill in manual arts, and mechanical operations, as follows:
in wisdom, and in understanding, and in all manner of workmanship; these explain what is meant by the Spirit of God he was filled with; namely, with a sufficient measure of natural wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in all sorts of workmanship hereafter mentioned, to qualify him for his office as a director therein; that is, he had such a share of knowledge of what was to be wrought, such wisdom and understanding in the ingenious and curious manner of working them, that though he did not work with his own hands, yet could teach, guide, and direct others how to do them: and this was not an ordinary but an extraordinary gift of knowledge of these things; nor was it owing to a fruitful invention, nor to long study and contrivance; but it was by the immediate inspiration of the Spirit of God, which was necessary at this time, the Israelites being now in a general state of ignorance of all ingenious arts and sciences, having lived so many years in a state of servitude, and scarce knew anything but making of bricks: and it may be observed, that God never calls any to any work or service of his but he qualifies for it: in all this Bezaleel was a type of Christ, who was filled with the Holy Spirit without measure; and on whom rested the spirit of wisdom and of counsel, and in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; and who, as God's righteous and faithful servant as Mediator, dealt wisely and prudently in all his administrations.
To devise cunning works,.... To invent, contrive, and draw patterns, for the weavers particularly, for the making of the curtains of the tabernacle, the vail of the most holy place, the ephod, and the curious girdle of it, which were made of cunning work, curiously wrought by the weaver; and so Jarchi interprets this of the weaving of the work of Chosheb, or cunning work, of the devising of cunning works, or of the knowledge of witty inventions, by Wisdom or the Messiah, see Proverbs 8:12.
to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass; for it is not to be supposed there were either goldsmiths or brasiers among the Israelites; only masons and bricklayers, and brickmakers, and such sort of manufacturers; so that Bezaleel had need of immediate wisdom from the Spirit of God, not only to devise curious works in these several things as in others, but to teach men how to work in them, what tools to work with, and how to use them, how to melt these several metals, and into what forms and shapes to put them, and then to polish them; as there were some things in the temple to be made of gold, as the candlestick, others of silver, as the sockets of the tabernacle, and others of brass, as the altar of burnt offering, and its vessels, with other things.
And in cutting of stones to set them,.... Not of marble stones, or of any common stones used in building, and the cutting and hewing of them to be laid therein, for of those there was no use in the tabernacle; but of precious stones, and the cutting of them, and setting of them in their ouches or enclosures, as the onyx stones on the shoulders of the high priest, and the twelve precious stones in his breastplate: Bezaleel was taught by the Spirit of God the art of jewelling, and instructed others in it:
and in carving of timber; or rather, "in cutting timber"F15בהרשת עץ "in fabrefactione ligni", Montanus; so Tigurine version. ; for it is the same word as before, for we have no account of any carved work in the tabernacle; and therefore this must design the work of carpenters and joiners in cutting the shittim wood, making planks and boards of it, and of them the sides of the tabernacle, jointed into sockets; the ark of the testimony, the shewbread table, and altar of incense, which were of timber, and the workmanship of such persons:
to work in all manner of workmanship; in all other manufactories; as spinning, weaving, embroidery, dying various colours, compounding ointment, perfume, &c.
And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan,.... To be a partner with him, and to assist in the direction and oversight of the work of the tabernacle; which was done that there might appear to be a sufficiency in the direction, and that too much honour might not be given to one tribe; and it is observable, that as Solomon of the tribe of Judah was the builder of the temple, one of the tribe of Dan also was a principal artificer in it, 2 Chronicles 2:14 and it is no unusual thing for two persons to be joined together in matters of moment and importance, as Moses and Aaron, who were sent to Pharaoh for Israel's dismission out of the land of Egypt; the apostles of Christ, and seventy disciples, who were sent out two by two; the two witnesses prophesying in sackcloth, the two anointed ones standing before the Lord of the whole earth; and Joshua and Zerubbabel in the rebuilding of the temple: nor is it unusual for both such persons to be types of Christ, as Moses and Aaron, Joshua and Zerubbabel, were; and here Bezaleel, as before, and now Aholiab, whose name signifies "the Father's tent" or "tabernacle"; he being concerned in the oversight of the tabernacle of God and the building of it, and his father's name Ahisamach, according to HillerusF16Onomast. Sacr. p. 735. , signifies, "one supports", i.e. God; and may be a figure of Christ, whose human nature is the true tabernacle God pitched, and not man, and who, as Mediator, is Jehovah's servant, whom he upholds:
and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted; men of ingenuity, that had good natural parts and abilities, and minds disposed to curious works, and able to perform them, under the guidance and direction of others:
I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee; in the preceding chapters; these persons were to work under Bezaleel and Aholiab, and to do as they were ordered and directed by them; and having good natural abilities, mechanical heads and hearts, and divine wisdom in a large measure communicated to them, they were greatly qualified for the service of the tabernacle, and making all things appertaining to it: thus Christ, the architect and master builder of his church, has wise builders under him, that work in his house, being qualified with the gifts and graces of his Spirit from him, see Zechariah 6:12.
