24:1 3 But to Moses the Lord 4 said, “Come up 5 to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance. 6
34:1 7 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out 8 two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write 9 on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you smashed. 34:2 Be prepared 10 in the morning, and go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and station yourself 11 for me there on the top of the mountain. 34:3 No one is to come up with you; do not let anyone be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks or the herds may graze in front of that mountain.” 34:4 So Moses 12 cut out two tablets of stone like the first; 13 early in the morning he went up 14 to Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him, and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.
34:5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name. 15 34:6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: 16 “The Lord, the Lord, 17 the compassionate and gracious 18 God, slow to anger, 19 and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, 20 34:7 keeping loyal love for thousands, 21 forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression 22 of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”
34:8 Moses quickly bowed 23 to the ground and worshiped 34:9 and said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord 24 go among us, for we 25 are a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
34:10 He said, “See, I am going to make 26 a covenant before all your people. I will do wonders such as have not been done 27 in all the earth, nor in any nation. All the people among whom you live will see the work of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I am doing with you. 28
34:11 “Obey 29 what I am commanding you this day. I am going to drive out 30 before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 34:12 Be careful not to make 31 a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it become a snare 32 among you. 34:13 Rather you must destroy their altars, smash their images, and cut down their Asherah poles. 33 34:14 For you must not worship 34 any other god, 35 for the Lord, whose name 36 is Jealous, is a jealous God. 34:15 Be careful 37 not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when 38 they prostitute themselves 39 to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you, 40 you will eat from his sacrifice; 34:16 and you then take 41 his daughters for your sons, and when his daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will make your sons prostitute themselves to their gods as well. 34:17 You must not make yourselves molten gods.
34:18 “You must keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days 42 you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you; do this 43 at the appointed time of the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt.
34:19 “Every firstborn of the womb 44 belongs to me, even every firstborn 45 of your cattle that is a male, 46 whether ox or sheep. 34:20 Now the firstling 47 of a donkey you may redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then break its neck. 48 You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons.
“No one will appear before me empty-handed. 49
34:21 “On six days 50 you may labor, but on the seventh day you must rest; 51 even at the time of plowing and of harvest 52 you are to rest. 53
34:22 “You must observe 54 the Feast of Weeks – the firstfruits of the harvest of wheat – and the Feast of Ingathering at the end 55 of the year. 34:23 At three times 56 in the year all your men 57 must appear before the Lord God, 58 the God of Israel. 34:24 For I will drive out 59 the nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one will covet 60 your land when you go up 61 to appear before the Lord your God three times 62 in the year.
34:25 “You must not offer the blood of my sacrifice with yeast; the sacrifice from the feast of Passover must not remain until the following morning. 63
34:26 “The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.
You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.” 64
34:27 The Lord said to Moses, “Write down 65 these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 34:28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; 66 he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. 67
34:29 68 Now when Moses came down 69 from Mount Sinai with 70 the two tablets of the testimony in his hand 71 – when he came down 72 from the mountain, Moses 73 did not know that the skin of his face shone 74 while he talked with him. 34:30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone; 75 and they were afraid to approach him. 34:31 But Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and Moses spoke to them. 34:32 After this all the Israelites approached, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. 34:33 When Moses finished 76 speaking 77 with them, he would 78 put a veil on his face. 34:34 But when Moses went in 79 before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. 80 Then he would come out and tell the Israelites what he had been commanded. 81 34:35 When the Israelites would see 82 the face of Moses, that 83 the skin of Moses’ face shone, Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with the Lord. 84
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. 85 35:2 In six days 86 work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a holy day 87 for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. 88 Anyone who does work on it will be put to death. 35:3 You must not kindle a fire 89 in any of your homes 90 on the Sabbath day.” 91
35:4 92 Moses spoke to the whole community of the Israelites, “This is the word that the Lord has commanded: 35:5 ‘Take 93 an offering for the Lord. Let everyone who has a willing heart 94 bring 95 an offering to the Lord: 96 gold, silver, bronze, 35:6 blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, fine linen, goat’s hair, 35:7 ram skins dyed red, fine leather, 97 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 98 for mounting 99 on the ephod and the breastpiece. 35:10 Every skilled person 100 among you is to come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 35:11 the tabernacle with 101 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 102 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 103 whose heart stirred him to action 104 and everyone whose spirit was willing 105 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. 106 35:22 They came, men and women alike, 107 all who had willing hearts. They brought brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments, all kinds of gold jewelry, 108 and everyone came who waved 109 a wave offering of gold to the Lord.
