Exodus 31:3

31:3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God ¹  in skill, ²  in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds ³  of craftsmanship,

Exodus 31:1

Willing Artisans

31:1 ⁴ The Lord spoke to Moses: ⁵ 

Exodus 3:9

3:9 And now indeed ⁶  the cry ⁷  of the Israelites has come to me, and I have also seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them. ⁸ 

Exodus 3:12

3:12 He replied, ⁹  “Surely I will be with you, ¹⁰  and this will be the sign ¹¹  to you that I have sent you: When you bring the people out of Egypt, you and they will serve ¹²  God on this mountain.”

Exodus 4:29

4:29 Then Moses and Aaron went and brought together all the Israelite elders. ¹³ 

Exodus 4:1

The Source of Sufficiency

4:1 ¹⁴ Moses answered again, ¹⁵  “And if ¹⁶  they do not believe me or pay attention to me, ¹⁷  but say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’?”

Exodus 22:12

22:12 But if it was stolen ¹⁸  from him, ¹⁹  he will pay its owner.

Job 32:8

32:8 But it is a spirit in people,

the breath ²⁰  of the Almighty,

that makes them understand.

Isaiah 54:13

54:13 All your children will be followers of the Lord,

and your children will enjoy great prosperity. ²¹ 

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.

Daniel 2:21

2:21 He changes times and seasons,

deposing some kings

and establishing others. ²² 

He gives wisdom to the wise;

he imparts knowledge to those with understanding; ²³ 

Daniel 2:23

2:23 O God of my fathers, I acknowledge and glorify you,

for you have bestowed wisdom and power on me.

Now you have enabled me to understand what I ²⁴  requested from you.

For you have enabled me to understand the king’s dilemma.” ²⁵ 

Luke 21:15

21:15 For I will give you the words ²⁶  along with the wisdom ²⁷  that none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

John 6:45

6:45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ ²⁸  Everyone who hears and learns from the Father ²⁹  comes to me.

Ephesians 1:17-18

1:17 I pray that ³⁰  the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, ³¹  may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation ³²  in your growing knowledge of him, ³³  1:18 – since the eyes of your ³⁴  heart have been enlightened ³⁵  – so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, ³⁶  what is the wealth of his glorious ³⁷  inheritance in the saints,

James 1:5

1:5 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.

James 1:17

1:17 All generous giving and every perfect gift ³⁸  is from above, coming down ³⁹  from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. ⁴⁰ 

[31:3]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “and in all work”; “all” means “all kinds of” here.

[31:1]  ⁴ sn The next unit describes the preparation of skilled workers to build all that has been listed now for several chapters. This chapter would have been the bridge to the building of the sanctuary (35-39) if it were not for the idolatrous interlude. God called individuals and prepared them by his Spirit to be skilled to do the work for the tabernacle. If this were the substance of an exposition, it would clearly be a message on gifted people doing the work – close to the spiritual lesson of Ephesians 4. There would be two levels of meaning: the physical, which looks at the skilled artisans providing for a place to worship Yahweh, and the spiritual, which would bring in the Spirit-filled servants of God participating in building up his kingdom.

[31:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “and Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.”

[3:9]  ⁶ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses attention on what is being said as grounds for what follows.

[3:9]  ⁷ tn The word is a technical term for the outcry one might make to a judge. God had seen the oppression and so knew that the complaints were accurate, and so he initiated the proceedings against the oppressors (B. Jacob, Exodus, 59).

[3:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.” The word for the oppression is now לַחַץ (lakhats), which has the idea of pressure with the oppression – squeezing, pressuring – which led to its later use in the Semitic languages for torture. The repetition in the Hebrew text of the root in the participle form after this noun serves to stress the idea. This emphasis has been represented in the translation by the expression “seen how severely the Egyptians oppress them.”

[3:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “And he said”; the word “replied” clarifies for English readers that speaker is God.

