Shemot 35

1 5 And Moshe assembled kol Adat Bnei Yisroel, and said unto them, These are the Devarim which Hashem hath commanded, that ye should do them.

2 Sheshet yamim shall work be done, but on the Yom HaShevi’i shall be to you [plural] Kodesh Shabbos Shabbaton to Hashem; whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.

3 Ye shall kindle no eish throughout your habitations upon Yom HaShabbos.

4 And Moshe spoke unto kol Adat Bnei Yisroel, saying, This is the thing which Hashem commanded, saying,

5 Take ye from among you a terumah (offering) unto Hashem; all of nediv lev of him (i.e., urged by his heart), let him bring it, a terumat Hashem, zahav, and kesef, and nechoshet,

6 And turquoise, and purple, and scarlet wool, and fine linen, and goat hair,

7 And red-dyed ram skins, and tachash skins, and acacia wood,

8 And shemen for the light, and spices for shemen hamishchah, and for the aromatic ketoret,

9 And shoham stones, and gemstones to be set for the Ephod, and for the Choshen.

10 And kol chacham lev among you shall come, and make all that Hashem hath commanded:

11 The Mishkan, its Ohel, and its Mikhseh, its hooks, and its kerashim (planks), its crossbars, its ammudim, and its sockets,

12 The Aron, and the carrying poles thereof, with the Kapporet, and the Parochet HaMasach,

13 The Shulchan, and its carrying poles, and all its utensils, and the Lechem HaPanim,

14 The Menorat HaMaohr, and its utensils, and its nerot (lamps), with the Shemen HaMaohr,

15 And the Mizbe’ach HaKetoret, and its carrying poles, and the Shemen HaMishchah, and the ketoret spices, and the masach hapetach at the petach of the Mishkan,

16 The Mizbe’ach HaOlah, with its mikhbar hanechoshet, its carrying poles, and all its utensils, the Kiyor, and its Stand,

17 The curtains of the khatzer, its ammudim, and its sockets, and the masach Sha’ar HaKhatzer,

18 The tent pegs of the Mishkan, and the tent pegs of the khatzer, and their cords,

19 The Bigdei HaSerad leSharet baKodesh (to do service in HaKodesh), the Bigdei HaKodesh for Aharon the kohen, and the garments of his banim, to minister in the kohen’s office.

20 And all the Adat Bnei Yisroel departed from the presence of Moshe.

21 And they came, every one whose lev moved him, and every one of nedevah ruach of him, and they brought terumat Hashem to the work of the Ohel Mo’ed, and for kol avodat of it, and for the Bigdei HaKodesh.

22 And they came, both anashim and nashim, as many as were nediv lev, and brought bracelets, and face-adornment rings, and rings, and body ornaments, all jewelry of zahav; and every ish that offered offered a tenufat zahav unto Hashem.

23 And kol ish, with whom was found turquoise, and purple, and scarlet wool, and fine linen, and goat hair, and dyed red rams skin, and tachash skins, brought them.

24 Every one that did offer a terumat kesef and nechoshet brought the terumat Hashem; and found acacia wood for any melachet haAvodah, brought it.

25 And every isha that was chachmat lev spun with her hands, and brought the spun yarn, both of turquoise, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.

26 And all the nashim whose lev stirred them up in chochmah spun goat hair.

27 And the nesi’im brought shoham stones, and gemstones to be set, for the Ephod, and for the Choshen;

28 And spice, and shemen for the light, and for the shemen hamishchah, and for the ketoret spices.

29 The Bnei Yisroel brought a nedavah unto Hashem, kol ish and isha, with nadav lev of them brought for kol hamelachah, which Hashem had commanded to be done through Moshe.

30 And Moshe said unto the Bnei Yisroel, See, Hashem hath called by shem Bezalel ben Uri, ben Chur, of the tribe of Yehudah;

31 And He hath filled him with the Ruach Elohim [Ac 2:4], in chochmah, in understanding, and in da’as, and in all manner of workmanship;

32 And to make machashavot (artistic works), to work in zahav, and in kesef, and in nechoshet,

33 And in the cutting of gems, to set them, and in wood carving, to make every melachat machashavet (work of art).

34 And He hath given him the ability to teach, both he, and Oholiav ben Achisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

35 Them hath He filled with chochmat lev, to do all manner of artistic work, of the carver, and of the weaver of artistic design work, and of the embroiderer, in turquoise, and in purple, in scarlet wool, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do artistic work, and of those that make artistic designs.

Shemot 35 Commentary

Chapter 35

The sabbath to be observed. (1-3) The free gifts for the tabernacle. (4-19) The readiness of the people in general. (20-29) Bezaleel and Aholiab called to the work. (30-35)

Verses 1-3 The mild and easy yoke of Christ has made our sabbath duties more delightful, and our sabbath restraints less irksome, than those of the Jews; but we are the more guilty by neglecting them. Surely God's wisdom in giving us the sabbath, with all the mercy of its purposes, are sinfully disregarded. Is it nothing to pour contempt upon the blessed day, which a bounteous God has given to us for our growth in grace with the church below, and to prepare us for happiness with the church above?

Verses 4-19 The tabernacle was to be dedicated to the honour of God, and used in his service; and therefore what was brought for it, was an offering to the Lord. The rule is, Whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring. All that were skilful must work. God dispenses his gifts; and as every man hath received, so he ( 1 Peter. 4:10 ) materials to work on; those that were skilful, must serve the tabernacle with their skill: as they needed one another, so the ( 1 Corinthians. 12:7-21 )

Verses 20-29 Without a willing mind, costly offerings would be abhorred; with it, the smallest will be accepted. Our hearts are willing, when we cheerfully assist in promoting the cause of God. Those who are diligent and contented in employments considered mean, are as much accepted of God as those engaged in splendid services. The women who spun the goats' hair were wise-hearted, because they did it heartily to the Lord. Thus the labourer, mechanic, or servant who attends to his work in the faith and fear of God, may be as wise, for his place, as the most useful minister, and he equally accepted of the Lord. Our wisdom and duty consist in giving God the glory and use of our talents, be they many or few.

Verses 30-35 Here is the Divine appointment of the master-workmen, that there might be no strife for the office, and that all who were employed in the work might take direction from, and give account to them. Those whom God called by name to his service, he filled with the Spirit of God. Skill, even in worldly employments, is God's gift, and comes from above. But many are ready enough in cutting out work for other people, and can tell what this man or that man should do; but the burdens they bind on others, they themselves will not touch with one of their fingers. Such will fall under the character of slothful servants. These men were not only to devise and to work themselves, but they were to teach others. Those that rule should teach; and those to whom God has given knowledge, should be willing to make it known for the benefit of others.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 35

This chapter begins with a renewal of the command of the sabbath, Ex 35:1-3 and contains an order for a freewill offering to be brought for the service of the sanctuary, and specifies the things to be brought, and for what uses, Ex 35:4-19 to which there was a ready compliance, and men and women, princes and the common people, everyone according to what they had in possession, brought and offered it freely, Ex 35:20-29 and for their encouragement, that their offering would not be in vain, they were informed there were two persons divinely inspired, to do, and teach to be done, all manner of work for the tabernacle, towards which they had made such a liberal and plentiful contribution, Ex 35:30-35.