10 and the garments of service, both the holy garments of Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to serve as priests;
And thou shalt take thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may serve me as priest -- Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for ornament. And thou shalt speak with all [that are] wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to hallow him, that he may serve me as priest. And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a cloak, and a checkered vest, a turban, and a girdle; and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may serve me as priest. And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus, and shall make the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, scarlet and twined byssus, of artistic work. It shall have two shoulder-pieces joined at the two ends thereof, where it is joined together. And the girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to its work of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet and twined byssus. And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel: six of their names on the one stone, and the six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. According to the work of an engraver in stone, as the engravings of a seal, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; surrounded by enclosures of gold shalt thou make them. And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulder-pieces of the ephod [as] stones of memorial for the children of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before Jehovah upon his two shoulders for a memorial. And thou shalt make enclosures of gold; and two chains of pure gold; of laced work shalt thou make them, of wreathen work, and fasten the wreathen chains to the enclosures. And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment of artistic work, like the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus shalt thou make it. Square shall it be, doubled; a span the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof. And thou shalt set in it settings of stones -- four rows of stones: [one] row, a sardoin, a topaz, and an emerald -- the first row; and the second row, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row, an opal, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row, a chrysolite, and an onyx, and a jasper; enclosed in gold shall they be in their settings. And the stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, engraved as a seal: every one according to his name shall they be for the twelve tribes. And thou shalt make on the breastplate chains of laced work, of wreathen work, of pure gold. And thou shalt make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. And thou shalt put the two wreathen [cords] of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate; and the two ends of the two wreathen [cords] thou shalt fasten to the two enclosures, and shalt put [them] on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, on the front thereof. And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and shalt put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the border thereof, which faceth the ephod inwards. And two rings of gold shalt thou make, and shalt put them upon the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod underneath, to the front thereof just by the coupling thereof, above the girdle of the ephod. And they shall bind the breastplate with its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod. And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the sanctuary, for a memorial before Jehovah continually. And thou shalt put into the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, that they may be upon Aaron's heart when he goeth in before Jehovah; and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before Jehovah continually. And thou shalt make the cloak of the ephod all of blue. And its opening for the head shall be in the midst thereof; there shall be a binding of woven work at its opening round about; as the opening of a coat of mail, it shall be in it -- it shall not rend. And on the skirts thereof thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, round about the skirts thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, in the skirts of the cloak round about. And it shall be on Aaron for service; that his sound may be heard when he goeth into the sanctuary before Jehovah, and when he cometh out, that he may not die. And thou shalt make a thin plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, as the engravings of a seal, Holiness to Jehovah! And thou shalt put it on a lace of blue, and it shall be upon the turban -- upon the front of the turban shall it be. And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all gifts of their holy things; and it shall be continually on his forehead, that they may be accepted before Jehovah. And thou shalt weave the vest of byssus; and thou shalt make a turban of byssus; and thou shalt make a girdle of embroidery. And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make vests; and thou shalt make for them girdles; and high caps shalt thou make for them, for glory and for ornament. And thou shalt clothe with them Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and hallow them, that they may serve me as priests. And thou shalt make them linen trousers to cover the flesh of nakedness; from the loins even to the hips shall they reach. And they shall be upon Aaron and his sons when they enter into the tent of meeting, or when they come near to the altar to serve in the sanctuary; that they may not bear iniquity and die -- an everlasting statute for him and his seed after him.
