Charles Ellicott Commentary Exodus 31:1-11

"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)

The instructions needed for the making of the tabernacle, its furniture, and the priests’ vestments, were now complete. Moses was sufficiently informed, by what he had heard and seen, both about the “Tent of Meeting” itself and all its accessories and equipment. But Moses was not himself an artist. His Egyptian education had not included the skill of artistic construction. (See Excursus B. at the end of the Book.)

It was therefore necessary that the manual work of carrying out the instructions given to him should be entrusted to others. We might have expected that it would have been left to Moses to select the individuals from among the thousands of artisans who had accompanied him out of Egypt.

But God saw fit to mark the importance of the work by taking upon Himself the direct appointment of the persons to be employed. He knew what was in man. He knew to whom he had given the highest artistic power, and who, while possessing it, would work in the most religious spirit. He accordingly named two persons, Bezaleel and Aholiab, as those to whom the supervision of the entire work should be given.

Bezaleel was to be leader and chief, Aholiab his assistant. Bezaleel’s task was to be general; Aholiab’s, apparently, special (Exodus 38:23). Both, however, were to receive the special assistance of God’s Holy Spirit for the due execution of their respective tasks (Exodus 31:3–6), and both, as chosen instruments of God, and faithful workers in His service, had their names equally commemorated in His Holy Book, and were thus held up as examples for future generations.