19 `The coloured garments, to do service in the sanctuary, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons to act as priest in.'
`And thou, bring thou near unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from the midst of the sons of Israel, for his being priest to Me, `even' Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, sons of Aaron; and thou hast made holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for honour and for beauty; and thou -- thou dost speak unto all the wise of heart, whom I have filled `with' a spirit of wisdom, and they have made the garments of Aaron to sanctify him for his being priest to Me. `And these `are' the garments which they make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and an upper robe, and an embroidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle; yea, they have made holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and for his sons, for his being priest to Me. `And they take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the linen, and have made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, work of a designer; it hath two shoulders joining at its two ends, and it is joined. `And the girdle of his ephod which `is' on him, according to its work, is of the same, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen. `And thou hast taken the two shoham stones, and hast opened on them the names of the sons of Israel; six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the second stone, according to their births; the work of an engraver in stone, openings of a signet, thou dost open the two stones by the names of the sons of Israel; turned round, embroidered `with' gold, thou dost make them. `And thou hast set the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod -- stones of memorial to the sons of Israel -- and Aaron hath borne their names before Jehovah, on his two shoulders, for a memorial. `And thou hast made embroidered things of gold, and two chains of pure gold, wreathed work thou dost make them, work of thick bands, and thou hast put the thick chains on the embroidered things. `And thou hast made a breastplate of judgment, work of a designer; according to the work of the ephod thou dost make it; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen thou dost make it; it is square, doubled, a span its length, and a span its breadth. `And thou hast set in it settings of stone, four rows of stone; a row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle `is' the first row; and the second row `is' emerald, sapphire, and diamond; and the third row `is' opal, agate, and amethyst; and the fourth row `is' beryl, and onyx, and jasper; embroidered with gold are they in their settings, and the stones are according to the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, according to their names, openings of a signet, each by his name are they for the twelve tribes. `And thou hast made on the breastplate wreathed chains, work of thick bands, of pure gold; and thou hast made on the breastplate two rings of gold, and hast put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate; and thou hast put the two thick bands of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastplate; and the two ends of the two thick bands thou dost put on the two embroidered things, and thou hast put `them' on the shoulders of the ephod over-against its face. `And thou hast made two rings of gold, and hast set them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its border, which `is' over-against the ephod within; and thou hast made two rings of gold, and hast put them on the two shoulders of the ephod, beneath, over-against its front, over-against its joining, above the girdle of the ephod, and they bind the breastplate by its rings unto the rings of the ephod with a ribbon of blue, to be above the girdle of the ephod, and the breastplate is not loosed from the ephod. `And Aaron hath borne the names of the sons of Israel in the breastplate of judgment, on his heart, in his going in unto the sanctuary, for a memorial before Jehovah continually. `And thou hast put unto the breastplate of judgment the Lights and the Perfections, and they have been on the heart of Aaron, in his going in before Jehovah, and Aaron hath borne the judgment of the sons of Israel on his heart before Jehovah continually. `And thou hast made the upper robe of the ephod completely of blue, and the opening for its head hath been in its midst, a border is to its opening round about, work of a weaver, as the opening of a habergeon there is to it; it is not rent. `And thou hast made on its hem pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, on its hem round about, and bells of gold in their midst round about; a bell of gold and a pomegranate, a bell of gold and a pomegranate `are' on the hems of the upper robe round about. `And it hath been on Aaron to minister in, and its sound hath been heard in his coming in unto the sanctuary before Jehovah, and in his going out, and he doth not die. `And thou hast made a flower of pure gold, and hast opened on it -- openings of a signet -- `Holy to Jehovah;' and thou hast put it on a blue ribbon, and it hath been on the mitre -- over-against the front of the mitre it is; and it hath been on the forehead of Aaron, and Aaron hath borne the iniquity of the holy things which the sons of Israel do hallow, even all their holy gifts; and it hath been on his forehead continually for a pleasing thing for them before Jehovah. `And thou hast embroidered the coat of linen, and hast made a mitre of linen, and a girdle thou dost make -- work of an embroiderer. `And for the sons of Aaron thou dost make coats, and thou hast made for them girdles, yea, bonnets thou dost make for them, for honour and for beauty; and thou hast clothed Aaron thy brother with them, and his sons with him, and hast anointed them, and hast consecrated their hand, and hast sanctified them, and they have been priests to Me. `And make thou for them linen trousers to cover the naked flesh: they are from the loins even unto the thighs; and they have been on Aaron and on his sons, in their going in unto the tent of meeting, or in their drawing nigh unto the altar to minister in the sanctuary, and they do not bear iniquity nor have they died; a statute age-during to him, and to his seed after him.
