Text -- Exodus 35:1-21 (NET)

Sabbath Regulations

35:1 Moses assembled the whole community of the Israelites and said to them, “These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do. 35:2 In six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. Anyone who does work on it will be put to death. 35:3 You must not kindle a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath day.”

Willing Workers

35:4 Moses spoke to the whole community of the Israelites, “This is the word that the Lord has commanded: 35:5 ‘Take an offering for the Lord. Let everyone who has a willing heart bring an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, bronze, 35:6 blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, fine linen, goat’s hair, 35:7 ram skins dyed red, fine leather, acacia wood, 35:8 olive oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 35:9 onyx stones, and other gems for mounting on the ephod and the breastpiece. 35:10 Every skilled person among you is to come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 35:11 the tabernacle with its tent, its covering, its clasps, its frames, its crossbars, its posts, and its bases; 35:12 the ark, with its poles, the atonement lid, and the special curtain that conceals it; 35:13 the table with its poles and all its vessels, and the Bread of the Presence; 35:14 the lampstand for the light and its accessories, its lamps, and oil for the light; 35:15 and the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense; the hanging for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; 35:16 the altar for the burnt offering with its bronze grating that is on it, its poles, and all its utensils; the large basin and its pedestal; 35:17 the hangings of the courtyard, its posts and its bases, and the curtain for the gateway to the courtyard; 35:18 tent pegs for the tabernacle and tent pegs for the courtyard and their ropes; 35:19 the woven garments for serving in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to minister as priests.” 35:20 So the whole community of the Israelites went out from the presence of Moses. 35:21 Everyone whose heart stirred him to action and everyone whose spirit was willing came and brought the offering for the Lord for the work of the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Exo 35:1

¹ tn Heb “to do them”; this is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

NET Notes: Exo 35:2

¹ tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.

² tn The word is קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh, “holiness”). S. R. Driver suggests that the word was transposed, and the line should read: “a sabbath of entire rest, holy to Jehovah” (Exodus, 379). But the word may simply be taken as a substitution for “holy day.”

³ sn See on this H. Routtenberg, “The Laws of the Sabbath: Biblical Sources,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 41-43, 99-101, 153-55, 204-6; G. Robinson, “The Idea of Rest in the Old Testament and the Search for the Basic Character of Sabbath,” ZAW 92 (1980): 32-43.

NET Notes: Exo 35:3

¹ sn Kindling a fire receives special attention here because the people thought that kindling a fire was not work, but only a preparation for some kind of work. The Law makes sure that this too was not done. But see also G. Robinson, “The Prohibition of Strange Fire in Ancient Israel: A Look at the Case of Gathering Wood and Kindling Fire on the Sabbath,” VT 28 (1978): 301-17.

² tn Heb “dwelling places”; KJV, ASV “habitations.”

³ sn The presence of these three verses in this place has raised all kinds of questions. It may be that after the renewal of the covenant the people needed a reminder to obey God, and obeying the sign of the covenant was the starting point. But there is more to it than this; it is part of the narrative design of the book. It is the artistic design that puts the filling of the Spirit section (31:1-11) prior to the Sabbath laws (31:12-18) before the idolatry section, and then after the renewal there is the Sabbath reminder (35:1-3) before the filling of the Spirit material (35:4-36:7).

NET Notes: Exo 35:4

¹ sn The book now turns to record how all the work of the sanctuary was done. This next unit picks up on the ideas in Exod 31:1-11. But it adds several features. The first part is the instruction of God for all people to give willingly (35:4-19); the next section tells how the faithful brought an offering for the service of the tabernacle (35:20-29); the next section tells how God set some apart with special gifts (35:30-35), and finally, the narrative reports how the faithful people of God enthusiastically began the work (36:1-7).

NET Notes: Exo 35:5

¹ tn Heb “from with you.”

² tn “Heart” is a genitive of specification, clarifying in what way they might be “willing.” The heart refers to their will, their choices.

³ tn The verb has a suffix that is the direct object, but the suffixed object is qualified by the second accusative: “let him bring it, an offering.”

⁴ tn The phrase is literally “the offering of Yahweh”; it could be a simple possessive, “Yahweh’s offering,” but a genitive that indicates the indirect object is more appropriate.

NET Notes: Exo 35:7

¹ tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.

NET Notes: Exo 35:9

¹ tn Heb “and stones.”

² tn Heb “filling.”

NET Notes: Exo 35:10

¹ tn Heb “wise of heart”; here also “heart” would be a genitive of specification, showing that there were those who could make skillful decisions.

NET Notes: Exo 35:11

¹ tn In Hebrew style all these items are typically connected with a vav (ו) conjunction, but English typically uses commas except between the last two items in a series or between items in a series that are somehow related to one another. The present translation follows contemporary English style in lists such as this.

NET Notes: Exo 35:14

¹ tn “for” has been supplied.

NET Notes: Exo 35:21

¹ tn Heb “man.”

² tn The verb means “lift up, bear, carry.” Here the subject is “heart” or will, and so the expression describes one moved within to act.

³ tn Heb “his spirit made him willing.” The verb is used in Scripture for the freewill offering that people brought (Lev 7).

⁴ tn Literally “the garments of holiness,” the genitive is the attributive genitive, marking out what type of garments these were.