14.121.

Moses' Face Shines.

(26) The first of the firstfruits.-Comp. chap. xxiii. 19.

Thou shalt not seethe a kid.-See Note 3 on chap. xxiii. 19.

(27) Write thou these words.-Heb., Write for thee these words, i.e., put them in writing for thine own use and the use of thy people. This express command accounts for the assignment of so much space to what is mainly repetition. The requirement of the repetition can only be explained by the importance of the laws laid down under the circumstances of the Hebrew nation, and the power of repetition to enforce upon the conscience what is pressed upon it by reiteration.

After the tenor of these words.-The summary of positive laws contained in this chapter (verses 1226) was not intended to supersede the "Book of the Covenant," but rather to confirm and reinforce it. The covenant was renewed not upon these words only, but “after the tenor," i.e., after their general aspect or bearing.

(28) He was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights.-As on his former ascent (chap. xxiv. 18). The long time is, at first sight, surprising, since there were now no instructions to be given. But we learn from Deuteronomy (chap. ix. 18, 19) that it was required for an earnest and prolonged intercession by Moses on behalf of his nation, which ultimately prevailed with God, and induced Him to put away His anger and hot displeasure."

He did neither eat bread, nor drink water.A similar fast had been kept on the previous occasion (Deut. ix. 9), though it is not mentioned in Exodus. Fasts of this extraordinary duration are only recorded of Moses, of Elijah (1 Kings xix. 8), and of our Lord (Matt. iv. 2). They are absolutely miraculous, and modern attempts to rival them are viewed by scientific men as deriving such apparent success as may have attended them from imposture.

He wrote upon the tables.-It has been concluded from this statement that Moses engraved the words upon the second tables; and the passage, if it stood alone, would certainly admit, and, indeed, naturally suggest, this meaning. But the Hebrew idiom allows us to regard Jehovah as the nominative to the verb "wrote; " and it is necessary so to do in order to bring the passage into agreement with chap. xxxiv. 1,

that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. (30) And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. (31) And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. (32) And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. (33) And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put da vail on his face. (34) But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with

(29) The skin of his face shone.-That an actual physical phenomenon is intended appears from the entire narrative, as well as from St. Paul's comment upon it in 2 Cor. iii. 7-18. According to some commentators, a radiance like that here described was a part of man's original heritage, a feature of that "image of God" wherein he was created (Gen. i. 27). The gift was forfeited by the fall, and will not be restored generally until the time of the restitution of all things. But meanwhile, from time to time, it pleases God to restore to certain of His saints the physical glory, which is the symbol of internal purity and holiness, as to Moses on this occasion and afterwards to Elijah on the mount of transfiguration (Luke ix. 31), and to St. Stephen when he pleaded before the Sanhedrin (Acts vi. 15). A glory of the kind, but of surpassing brilliancy, belonged to the human nature of our blessed Lord, who concealed it ordinarily, but allowed it to appear temporarily at the transfiguration, and permanently after His ascension (Rev. i. 16, x. 1, xxi. 23, xxii. 5). The grant of the privilege to Moses was perhaps necessary to support his authority among a people of such materialistic leanings as the Israelites.

While he talked with him.-Rather, through his talking with him. The brightness of Moses' face was the reflex of that eternal glory which Moses had been given to witness on this last occasion, though in a veiled and modified manner (chaps. xxxiii. 23, xxxiv. 5, 6), and which he had not seen previously. It remained henceforth a property of his countenance. Painters represent it by rays, or sometimes-but improperlyby horns, this latter usage originating in a mistaken rendering of the Vulgate (quod cornuta esset facies sua, instead of quod splenderet facies sua).

(30) They were afraid.—The supernatural appearance terrified them. Compare the feelings of Ezekiel (Ezek. i. 18) and St. John (Rev. i. 17).

(33) Till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.-This translation exactly inverts the meaning, which is that "when Moses had

CHAPTER XXXV.-(1) And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that yech. 25. 2. I should do them. (2) a Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you 1an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. (3) Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.

c ch. 26. 31.

(4) And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, (5) Take ye from a ch. 30.1.

done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face." The vail became part of his ordinary costume, and was worn excepting upon occasions of two kinds: (1) When Moses was alone with God, either in the temporary "tent of meeting" or in the permanent Tabernacle, he ceased to wear the vail, and spoke with God face to face; (2) when he had a message to the people from God, and spoke to them as God's representative, he authenticated his message by uncovering himself, and allowing the glory of his face to be seen. Otherwise, in his ordinary dealings with the people he went about

veiled.

XXXV.

ITERATION OF THE LAW CONCERNING the

SABBATH.

