10 and the coloured garments, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, for acting as priests in;
`And thou, bring thou near unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from the midst of the sons of Israel, for his being priest to Me, `even' Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, sons of Aaron; and thou hast made holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for honour and for beauty; and thou -- thou dost speak unto all the wise of heart, whom I have filled `with' a spirit of wisdom, and they have made the garments of Aaron to sanctify him for his being priest to Me. `And these `are' the garments which they make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and an upper robe, and an embroidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle; yea, they have made holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and for his sons, for his being priest to Me. `And they take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the linen, and have made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, work of a designer; it hath two shoulders joining at its two ends, and it is joined. `And the girdle of his ephod which `is' on him, according to its work, is of the same, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen. `And thou hast taken the two shoham stones, and hast opened on them the names of the sons of Israel; six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the second stone, according to their births; the work of an engraver in stone, openings of a signet, thou dost open the two stones by the names of the sons of Israel; turned round, embroidered `with' gold, thou dost make them. `And thou hast set the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod -- stones of memorial to the sons of Israel -- and Aaron hath borne their names before Jehovah, on his two shoulders, for a memorial. `And thou hast made embroidered things of gold, and two chains of pure gold, wreathed work thou dost make them, work of thick bands, and thou hast put the thick chains on the embroidered things. `And thou hast made a breastplate of judgment, work of a designer; according to the work of the ephod thou dost make it; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen thou dost make it; it is square, doubled, a span its length, and a span its breadth. `And thou hast set in it settings of stone, four rows of stone; a row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle `is' the first row; and the second row `is' emerald, sapphire, and diamond; and the third row `is' opal, agate, and amethyst; and the fourth row `is' beryl, and onyx, and jasper; embroidered with gold are they in their settings, and the stones are according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, according to their names, openings of a signet, each by his name are they for the twelve tribes. `And thou hast made on the breastplate wreathed chains, work of thick bands, of pure gold; and thou hast made on the breastplate two rings of gold, and hast put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate; and thou hast put the two thick bands of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastplate; and the two ends of the two thick bands thou dost put on the two embroidered things, and thou hast put `them' on the shoulders of the ephod over-against its face. `And thou hast made two rings of gold, and hast set them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its border, which `is' over-against the ephod within; and thou hast made two rings of gold, and hast put them on the two shoulders of the ephod, beneath, over-against its front, over-against its joining, above the girdle of the ephod, and they bind the breastplate by its rings unto the rings of the ephod with a ribbon of blue, to be above the girdle of the ephod, and the breastplate is not loosed from the ephod. `And Aaron hath borne the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgment, on his heart, in his going in unto the sanctuary, for a memorial before Jehovah continually. `And thou hast put unto the breastplate of judgment the Lights and the Perfections, and they have been on the heart of Aaron, in his going in before Jehovah, and Aaron hath borne the judgment of the sons of Israel on his heart before Jehovah continually. `And thou hast made the upper robe of the ephod completely of blue, and the opening for its head hath been in its midst, a border is to its opening round about, work of a weaver, as the opening of a habergeon there is to it; it is not rent. `And thou hast made on its hem pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, on its hem round about, and bells of gold in their midst round about; a bell of gold and a pomegranate, a bell of gold and a pomegranate `are' on the hems of the upper robe round about. `And it hath been on Aaron to minister in, and its sound hath been heard in his coming in unto the sanctuary before Jehovah, and in his going out, and he doth not die. `And thou hast made a flower of pure gold, and hast opened on it -- openings of a signet -- `Holy to Jehovah;' and thou hast put it on a blue ribbon, and it hath been on the mitre -- over-against the front of the mitre it is; and it hath been on the forehead of Aaron, and Aaron hath borne the iniquity of the holy things which the sons of Israel do hallow, even all their holy gifts; and it hath been on his forehead continually for a pleasing thing for them before Jehovah. `And thou hast embroidered the coat of linen, and hast made a mitre of linen, and a girdle thou dost make -- work of an embroiderer. `And for the sons of Aaron thou dost make coats, and thou hast made for them girdles, yea, bonnets thou dost make for them, for honour and for beauty; and thou hast clothed Aaron thy brother with them, and his sons with him, and hast anointed them, and hast consecrated their hand, and hast sanctified them, and they have been priests to Me. `And make thou for them linen trousers to cover the naked flesh: they are from the loins even unto the thighs; and they have been on Aaron and on his sons, in their going in unto the tent of meeting, or in their drawing nigh unto the altar to minister in the sanctuary, and they do not bear iniquity nor have they died; a statute age-during to him, and to his seed after him.
