Exodus 31:2-6

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 31:6

In the hearts of all that are wisehearted I have put wisdom - So every man that had a natural genius, as we term it, had an increase of wisdom by immediate inspiration from God, so that he knew how to execute the different works which Divine wisdom designed for the tabernacle and its furniture. Dark as were the heathens, yet they acknowledged that all talents, and the seeds of all arts, came from God. Hence Seneca: Insita nobis omnium artium semina, magisterque ex occulto Deus producit... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 31:2

Verse 2 2.See, I have called by name Bezaleel. In the remainder of this work we shall follow the course of the history to the end of Deuteronomy, where the death of Moses himself is recorded. Although God had omitted nothing which related to the form of the tabernacle, but had accurately prescribed every thing that was to be done, still the actual difficulty of the work might have overwhelmed both Moses and the whole people with despair; for this was no ordinary work, or one on which the most... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 31:6

Verse 6 6.And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab. It is no matter of surprise that the principal workman should be chosen from the tribe of Judah; (291) why a companion should be given him from the tribe of Dan can hardly be accounted for, unless its obscurity more highly illustrated the grace of God. A kind of contradiction at first sight appears, when it is added immediately afterwards that God had put wisdom in the hearts of all that were wise-hearted; for, if they already excelled in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 31:1-11

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 31:2

I have called by name . God "calls by name" only those whom he appoints to some high office, as Moses ( Exodus 3:4 ; Exodus 33:12 ), Cyrus ( Isaiah 45:3 , Isaiah 45:4 ), and here Bezaleel and Aholiab. He honours us highly in even condescending to "know us by name," still more in "calling" us. Bezaleel is traced to Judah in Chronicles through five ancestors—Uri, Hur, Caleb, Hezron, and Pharez, Judah's son by Tamar. The genealogy, though less contracted than most of those in Exodus,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 31:3

The Spirit of God . There is no article in the Hebrew, any more than in Genesis 1:1 ; and some would therefore translate "a Divine Spirit"; but no change is needed. Ruakh elohim contains in itself the idea of singularity, since God has but one Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the medium of communication whereby God the Father bestows all gifts upon us. In wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge . By the first of these terms is meant the power to invent and originate; by the second... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 31:3-6

Artistic excellence. I. ITS FOUNDATION A NATURAL GIFT . God singled out from the mass of the people such as were "wise hearted." A natural foundation was necessary for his spirit to work upon. It is generally allowed, in the case of a poet, that " nascitur, non fit ." But the same is true of all art-genius. Every artist, be he poet, painter, sculptor, musician, or mere designer of furniture, requires to have a something implanted within him from the first, out of which his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 31:4-5

The result of these gifts would be to enable him—1. To devise cunning works — i.e; to design everything excellently; and 2. To work in all manner of workmanship — i.e; to carry out his designs with success. It has been said that "as everything that had to be done was prescribed in strict and precise detail, there was to be no exercise of original powers of invention nor of taste" (Cook); but this was scarcely so. The forms of the cherubim, the patterns to be woven into the stuffs, or... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 31:5

In cutting of stones — i.e; "in Genesis-curling." The fabric of the tabernacle was entirely of metal, cloth, and wood. In carving of timber . Rather "cutting." The word is the same as that used of the stones. And no ornamental "carving" of the woodwork was prescribed. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 31:6

Aholiab appears to have had the entire charge of the textile fabrics, both woven and embroidered ( Exodus 38:23 ). Of the tribe of Ban . It is remarkable that Hiram, the chief artist employed by Solomon for the ornamental work of the temple, was also a descendant of Dan ( 2 Chronicles 2:14 ). Yet the Danites were in general rather warlike and rude than artistic ( Genesis 49:17 ; Deuteronomy 33:22 ; 13:2 ; 18:11 , 18:27 ). In the hearts of all that are wise hearted have I put... read more

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