And of the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, they made coloured garments, to minister in the sanctuary; and they make the holy garments which `are' for Aaron, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And he maketh the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, and they expand the plates of gold, and have cut off wires to work in the midst of the blue, and in the midst of the purple, and in the midst of the scarlet, and in the midst of the linen -- work of a designer; shoulder-pieces they have made for it, joining; at its two ends it is joined. And the girdle of his ephod which `is' on it is of the same, according to its work, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And they prepare the shoham stones, set, embroidered `with' gold, opened with openings of a signet, by the names of the sons of Israel; and he setteth them on the shoulders of the ephod -- stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And he maketh the breastplate, work of a designer, like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen; it hath been square; double they have made the breastplate, a span its length, and a span its breadth, doubled. And they fill in it four rows of stones; a row of a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle `is' the one row; and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row an opal, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper -- set, embroidered `with' gold, in their settings. And the stones, according to the names of the sons of Israel, are twelve, according to their names, openings of a signet, each according to his name, for the twelve tribes. And they make on the breastplate wreathed chains, work of thick bands, of pure gold; and they make two embroidered things of gold, and two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate, and they put the two thick bands of gold on the two rings on the ends of the breastplate; and the two ends of the two thick bands they have put on the two embroidered things, and they put them on the shoulders of the ephod, over-against its front. And they make two rings of gold, and set `them' on the two ends of the breastplate, on its border, which `is' on the side of the ephod within; and they make two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulders of the ephod below, over-against its front, over-against its joining, above the girdle of the ephod; and they bind the breastplate by its rings unto the rings of the ephod, with a ribbon of blue, to be above the girdle of the ephod, and the breastplate is not loosed from off the ephod, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And he maketh the upper robe of the ephod, work of a weaver, completely of blue; and the opening of the upper robe `is' in its midst, as the opening of a habergeon, a border `is' to its opening round about, it is not rent; and they make on the hems of the upper robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, twined. And they make bells of pure gold, and put the bells in the midst of the pomegranates, on the hems of the upper robe, round about, in the midst of the pomegranates; a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, `are' on the hems of the upper robe, round about, to minister in, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And they make the coats of linen, work of a weaver, for Aaron and for his sons, and the mitre of linen, and the beautiful bonnets of linen, and the linen trousers, of twined linen, and the girdle of twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, work of an embroiderer, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses. And they make the flower of the holy crown of pure gold, and write on it a writing, openings of a signet, `Holy to Jehovah;' and they put on it a ribbon of blue, to put `it' on the mitre above, as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.