35:23 Everyone who had 110 blue, purple, or 111 scarlet yarn, fine linen, goats’ hair, ram skins dyed red, or fine leather 112 brought them. 113 35:24 Everyone making an offering of silver or bronze brought it as 114 an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood 115 for any work of the service brought it. 116 35:25 Every woman who was skilled 117 spun with her hands and brought what she had spun, blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, or fine linen, 35:26 and all the women whose heart stirred them to action and who were skilled 118 spun goats’ hair.
35:27 The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted 119 for the ephod and the breastpiece, 35:28 and spices and olive oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense.
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 120 Moses had commanded them 121 to do.
35:30 Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen 122 Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 35:31 He has filled him with the Spirit of God – with skill, with understanding, with knowledge, and in all kinds of work, 35:32 to design artistic designs, to work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, 35:33 and in cutting stones for their setting, 123 and in cutting wood, to do work in every artistic craft. 124 35:34 And he has put it in his heart 125 to teach, he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35:35 He has filled them with skill 126 to do all kinds of work 127 as craftsmen, as designers, as embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and in fine linen, and as weavers. They are 128 craftsmen in all the work 129 and artistic designers. 130
1 sn The verb is וַיִּשְׁכֹּן (vayyishkon, “and dwelt, abode”). From this is derived the epithet “the Shekinah Glory,” the dwelling or abiding glory. The “glory of Yahweh” was a display visible at a distance, clearly in view of the Israelites. To them it was like a consuming fire in the midst of the cloud that covered the mountain. That fire indicated that Yahweh wished to accept their sacrifice, as if it were a pleasant aroma to him, as Leviticus would say. This “appearance” indicated that the phenomena represented a shimmer of the likeness of his glory (B. Jacob, Exodus, 749). The verb, according to U. Cassuto (Exodus, 316), also gives an inkling of the next section of the book, the building of the “tabernacle,” the dwelling place, the מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan). The vision of the glory of Yahweh confirmed the authority of the revelation of the Law given to Israel. This chapter is the climax of God’s bringing people into covenant with himself, the completion of his revelation to them, a completion that is authenticated with the miraculous. It ends with the mediator going up in the clouds to be with God, and the people down below eagerly awaiting his return. The message of the whole chapter could be worded this way: Those whom God sanctifies by the blood of the covenant and instructs by the book of the covenant may enjoy fellowship with him and anticipate a far more glorious fellowship. So too in the NT the commandments and teachings of Jesus are confirmed by his miraculous deeds and by his glorious manifestation on the Mount of the Transfiguration, where a few who represented the disciples would see his glory and be able to teach others. The people of the new covenant have been brought into fellowship with God through the blood of the covenant; they wait eagerly for his return from heaven in the clouds.
2 tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.
3 sn Exod 24 is the high point of the book in many ways, but most importantly, here Yahweh makes a covenant with the people – the Sinaitic Covenant. The unit not only serves to record the event in Israel’s becoming a nation, but it provides a paradigm of the worship of God’s covenant people – entering into the presence of the glory of Yahweh. See additionally W. A. Maier, “The Analysis of Exodus 24 According to Modern Literary, Form, and Redaction Critical Methodology,” Springfielder 37 (1973): 35-52. The passage may be divided into four parts for exposition: vv. 1-2, the call for worship; vv. 3-8, the consecration of the worshipers; vv. 9-11, the confirmation of the covenant; and vv. 12-18, the communication with Yahweh.
4 tn Heb “And he;” the referent (the
5 sn They were to come up to the
6 sn These seventy-four people were to go up the mountain to a certain point. Then they were to prostrate themselves and worship Yahweh as Moses went further up into the presence of Yahweh. Moses occupies the lofty position of mediator (as Christ in the NT), for he alone ascends “to Yahweh” while everyone waits for his return. The emphasis of “bowing down” and that from “far off” stresses again the ominous presence that was on the mountain. This was the holy God – only the designated mediator could draw near to him.
5 sn The restoration of the faltering community continues in this chapter. First, Moses is instructed to make new tablets and take them to the mountain (1-4). Then, through the promised theophany God proclaims his moral character (5-8). Moses responds with the reiteration of the intercession (8), and God responds with the renewal of the covenant (10-28). To put these into expository form, as principles, the chapter would run as follows: I. God provides for spiritual renewal (1-4), II. God reminds people of his moral standard (5-9), III. God renews his covenant promises and stipulations (10-28).