(1-3) Moses, being about to require the people to engage in the work, first, of constructing the materials for the Tabernacle, and then of uprearing the Tabernacle itself, prefaced his requirements by a renewed promulgation of the law of the Sabbath, with additional particularity, and with a new sanction. The necessity of such a re-promulgation had been indicated to him in the last injunctions received before his first descent from Sinai (chap. xxxi. 12-17), and in acting as he now did, he must be viewed as carrying out those injunctions. The words here put on record are probably not the whole that he said to the people on the subject, but only some main points of his speech. He can scarcely have omitted to tell them that the Sabbath was to be henceforth "a sign" between God and His people (chap. xxxi. 17).

(1) These are the words.-Verse 2 is, in the main, a repetition of chap. xxxi. 15, but verse 3 is new, or, at any rate, only contained by implication in any previous

b

The People Invited to Offer.

among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, (6) and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, (7) and rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood, (8) and oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, (9) and onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastwise hearted

plate. (10) And every

among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded; (11) the tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets, (12) the ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering, (13) the table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread, (14) the candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light, (15) and the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the

legislation. Kindling fire was in early times a hard piece of manual work, being effected by the friction of two pieces of dry wood.

THE PEOPLE INVITED TO OFFER THE MATERIALS OF THE TABERNACLE, AND TO ASSIST IN THE WORK.

(4-9) And Moses spake.-This passage is the sequence and counterpart of chap. xxv. 1-7, and follows exactly the same order in the enumeration of the required offerings. Both passages equally declare the sine quâ non of an acceptable offering to be " a willing heart" (chaps. xxv. 2, xxxv. 5).

(10-19) And every wise hearted among you. -The first appeal is to all; all may contribute something towards the materials of the sacred structure. But the second appeal is to some only. The "wisehearted" alone can take part in the actual construction, and "make all that the Lord hath commanded." On the expression "wise-hearted," see Note on chap. xxviii. 3. It includes skill of various kinds and degrees, even that of poor women, who "did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen" (verse 25). In enumerating the things to be constructed, Moses follows, not the order of the revelations made to him, but what may be called the natural order: first, the Tabernacle as a whole; then its various parts (verse 11); after this, its contentsthose of the Holy of Holies (verse 12), of the Holy Place (verses 13-15), and of the Court (verses 16-18); finally, the dress to be worn by those who conducted the services (verse 19). On the Tabernacle and its parts, see chap. xxvi. 1-37; on the Ark, the staves, and the mercy-seat, chap. xxv. 10-15; on the "veil of the covering," chap. xxvi. 31; on the table and the candle

The Response of the People

a

door at the entering in of the tabernacle, (16) the altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot, (17) the hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court, (18) the pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, (19) the cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office.

(20) And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. (21) And they came,

every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD'S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. (22) And they came, both men and women, as

a ch. 27. 1.

stick, chap. xxv. 23-30; on the incense altar, chap. xxx. 1-10; on the anointing oil, chap. xxx. 23-25; on the sweet incense, chap. xxx. 34, 35; on the hanging for the door, chap. xxvi. 36; on the altar of burnt offering, chap. xxvii. 1-8; on the laver and its foot, chap. xxx. 17-21; on the hangings of the Court, its pillars, sockets, pins, &c., chap. xxvii. 9-19; and on "the cloths of service," chap. xxviii. 2—42. (On the true meaning of the expression, "cloths of service," see Note on chap. xxxi. 10.)

THE ZEAL OF THE PEOPLE IN OFFERING AND ASSISTING IN THE WORK.

66

(21) They came, every one whose heart stirred him up. All classes came, men and women (verse 22), rich and poor, "rulers" (verse 27), and those whose only skill was to "spin with their hands" (verse 25). And the great majority gave freely -to the utmost of their power. Still it is implied,

both here and in verses 22, 29, that there were some whose hearts did not stir them up. Enough and to spare, was, however, contributed, and at last the people had to be "restrained from bringing" (chap. xxxvi. 8). The Lord's offering-i.e., "their offering to Jehovah."

brought

وو

(22) Both men and women bracelets. . .-It is not quite certain what the personal ornaments here mentioned are. The LXX. render σφραγίδας, καὶ ἐνώτια, και δακτυλίους, και εμπλόκια, kal Tepidéia, “signets, and earrings, and rings, and chains, and armlets," substituting five terms for four. Rosenmüller thinks the khakh was a nose ring; others make it a "brooch" or "buckle." The last word of the four, kumaz, cannot possibly mean "tablets." It comes from a root signifying "rounded," and designates probably a bead necklace, such as was often worn by the Egyptians. On the use of personal ornaments by the Hebrew men, as well as women, see Note on chap. xxxii. 2.

Jewels of gold.-Literally, articles of gold.

to the Invitation.

many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD. (23) And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them. (24) Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD'S offering and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it. (25) And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. (26) And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair. (27) And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;

:

And every man that offered, offered an offering of gold.-By repeating the word " offered,” our translators have spoiled the sense. Moses is enumerating those who came. There came those who offered bracelets, earrings, rings, &c.; there came also those who offered any (other) offering of gold to the Lord.