that Aaron and his sons have come in, in the journeying of the camp, and have taken down the vail of the hanging, and have covered with it the ark of the testimony; and have put on it a covering of badger skin, and have spread a garment completely of blue above, and have placed its staves. `And on the table of the presence they spread a garment of blue, and have put on it the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and the cups of the libation, and the bread of continuity is on it, and they have spread over them a garment of scarlet, and have covered it with a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves, and have taken a garment of blue, and have covered the candlestick of the lamp, and its lights, and its snuffers, and its snuff-dishes, and all its oil vessels wherewith they minister to it; and they have put it and all its vessels unto a covering of badger skin, and have put `it' on the bar. `And on the golden altar they spread a garment of blue, and have covered it with a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves; and have taken all the vessels of ministry wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and have put `them' unto a garment of blue, and have covered them with a covering of badger skin, and have put `them' on the bar, and have removed the ashes of the altar, and have spread over it a garment of purple; and have put on it all its vessels wherewith they minister about it, the censers, the hooks, and the shovels, and the bowls, all the vessels of the altar, and have spread on it a covering of badger skin, and have placed its staves: `And Aaron hath finished -- his sons also -- covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, in the journeying of the camp, and afterwards do the sons of Kohath come in to bear `it', and they do not come unto the holy thing, that they have died; these `things are' the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 35
Commentary on Exodus 35 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Preliminaries to the Work. - Ex 35:1-29. After the restoration of the covenant, Moses announced to the people the divine commands with reference to the holy place of the tabernacle which was to be built. He repeated first of all (Exodus 35:1-3) the law of the Sabbath according to Exodus 31:13-17, and strengthened it by the announcement, that on the Sabbath no fire was to be kindled in their dwelling, because this rule was to be observed even in connection with the work to be done for the tabernacle. (For a fuller comment, see at Exodus 20:9.). Then, in accordance with the command of Jehovah, he first of all summoned the whole nation to present freewill-offerings for the holy things to be prepared (Exodus 35:4, Exodus 35:5), mentioning one by one all the materials that would be required (Exodus 35:5-9, as in Exodus 25:3-7); and after that he called upon those who were endowed with understanding to prepare the different articles, as prescribed in ch. 25-30, mentioning these also one by one (Exodus 35:11-19), even down to the pegs of the dwelling and court (Exodus 27:19), and “their cords,” i.e., the cords required to fasten the tent and the hangings round the court to the pegs that were driven into the ground, which had not been mentioned before, being altogether subordinate things. (On the “cloths of service,” Exodus 35:19, see at Exodus 31:10.) In Exodus 35:20-29 we have an account of the fulfilment of this command. The people went from Moses, i.e., from the place where they were assembled round Moses, away to their tents, and willingly offered the things required as a heave-offering for Jehovah; every one “whom his heart lifted up,” i.e., who felt himself inclined and stirred up in his heart to do this. The men along with ( על as in Genesis 32:12; see Ewald , §217) the women brought with a willing heart all kinds of golden rings and jewellery: chak , lit., hook, here a clasp or ring; nezem , an ear or nose-ring (Genesis 35:4; Genesis 24:47); tabbaath , a finger-ring; cumaz , globulus aureus , probably little golden balls strung together like beads, which were worn by the Israelites and Midianites (Numbers 31:50) as an ornament round the wrist and neck, as Diod. Sic. relates that they were by the Arabians (3, 44). “ All kinds of golden jewellery, and every one who had waved (dedicated) a wave (offering) of gold to Jehovah, ” sc., offered it for the work of the tabernacle. The meaning is, that in addition to the many varieties of golden ornaments, which were willingly offered for the work to be performed, every one brought whatever gold he had set apart as a wave-offering (a sacrificial gift) for Jehovah. הניף to wave , lit., to swing or move to and fro, is used in connection with the sacrificial ritual to denote a peculiar ceremony, through which certain portions of a sacrifice, which were not intended for burning upon the altar, but for the maintenance of the priests (Numbers 18:11), were consecrated to the Lord, or given up to Him in a symbolical manner (see at Leviticus 7:30). Tenuphah , the wave-offering, accordingly denoted primarily those portions of the sacrificial animal which were allotted to the priests as their share of the sacrifices; and then, in a more general sense, every gift or offering that was consecrated to the Lord for the establishment and maintenance of the sanctuary and its worship. In this wider sense the term tenuphah (wave-offering) is applied both here and in Exodus 38:24, Exodus 38:29 to the gold and copper presented by the congregation for the building of the tabernacle. So that it does not really differ from terumah , a lift of heave-offering, as every gift intended for the erection and maintenance of the sanctuary was called, inasmuch as the offerer lifted it off from his own property, to dedicate it to the Lord for the purposes of His worship. Accordingly, in Exodus 35:24 the freewill-offerings of the people in silver and gold for the erection of the tabernacle are called terumah ; and in Exodus 36:6, all the gifts of metal, wood, leather, and woven materials, presented by the people for the erection of the tabernacle, are called קדשׁ תּרוּמת . (On heaving and the heave-offering, see at Exodus 25:2 and Leviticus 2:9.)