6 tn The imperative is followed by the preposition with a suffix expressing the ethical dative; it strengthens the instruction for Moses. Interestingly, the verb “cut out, chisel, hew,” is the same verb from which the word for a “graven image” is derived – פָּסַל (pasal).
7 tn The perfect tense with vav consecutive makes the value of this verb equal to an imperfect tense, probably a simple future here.
7 tn The form is a Niphal participle that means “be prepared, be ready.” This probably means that Moses was to do in preparation what the congregation had to do back in Exod 19:11-15.
8 sn The same word is used in Exod 33:21. It is as if Moses was to be at his post when Yahweh wanted to communicate to him.
9 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified here and the name “Moses,” which occurs later in this verse, has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”), both for stylistic reasons.
10 sn Deuteronomy says that Moses was also to make an ark of acacia wood before the tablets, apparently to put the tablets in until the sanctuary was built. But this ark may not have been the ark built later; or, it might be the wood box, but Bezalel still had to do all the golden work with it.
11 tn The line reads “and Moses got up early in the morning and went up.” These verbs likely form a verbal hendiadys, the first one with its prepositional phrase serving in an adverbial sense.
11 tn Some commentaries wish to make Moses the subject of the second and the third verbs, the first because he was told to stand there and this verb suggests he did it, and the last because it sounds like he was worshiping Yahweh (cf. NASB). But it is clear from v. 6 that Yahweh was the subject of the last clause of v. 5 – v. 6 tells how he did it. So if Yahweh is the subject of the first and last clauses of v. 5, it seems simpler that he also be the subject of the second. Moses took his stand there, but God stood by him (B. Jacob, Exodus, 981; U. Cassuto, Exodus, 439). There is no reason to make Moses the subject in any of the verbs of v. 5.
13 tn Here is one of the clearest examples of what it means “to call on the name of the Lord,” as that clause has been translated traditionally (וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יְהוָה, vayyiqra’ vÿshem yÿhvah). It seems more likely that it means “to make proclamation of Yahweh by name.” Yahweh came down and made a proclamation – and the next verses give the content of what he said. This cannot be prayer or praise; it is a proclamation of the nature or attributes of God (which is what his “name” means throughout the Bible). Attempts to make Moses the subject of the verb are awkward, for the verb is repeated in v. 6 with Yahweh clearly doing the proclaiming.
14 sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 439) suggests that these two names be written as a sentence: “Yahweh, He is Yahweh.” In this manner it reflects “I am that I am.” It is impossible to define his name in any other way than to make this affirmation and then show what it means.
15 tn See Exod 33:19.
16 sn This is literally “long of anger.” His anger prolongs itself, allowing for people to repent before punishment is inflicted.
17 sn These two words (“loyal love” and “truth”) are often found together, occasionally in a hendiadys construction. If that is the interpretation here, then it means “faithful covenant love.” Even if they are left separate, they are dual elements of a single quality. The first word is God’s faithful covenant love; the second word is God’s reliability and faithfulness.
15 tn That is, “for thousands of generations.”
16 sn As in the ten commandments (20:5-6), this expression shows that the iniquity and its punishment will continue in the family if left unchecked. This does not go on as long as the outcomes for good (thousands versus third or fourth generations), and it is limited to those who hate God.
17 tn The first two verbs form a hendiadys: “he hurried…he bowed,” meaning “he quickly bowed down.”
19 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” two times here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
20 tn Heb “it is.” Hebrew uses the third person masculine singular pronoun here in agreement with the noun “people.”
21 tn Here again is a use of the futur instans participle; the deictic particle plus the pronoun precedes the participle, showing what is about to happen.
22 tn The verb here is בָּרָא (bara’, “to create”). The choice of this verb is to stress that these wonders would be supernaturally performed, for the verb is used only with God as the subject.
23 sn The idea is that God will be doing awesome things in dealing with them, i.e., to fulfill his program.
23 tn The covenant duties begin with this command to “keep well” what is being commanded. The Hebrew expression is “keep for you”; the preposition and the suffix form the ethical dative, adding strength to the imperative.
24 tn Again, this is the futur instans use of the participle.
25 tn The exact expression is “take heed to yourself lest you make.” It is the second use of this verb in the duties, now in the Niphal stem. To take heed to yourself means to watch yourself, be sure not to do something. Here, if they failed to do this, they would end up making entangling treaties.
26 sn A snare would be a trap, an allurement to ruin. See Exod 23:33.
27 tn Or “images of Asherah”; ASV, NASB “their Asherim”; NCV “their Asherah idols.”
29 tn Heb “bow down.”
30 sn In Exod 20:3 it was “gods.”
