12:16 On the first day there will be a holy convocation, 1 and on the seventh day there will be a holy convocation for you. You must do no work of any kind 2 on them, only what every person will eat – that alone may be prepared for you.
35:29 The Israelites brought a freewill offering to the Lord, every man and woman whose heart was willing to bring materials for all the work that the Lord through 15 Moses had commanded them 16 to do.
36:2 Moses summoned 23 Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in whom 24 the Lord had put skill – everyone whose heart stirred him 25 to volunteer 26 to do the work, 36:3 and they received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to do 27 the work for the service of the sanctuary, and they still continued to bring him a freewill offering each morning. 28
36:8 All the skilled among those who were doing the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet; they were made with cherubim that were the work of an artistic designer.
1 sn This refers to an assembly of the people at the sanctuary for religious purposes. The word “convocation” implies that the people were called together, and Num 10:2 indicates they were called together by trumpets.
2 tn Heb “all/every work will not be done.” The word refers primarily to the work of one’s occupation. B. Jacob (Exodus, 322) explains that since this comes prior to the fuller description of laws for Sabbaths and festivals, the passage simply restricts all work except for the preparation of food. Once the laws are added, this qualification is no longer needed. Gesenius translates this as “no manner of work shall be done” (GKC 478-79 §152.b).
3 tn This clause is all from one word, a Piel plural participle with a third, feminine suffix: מְחַלְלֶיהָ (mÿkhalleha, “defilers of it”). This form serves as the subject of the sentence. The word חָלַל (khalal) is the antonym of קָדַשׁ (qadash, “to be holy”). It means “common, profane,” and in the Piel stem “make common, profane” or “defile.” Treating the Sabbath like an ordinary day would profane it, make it common.
4 tn This is the asseverative use of כִּי (ki) meaning “surely, indeed,” for it restates the point just made (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §449).
5 tn Heb “the one who does.”
6 tn “any” has been supplied.
7 tn Literally “her” (a feminine pronoun agreeing with “soul/life,” which is grammatically feminine).
5 tn Heb “man.”
6 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.
7 tn Heb “his spirit made him willing.” The verb is used in Scripture for the freewill offering that people brought (Lev 7).
8 tn Literally “the garments of holiness,” the genitive is the attributive genitive, marking out what type of garments these were.
7 tn This translation takes “offering” as an adverbial accusative explaining the form or purpose of their bringing things. It could also be rendered as the direct object, but that would seem to repeat without much difference what had just been said.
8 sn U. Cassuto notes that the expression “with whom was found” does not rule out the idea that these folks went out and cut down acacia trees (Exodus, 458). It is unlikely that they had much wood in their tents.
9 tn Here “it” has been supplied.
9 tn Heb “by the hand of.”
10 tn Here “them” has been supplied.
11 tn Heb “wise of [in] heart.”
12 tn Heb “wisdom.”
13 tn Heb “understanding, discernment.”
14 tn The relative clause includes this infinitive clause that expresses either the purpose or the result of God’s giving wisdom and understanding to these folk.
15 tn This noun is usually given an interpretive translation. B. Jacob renders the bound relationship as “the holy task” or “the sacred task” (Exodus, 1019). The NIV makes it “constructing,” so read “the work of constructing the sanctuary.”
16 tn The first word of the verse is a perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it is singular because it agrees with the first of the compound subject. The sentence is a little cumbersome because of the extended relative clause in the middle.
13 tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) plus the preposition “to” – “to call to” someone means “to summon” that person.
14 tn Here there is a slight change: “in whose heart Yahweh had put skill.”
15 tn Or “whose heart was willing.”
16 sn The verb means more than “approach” or “draw near”; קָרַב (qarav) is the word used for drawing near the altar as in bringing an offering. Here they offer themselves, their talents and their time.
15 tn In the Hebrew text the infinitive “to do it” comes after “sanctuary”; it makes a smoother rendering in English to move it forward, rather than reading “brought for the work.”
16 tn Heb “in the morning, in the morning.”