Exodus 35:24

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.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(24) An offering of silver.—Silver had been enumerated among the offerings which would be accepted (Exodus 25:3; Exodus 35:5), and it was therefore brought; but it is difficult to say what was done with it. All the silver actually employed in the sanctuary came from the half-shekels paid when the people were numbered. (See Exodus 38:25-28.) Perhaps the silver free-will offerings were returned to the donors.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

35:20-29 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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

22. they came, both men and women, &c.—literally, "the men over and above the women"; a phraseology which implies that the women acted a prominent part, presented their offerings first, and then were followed by as many of their male companions as were similarly disposed.

brought bracelets, &c.—There was in that early age no money in the form of coins or bullion. What money passed current with the merchant consisted of rings which were weighed, and principally of ornaments for personal decoration. Astonishment at the abundance of their ornaments is at an end when we learn that costly and elegant ornaments abounded in proportion as clothing was simple and scarce among the Egyptians, and some, entirely divested of clothing, yet wore rich necklaces [Hengstenberg]. Among people with Oriental sentiments and tastes, scarcely any stronger proof could have been given of the power of religion than their willingness not only to lay aside, but to devote those much-valued trinkets to the house of God; and thus all, like the Eastern sages, laid the best they had at the service of God.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the Lord's offering,.... Every one that had any quantity of either of these, whose heart was inclined freely to part therewith, brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord:

and every man with whom was shittim wood; or acacia, a sort of wood which grew pretty plentifully in those parts; and such who had cut it down for some use or another, and were disposed to part with it

for any work of the service; of which many things were to be made, whether they were trees they had felled, or planks and boards they had cut them into:

brought it; a sufficient quantity of it, for the various uses it was to be put unto.

Geneva Study Bible

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.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

24. offering] not as v. 22, but, as v. 5, contribution (see on Exodus 25:2). The verb ‘offer’ is cognate: lit. lift or take up (see ibid.).

the service] the business of constructing the sanctuary; so Exodus 36:1; Exodus 36:3.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 24. - Every one that did offer an offering of silver. It would seem that silver was offered by some in the way of a free-will offering, in addition to the compulsory half-shekel (Exodus 30:12-16). Curiously, however, the amount obtained in this way is not given in Exodus 38:24-29. Exodus 35:24

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Preliminaries to the Work. - Exodus 35:1-29. After the restoration of the covenant, Moses announced to the people the divine commands with reference to the holy place of the tabernacle which was to be built. He repeated first of all (Exodus 35:1-3) the law of the Sabbath according to Exodus 31:13-17, and strengthened it by the announcement, that on the Sabbath no fire was to be kindled in their dwelling, because this rule was to be observed even in connection with the work to be done for the tabernacle. (For a fuller comment, see at Exodus 20:9.). Then, in accordance with the command of Jehovah, he first of all summoned the whole nation to present freewill-offerings for the holy things to be prepared (Exodus 35:4, Exodus 35:5), mentioning one by one all the materials that would be required (Exodus 35:5-9, as in Exodus 25:3-7); and after that he called upon those who were endowed with understanding to prepare the different articles, as prescribed in ch. 25-30, mentioning these also one by one (Exodus 35:11-19), even down to the pegs of the dwelling and court (Exodus 27:19), and "their cords," i.e., the cords required to fasten the tent and the hangings round the court to the pegs that were driven into the ground, which had not been mentioned before, being altogether subordinate things. (On the "cloths of service," Exodus 35:19, see at Exodus 31:10.) In Exodus 35:20-29 we have an account of the fulfilment of this command. The people went from Moses, i.e., from the place where they were assembled round Moses, away to their tents, and willingly offered the things required as a heave-offering for Jehovah; every one "whom his heart lifted up," i.e., who felt himself inclined and stirred up in his heart to do this. The men along with (על as in Genesis 32:12; see Ewald, 217) the women brought with a willing heart all kinds of golden rings and jewellery: chak, lit., hook, here a clasp or ring; nezem, an ear or nose-ring (Genesis 35:4; Genesis 24:47); tabbaath, a finger-ring; cumaz, globulus aureus, probably little golden balls strung together like beads, which were worn by the Israelites and Midianites (Numbers 31:50) as an ornament round the wrist and neck, as Diod. Sic. relates that they were by the Arabians (3, 44). "All kinds of golden jewellery, and every one who had waved (dedicated) a wave (offering) of gold to Jehovah," sc., offered it for the work of the tabernacle. The meaning is, that in addition to the many varieties of golden ornaments, which were willingly offered for the work to be performed, every one brought whatever gold he had set apart as a wave-offering (a sacrificial gift) for Jehovah. הניף to wave, lit., to swing or move to and fro, is used in connection with the sacrificial ritual to denote a peculiar ceremony, through which certain portions of a sacrifice, which were not intended for burning upon the altar, but for the maintenance of the priests (Numbers 18:11), were consecrated to the Lord, or given up to Him in a symbolical manner (see at Leviticus 7:30). Tenuphah, the wave-offering, accordingly denoted primarily those portions of the sacrificial animal which were allotted to the priests as their share of the sacrifices; and then, in a more general sense, every gift or offering that was consecrated to the Lord for the establishment and maintenance of the sanctuary and its worship. In this wider sense the term tenuphah (wave-offering) is applied both here and in Exodus 38:24, Exodus 38:29 to the gold and copper presented by the congregation for the building of the tabernacle. So that it does not really differ from terumah, a lift of heave-offering, as every gift intended for the erection and maintenance of the sanctuary was called, inasmuch as the offerer lifted it off from his own property, to dedicate it to the Lord for the purposes of His worship. Accordingly, in Exodus 35:24 the freewill-offerings of the people in silver and gold for the erection of the tabernacle are called terumah; and in Exodus 36:6, all the gifts of metal, wood, leather, and woven materials, presented by the people for the erection of the tabernacle, are called קדשׁ תּרוּמת. (On heaving and the heave-offering, see at Exodus 25:2 and Leviticus 2:9.)