31 sn Here, too, the emphasis on God’s being a jealous God is repeated (see Exod 20:5). The use of “name” here is to stress that this is his nature, his character.
31 tn The sentence begins simply “lest you make a covenant”; it is undoubtedly a continuation of the imperative introduced earlier, and so that is supplied here.
32 tn The verb is a perfect with a vav consecutive. In the literal form of the sentence, this clause tells what might happen if the people made a covenant with the inhabitants of the land: “Take heed…lest you make a covenant…and then they prostitute themselves…and sacrifice…and invite…and you eat.” The sequence lays out an entire scenario.
33 tn The verb זָנָה (zanah) means “to play the prostitute; to commit whoredom; to be a harlot” or something similar. It is used here and elsewhere in the Bible for departing from pure religion and engaging in pagan religion. The use of the word in this figurative sense is fitting, because the relationship between God and his people is pictured as a marriage, and to be unfaithful to it was a sin. This is also why God is described as a “jealous” or “impassioned” God. The figure may not be merely a metaphorical use, but perhaps a metonymy, since there actually was sexual immorality at the Canaanite altars and poles.
34 tn There is no subject for the verb. It could be rendered “and one invites you,” or it could be made a passive.
33 tn In the construction this verb would follow as a possible outcome of the last event, and so remain in the verbal sequence. If the people participate in the festivals of the land, then they will intermarry, and that could lead to further involvement with idolatry.
35 tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.
36 tn The words “do this” have been supplied.
37 tn Heb “everything that opens the womb.”
38 tn Here too: everything that “opens [the womb].”
39 tn The verb basically means “that drops a male.” The verb is feminine, referring to the cattle.
39 tn Heb “and the one that opens [the womb of] the donkey.”
40 sn See G. Brin, “The Firstling of Unclean Animals,” JQR 68 (1971): 1-15.
41 tn The form is the adverb “empty.”
41 tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.
42 tn Or “cease” (i.e., from the labors).
43 sn See M. Dahood, “Vocative lamed in Exodus 2,4 and Merismus in 34,21,” Bib 62 (1981): 413-15.
44 tn The imperfect tense expresses injunction or instruction.
43 tn The imperfect tense means “you will do”; it is followed by the preposition with a suffix to express the ethical dative to stress the subject.
44 tn The expression is “the turn of the year,” which is parallel to “the going out of the year,” and means the end of the agricultural season.
45 tn “Three times” is an adverbial accusative.
46 tn Heb “all your males.”
47 tn Here the divine name reads in Hebrew הָאָדֹן יְהוָה (ha’adon yÿhvah), which if rendered according to the traditional scheme of “
47 tn The verb is a Hiphil imperfect of יָרַשׁ (yarash), which means “to possess.” In the causative stem it can mean “dispossess” or “drive out.”
48 sn The verb “covet” means more than desire; it means that some action will be taken to try to acquire the land that is being coveted. It is one thing to envy someone for their land; it is another to be consumed by the desire that stops at nothing to get it (it, not something like it).
49 tn The construction uses the infinitive construct with a preposition and a suffixed subject to form the temporal clause.
50 tn The expression “three times” is an adverbial accusative of time.
49 sn See M. Haran, “The Passover Sacrifice,” Studies in the Religion of Ancient Israel (VTSup), 86-116.
51 sn See the note on this same command in 23:19.
53 tn Once again the preposition with the suffix follows the imperative, adding some emphasis to the subject of the verb.
55 tn These too are adverbial in relation to the main clause, telling how long Moses was with Yahweh on the mountain.
56 tn Heb “the ten words,” though “commandments” is traditional.
57 sn Now, at the culmination of the renewing of the covenant, comes the account of Moses’ shining face. It is important to read this in its context first, holding off on the connection to Paul’s discussion in 2 Corinthians. There is a delicate balance here in Exodus. On the one hand Moses’ shining face served to authenticate the message, but on the other hand Moses prevented the people from seeing more than they could handle. The subject matter in the OT, then, is how to authenticate the message. The section again can be subdivided into three points that develop the whole idea: I. The one who spends time with God reflects his glory (29-30). It will not always be as Moses; rather, the glory of the
58 tn The temporal clause is composed of the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), followed by the temporal preposition, infinitive construct, and subjective genitive (“Moses”).
59 tn The second clause begins with “and/now”; it is a circumstantial clause explaining that the tablets were in his hand. It repeats the temporal clause at the end.
60 tn Heb “in the hand of Moses.”
61 tn The temporal clause parallels the first temporal clause; it uses the same infinitive construct, but now with a suffix referring to Moses.
