Exodus 28:3

28:3 You ¹  are to speak to all who are specially skilled, ²  whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, ³  so that they may make ⁴  Aaron’s garments to set him apart ⁵  to minister as my priest.

Exodus 31:3-6

31:3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God ⁶  in skill, ⁷  in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds ⁸  of craftsmanship, 31:4 to make artistic designs ⁹  for work with gold, with silver, and with bronze, 31:5 and with cutting and setting stone, and with cutting wood, to work in all kinds of craftsmanship. 31:6 Moreover, ¹⁰  I have also given him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and I have given ability to all the specially skilled, ¹¹  that they may make ¹²  everything I have commanded you:

Exodus 36:2

36:2 Moses summoned ¹³  Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in whom ¹⁴  the Lord had put skill – everyone whose heart stirred him ¹⁵  to volunteer ¹⁶  to do the work,

Job 35:11

35:11 who teaches us ¹⁷  more than ¹⁸  the wild animals of the earth,

and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’

Job 39:17

39:17 For God deprived her of wisdom,

and did not impart understanding to her.

Psalms 144:1

Psalm 144 ¹⁹ 

By David.

144:1 The Lord, my protector, ²⁰  deserves praise ²¹  –

the one who trains my hands for battle, ²² 

and my fingers for war,

Daniel 1:17

1:17 Now as for these four young men, God endowed them with knowledge and skill in all sorts of literature and wisdom – and Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.

James 1:17

1:17 All generous giving and every perfect gift ²³  is from above, coming down ²⁴  from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. ²⁵ 

[28:3]  ¹ tn Heb “And you, you will speak to.”

[28:3]  ² tn Heb “wise of heart.” The word for “wise” (חַכְמֵי, khakhme, the plural construct form) is from the word group that is usually translated “wisdom, wise, be wise,” but it has as its basic meaning “skill” or “skillful.” This is the way it is used in 31:3, 6 and 35:10 etc. God gave these people “wisdom” so that they would know how to make these things. The “heart” for the Hebrews is the locus of understanding, the mind and the will. To be “wise of heart” or “wise in heart” means that they had the understanding to do skillful work, they were talented artisans and artists.

[28:3]  ³ sn There is no necessity to take this as a reference to the Holy Spirit who produces wisdom in these people, although that is not totally impossible. A number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT) do not even translate the word “spirit.” It probably refers to their attitude and ability. U. Cassuto has “to all the artisans skilled in the making of stately robes, in the heart [i.e., mind] of each of whom I have implanted sagacity in his craft so that he may do his craft successfully” (Exodus, 371).

[28:3]  ⁴ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; after the instruction to speak to the wise, this verb, equal to an imperfect, will have the force of purpose.

[28:3]  ⁵ tn Or “to sanctify him” (ASV) or “to consecrate him” (KJV, NASB, NRSV). It is the garments that will set Aaron apart, or sanctify him, not the workers. The expression could be taken to mean “for his consecration” (NIV) since the investiture is part of his being set apart for service.

[31:3]  ⁶ sn The expression in the Bible means that the individual was given special, supernatural enablement to do what God wanted done. It usually is said of someone with exceptional power or ability. The image of “filling” usually means under the control of the Spirit, so that the Spirit is the dominant force in the life.

[31:3]  ⁷ sn The following qualities are the ways in which the Spirit’s enablement will be displayed. “Skill” is the ability to produce something valuable to God and the community, “understanding” is the ability to distinguish between things, to perceive the best way to follow, and “knowledge” is the experiential awareness of how things are done.

[31:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “and in all work”; “all” means “all kinds of” here.

[31:4]  ⁹ tn The expression is לַחְשֹׁב מַחֲשָׁבֹת (lakhshov makhashavot, “to devise devices”). The infinitive emphasizes that Bezalel will be able to design or plan works that are artistic or skillful. He will think thoughts or devise the plans, and then he will execute them in silver or stone or whatever other material he uses.

[31:6]  ¹⁰ tn The expression uses the independent personal pronoun (“and I”) with the deictic particle (“behold”) to enforce the subject of the verb – “and I, indeed I have given.”

[31:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and in the heart of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom.”

[31:6]  ¹² tn The form is a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. The form at this place shows the purpose or the result of what has gone before, and so it is rendered “that they may make.”

[36:2]  ¹³ tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) plus the preposition “to” – “to call to” someone means “to summon” that person.

[36:2]  ¹⁴ tn Here there is a slight change: “in whose heart Yahweh had put skill.”

[36:2]  ¹⁵ tn Or “whose heart was willing.”

[36:2]  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.

[35:11]  ¹⁷ tn The form in the text, the Piel participle from אָלַף (’alaf, “teach”) is written in a contracted form; the full form is מְאַלְּפֵנוּ (mÿ’allÿfenu).

[35:11]  ¹⁸ tn Some would render this “teaches us by the beasts.” But Elihu is stressing the unique privilege humans have.

[144:1]  ¹⁹ sn Psalm 144. The psalmist expresses his confidence in God, asks for a mighty display of divine intervention in an upcoming battle, and anticipates God’s rich blessings on the nation in the aftermath of military victory.

[144:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “my rocky summit.” The Lord is compared to a rocky summit where one can find protection from enemies. See Ps 18:2.

[144:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord, my rocky summit.”

[144:1]  ²² sn The one who trains my hands for battle. The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enablement (see Ps 18:34). Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, The Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.

[1:17]  ²³ tn The first phrase refers to the action of giving and the second to what is given.

[1:17]  ²⁴ tn Or “All generous giving and every perfect gift from above is coming down.”

[1:17]  ²⁵ tn Grk “variation or shadow of turning” (referring to the motions of heavenly bodies causing variations of light and darkness).