Charles Ellicott Commentary Exodus 35
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Exodus 35
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Exodus 35
"And Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said unto them, These are the words which Jehovah hath commanded, that ye should do them." — Exodus 35:1 (ASV)
These are the words.—Exodus 35:2 is, in the main, a repetition of Exodus 31:15, but Exodus 35:3 is new, or, at any rate, only contained by implication in any previous legislation. Kindling fire was in early times a hard piece of manual work, being effected by the friction of two pieces of dry wood.
"And Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said unto them, These are the words which Jehovah hath commanded, that ye should do them. Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a sabbath of solemn rest to Jehovah: whosoever doeth any work therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day." — Exodus 35:1-3 (ASV)
Moses, about to require the people to engage in the work—first, constructing the materials for the Tabernacle, and then erecting the Tabernacle itself—prefaced his requirements with a renewed proclamation of the law of the Sabbath, with greater detail and a new penalty. The necessity of such a re-proclamation had been indicated to him in the last commands he received before his first descent from Sinai (Exodus 31:12–17), and in doing so, he must be seen as carrying out those commands. The words recorded here are probably not all that he said to the people on the subject, but only some main points of his speech. He can hardly have omitted to tell them that the Sabbath was to be from then on a sign between God and His people (Exodus 31:17).
"And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which Jehovah commanded, saying, Take ye from among you an offering unto Jehovah; whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, Jehovah`s offering: gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats` [hair], and rams` skins dyed red, and sealskins, and acacia wood, and oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, and onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate." — Exodus 35:4-9 (ASV)
THE PEOPLE INVITED TO OFFER THE MATERIALS OF THE TABERNACLE, AND TO ASSIST IN THE WORK.
And Moses spoke—This passage is the sequence and counterpart of Exodus 25:1-7, and follows exactly the same order in the enumeration of the required offerings. Both passages equally declare the essential condition of an acceptable offering to be a willing heart (Exodus 25:2; Exodus 35:5).
"And let every wise-hearted man among you come, and make all that Jehovah hath commanded: the tabernacle, its tent, and its covering, its clasps, and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; the ark, and the staves thereof, the mercy-seat, and the veil of the screen; the table, and its staves, and all its vessels, and the showbread; the candlestick also for the light, and its vessels, and its lamps, and the oil for the light; and the altar of incense, and its staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle; the altar of burnt-offering, with its grating of brass, it staves, and all its vessels, the laver and its base; the hangings of the court, the pillars thereof, and their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; the pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords; the finely wrought garments, for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest`s office." — Exodus 35:10-19 (ASV)
And every wise hearted among you. — The first appeal is to all; all may contribute something towards the materials of the sacred structure. But the second appeal is to some only. The “wise-hearted” alone can take part in the actual construction, and make all that the Lord has commanded. On the expression “wise-hearted,” see Note on Exodus 28:3. It includes skill of various kinds and degrees, even that of poor women, who did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen (Exodus 35:25).
In enumerating the things to be constructed, Moses follows, not the order of the revelations made to him, but what may be called the natural order: first, the Tabernacle as a whole; then its various parts (Exodus 35:11); after this, its contents—those of the Holy of Holies (Exodus 35:12), of the Holy Place (Exodus 35:13–15), and of the Court (Exodus 35:16–18); finally, the dress to be worn by those who conducted the services (Exodus 35:19).
On the Tabernacle and its parts, see Exodus 26:1-37; on the Ark, the staves, and the mercy-seat, Exodus 25:10–15; on the veil of the covering, Exodus 26:31; on the table and the candlestick, Exodus 25:23–30; on the incense altar, Exodus 30:1–10; on the anointing oil, Exodus 30:23–25; on the sweet incense, Exodus 30:34–35; on the hanging for the door, Exodus 26:36; on the altar of burnt offering, Exodus 27:1–8; on the laver and its foot, Exodus 30:17–21; on the hangings of the Court, its pillars, sockets, pins, etc., Exodus 27:9–19; and on the cloths of service, Exodus 28:2–42. (On the true meaning of the expression, the cloths of service, see Note on Exodus 31:10.)
"And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, [and] brought Jehovah`s offering, for the work of the tent of meeting, and for all the service thereof, and for the holy garments." — Exodus 35:21 (ASV)
THE ZEAL OF THE PEOPLE IN OFFERING AND ASSISTING IN THE WORK.
They came, every one whose heart stirred him up. —All classes came, men and women (Exodus 35:22), rich and poor, rulers (Exodus 35:27), and those whose only skill was to spin with their hands (Exodus 35:25). And the great majority gave freely—to the utmost of their power. Still it is implied, both here and in Exodus 35:22 and Exodus 35:29, that there were some whose hearts did not stir them up. Enough and to spare, was, however, contributed, and at last the people had to be restrained from bringing (Exodus 36:8).
The Lord’s offering—i.e., “their offering to Jehovah.”
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