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Êxodo 31

ARC · Chapter 31/40

1Depois fallou o Senhor a Moysés, dizendo:

2Eis que eu tenho chamado por nome a Bezaleel, o filho de Uri, filho d'Ur, da tribu de Judah,

3E o enchi do espirito de Deus, de sabedoria, e de entendimento, e de sciencia, em todo o artificio,

4Para inventar invenções, e obrar em oiro, em prata, e em cobre,

5E em lavramento de pedras para engastar, e em artificio de madeira, para obrar em todo o lavor.

6E eis que eu tenho posto com elle a Aholiab, o filho de Ahisamach, da tribu de Dan, e tenho dado sabedoria ao coração de todo aquelle que é sabio de coração, para que façam tudo o que te tenho ordenado;

7A saber, a tenda da congregação, e a arca do testemunho, e o propiciatorio que estará sobre ella, e todos os vasos da tenda;

8E a mesa com os seus vasos, e o castiçal puro com todos os seus vasos, e o altar do incenso;

9E o altar do holocausto com todos os seus vasos, e a pia com a sua base;

10E os vestidos do ministerio, e os vestidos sanctos de Aarão o sacerdote, e os vestidos de seus filhos, para administrarem o sacerdocio;

11E o azeite da uncção, e o incenso aromatico para o sanctuario: farão conforme a tudo que te tenho mandado.

12Fallou mais o Senhor a Moysés, dizendo:

13Tu pois falla aos filhos de Israel, dizendo: Certamente guardareis meus sabbados: porquanto isso é um signal entre mim e vós nas vossas gerações; para que saibaes que eu sou o Senhor, que vos sanctifica.

14Portanto guardareis o sabbado, porque sancto é para vós: aquelle que o profanar certamente morrerá; porque qualquer que n'elle fizer alguma obra, aquella alma será extirpada do meio do seu povo.

15Seis dias se fará obra, porém o setimo dia é o sabbado do descanço, sancto ao Senhor; qualquer que no dia do sabbado fizer obra, certamente morrerá.

16Guardarão pois o sabbado os filhos de Israel, celebrando o sabbado nas suas gerações por concerto perpetuo.

17Entre mim e os filhos de Israel será um signal para sempre: porque em seis dias fez o Senhor os céus e a terra, e ao setimo dia descançou, e restaurou-se.

18E deu a Moysés (quando acabou de fallar com elle no monte de Sinai) as duas taboas do testemunho, taboas de pedra, escriptas pelo dedo de Deus.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God appoints Bezalel and Aholiab, craftsmen filled with the Spirit of God, to lead the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings; the importance of the Sabbath is reaffirmed, and Moses receives the two stone tablets written by God's own finger.

Explanation

This chapter highlights something remarkable: the artistic and technical skill of Bezalel and Aholiab is described as a direct gift of the Spirit of God, showing that creative excellence in craftsmanship and artistry is also a legitimate and valued form of spiritual service, not something separate from faith. This is one of the earliest explicit biblical mentions of the 'Spirit of God' equipping someone for a specific task, broadening our understanding of how God equips different people with varied gifts to fulfill his collective purposes. The renewed emphasis on the Sabbath, right after the extensive instructions for building the tabernacle, serves as a reminder that even the most sacred work should not override the rhythm of rest God established at creation. The chapter closes with the solemn handing over of the stone tablets 'written with the finger of God' (v. 18), a symbolic milestone of the direct, divine authority of the Law that Moses was about to bring to the people — though, as the next chapter will reveal, this handover would tragically coincide with the people's worst moment of unfaithfulness so far.

Fun facts

  • Bezalel, whose name means 'in the shadow (protection) of God,' is the first individual in the Bible explicitly described as 'filled... with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship' (v. 3), setting an important theological precedent for the divine origin of creativity and craftsmanship.
  • The expression that the tablets were written 'with the finger of God' (v. 18) is used in another context by Jesus in Luke 11:20, when he describes his own miracles of deliverance as performed 'with the finger of God,' poetically connecting the authority of the ancient Law to the authority of Jesus' ministry.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Êxodo 31:1After all the detailed instructions about construction, God reveals who would actually carry out the work, starting with the name of the chief craftsman.
  2. Êxodo 31:2Bezaleel, of the tribe of Judah, is called by name by God to lead the entire work of building the tabernacle and its objects.
  3. Êxodo 31:3Bezaleel was the craftsman chosen to lead the building of the tabernacle and its objects. The text describes his technical skill, working gold, silver, stone, and wood, as a gift coming directly from God, not just talent learned on his own.
  4. Êxodo 31:4Bezaleel’s skill included devising original designs and precisely working the three metals used in the construction: gold, silver, and bronze.
  5. Êxodo 31:5Besides the metals, Bezaleel also mastered the cutting of precious stones and detailed woodwork, covering practically every technique needed.
  6. Êxodo 31:6God also appoints a second craftsman, Aholiab, of the tribe of Dan, to work alongside Bezaleel, besides granting skill to other talented craftsmen among the people.
  7. Êxodo 31:7Lists the main pieces this team of craftsmen would need to build: the tent, the ark, the mercy seat, and the other utensils of the tabernacle.
  8. Êxodo 31:8Continues the list with the table of bread, the lampstand, and the altar of incense, picking up items already detailed in the previous chapters.
  9. Êxodo 31:9Completes the list with the altar of sacrifice and the basin for washing, located in the outer area of the tabernacle.
  10. Êxodo 31:10Also includes making the priestly garments, both the ones for ordinary use and the special garments of Aaron and his sons.
  11. Êxodo 31:11Closes the team’s list of responsibilities with the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, the last two items in this long list of tasks.
  12. Êxodo 31:12After the whole extensive list of instructions about construction, God returns to a theme already mentioned before: the importance of keeping the sabbath.
  13. Êxodo 31:13The sabbath is presented as a visible sign of the covenant between God and Israel, a weekly reminder that it is God who sanctifies the people.
  14. Êxodo 31:14The sabbath, the weekly day of rest, is presented here as a “sign” between God and the people of Israel, something that set them apart from the other nations. The death penalty prescribed for anyone who worked on that day shows how much weight this law carried within the Old Testament’s legal system, even though there is no detailed record of how or how often it was actually applied.
  15. Êxodo 31:15Reinforces the seriousness of the sabbath law, repeating the death penalty for anyone who worked on that specific day, even amid the urgency of building the tabernacle.
  16. Êxodo 31:16Determines that the observance of the sabbath had to keep being practiced by all of Israel’s future generations, as a permanent part of the covenant.
  17. Êxodo 31:17The word used here for “was refreshed” carries the sense of catching one’s breath, breathing a sigh of relief, a very human way of describing God’s rest after creation, as told in Genesis. It is that pause that serves as the model for the weekly rest the people were to follow.
  18. Êxodo 31:18The phrase “finger of God” indicates that the Ten Commandments, unlike the other laws given through Moses, were recorded directly, with no intermediary. It is a way of marking the special authority of this particular set of rules.

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