Barnes' Notes And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them. The narrative of what relates to the construction of the sanctuary is now resumed from Exodus 31:18.
Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. See Exodus 31:12.
Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day. This prohibition is here first distinctly expressed, but it is implied Exodus 16:23.
And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying,
Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass,
And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair,
And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,
And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.
And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded;
The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets, See Exodus 26:1-37. It has been already observed Exodus 25:10 that in the instructions for making the sanctuary, the ark of the covenant, as the principal thing belonging to it, is mentioned first; but in the practical order of the work, as it is here arranged, the tabernacle with its tent and covering come first.
The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering, The covering - This is not the same as the covering of Exodus 35:11, which denotes the covering of the tent (see Exodus 26:14): the word is used here for the entrance curtains (see Exodus 26:36; Exodus 27:16).
The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread,
The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light,
And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle,
The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,
The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court,
The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, The word "tabernacle" משׁכן mı̂shkān is here used for the full name, the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. It denotes the entire structure.
The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office. The cloths of service to do service in the holy place - Rather; the garments of office to do service in the sanctuary, etc. See Exodus 31:10.
And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.
And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD'S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.
And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD. Bracelets - Rather, brooches.Earrings - The Hebrew word signifies a ring, either for the nose (see Genesis 24:22) or for the ear Exodus 32:2; Genesis 35:4. That ear-rings, not nose-rings, are here meant is confirmed by what we know of early Hebrew and Egyptian customs. Rings - Signet rings. Tablets - More probably, armlets. It is most likely that all the articles mentioned in this verse were of gold. The indulgence of private luxury was thus given up for the honor of the Lord. Compare Exodus 30:18 note.
And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them.
Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD'S offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.
And all the women that were wise hearted 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.
And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair.
And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; The precious stones Exodus 28:9 and spices were contributed by the rulers, who were more wealthy than the other Israelites.
And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.
The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.
And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;
And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;
And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, Curious works, cunning work - Works of skill. Compare Exodus 30:4.
And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.
And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.
Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work. The engraver - The artificer, literally "one who cuts": a general name for the workman, to which was added the name of the material in which he worked; thus the artificer in wood, or carpenter; the artificer in iron, or smith, etc. Exodus 35:32-33; Exodus 31:4-5 enumerate the branches of work committed to Bezaleel. What was under the charge of Aholiab is here for the first time clearly distinguished into the work of the skilled weaver, that of the embroiderer, and that of the weaver.The cunning workman - The skilled weaver, literally, "the reckoner". He might have been so called because he had nicely to count and calculate the threads in weaving figures after the manner of tapestry or carpet. His work was chiefly used in the curtains and veil of the tabernacle, in the ephod and the breastplate (Exodus 26:1, Exodus 26:31; Exodus 28:6, Exodus 28:15, etc.). The embroiderer - He worked with a needle, either shaping his design in stitches of colored thread, or in pieces of colored cloth sewn upon the groundwork. His work was employed in the entrance curtains of the tent and the court, and in the girdle of the high priest Exodus 26:36; Exodus 27:16; Exodus 28:39. The weaver - He appears to have worked in the loom in the ordinary way with materials of only a single color. The tissues made by him were used for the robe of the ephod and its binding, and for the coats of the priests Exodus 28:32; Exodus 39:22, Exodus 39:27. These three classes of workers were men, while the spinners and dyers were women Exodus 35:25. |
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