Exodus 31

1 And the Lord spake to Moses, saying,

2 Lo! I have called Bezaleel by name, the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the lineage of Judah; (Lo! I have called by name Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;)

3 and I have filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom, and understanding, and knowing in all (manner of) work,

4 to find out, or cast, whatever thing may be made subtly of gold, and silver, and brass, (to design whatever things may be made out of gold, and silver, and bronze,)

5 and marble, and gems, and of (the) diversity of woods.

6 And I have given to him a fellow, Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the kindred of Dan; and I have put in their hearts the wisdom of each learned man, that they make all things which I have commanded to thee; (And I have given for fellowship to him, Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the family, or the tribe, of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the heart of other learned men, so that they know how to make all the things which I have commanded to thee;)

7 the tabernacle of [the] bond of peace, and the ark of witnessing, and the propitiatory, or the table, that is thereon, and all the vessels of the tabernacle; (the Tabernacle of the Covenant, that is, the Tabernacle of the Witnessing, and the Ark of the Witnessing, and the propitiatory, that is the lid, that covereth the Ark, and all the vessels of the Tabernacle;)

8 also the board, and the vessels thereof, the cleanest candlestick with his vessels, and the altars of incense, (and the table, and its vessels, the lamp-stand of pure gold, and its vessels, and the altar of incense,)

9 and of burnt sacrifice, and all the vessels of them; the great washing vessel with his foundament; (and the altar of burnt sacrifice, and all their vessels; the great washing vessel, and its foundation, or its base;)

10 [the] holy clothes in service to Aaron the priest, and to his sons, that they be set in their office in holy things; (the holy clothes of ministry for Aaron the priest, and for his sons, to use when they serve as my priests;)

11 the oil of anointing, and the incense of sweet smelling spiceries in the saintuary (the anointing oil, and the incense of sweet smelling spices for the sanctuary); they shall make all these things that I have commanded to thee.

12 And the Lord spake to Moses, saying,

13 Speak thou to the sons of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, See ye that ye keep my sabbath, for it is a sign betwixt me and you in your generations; that ye know, that I am the Lord, which hallow[eth] you. (Speak thou to the Israelites, and thou shalt say to them, See ye that ye keep my sabbath, for it is a sign between me and you for all generations to come; so that ye know, that I am the Lord, who halloweth you.)

14 Keep ye my sabbath, for it is holy to you; he that defouleth it, shall die by death (he who defileth it, must be put to death); (yea,) the soul of him, that doeth work in the sabbath, shall perish from the midst of his people.

15 Six days ye shall do work; in the seventh day is sabbath, the holy rest to the Lord; each man that doeth work in this day shall die. (For six days ye shall do work; but on the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, which is holy to the Lord; any person who doeth work on this day must be put to death.)

16 The sons of Israel keep [the] sabbath, and hallow it in their generations; it is a covenant everlasting (The Israelites shall keep the sabbath, and make it holy in all their generations; it is an everlasting covenant)

17 betwixt me and the sons of Israel, and it is a sign everlasting; for in six days God made heaven and earth, and in the seventh day he ceased of work. (between me and the Israelites, and it is an everlasting sign; for in six days God made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he ceased from all his work.)

18 And when he had [ful]filled to speak to Moses, the Lord gave to Moses, in the hill of Sinai, two stone tables of witnessing, written with the finger of God. (And when he had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, the Lord gave Moses the two stone tablets of the Witnessing, that is, the Law, written with the finger of God.)

Exodus 31 Commentary

Chapter 31

Bezaleel and Aholiab are appointed and qualified for the work of the tabernacle. (1-11) The observance of the sabbath. (12-17) Moses receives the tables of the law. (18)

Verses 1-11 The Israelites, who had been masons and bricklayers in Egypt, were not qualified for curious workmanship; but the Spirit who gave the apostles utterance in divers tongues, miraculously gave Bezaleel and Aholiab the skill that was wanting. The honour which comes from God, is always attended with a work to be done; to be employed for God is high honour. Those whom God calls to any service, he will find or make fit for it. The Lord gives different gifts to different persons; let each mind his proper work, diligently remembering that whatever wisdom any one possesses, the Lord put it in the heart, to do his commandments.

Verses 12-17 Orders were now given that a tabernacle should be set up for the service of God. But they must not think that the nature of the work, and the haste that was required, would justify them in working at it on sabbath days. The Hebrew word /shabath/ signifies rest, or ceasing from labour. The thing signified by the sabbath is that rest in glory which remains for the people of God; therefore the moral obligation of the sabbath must continue, till time is swallowed up in eternity.

Verse 18 The law was written in tables of stone, to show how lasting it is: to denote likewise the hardness of our hearts; one might more easily write on stone, than write any thing good on our corrupt natural hearts. It was written with the finger of God; by his will and power. God only can write his law in the heart: he gives a heart of flesh; then, by his Spirit, which is the ( 2 Corinthians. 3:3 )

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 31

In this chapter an account is given of the persons whom God had chosen, and qualified for the work of building the tabernacle, and all things relating to it, and for the direction and oversight thereof, Ex 31:1-6 and an enumeration is made of the several things that were to be wrought, some in one way, some in another, Ex 31:7-11 the law of the sabbath is repeated, and the violation of it made death, Ex 31:12-17 and the chapter is concluded with observing, that at the close of the above orders, two tables of stone, with the law written upon them by the finger of God, were given to Moses, Ex 31:18.