1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.
6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;
7 The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle,
8 And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense,
9 And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot,
10 And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office,
11 And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.
12 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
1 And the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto Moses, H4872 saying, H559
2 See, H7200 I have called H7121 by name H8034 Bezaleel H1212 the son H1121 of Uri, H221 the son H1121 of Hur, H2354 of the tribe H4294 of Judah: H3063
3 And I have filled H4390 him with the spirit H7307 of God, H430 in wisdom, H2451 and in understanding, H8394 and in knowledge, H1847 and in all manner of workmanship, H4399
4 To devise H2803 cunning works, H4284 to work H6213 in gold, H2091 and in silver, H3701 and in brass, H5178
5 And in cutting H2799 of stones, H68 to set H4390 them, and in carving H2799 of timber, H6086 to work H6213 in all manner of workmanship. H4399
6 And I, behold, I have given H5414 with him Aholiab, H171 the son H1121 of Ahisamach, H294 of the tribe H4294 of Dan: H1835 and in the hearts H3820 of all that are wise H2450 hearted H3820 I have put H5414 wisdom, H2451 that they may make H6213 all that I have commanded H6680 thee;
7 The tabernacle H168 of the congregation, H4150 and the ark H727 of the testimony, H5715 and the mercy seat H3727 that is thereupon, and all the furniture H3627 of the tabernacle, H168
8 And the table H7979 and his furniture, H3627 and the pure H2889 candlestick H4501 with all his furniture, H3627 and the altar H4196 of incense, H7004
9 And the altar H4196 of burnt offering H5930 with all his furniture, H3627 and the laver H3595 and his foot, H3653
10 And the cloths H899 of service, H8278 and the holy H6944 garments H899 for Aaron H175 the priest, H3548 and the garments H899 of his sons, H1121 to minister in the priest's office, H3547
11 And the anointing H4888 oil, H8081 and sweet H5561 incense H7004 for the holy H6944 place: according to all that I have commanded H6680 thee shall they do. H6213
12 And the LORD H3068 spake H559 unto Moses, H4872 saying, H559
13 Speak H1696 thou also unto the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 saying, H559 Verily H389 my sabbaths H7676 ye shall keep: H8104 for it is a sign H226 between me and you throughout your generations; H1755 that ye may know H3045 that I am the LORD H3068 that doth sanctify H6942 you.
14 Ye shall keep H8104 the sabbath H7676 therefore; for it is holy H6944 unto you: every one that defileth H2490 it shall surely H4191 be put to death: H4191 for whosoever doeth H6213 any work H4399 therein, that soul H5315 shall be cut off H3772 from among H7130 his people. H5971
15 Six H8337 days H3117 may work H4399 be done; H6213 but in the seventh H7637 is the sabbath H7676 of rest, H7677 holy H6944 to the LORD: H3068 whosoever doeth H6213 any work H4399 in the sabbath H7676 day, H3117 he shall surely H4191 be put to death. H4191
16 Wherefore the children H1121 of Israel H3478 shall keep H8104 the sabbath, H7676 to observe H6213 the sabbath H7676 throughout their generations, H1755 for a perpetual H5769 covenant. H1285
17 It is a sign H226 between me and the children H1121 of Israel H3478 for ever: H5769 for in six H8337 days H3117 the LORD H3068 made H6213 heaven H8064 and earth, H776 and on the seventh H7637 day H3117 he rested, H7673 and was refreshed. H5314
18 And he gave H5414 unto Moses, H4872 when he had made an end H3615 of communing H1696 with him upon mount H2022 Sinai, H5514 two H8147 tables H3871 of testimony, H5715 tables H3871 of stone, H68 written H3789 with the finger H676 of God. H430
1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2 See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
4 to devise skilful works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
5 and in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of workmanship.
6 And I, behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the heart of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee:
7 the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy-seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the Tent,
8 and the table and its vessels, and the pure candlestick with all its vessels, and the altar of incense,
9 and the altar of burnt-offering with all its vessels, and the laver and its base,
10 and the finely wrought garments, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office,
11 and the anointing oil, and the incense of sweet spices for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.
12 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily ye shall keep my sabbaths: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am Jehovah who sanctifieth you.
14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that profaneth it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to Jehovah: whosoever doeth any work on the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, the two tables of the testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
2 `See, I have called by name Bezaleel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
3 and I fill him `with' the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all work,
4 to devise devices to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
5 and in graving of stone for settings, and in graving of wood to work in all work.
6 `And I, lo, I have given with him Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and in the heart of every wise-hearted one I have given wisdom, and they have made all that which I have commanded thee.
