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Êxodo 31

BLIVRE · Chapter 31/40

1E falou o SENHOR a Moisés, dizendo:

2Olha, eu chamei por seu nome a Bezalel, filho de Uri, filho de Hur, da tribo de Judá;

3E o enchi de espírito de Deus, em sabedoria, e em inteligência, e em conhecimento, e em todo artifício,

4Para inventar desenhos, para trabalhar em ouro, e em prata, e em bronze,

5E em artifício de pedras para engastá-las, e em artifício de madeira; para agir em todo tipo de trabalho.

6E eis que eu pus com ele a Aoliabe, filho de Aisamaque, da tribo de Dã: e pus sabedoria no ânimo de todo sábio de coração, para que façam tudo o que te mandei:

7O tabernáculo do testemunho, e a arca do testemunho, e o propiciatório que está sobre ela, e todos os utensílios do tabernáculo;

8E a mesa e seus utensílios, e o candelabro limpo e todos os seus utensílios, e o altar do incenso;

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

10E as roupas do serviço, e as santas vestiduras para Arão o sacerdote, e as vestiduras de seus filhos, para que exerçam o sacerdócio;

11E o azeite da unção, e o incenso aromático para o santuário: farão conforme tudo o que te mandei.

12Falou também o SENHOR a Moisés, dizendo:

13E tu falarás aos filhos de Israel, dizendo: Com tudo isso vós guardareis meus sábados: porque é sinal entre mim e vós por vossas gerações, para que saibais que eu sou o SENHOR que vos santifico.

14Assim guardareis o sábado, porque santo é a vós: o que o profanar, certamente morrerá; porque qualquer um que fizer obra alguma nele, aquela alma será cortada do meio de seus povos.

15Seis dias se fará obra, mas o dia sétimo é sábado de repouso consagrado ao SENHOR; qualquer um que fizer obra no dia do sábado certamente morrerá.

16Guardarão, pois, o sábado os filhos de Israel: celebrando-o por suas gerações por pacto perpétuo:

17Sinal é para sempre entre mim e os filhos de Israel; porque em seis dias fez o SENHOR os céus e a terra, e no sétimo dia cessou, e repousou.

18E deu a Moisés quando acabou de falar com ele no monte de Sinai, duas tábuas do testemunho, tábuas de pedra escritas com o 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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