Chapter Thirty-Five

1–3. Repetition of the law concerning the Sabbath. 4–29. The people’s voluntary contributions of materials necessary for the construction of the tabernacle. 30–35. Appointment of builders of the tabernacle.

Exodus 35:1. Then Moses gathered the whole congregation of the children of Israel together and said to them: “These are the things which the Lord has commanded you to do: Exodus 35:2. “Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death; Exodus 35:3. “You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day. The repetition of the law concerning Sabbath rest before the beginning of work on the construction of the tabernacle was intended to warn the people, so that in their excessive zeal in building the holy place, they would not forget and violate one of the most important ordinances that was a pledge of their covenant with the Lord (cf. Exod 31:13 etc.). The new explanation of the law of the Sabbath forbids “kindling fire on the Sabbath day,” that is, preparing food.

Exodus 35:4. And Moses said to the congregation of the children of Israel: “This is the thing which the Lord commanded: Exodus 35:5. “Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and copper; Exodus 35:6. “and blue, purple, and crimson thread, fine linen, and goat’s hair; Exodus 35:7. “red ram skins, badger skins, and acacia wood; Exodus 35:8. “oil for the light, aromatic spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; Exodus 35:9. “onyx stones and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. See the explanation of verses 2–7 of chapter 25.

Exodus 35:10. “And all the wise-hearted among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded: Exodus 35:11. “the tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clips, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; Exodus 35:12. “the ark and its poles, the mercy seat, and the veil of the screen; the curtains of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; See the explanation of verses 9–12 of chapter 25; verses 31–33 of chapter 26; verses 23–25 of chapter 30.

Exodus 35:13. “the table, its poles, all its utensils, and the showbread; Exodus 35:14. “the lampstand for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light; See the explanation of verses 23–39 of chapter 25.

Exodus 35:15. “the incense altar, its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the screen for the door of the tabernacle; See the explanation of verses 1–10 of chapter 30.

Exodus 35:16. “the altar of burnt offering, its bronze grating, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin and its stand; See the explanation of verses 1–8 of chapter 27.

Exodus 35:17. “the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; Exodus 35:18. “the pegs of the tabernacle, the pegs of the court, and their cords; See the explanation of verses 9–19 of chapter 27. Superfluous in this case is the indication that the pillars of the outer court were fastened by means of cords.

Exodus 35:19. “the garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for serving as priests. See the explanation of chapter 28.

Exodus 35:20. Then all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. Exodus 35:21. And everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. Exodus 35:22. Men and women, all whose hearts were willing, brought brooches and earrings, rings and pendants, all kinds of gold ornaments, and everyone who made a waving offering of gold to the Lord; Exodus 35:23. and every man with whom was found blue, purple, and crimson thread, fine linen, and goat’s hair, red ram skins, and badger skins, brought them. Exodus 35:24. Everyone who offered a contribution of silver or copper brought the Lord’s offering, and everyone who had acacia wood for any work of the service brought it. Exodus 35:25. All the women whose hearts stirred with wisdom spun yarn of blue, purple, and crimson thread, and fine linen. Exodus 35:26. And all the women whose heart stirred with a willing spirit spun goat’s hair. Exodus 35:27. The rulers brought onyx stones and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate, Exodus 35:28. and spices and oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. Exodus 35:29. The children of Israel, all men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the Lord, through Moses, had commanded to be done, brought a freewill offering to the Lord. One can judge the people’s zeal by the fact that the materials brought turned out to be more than necessary, and Moses had to stop the flow of contributions (Exod 36:5-6). The gold articles could have been those which the Hebrews took from the Egyptians (see verses 19–20 of chapter 3).

Exodus 35:30. Then Moses said to the children of Israel: “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; Exodus 35:31. “and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of craftsmanship, Exodus 35:32. “to design artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, Exodus 35:33. “and in the cutting of stones, for setting, and in carving of wood, and to work in all manner of artistic craftsmanship. Exodus 35:34. “And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, he and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. See the explanation of verses 2–6 of chapter 31.

Exodus 35:35. “He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and of the designer and of the embroiderer, in blue, purple, and crimson thread, and in fine linen, and of the weaver—those doing any work and those devising artistic designs. The work of the engraver is carving work on metal, wood, and stone (Exod 35:33). The work of the designer is work with woven images. This work was done on the veil of the holy of holies, the ephod, and the first coverings of the tabernacle. The work of the weavers is work on single-color fabric.