(23) Red skins of rams.-Rather, rams' skins dyed red, as the same words are translated in chaps. xxv. 5, xxxv. 7.

Badgers' skins.-See Note 2 on chap. xxv. 5. (24) An offering of silver. Silver had been enumerated among the offerings which would be accepted (chaps. xxv. 3, xxxv. 5), and it was therefore brought; but it is difficult to say what was done with it. All the silver actually employed in the sanctuary came from the half-shekels paid when the people were numbered. (See chap. xxxviii. 25-28.) Perhaps the silver free-will offerings were returned to the donors.

(25) All the women that were wise-heartedi.e., "all who had sufficient skill." Spinning was probably a very general accomplishment of the Hebrew women. It was effected in early times by means of a wheel and spindle, with or without a distaff. The only materials used for the fabrics of the sanctuary appear to have been flax and goats' hair. The flax was dyed before it was spun into thread, as sometimes by the Greeks (Hom. Od. iv. 135).

Of fine linen.-Rather, of white. Most of the Egyptian linen is of a yellowish white, being made from flax imperfectly blanched.

(26) All the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair.-It would seem to have been more difficult to produce a thread from goats' hair than from flax. Only the most skilfu

undertook the more difficult task.

(27) The rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set.-The "rulers " here intended are probably the "princes of the tribes" of Israel (Num. i. 16, iii. 3, 5, &c.). The twelve stones required for the

(28) and a spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. (29) The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, 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.

b

(30) And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; (31) and he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; (32) and to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, (33) and in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. (34) And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. (35) Them hath he filled with wis

b ch. 31. 2.

breastplate would naturally be contributed by the twelve chiefs of the tribes whose names they were to bear (chap. xxviii. 21). The two onyx stones for the ephod (chap. xxviii. 9-12), may have been the further gift of two of the number, who happened to possess stones of the large size needed.

(28) Spice. See chap. xxx. 23, 24, 34.

BEZALEEL AND AHOLIAB SET OVER THE WORK.

(30-35) This passage is the sequel to chap. xxxi. 1—6, where Bezaleel and Aholiab were designated for their respective offices, and follows closely the order, and even the wording, of that passage. The verbal resemblance is even greater in the original than in the Authorised Version. The only additions made are in verses 34 and 35.

(34) He hath put in his heart that he may teach. It was essential that the two master-craftsmen should be able to instruct their subordinates, to whom the actual accomplishment of the works which they designed had to be committed. God specially qualified them to act as instructors.

Both he and Aholiab.-Aholiab, though subordinate to Bezaleel, was the director of his own department, that of weaving and embroidery (chap. xxxviii. 23), and had to instruct in it as Bezaleel had in his.

(35) Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart. See Notes 1 and 2 on chap. xxviii. 3; and comp. chap. xxxi. 3.

Of the engraver.-Rather, of the artificer. The word used is a generic one, equally applicable to workers in stone, wood, and metal.

Of the cunning workman.-Rather, of the skilful weaver. (See the last Note on chap. xxvi. 1.) The "skilful weaver" (khoshêb) was the man who wove a patterned fabric. The ordinary weaver ('orêg)

set over the Work. dom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.

CHAPTER XXXVI. (1) Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded.

(2) And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: (3) and they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal.

wove a plain one. The" embroiderer" (rokêm) adorned a fabric of either kind with the needle.

XXXVI.

THE WORK COMMENCED AND THE LIBERALITY OF THE PEOPLE RESTRAINED.

(1) This verse is introductory to the entire section, which may be viewed as extending from the present point to the close of chap. xxxix. It states, in brief, that Bezaleel and Aholiab, with the skilled workmen at their disposal, proceeded to the accomplishment of the work which Moses had committed to them, and effected it "according to all that the Lord had commanded," i.e., according to the instructions given to Moses in Mount Sinai, and recorded in chaps. xxv.-xxx. The entire section is little more than a repetition of those chapters, differing from them merely in recording as done that which had in them been ordered to be done. The minute exactness of the repetition is very remarkable, and seems intended to teach the important lesson, that acceptable obedience consists in a complete and exact observance of God's commandments in all respects down to the minutest point.

(2) Moses called Bezaleel-i.e., Moses summoned Bezaleel, Aholiab, and their chief assistants, into his presence, and committed to them the offerings which he had received from the people (verse 3)—the gold, the silver, the bronze, the shittim wood, the thread, the goats' hair, the rams' skins, the seals' skins, the precious stones, the oil, the spices, &c. "They received of Moses all the offering" that had been hitherto brought. (3) They brought yet unto him free offerings. The liberality of the people continued. After the work was taken in hand, and making progress, they kept still bringing in fresh offerings morning after morning, until the workmen found that they had more than enough. Compare the liberality shown when