The tabernacle of the congregation,.... That is, they had wisdom given to make that according to the pattern showed to Moses, and under the direction of the two above persons, to whom Moses communicated it; and from henceforward, in this and some following verses, mention is made of the various things wrought by these subordinate workmen; first the house, and then the furniture of it, as follows:
and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle; of that part of it called the holy of holies; the furniture of which was only the ark, the mercy seat over that, and the cherubim overshadowing that, where was the seat of the divine Majesty; this was properly his apartment, see Exodus 25:10.
And the table and his furniture,.... The shewbread table, with its dishes, spoons, and bowls, Exodus 25:23.
and the pure candlestick with all his furniture; called "pure", because made of pure gold, and was to be kept pure and clean by the priests, and in which pure oil olive was burnt, and gave a clear light; its furniture were its lamps, tongs, and snuff dishes, Exodus 25:31.
and the altar of incense: made of shittim wood covered with gold, Exodus 30:1.
And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture,.... Which was made of shittim wood covered with brass; its furniture were its pans, shovels, basins, &c. Exodus 27:1.
and the laver and his foot; for the priests to wash their hands and feet at, Exodus 30:18.
And the clothes of service,.... Either those the priests ministered in in the time of service, and which they never wore but when in it, and so might with propriety be so called, and what they were the following words explain; or else these were clothes of blue, purple, and scarlet, and coverings of badgers' skins, in which the ark, the shewbread table, the candlestick, and the golden altar, and other instruments of the tabernacle were wrapped, as Aben Ezra observes, when the Israelites journeyed in the wilderness, see Numbers 4:5.
and the holy garments for Aaron the priest; the breastplate, ephod, and robe, the broidered coat, mitre, and girdle, Exodus 28:4.
and the garments of his sons to minister in the priest's office; the bonnets, coats, girdles, and breeches, Exodus 28:40.
And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place,.... Of the composition of both which, see Exodus 30:23.
according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do: not only make all the said things, but make them exactly according to the form and pattern given to Moses, communicated to Bezaleel and Aholiab, whose business it was to see that all things were done by the workmen agreeably to it.
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... After he had described to him the place of worship, and appointed the priests that should minister in it, and ordered the making of all things appertaining to it, and the workmen that should be concerned therein, he repeats the law of the sabbath, and puts in mind of the time of worship:
saying: as follows.
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel,.... Notwithstanding all that has been said and ordered concerning making the tabernacle and all things belonging to it; yet this was not to be understood to the violation of the sabbath, or the neglect of that, in which no work was to be done, no, not any relating to the tabernacle and the vessels of it; and though that was to be made, and everything belonging to it, as soon as possible, yet the sabbath was to be observed, and not broken on that account; and this the people of Israel were told of:
saying; verily, or "nevertheless"F17אך "veruntamen", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Fagius, Vatablus, Drusius, Cartwright, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. :
my sabbaths ye shall keep not sabbaths of years, as the seventh year and the fiftieth year, but of weeks, expressed by the plural number, because there are many of them in course throughout the year, no less than fifty two; and so the apostle uses the same number, Colossians 2:16 and so do Heathen writersF18"Metuentem sabbata" Juvenal. Satyr. 14. :
for it is a sign between me and you, throughout your generations; a token of the covenant between them, of his being their God and they his people in a peculiar sense; seeing they observed the same day as a day of rest now, on which he had rested at the finishing of the works of creation, which other nations of the world did not observe; of his sanctifying and separating them from all other people; for this was not a sign between him and other nations, but between him and the people of Israel only; and was to be observed throughout their ages, as long as their civil and church state lasted, but not through others:
that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you; had separated and distinguished them from the rest of the nations of the world; but if this law had been given to all nations, it could not have been a distinguishing sign of them from others; nor could it be known hereby that God had separated them to himself above all people; and this was done that it might be known, not only by them, for the word "ye" is not in the text, but by others, the nations of the world, as Jarchi; that they were a distinct people, having distinct laws from all others, and particularly this.
Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore,.... Strictly observe it, according to the rules given concerning it:
for it is holy unto you; a day that was set apart of God for holy exercises, peculiarly on their account:
everyone that defileth it; by doing any servile work upon it, or not observing it in a religious way:
shall surely be put to death; by the hand of the civil magistrate; if the law of the Jewish sabbath is now in force, the sanction continues, and the violation of it ought to be punished by a judge with death:
for whosoever doeth any work therein; so much as to kindle a fire, and dress any food, by boiling or roasting, or any other way:
that soul shall be cut off from among his people; that is, shall die by the hand of the civil magistrate, it being but another phrase for being put to death; though the Jewish writers, particularly Jarchi, understand the former phrase, "put to death", as to be done by a civil magistrate, when there are witnesses and full proof of the case; but this of "cutting off" by the hand of God, by immediate punishment from heaven, when it was done secretly, and there was no proof to be made of it.
Six days may work be done;.... Allowed to be done by an Israelite, if he would; for this is not a command to work, but a permission or grant to do it; and therefore, seeing they had so many days granted them for their use, it could not be thought hard and unreasonable that God should claim one day in seven for his own use and service, and oblige them to refrain from work on it:
but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest; from worldly labour, and was typical of spiritual rest here, and eternal rest hereafter:
holy to the Lord; separated from other days, and entirely devoted to the worship and service of God, and to be kept holy to the Lord in all holy and religious exercises, as hearing and reading the word, praying, praising, &c.
whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death; the Targum of Jonathan adds, by casting stones, and so we find that the first transgressor of this law we read of was stoned to death, Numbers 15:35.
Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath,.... On whom the sabbath of the seventh day was only enjoined, as well as that of the seventh and of the fiftieth years, being all ceremonial and shadowy:
to observe the sabbath throughout their generations; so long as the Mosaic dispensation lasted, and their civil polity and church state continued, even until the Messiah came, when all those Jewish shadows, rites, and ceremonies, fled away and disappeared:
for a perpetual covenant; just in the same sense as circumcision was, Genesis 17:13.
It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever,.... In like sense as the land of Canaan was given them for an everlasting possession; and the covenant of circumcision, and the ordinance of the passover, and the fast on the day of atonement, were for ever; that is, unto the end of the Jewish world and state, at the coming of Christ, when a new world and state of things began, see Genesis 17:8.
for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed; which is to be understood figuratively after the manner of men, who ceasing from toil and labour find rest and refreshment; but not really and properly, for as not labour, and weariness, and fatigue, so neither rest nor refreshment can be properly said of God; but this denotes his cessation from the works of creation, though not of providence, and of the delight and pleasure he takes in a view of them; this is observed, not as the foundation of this law, and the reason of its being made, but as an illustration of it, and as an argument, showing the reasonableness of it, and the similarity of it with what God himself had done, and therefore the enjoining of it could not reasonably be objected to. See Gill on Exodus 20:11.
And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him on Mount Sinai,.... After all those laws, orders, and instructions before related, which having done, he ceased to converse with him any longer in that manner he had, and at parting gave him
two tables of testimony; the two tables of the law, which is a testimony of the will of God, and contained the duty of the Israelites both towards God and man, and are reducible to these two, love to God, and love to our neighbour: five of the commands of the decalogue were written on one table, and five on the other; or it may be rather four on one table, the first being the largest, and containing the duty owing to God, and six on the other, which regard the duty of men one to another; so Orpheus the Heathen poet, speaking of the law of Moses, calls it διπλακα θεσμονF19De Deo, "prope finem". . "Tables of stone"; the Targum of Jonathan will have them to be of the sapphire stone, from the throne of glory; the paraphrast seems to have respect to Exodus 24:10 and, with as little appearance of truth, says their weight was forty seahs; it is more probable they were of marble stone, of which there were great quantities in Mount Sinai. Dr. Shaw saysF20Travels, p. 443. that part of Mount Sinai, which lies to the westward of the plain of Rephidim, consists of a hard reddish marble like "porphyry", but is distinguished from it by the representations of little trees and bushes, which are dispersed all over it. The naturalists call this sort of marble "embuscatum", or "bushy marble"; some think Sinai had its name from thenceF21See Buxtorf. in voce סנה. . This may denote the firmness, stability, and duration of the law, not as in the hands of Moses, from which these tables were cast and broke, but as in the hands of Christ, and laid up in him the ark of the covenant, the fulfilling end of the law for righteousness: and it may also figure the hardness of man's heart, which is destitute of spiritual life, obdurate and impenitent, stupid, senseless and ignorant, stubborn and inflexible, and not subject to the law of God, and on which no impressions can be made but by the power and grace of God:
written with the finger of God: by God himself, and not by an angel, or by any creature or instrument: and it is by the finger of God, the Spirit, grace, and power of God, that the laws of God are put into the inward part, and written on the heart, to which the apostle refers, 2 Corinthians 3:3. This account is given by way of transition to what is recorded in the next chapter.