And of the blue and purple and scarlet they made garments of service, for service in the sanctuary, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus. And they beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it [into] wires, to work it artistically into the blue, and into the purple, and into the scarlet, and into the byssus. They made shoulder-pieces for it, joining it: at its two ends was it joined together. And the girdle of his ephod, which was on it, was of the same, according to its work, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And they wrought the onyx stones mounted in enclosures of gold, engraved with the engravings of a seal, according to the names of the sons of Israel. And he put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, [as] stones of memorial for the children of Israel; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And he made the breastplate of artistic work, like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined byssus. It was square; double did they make the breastplate, a span the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, doubled. And they set in it four rows of stones: [one] row, a sardoin, a topaz, and an emerald -- the first row; and the second row, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row, an opal, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper; mounted in enclosures of gold in their settings. And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, engraved as a seal, every one according to his name, for the twelve tribes. And they made on the breastplate chains of laced work of wreathen work, of pure gold. And they made two settings of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. And they put the two wreathen [cords] of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate; and the two ends of the two wreathen [cords] they fastened to the two settings, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, on the front thereof. And they made two rings of gold, and put [them] on the two ends of the breastplate, on the border thereof, which faceth the ephod inwards. And they made two rings of gold, and put them upon the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod underneath, to the front thereof, just by the coupling thereof, above the girdle of the ephod. And they bound the breastplate with its rings to the rings of the ephod with lace of blue, that it might be above the girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And he made the cloak of the ephod of woven work, all of blue; and the opening of the cloak in its middle, as the opening of a coat of mail; a binding was round about the opening, that it should not rend. And they made on the skirts of the cloak pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet, twined. And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates, in the skirts of the cloak, round about, between the pomegranates: a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, in the skirts of the cloak round about, for service; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And they made the vests of byssus of woven work, for Aaron, and for his sons; and the turban of byssus; and the ornamental caps, of byssus; and the linen trousers, of twined byssus; and the girdle, of twined byssus, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of embroidery; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And they made the thin plate, the holy diadem, of pure gold, and wrote on it with the writing of the engravings of a seal, Holiness to Jehovah! And they fastened to it a lace of blue, to fasten [it] on the turban above; as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And all the labour of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was ended; and the children of Israel had done [it] according to all that Jehovah had commanded Moses -- so had they done [it]. And they brought the tabernacle to Moses -- the tent, and all its utensils, its clasps, its boards, its bars, and its pillars, and its bases; and the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the veil of separation; the ark of the testimony, and its staves, and the mercy-seat; the table, all its utensils, and the shewbread; the pure candlestick, its lamps, the lamps set in order, and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; and the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the incense of fragrant drugs; and the curtain for the entrance of the tent; the copper altar, and the copper grating that was for it, its staves and all its utensils; the laver and its stand; the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases; and the curtain for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the vessel's of service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; the garments of service, for service in the sanctuary; the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, to serve as priests. According to all that Jehovah had commanded Moses, so had the children of Israel done all the labour. And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as Jehovah had commanded -- so had they done [it]; and Moses blessed them.
And he put upon him the vest and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the cloak, and put the ephod on him, and he girded him with the girdle of the ephod, and fastened the ephod on him. And he put the breastplate on it, and put on the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim;
And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron and his sons shall go in, and they shall take down the veil of separation and cover the ark of testimony with it; and shall put thereon a covering of badgers' skin, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put its staves [to it]. And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue; and put thereon the dishes, and the cups, and the bowls, and goblets of the drink-offering; and the continual bread shall be thereon. And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skin, and shall put its staves [to it]. And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuff-trays, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they perform its service; and they shall put it and all the utensils thereof within a covering of badgers' skin, and shall put it upon a pole. And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skin, and shall put its staves [to it]. And they shall take all the instruments of service, wherewith they serve in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skin, and shall put them upon a pole. And they shall cleanse the altar of the ashes, and spread a purple cloth thereon; and they shall put upon it all the utensils thereof, wherewith they perform service about it: the firepans, the forks, and the shovels, and the bowls, -- all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skin, and put its staves [to it].
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 31
Commentary on Exodus 31 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The Builders (cf. Ex 35:30-36:1). - After having given directions for the construction of the sanctuary, and all the things required for the worship, Jehovah pointed out the builders, whom He had called to carry out the work, and had filled with His Spirit for that purpose. To “ call by name ” is to choose or appoint by name for a particular work (cf. Isaiah 45:3-4). Bezaleel was a grandson of Hur , of the tribe of Judah, who is mentioned in Exodus 17:10; Exodus 24:14, and was called to be the master-builder, to superintend the whole of the building and carry out the artistic work; consequently he is not only invariably mentioned first (Exodus 35:30; Exodus 36:1-2), but in the accounts of the execution of the separate portions he is mentioned alone (Exodus 37:1; Exodus 38:22). Filling with the Spirit of God signifies the communication of an extraordinary and supernatural endowment and qualification, “in wisdom,” etc., i.e., consisting of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and every kind of workmanship, that is to say, for the performance of every kind of work. This did not preclude either natural capacity or acquired skill, but rather presupposed them; for in Exodus 31:6 it is expressly stated in relation to his assistants, that God had put wisdom into all that were wise-hearted (see at Exodus 28:3). Being thus endowed with a supernaturally exalted gift, Bezaleel was qualified “ to think out inventions ,” i.e., ideas or artistic designs. Although everything had been minutely described by Jehovah, designs and plans were still needed in carrying out the work, so that the result should correspond to the divine instructions.
