Keluaran 31:3-5

31:3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God ¹  in skill, ²  in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds ³  of craftsmanship, 31:4 to make artistic designs ⁴  for work with gold, with silver, and with bronze, 31:5 and with cutting and setting stone, and with cutting wood, to work in all kinds of craftsmanship.

Keluaran 31:1

Willing Artisans

31:1 ⁵ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁶ 

Kisah Para Rasul 7:14

7:14 So Joseph sent a message ⁷  and invited ⁸  his father Jacob and all his relatives to come, seventy-five people ⁹  in all.

Yesaya 28:26

28:26 His God instructs him;

he teaches him the principles of agriculture. ¹⁰ 

Yesaya 28:29

28:29 This also comes from the Lord who commands armies,

who gives supernatural guidance and imparts great wisdom. ¹¹ 

Yesaya 60:10

60:10 Foreigners will rebuild your walls;

their kings will serve you.

Even though I struck you down in my anger,

I will restore my favor and have compassion on you. ¹² 

[31:3]  ¹ sn The expression in the Bible means that the individual was given special, supernatural enablement to do what God wanted done. It usually is said of someone with exceptional power or ability. The image of “filling” usually means under the control of the Spirit, so that the Spirit is the dominant force in the life.

[31:3]  ² sn The following qualities are the ways in which the Spirit’s enablement will be displayed. “Skill” is the ability to produce something valuable to God and the community, “understanding” is the ability to distinguish between things, to perceive the best way to follow, and “knowledge” is the experiential awareness of how things are done.

[31:3]  ³ tn Heb “and in all work”; “all” means “all kinds of” here.

[31:4]  ⁴ tn The expression is לַחְשֹׁב מַחֲשָׁבֹת (lakhshov makhashavot, “to devise devices”). The infinitive emphasizes that Bezalel will be able to design or plan works that are artistic or skillful. He will think thoughts or devise the plans, and then he will execute them in silver or stone or whatever other material he uses.

[31:1]  ⁵ sn The next unit describes the preparation of skilled workers to build all that has been listed now for several chapters. This chapter would have been the bridge to the building of the sanctuary (35-39) if it were not for the idolatrous interlude. God called individuals and prepared them by his Spirit to be skilled to do the work for the tabernacle. If this were the substance of an exposition, it would clearly be a message on gifted people doing the work – close to the spiritual lesson of Ephesians 4. There would be two levels of meaning: the physical, which looks at the skilled artisans providing for a place to worship Yahweh, and the spiritual, which would bring in the Spirit-filled servants of God participating in building up his kingdom.

[31:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.”

[7:14]  ⁷ tn The words “a message” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[7:14]  ⁸ tn Or “Joseph had his father summoned” (BDAG 121 s.v. ἀποστέλλω 2.b).

[7:14]  ⁹ tn Grk “souls” (here an idiom for the whole person).

[28:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he teaches him the proper way, his God instructs him.”

[28:29]  ¹¹ sn Verses 23-29 emphasize that God possesses great wisdom and has established a natural order. Evidence of this can be seen in the way farmers utilize divinely imparted wisdom to grow and harvest crops. God’s dealings with his people will exhibit this same kind of wisdom and order. Judgment will be accomplished according to a divinely ordered timetable and, while severe enough, will not be excessive. Judgment must come, just as planting inevitably follows plowing. God will, as it were, thresh his people, but he will not crush them to the point where they will be of no use to him.

[60:10]  ¹² tn Heb “in my favor I will have compassion on you.”