Exodus 35:17
Ver. 17. The hangings of the court,.... Of the tabernacle, the outward court, which were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits long on each side, north and south, and fifty cubits broad, east and west; see Ex 27:9
his pillars, and their sockets; the pillars were they on which the hangings were hung; and the sockets were what the pillars were let into and fastened in:
and the hanging for the door of the court; at the east of it, of which see Ex 27:16. Exodus 35:18Ver. 18. The pins of the tabernacle,.... Which were to fix and fasten the ends of the curtains in the ground, that they might not be moved with the wind, as Jarchi observes:and the pins of the court, and their cords; which were for the same use; see Ex 27:19. Exodus 35:19Ver. 19. The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place,.... To wrap up the various vessels of the tabernacle, when removed from place to place; see Ex 31:10 or the priests' vestments, in which they did their service, and therefore it follows, by way of apposition:the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office; for which there are particular directions in Ex 28:1. Exodus 35:20Ver. 20. And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. After they had heard what Moses was ordered to propose unto them, they immediately went to their tents, and fetched what they had with them, or were willing to part with, and brought it directly as a freewill offering to the Lord; as Ex 35:21 shows: from hence, Aben Ezra observes, we may learn, that the whole congregation of Israel came to the tabernacle, company after company. Exodus 35:21Ver. 21. And they came everyone whose heart stirred him up,.... Who felt an impulse upon his mind, a strong inclination in him:and everyone whom his spirit made willing; or was endowed with a free and liberal spirit, and was heartily willing to bear a part, and cheerfully contribute to this service; otherwise the willing mind, as well as the ability, were given them of God; see 1Ch 29:14:and they brought the Lord's offering; an offering to him, and such as he directed and disposed them to bring, and which was for his worship and service, and the honour of his name, and was acceptable to him:to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation; for the making of that, the several parts of it, and all things in it:and for all his service; either the service of God, or of his tabernacle, which is the same:and for the holy garments; that is, of Aaron and his sons. Exodus 35:22Ver. 22. And they came both men and women, as many as were willing hearted,.... And none else were asked to come; and this supposes, that as there were many of both sexes that were quite cordial, and heartily willing to contribute to the uttermost of what they had for this service, so there were others that were not:and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets; the first of these, according to our version, seem to be ornaments, not about the neck, but the hands and arms, or wrists, see Ge 24:22 though the word seems to have the signification of an hook, and may mean buckles or clasps, with which some part of their garments were coupled and fastened; so Kimchi says {b}, that in his opinion it was an ornament somewhat like a needle, with which they pierced and joined the two parts of the collar of a shirt under the throat: the next are such ornaments as were worn in the ears, and though many had been given for the making of the golden calf, yet not all; there were many that did not give their earrings for this service, especially the women, perhaps only the men, see Ex 32:2 the "rings" were such as were worn on the finger, as all seem to agree; but what the "tablets" were is hard to say, the word being only used in this place and Nu 31:50: some take them for ornaments worn on the right arm; others for the covering of another part, not to be named; others for girdles or aprons; Aben Ezra gives a different account of most of them; he says the first design ornaments in the ear, or earrings; the second such as were worn in the nose, or nose jewels; and the third indeed such as were put on the finger; and the fourth, that were upon the arm: however, they were alljewels of gold; or were all such ornaments as were made of gold; and these are first mentioned, as being probably first brought, and were what were asked for in the first place, gold being wanted for several things:and every man that offered [offered] an offering of gold unto the Lord; that is, everyone of the first company that came, their offering was of gold, or something made of gold.{b} Sepher Shorash. rad. xx Exodus 35:23Ver. 23. And every man with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet,.... Wool or yarn of either of the colours; unless it can be supposed there might be with some of them the ingredients with which colours were made, brought with them out of Egypt:and fine linen; they had brought out of Egypt, and for which that country was famous:and goats' [hair]; which in those countries was so long as to be shorn like the wool of sheep:and red skins of the rams; died red, for it does not mean any that were naturally so, of which none are known:and badgers' skins; see Ex 25:5 of each of these, such who had them in their possession, and their hearts were willing to part with them:brought [them]; to Moses, to the tabernacle or tent where he was. Exodus 35:24Ver. 24. Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the Lord's offering,.... Every one that had any quantity of either of these, whose heart was inclined freely to part therewith, brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord:and every man with whom was shittim wood; or acacia, a sort of wood which grew pretty plentifully in those parts; and such who had cut it down for some use or another, and were disposed to part with itfor any work of the service; of which many things were to be made, whether they were trees they had felled, or planks and boards they had cut them into:brought [it]; a sufficient quantity of it, for the various uses it was to be put unto. Exodus 35:25Ver. 25. And all the women that were wise hearted,.... That were ingenious, and had a good hand at spinning particularly, these were of the common and lower sort; the more honourable and richer sort of women are before mentioned, as bringing jewels or ornaments of gold of different sorts: but these were such whodid spin [with] their hands; in which way they got their living: some were more dexterous at it than others:and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen; that is, yarn of these several colours, and flaxen thread, of which fine linen was made, all ready for the weaver, whether in woollen or linen. Exodus 35:26Ver. 26. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom,.... To be ingenious in their business, and to study to do it in a curious manner, and to do that which others could not:spun goats' [hair]; some join the phrase, "in wisdom", in the preceding clause with this, neglecting the accent "Athnach", which divides them, thus, "in wisdom spun goats' hair"; and which, without being separated from the preceding clause, may be understood and repeated in this: for, as Aben Ezra says, to spin goats' hair was an art that required excellent wisdom; and so Jarchi: in the eastern countries there is a sort of goats' hair very bright and fine, and hangs to the ground, and the beauty of it is equal almost to that of silk, and is never sheared, but combed off, and the women of the country spin it; and at this day a great trade is driven with it at Angora and Aleppo {c}.{c} Calmet in the word "Hair". Exodus 35:27Ver. 27. And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set,.... Or "stones of fillings" {d}, to be set in ouches, and fill them up, as stones set in rings do:for the ephod, and for the breastplate; the onyx stones were for the shoulder pieces of the ephod; and the other stones were for the breastplate of judgment, and both to be borne by the high priest, for a memorial of the children of Israel before the Lord, whose names were engraven on these stones: the rulers are mentioned last, as bringing their offerings: the reason of which may not be, because they were backward to it, for they might offer earlier, though recorded last; or if they offered last, it might be because they brought things that others could not; namely, the precious stones here mentioned, and other things in the next verse, the common people had not; though some of the Jewish writers tax them with dilatoriness, and observe a letter wanting in the word for "rulers", it generally has; omitted to denote, as they think, that they were slow and backward in offering; so Jarchi notes from R. Nathan.{d} Myalmh ynba "lapides plenitudinum", Pagninus, Montanus; "repletionum", Vatablus; "impletionum", Drusius. Exodus 35:28Ver. 28. And spice and oil,.... Such excellent spices and precious oil, pure oil olive, as the common people had not, and which they brought out of Egypt; the one wasfor the light: for the light of the candlestick only; the oil, and other spices,were for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense; the spices for the former were pure myrrh, sweet cinnamon, sweet calamus and cassia; and for the latter, stacte, onycha, galbanum, with pure frankincense. Exodus 35:29Ver. 29. The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord,.... What they did, whether more or less, they did it cheerfully and willingly, as to the Lord, for his service and glory:every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses: See Gill on "Ex 35:21" and as there were work and service of God's appointment to be done in the legal tabernacle, so there are in the Gospel church; such as prayer, praise, preaching, and hearing the word, and the administration of ordinances; and for the support of which contributions are made; and all this is to be done willingly and cordially: the Gospel is to be preached not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre sake, but of a ready mind; the word is to be heard and received with all readiness, and ordinances are to be submitted to cheerfully, and with the whole heart; and the contributions made for the poor, and the support of divine service, are to be generous and bountiful: and those who have such a willing heart and spirit, have it not by nature or of themselves, but from the efficacious grace of God, which makes them a willing people in the day of his power; and from the free Spirit of God, who works in them, both to will and to do of his good pleasure; and from the love of God and Christ constraining them to it: and these act according to their several abilities, some have more grace and greater gifts, and others lesser and meaner; as well as some have more of this world's goods than others, and so capable of doing more service; but all, according to their capacity, of every sex and class, are to contribute all they can freely and willingly, to the carrying on of the cause of God and interest of religion: some bring gold, and some goats' hair, some silver, and some brass, &c. but all being offered willingly, from right principles, and with right views, is acceptable. Exodus 35:30Ver. 30. And Moses said unto the children of Israel,.... After they had brought their several freewill offerings:see; observe, take notice of this, for your encouragement, that your service will not be in vain, for want of proper persons to perform this work, and to guide, direct, and oversee it:the Lord hath called by name Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; of this man, and of his descent,See Gill on "Ex 31:2". Exodus 35:31Ver. 31-33. And he hath filled him with the Spirit of God,.... This and the two following verses contain the account of the qualifications of Bezaleel, which he had in an extraordinary manner from the Lord, and these are expressed in the same words as in Ex 31:3,See Gill on "Ex 31:3" See Gill on "Ex 31:4" See Gill on "Ex 31:5". Exodus 35:32Ver. 32. See Gill on "Ex 35:31" Exodus 35:33Ver. 33. See Gill on "Ex 35:31" Exodus 35:34Ver. 34. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach,.... Instruct others in the things be had knowledge of; the Lord not only gave him gifts of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, to devise and contrive curious works, and how to perform them, but gave him a capacity, and inclined his mind to teach others, how to work these works; for not all that have knowledge have a capacity and a will to teach others also; this is of God:[both] he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; who was joined with him as a companion and assistant in the same service; him the Lord also qualified, both to devise things, and to teach them others; of this man, See Gill on "Ex 31:6". Exodus 35:35Ver. 35. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart,.... Or wisdom in their heart, a large measure of it, signified by their being filled with it; and whatever wisdom men have, whether in things natural, civil, moral, or spiritual, it is all of God: this wasto work all manner of work, of the engraver; which the setting of stones in the ephod or breastplate required:and of the cunning workman; and such an one was necessary for the making the curtains of the tabernacle, the vail between the holy and the holy of holies, and the ephod and breastplate of the high priest:and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen; in which there were various works of things belonging to the tabernacle, and persons employed in it:and of the weaver; both in linen and woollen, for the curtains and hangings of the tabernacle, and for the priests' garments:[even] of those that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work: whether in the above things, or in any sort of curious work, in gold, silver, brass, wood, or stone.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.