Exodus 35:30-36:7
New English Translation
30 Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen[a] Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31 He has filled him with the Spirit of God—with skill, with understanding, with knowledge, and in all kinds of work— 32 to design artistic designs, to work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, 33 and in cutting stones for their setting,[b] and in cutting wood, to do work in every artistic craft.[c] 34 And he has put it in his heart[d] to teach, he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill[e] to do all kinds of work[f] as craftsmen, as designers, as embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and in fine linen, and as weavers. They are[g] craftsmen in all the work[h] and artistic designers.[i] 36 1 So Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person[j] in whom the Lord has put skill[k] and ability[l] to know how[m] to do all the work for the service[n] of the sanctuary are to do the work[o] according to all that the Lord has commanded.”
2 Moses summoned[p] Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in whom[q] the Lord had put skill—everyone whose heart stirred him[r] to volunteer[s] to do the work. 3 They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to do[t] the work for the service of the sanctuary, and they still continued to bring him a freewill offering each morning.[u] 4 So all the skilled people who were doing all the work on the sanctuary came from the work[v] they were doing 5 and told Moses, “The people are bringing much more than[w] is needed for the completion[x] of the work which the Lord commanded us to do!”[y]
6 Moses instructed them to take[z] his message[aa] throughout the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman do anymore work for the offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing any more.[ab] 7 Now the materials were more than enough[ac] for them to do all the work.[ad]
Footnotes
- Exodus 35:30 tn Heb “called by name” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV). This expression means that the person was specifically chosen for some important task (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 342). See the expression with Cyrus in Isa 45:3-4.
- Exodus 35:33 tn Heb “to set.”
- Exodus 35:33 tn Heb “in every work of thought,” meaning, every work that required the implementation of design or plan.
- Exodus 35:34 sn The expression means that God has given them the ability and the desire to teach others how to do the work. The infinitive construct “to teach” is related to the word Torah, “instruction, guide, law.” They will be able to direct others in the work.
- Exodus 35:35 tn The expression “wisdom of heart,” or “wisdom in heart,” means artistic skill. The decisions and plans they make are skilled. The expression forms a second accusative after the verb of filling.
- Exodus 35:35 tn The expression “all the work” means “all kinds of work.”
- Exodus 35:35 tn Here “They are” has been supplied.
- Exodus 35:35 tn Heb “doers of all work.”
- Exodus 35:35 tn Heb “designers of designs.”
- Exodus 36:1 tn Heb “wise of [in] heart.”
- Exodus 36:1 tn Heb “wisdom.”
- Exodus 36:1 tn Heb “understanding, discernment.”
- Exodus 36:1 tn The relative clause includes this infinitive clause that expresses either the purpose or the result of God’s giving wisdom and understanding to these folk.
- Exodus 36:1 tn This noun is usually given an interpretive translation. B. Jacob renders the bound relationship as “the holy task” or “the sacred task” (Exodus, 1019). The NIV makes it “constructing,” so read “the work of constructing the sanctuary.”
- Exodus 36:1 tn The first word of the verse is a perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it is singular because it agrees with the first of the compound subject. The sentence is a little cumbersome because of the extended relative clause in the middle.
- Exodus 36:2 tn The verb קָרָא (qaraʾ) plus the preposition “to”—“to call to” someone means “to summon” that person.
- Exodus 36:2 tn Here there is a slight change: “in whose heart Yahweh had put skill.”
- Exodus 36:2 tn Or “whose heart was willing.”
- Exodus 36:2 sn The verb means more than “approach” or “draw near”; קָרַב (qarav) is the word used for drawing near the altar as in bringing an offering. Here they offer themselves, their talents and their time.
- Exodus 36:3 tn In the Hebrew text the infinitive “to do it” comes after “sanctuary”; it makes a smoother rendering in English to move it forward, rather than reading “brought for the work.”
- Exodus 36:3 tn Heb “in the morning, in the morning.”
- Exodus 36:4 tn Heb “a man, a man from his work”; or “each one from his work.”
- Exodus 36:5 tn The construction uses the verbal hendiadys: מַרְבִּים לְהָבִיא (marbim lehaviʾ) is the Hiphil participle followed (after the subject) by the Hiphil infinitive construct. It would read, “they multiply…to bring,” meaning, “they bring more” than is needed.
- Exodus 36:5 tn Heb “for the service” (so KJV, ASV).
- Exodus 36:5 tn The last clause is merely the infinitive with an object—“to do it.” It clearly means the skilled workers are to do it.
- Exodus 36:6 tn The verse simply reads, “and Moses commanded and they caused [a voice] to cross over in the camp.” The second preterite with the vav may be subordinated to the first clause, giving the intent (purpose or result).
- Exodus 36:6 tn Heb “voice.”
- Exodus 36:6 tn The verse ends with the infinitive serving as the object of the preposition: “from bringing.”
- Exodus 36:7 tn This part of the sentence comes from the final verb, the Hiphil infinitive—leave over, meaning, have more than enough (see BDB 451 s.v. יָתַר).
- Exodus 36:7 tn Heb “for all the work, to do it.”sn This lengthy section (35:1-36:7) forms one of the most remarkable sections in the book. Here there is a mixture of God’s preparation of people to do the work and their willingness to give and to serve. It not only provides insight into this renewed community of believers, but it also provides a timeless message for the church. The point is clear enough: In response to God’s commission, and inspired by God’s Spirit, the faithful and willing people rally to support and participate in the Lord’s work.
Exodus 35:30-36:7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Bezalel and Oholiab
30 Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;(A) 31 he has filled him with a divine spirit,[a] with ability, intelligence, and knowledge, and with every kind of skill, 32 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 33 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, in every kind of artistic craft. 34 And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to do every kind of work done by an artisan or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue, purple, and crimson yarns and in fine linen or by a weaver—by any sort of skilled worker or designer.(B)
36 “Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and understanding to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.”(C)
2 Moses then called Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given skill, everyone whose heart was stirred to come to do the work,(D) 3 and they received from Moses all the offerings that the Israelites had brought for the work of constructing the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning,(E) 4 so that all the skilled workers who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task being performed, 5 and said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.”(F) 6 So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for what they had already brought was more than enough to do all the work.
Footnotes
- 35.31 Or the spirit of God
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