And of the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, they made coloured garments, to minister in the sanctuary; and they make the holy garments which `are' for Aaron, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And he maketh the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, and they expand the plates of gold, and have cut off wires to work in the midst of the blue, and in the midst of the purple, and in the midst of the scarlet, and in the midst of the linen -- work of a designer; shoulder-pieces they have made for it, joining; at its two ends it is joined. And the girdle of his ephod which `is' on it is of the same, according to its work, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And they prepare the shoham stones, set, embroidered `with' gold, opened with openings of a signet, by the names of the sons of Israel; and he setteth them on the shoulders of the ephod -- stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And he maketh the breastplate, work of a designer, like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen; it hath been square; double they have made the breastplate, a span its length, and a span its breadth, doubled. And they fill in it four rows of stones; a row of a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle `is' the one row; and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row an opal, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper -- set, embroidered `with' gold, in their settings. And the stones, according to the names of the sons of Israel, are twelve, according to their names, openings of a signet, each according to his name, for the twelve tribes. And they make on the breastplate wreathed chains, work of thick bands, of pure gold; and they make two embroidered things of gold, and two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate, and they put the two thick bands of gold on the two rings on the ends of the breastplate; and the two ends of the two thick bands they have put on the two embroidered things, and they put them on the shoulders of the ephod, over-against its front. And they make two rings of gold, and set `them' on the two ends of the breastplate, on its border, which `is' on the side of the ephod within; and they make two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulders of the ephod below, over-against its front, over-against its joining, above the girdle of the ephod; and they bind the breastplate by its rings unto the rings of the ephod, with a ribbon of blue, to be above the girdle of the ephod, and the breastplate is not loosed from off the ephod, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And he maketh the upper robe of the ephod, work of a weaver, completely of blue; and the opening of the upper robe `is' in its midst, as the opening of a habergeon, a border `is' to its opening round about, it is not rent; and they make on the hems of the upper robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, twined. And they make bells of pure gold, and put the bells in the midst of the pomegranates, on the hems of the upper robe, round about, in the midst of the pomegranates; a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, `are' on the hems of the upper robe, round about, to minister in, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And they make the coats of linen, work of a weaver, for Aaron and for his sons, and the mitre of linen, and the beautiful bonnets of linen, and the linen trousers, of twined linen, and the girdle of twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, work of an embroiderer, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And they make the flower of the holy crown of pure gold, and write on it a writing, openings of a signet, `Holy to Jehovah;' and they put on it a ribbon of blue, to put `it' on the mitre above, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And all the service of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting is completed; and the sons of Israel do according to all that Jehovah hath commanded Moses; so they have done. And they bring in the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all its vessels, its hooks, its boards, its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets; and the covering of rams' skins, which are made red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the covering; the ark of the testimony and its staves, and the mercy-seat; the table, all its vessels, and the bread of the presence; the pure candlestick, its lamps, the lamps of arrangement, and all its vessels, and the oil for the light. And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the spice-perfume, and the covering of the opening of the tent; the brazen altar and the brazen grate which it hath, its staves, and all its vessels, the laver and its base. The hangings of the court, its pillars, and its sockets; and the covering for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pins; and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; the coloured clothes to minister in the sanctuary, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to act as priest in. According to all that Jehovah hath commanded Moses, so have the sons of Israel done all the service; and Moses seeth all the work, and lo, they have done it as Jehovah hath commanded; so they have done. And Moses doth bless them.
and doth put on him the coat, and doth gird him with the girdle, and doth clothe him with the upper robe, and doth put on him the ephod, and doth gird him with the girdle of the ephod, and doth bind `it' to him with it, and doth put on him the breastplate, and doth put unto the breastplate the Lights and the Perfections,
And Moses bringeth near the sons of Aaron, and doth clothe them `with' coats, and girdeth them `with' girdles, and bindeth for them turbans, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
that Aaron and his sons have come in, in the journeying of the camp, and have taken down the vail of the hanging, and have covered with it the ark of the testimony; and have put on it a covering of badger skin, and have spread a garment completely of blue above, and have placed its staves. `And on the table of the presence they spread a garment of blue, and have put on it the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and the cups of the libation, and the bread of continuity is on it, and they have spread over them a garment of scarlet, and have covered it with a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves, and have taken a garment of blue, and have covered the candlestick of the lamp, and its lights, and its snuffers, and its snuff-dishes, and all its oil vessels wherewith they minister to it; and they have put it and all its vessels unto a covering of badger skin, and have put `it' on the bar. `And on the golden altar they spread a garment of blue, and have covered it with a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves; and have taken all the vessels of ministry wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and have put `them' unto a garment of blue, and have covered them with a covering of badger skin, and have put `them' on the bar, and have removed the ashes of the altar, and have spread over it a garment of purple; and have put on it all its vessels wherewith they minister about it, the censers, the hooks, and the shovels, and the bowls, all the vessels of the altar, and have spread on it a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves:
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.