There were associated with Bezaleel as assistants, Oholiab , the son of Achisamach , of the tribe of Dan, and other men endowed with understanding, whom God had filled with wisdom for the execution of His work. According to Exodus 38:23, Oholiab was both faber , a master in metal, stone, and wood work, and also an artistic weaver of colours. In Exodus 38:7-11, the words to be executed, which have been minutely described in ch. 24-30, are mentioned singly once more; and, in addition to these, we find in Exodus 31:10 השּׂרד בּגדי mentioned, along with, or rather before, the holy dress of Aaron. This is the case also in Exodus 35:19 and Exodus 39:41, where there is also the additional clause, “to serve ( שׁרת ministrare ) in the sanctuary.” They were composed, according to Exodus 39:1, of blue and red purple, and crimson. The meaning of the word serad , which only occurs in these passages, is quite uncertain. The Rabbins understand by the bigde hasserad the wrappers in which the vessels of the sanctuary were enclosed when the camp was broken up, as these are called begadim of blue and red purple, and crimson, in Numbers 4:6. But this rendering is opposed to the words which follow, and which indicate their use in the holy service, i.e., in the performance of worship, and therefore are quite inapplicable to the wrappers referred to. There is even less ground for referring them, as Gesenius and others do, to the inner curtains of the tabernacle, or the inner hangings of the dwelling-place. For, apart from the uncertainty of the rendering given to serad , viz., netted cloth, filet , it is overthrown by the fact that these curtains of the dwelling-place were not of net-work; and still more decisively by the order in which the bigde hasserad occur in Exodus 39:41, viz., not till the dwelling-place and tent, and everything belonging to them, have been mentioned, even down to the hangings of the court and the pegs of the tent, and all that remains to be noticed is the clothing of the priests. From the definition “to serve in the sanctuary,” it is obvious that the bigde serad were clothes used in the worship, στολαὶ λειτουργικαί , as the lxx have rendered it in agreement with the rest of the ancient versions-that they were, in fact, the rich robes which constituted the official dress of the high priest, whilst “the holy garments for Aaron” were the holy clothes which were worn by him in common with the priests.
(cf. Exodus 35:2-3). God concludes by enforcing the observance of His Sabbaths in the most solemn manner, repeating the threat of death and extermination in the case of every transgressor. The repetition and further development of this command, which was included already in the decalogue, is quite in its proper place here, inasmuch as the thought might easily have occurred, that it was allowable to omit the keeping of the Sabbath, when the execution of so great a work in honour of Jehovah had been commanded. “ My Sabbaths: ” by these we are to understand the weekly Sabbaths, not the other sabbatical festivals, since the words which follow apply to the weekly Sabbath alone. This was “ a sign between Jehovah and Israel for all generations, to know (i.e., by which Israel might learn) that it was Jehovah who sanctified them, ” viz., by the sabbatical rest (see at Exodus 20:11). It was therefore a holy thing for Israel (Exodus 31:14), the desecration of which would be followed by the punishment of death, as a breach of the covenant. The kernel of the Sabbath commandment is repeated in Exodus 31:15; the seventh day of the week, however, is not simply designated a “Sabbath,” but שׁבּתון שׁבּת “a high Sabbath” (the repetition of the same word, or of an abstract form of the concrete noun, denoting the superlative; see Ges. §113, 2), and “holy to Jehovah” (see at Exodus 16:23). For this reason Israel was to keep it in all future generations, i.e., to observe it as an eternal covenant (Exodus 31:16), as in the case of circumcision, since it was to be a sign for ever between Jehovah and the children of Israel (Ezekiel 20:20). The eternal duration of this sign was involved in the signification of the sabbatical rest, which is pointed out in Exodus 20:11, and reaches forward into eternity.
When Moses had received all the instructions respecting the sanctuary to be erected, Jehovah gave him the two tables of testimony-tables of stone, upon which the decalogue was written with the finger of God. It was to receive these tables that he had been called up the mountain (Exodus 24:12). According to Exodus 32:16, the tables themselves, as well as the writing, were the work of God; and the writing was engraved upon them ( חרוּת from חרת = χαράττειν ), and the tables were written on both their sides (Exodus 32:15). Both the choice of stone as the material for the tables, and the fact that the writing was engraved, were intended to indicate the imperishable duration of these words of God. The divine origin of the tables, as well as of the writing, corresponded to the direct proclamation of the ten words to the people from the summit of the mountain by the mouth of God. As this divine promulgation was a sufficient proof that they were the immediate word of God, unchanged by the mouth and speech of man, so the writing of God was intended to secure their preservation in Israel as a holy and inviolable thing. The writing itself was not a greater miracle than others, by which God has proved Himself to be the Lord of nature, to whom all things that He has created are subservient for the establishment and completion of His kingdom upon earth; and it can easily be conceived of without the anthropomorphic supposition of a material finger being possessed by God. Nothing is said about the dimensions of the tables: at the same time, we can hardly imagine them to have been as large as the inside of the ark; for stone slab 2 1/2 cubits long and 1 1/2 cubits broad, which must necessarily have been some inches in thickness to prevent their breaking in the hand, would have required the strength of Samson to enable Moses to carry them down the mountain “in his hand” (Exodus 32:15), or even “in his two hands” (Deuteronomy 9:15, Deuteronomy 9:17). But if we suppose them to have been smaller than this, say at the most a cubit and a half long and one cubit broad, there would have been plenty of room on the four sides for the 172 words contained in the decalogue, with its threats and promises (Ex 20:2-17), without the writing being excessively small.