All the women who understood it (were wise-hearted, as in Exodus 28:3) spun with their hands, and presented what they spun, viz., the yarn required for the blue and red purple cloth, the crimson and the byssus; from which it is evident that the coloured cloths were dyed in the yarn or in the wool, as was the case in Egypt according to different specimens of old Egyptian cloths (see Hengstenberg, Egypt and the Books of Moses , p. 144). Other women spun goats' hair for the upper or outer covering of the tent (Exodus 26:7.). Spinning was done by the women in very early times ( Plin. hist. n. 8, 48), particularly in Egypt, where women are represented on the monuments as busily engaged with the spindle (see Wilkinson, Manners ii. p. 60; iii. p. 133, 136), and at a later period among the Hebrews (Proverbs 31:19). At the present day the women in the peninsula of Sinai spin the materials for their tents from camels' and goats' hair, and prepare sheep's wool for their clothing ( Rppell , Nubien , p. 202); and at Neswa, in the province of Omהn , the preparation of cotton yarn is the principal employment of the women ( Wellstedt , i. p. 90). Weaving also was, and still is to a great extent, a woman's work (cf. 2 Kings 23:7); it is so among the Arab tribes in the Wady Gharandel, for example ( Russegger , iii. 24), and in Nubia ( Burckhardt , Nub. p. 211); but at Neswa the weaving is done by the men ( Wellstedt ). The woven cloths for the tabernacle were prepared by men, partly perhaps because the weaving in Egypt was mostly done by the men ( Herod . 2, 35; cf. Hengstenberg, p. 143), but chiefly for this reason, that the cloths for the hangings and curtains were artistic works, which the women did not understand, but which the men had learned in Egypt, where artistic weaving was carried out to a great extent (Wilkinson, iii. pp. 113ff.).
(Note: For drawings of the Egyptian weaving-stool, see Wilkinson, iii. p. 135; also Hartmann , die Hebräerinn am Putztisch i. Taf. 1.)
The precious stones for the robes of the high priest, and the spices for the incense and anointing oil, were presented by the princes of the congregation, who had such costly things in their possession.
Moses then informed the people that God had called Bezaleel and Aholiab as master-builders, to complete the building and all the work connected with it, and had not only endowed them with His Spirit, that they might draw the plans for the different works and carry them out, but “had put it into his (Bezaleel's) heart to teach” (Exodus 35:34), that is to say, had qualified him to instruct labourers to prepare the different articles under his supervision and guidance. “ He and Aholiab ” (Exodus 35:34) are in apposition to “his heart:” into his and Aholiab's heart (see Ges. §121, 3; Ewald , §311 a). The concluding words in Exodus 35:35 are in apposition to אתם ( them ): “ them hath He filled with wisdom...as performers of every kind of work and inventors of designs,” i.e., that they may make every kind of work and may invent designs. In Exodus 36:1, ועשׂה with vav consec . is dependent upon what precedes, and signifies either, “and so will make,” or, so that he will make (see Ewald , §342 b). The idea is this, “Bezaleel, Aholiab, and the other men who understand, into whom Jehovah has infused ( בּ נתן ) wisdom and understanding, that they may know how to do, shall do every work for the holy service (worship) with regard to ( ל as in Exodus 28:38, etc.) all that Jehovah has commanded.”