62 tn Heb “and Moses.”
63 tn The word קָרַן (qaran) is derived from the noun קֶרֶן (qeren) in the sense of a “ray of light” (see Hab 3:4). Something of the divine glory remained with Moses. The Greek translation of Aquila and the Latin Vulgate convey the idea that he had horns, the primary meaning of the word from which this word is derived. Some have tried to defend this, saying that the glory appeared like horns or that Moses covered his face with a mask adorned with horns. But in the text the subject of the verb is the skin of Moses’ face (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 449).
59 tn This clause is introduced by the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh); it has the force of pointing to something surprising or sudden.
61 tn Heb “and Moses finished”; the clause is subordinated as a temporal clause to the next clause.
62 tn The Piel infinitive construct is the object of the preposition; the whole phrase serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
63 tn Throughout this section the actions of Moses and the people are frequentative. The text tells what happened regularly.
63 tn The construction uses a infinitive construct for the temporal clause; it is prefixed with the temporal preposition: “and in the going in of Moses.”
64 tn The temporal clause begins with the temporal preposition “until,” followed by an infinitive construct with the suffixed subjective genitive.
65 tn The form is the Pual imperfect, but since the context demands a past tense here, in fact a past perfect tense, this is probably an old preterite form without a vav consecutive.
65 tn Now the perfect tense with vav consecutive is subordinated to the next clause, “Moses returned the veil….”
66 tn Verbs of seeing often take two accusatives. Here, the second is the noun clause explaining what it was about the face that they saw.
67 tn Heb “with him”; the referent (the
67 tn Heb “to do them”; this is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.
69 tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.
70 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.”
71 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.
71 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.
72 tn Heb “dwelling places”; KJV, ASV “habitations.”
73 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).
73 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).
75 tn Heb “from with you.”
76 tn “Heart” is a genitive of specification, clarifying in what way they might be “willing.” The heart refers to their will, their choices.
77 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.”
78 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.
77 tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.
79 tn Heb “and stones.”
80 tn Heb “filling.”
81 tn Heb “wise of heart”; here also “heart” would be a genitive of specification, showing that there were those who could make skillful decisions.
83 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.
85 tn “for” has been supplied.
87 tn Heb “man.”
88 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.
89 tn Heb “his spirit made him willing.” The verb is used in Scripture for the freewill offering that people brought (Lev 7).
90 tn Literally “the garments of holiness,” the genitive is the attributive genitive, marking out what type of garments these were.
89 tn The expression in Hebrew is “men on/after the women,” meaning men with women, to ensure that it was clear that the preceding verse did not mean only men. B. Jacob takes it further, saying that the men came after the women because the latter had taken the initiative (Exodus, 1017).
90 tn Heb “all gold utensils.”
91 tn The verb could be translated “offered,” but it is cognate with the following noun that is the wave offering. This sentence underscores the freewill nature of the offerings people made. The word “came” is supplied from v. 21 and v. 22.
91 tn The text uses a relative clause with a resumptive pronoun for this: “who was found with him,” meaning “with whom was found.”
92 tn The conjunction in this verse is translated “or” because the sentence does not intend to say that each person had all these things. They brought what they had.
93 tn See the note on this phrase in Exod 25:5.
94 tn Here “them” has been supplied.
93 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.
94 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.
95 tn Here “it” has been supplied.
95 tn Heb “wisdom of heart,” which means that they were skilled and could make all the right choices about the work.
97 tn The text simply uses a prepositional phrase, “with/in wisdom.” It seems to be qualifying “the women” as the relative clause is.
99 tn Heb “and stones of the filling.”
101 tn Heb “by the hand of.”
102 tn Here “them” has been supplied.
103 tn Heb “called by name” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV). This expression means that the person was specifically chosen for some important task (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 342). See the expression with Cyrus in Isa 45:3-4.
105 tn Heb “to set.”
106 tn Heb “in every work of thought,” meaning, every work that required the implementation of design or plan.
107 sn The expression means that God has given them the ability and the desire to teach others how to do the work. The infinitive construct “to teach” is related to the word Torah, “instruction, guide, law.” They will be able to direct others in the work.
109 tn The expression “wisdom of heart,” or “wisdom in heart,” means artistic skill. The decisions and plans they make are skilled. The expression forms a second accusative after the verb of filling.
110 tn The expression “all the work” means “all kinds of work.”
111 tn Here “They are” has been supplied.
112 tn Heb “doers of all work.”
113 tn Heb “designers of designs.”