7 `The tent of meeting, and the ark of testimony, and the mercy-seat which `is' on it, and all the vessels of the tent,
8 and the table and its vessels, and the pure candlestick and all its vessels, and the altar of the perfume,
9 and the altar of the burnt-offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its base,
10 and the coloured garments, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, for acting as priests in;
11 and the anointing oil, and the perfume of the spices for the sanctuary; according to all that I have commanded thee -- they do.'
12 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
13 `And thou, speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, Only, My sabbaths ye do keep, for it `is' a sign between Me and you, to your generations, to know that I, Jehovah, am sanctifying you;
14 and ye have kept the sabbath, for it `is' holy to you, he who is polluting it is certainly put to death -- for any who doeth work in it -- that person hath even been cut off from the midst of his people.
15 `Six days is work done, and in the seventh day `is' a sabbath of holy rest to Jehovah; any who doeth work in the sabbath-day is certainly put to death,
16 and the sons of Israel have observed the sabbath; to keep the sabbath to their generations `is' a covenant age-during,
17 between Me and the sons of Israel it `is' a sign -- to the age; for six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, and in the seventh day He hath ceased, and is refreshed.'
18 And He giveth unto Moses, when He finisheth speaking with him in mount Sinai, two tables of the testimony, tables of stone, written by the finger of God.
1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
3 and have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in every work,
4 to devise artistic work -- to work in gold, and in silver, and in copper,
5 and in cutting of stones, for setting, and for carving of timber -- to work in all manner of work.
6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the heart of every one that is wise-hearted have I given wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee --
7 the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy-seat that is thereupon, and all the utensils of the tent,
8 and the table and its utensils, and the pure lamp-stand and all its utensils, and the altar of incense;
9 and the altar of burnt-offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand;
10 and the garments of service, both the holy garments of Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to serve as priests;
11 and the anointing oil, and the incense of fragrant drugs for the sanctuary: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.
12 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
13 And thou, speak thou unto the children of Israel, saying, Surely my sabbaths shall ye keep; for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that ye may know that it is I, Jehovah, who do hallow you.
14 Keep the sabbath, therefore; for it is holy unto you; every one that profaneth it shall certainly be put to death: yea, whoever doeth work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his peoples.
15 Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, holy to Jehovah: whoever doeth work on the sabbath day shall certainly be put to death.
16 And the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations -- [it is] an everlasting covenant.
17 It shall be a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever; for [in] six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
18 And he gave to Moses, when he had ended speaking with him on mount Sinai, the two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2 "Behold, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
4 to devise skillful works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
5 and in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of workmanship.
6 I, behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the heart of all who are wise-hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded you:
7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the mercy seat that is on it, all the furniture of the Tent,
8 the table and its vessels, the pure lampstand with all its vessels, the altar of incense,
9 the altar of burnt offering with all its vessels, the basin and its base,
10 the finely worked garments--the holy garments for Aaron the priest--the garments of his sons to minister in the priest's office,
11 the anointing oil, and the incense of sweet spices for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded you they shall do."
12 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
13 "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, 'Most assuredly you shall keep my Sabbaths: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that you may know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies you.
14 You shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death.
16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.'"
18 He gave to Moses, when he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets, written with God's finger.
1 And the Lord said to Moses,
2 I have made selection of Bezalel, the son of Uri, by name, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3 And I have given him the spirit of God and made him wise and full of knowledge and expert in every sort of handwork,
4 To do all sorts of delicate work in gold and silver and brass;
5 In cutting stones for framing, and to do every form of woodwork.
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;
7 The Tent of meeting, and the ark of the law, and the cover which is on it, and all the things for the tent,
8 And the table with its vessels, and the holy light-support with all its vessels, and the altar for the burning of spices,
9 And the altar of burned offerings with all its vessels, and the washing-vessel with its base,
10 And the robes of needlework, the holy robes for Aaron and for his sons, for their use when acting as priests,
11 And the holy oil, and the perfume of sweet spices for the holy place; they will do whatever I have given you orders to have done.
12 And the Lord said to Moses,
13 Say to the children of Israel that they are to keep my Sabbaths; for the Sabbath day is a sign between me and you through all your generations; so that you may see that I am the Lord who makes you holy.
14 So you are to keep the Sabbath as a holy day; and anyone not honouring it will certainly be put to death: whoever does any work on that day will be cut off from his people.
15 Six days may work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death.
16 And the children of Israel are to keep the Sabbath holy, from generation to generation, by an eternal agreement.
17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever; because in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he took his rest and had pleasure in it.
18 And when his talk with Moses on Mount Sinai was ended, he gave him the two stones of the law, two stones on which was the writing made by the finger of God.
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.