Albert Barnes Commentary Exodus 31
Albert Barnes Commentary
Exodus 31
Albert Barnes Commentary
Exodus 31
"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise skilful works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of workmanship. 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: the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy-seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the Tent, and the table and its vessels, and the pure candlestick with all its vessels, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt-offering with all its vessels, and the laver and its base, 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, 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." — Exodus 31:1-11 (ASV)
(Exodus 35:30–35) This solemn call of Bezaleel and Aholiab is full of instruction. Their work was to be only that of handicraftsmen. Still, it was Yahweh Himself who called them by name to their tasks, and the powers which they were now called upon to exercise in their respective crafts were declared to have been given to them by the Holy Spirit. Thus, every effort of skill, every sort of well-ordered labor, when directed to a right end, is brought into the very highest sphere of association.
There appears to be sufficient reason for identifying Hur, the grandfather of Bezaleel, with the Hur who assisted Aaron in supporting the hands of Moses during the battle with Amalek at Rephidim (Exodus 17:10), and who was associated with Aaron in the charge of the people while Moses was on the mountain (Exodus 24:14). Josephus says that he was the husband of Miriam. It is thus probable that Bezaleel was related to Moses. He was the chief artificer in metal, stone, and wood; he also had to perform the apothecary’s work in the composition of the anointing oil and the incense (Exodus 37:29). He had precedence over all the artificers, but Aholiab appears to have had the entire charge of the textile work (Exodus 35:35; Exodus 38:23).
Wisdom, understanding, Knowledge—Or, that “right judgment in all things” for which we especially pray on Whitsunday; the perceptive faculty; and experience, a practical acquaintance with facts.
To devise cunning works—Rather, to devise works of skill. The Hebrew phrase is not the same as that rendered cunning work in respect to textile fabrics (Exodus 26:1).
And the cloths of service—Rather, And the garments of office; that is, the distinguishing official garments of the high priest. The three kinds of dress mentioned in this verse appear to be the only ones which were unique to the sanctuary. They were:
The richly adorned state robes of the high priest (Exodus 39:1 and following).
The holy garments of white linen for the high priest, worn on the most solemn occasion in the year (Leviticus 16:4).
The garments of white linen for all the priests, worn in their regular ministrations .
"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 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. 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. 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. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 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." — Exodus 31:12-17 (ASV)
The penal law of the Sabbath is detailed in Exodus 35:2-3. In the fourth commandment, the injunction to observe the seventh day is addressed to the conscience of the people (see Exodus 20:8 note). In this passage (Exodus 35:2–3), the object is to declare an infraction of the commandment a capital offence. The two passages (Exodus 20:8 and Exodus 35:2-3) stand in a relation to each other similar to that between Leviticus 18, Leviticus 19, and Leviticus 20. It seems likely that the penal edict was especially introduced as a caution in reference to the construction of the tabernacle, lest the people, in their zeal to carry on the work, should be tempted to break the divine law for the observance of the day.
Exodus 31:14 further clarifies this penal aspect. . The distinction between the meaning of the two expressions, to be cut off from the people, and to be put to death, is indicated here. One who was cut off from the people had, by his offence, put himself out of the terms of the covenant and was an outlaw. For such individuals, and for such alone, when the offence was one that affected the well-being of the nation, as it was in this case, death could be inflicted by the public authority.
In Exodus 31:17, it is said that on the seventh day, God rested and was refreshed. This phrase literally means “he took breath.” (2 Samuel 16:14). The application of this word to the Creator, which occurs nowhere else in Scripture, is remarkable.
"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." — Exodus 31:18 (ASV)
Two tables of testimony - See Exodus 25:16; Exodus 32:15.
The tables of stone which represented the covenant between Yahweh and His people, and which, when covered with the mercy-seat were to give the sanctuary its significance, are now delivered to Moses in accordance with the promise in Exodus 24:12.
The history of what relates to the construction of the sanctuary is here interrupted, and is taken up again in Exodus 35:1.
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