[3:12]  ¹⁰ tn The particle כִּי (ki) has the asseverative use here, “surely, indeed,” which is frequently found with oaths (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §449). The imperfect tense אֶהְיֶה (’ehyeh) could be rendered as the future tense, “I will be” or the present tense “I am” with you. The future makes the better sense in this case, since the subject matter is the future mission. But since it is a stative verb, the form will also lend itself nicely to explaining the divine name – he is the One who is eternally present – “I am with you always.”

[3:12]  ¹¹ sn In view of Moses’ hesitancy, a sign is necessary to support the promise. A sign is often an unusual or miraculous event that introduces, authenticates, or illustrates the message. One expects a direct connection between the sign and the message (for a helpful discussion, see S. Porúbcan, “The Word ’OT in Isaia 7,14,” CBQ 22 [1960]: 144-49). In this passage the sign is a confirming one, i.e., when Israel worships at the mountain that will be the proof that God delivered them from Egypt. Thus, the purpose of the exodus that makes possible the worship will be to prove that it was God who brought it about. In the meantime, Moses will have to trust in Yahweh.

[3:12]  ¹² tn The verb תַּעַבְדוּן (ta’avdun, “you will serve”) is one of the foremost words for worship in the Torah. Keeping the commandments and serving Yahweh usually sum up the life of faith; the true worshiper seeks to obey him. The highest title anyone can have in the OT is “the servant of Yahweh.” The verb here could be rendered interpretively as “worship,” but it is better to keep it to the basic idea of serving because that emphasizes an important aspect of worship, and it highlights the change from Israel’s serving Egypt, which has been prominent in the earlier chapters. The words “and they” are supplied to clarify for English readers that the subject of the verb is plural (Moses and the people), unlike the other second person forms in vv. 10 and 12, which are singular.

[4:29]  ¹³ sn These are the leaders of the tribes who represented all the people. Later, after the exodus, Moses will select the most capable of them and others to be rulers in a judicial sense (Exod 18:21).

[4:1]  ¹⁴ sn In chap. 3, the first part of this extensive call, Yahweh promises to deliver his people. At the hesitancy of Moses, God guarantees his presence will be with him, and that assures the success of the mission. But with chap. 4, the second half of the call, the tone changes sharply. Now Moses protests his inadequacies in view of the nature of the task. In many ways, these verses address the question, “Who is sufficient for these things?” There are three basic movements in the passage. The first nine verses tell how God gave Moses signs in case Israel did not believe him (4:1-9). The second section records how God dealt with the speech problem of Moses (4:10-12). And finally, the last section records God’s provision of a helper, someone who could talk well (4:13-17). See also J. E. Hamlin, “The Liberator’s Ordeal: A Study of Exodus 4:1-9,” Rhetorical Criticism [PTMS], 33-42.

[4:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and Moses answered and said.”

[4:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “What if.” The use of הֵן (hen) is unusual here, introducing a conditional idea in the question without a following consequence clause (see Exod 8:22 HT [8:26 ET]; Jer 2:10; 2 Chr 7:13). The Greek has “if not” but adds the clause “what shall I say to them?”

[4:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “listen to my voice,” so as to respond positively.

[22:12]  ¹⁸ tn Both with this verb “stolen” and in the next clauses with “torn in pieces,” the text uses the infinitive absolute construction with less than normal emphasis; as Gesenius says, in conditional clauses, an infinitive absolute stresses the importance of the condition on which some consequence depends (GKC 342-43 §113.o).

[22:12]  ¹⁹ sn The point is that the man should have taken better care of the animal.

[32:8]  ²⁰ tn This is the word נְשָׁמָה (nÿshamah, “breath”); according to Gen 2:7 it was breathed into Adam to make him a living person (“soul”). With that divine impartation came this spiritual understanding. Some commentators identify the רוּחַ (ruakh) in the first line as the Spirit of God; this “breath” would then be the human spirit. Whether Elihu knew that much, however, is hard to prove.

[54:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “and great [will be] the peace of your sons.”

[2:21]  ²² tn Aram “kings.”

[2:21]  ²³ tn Aram “the knowers of understanding.”

[2:23]  ²⁴ tn Aram “we.” Various explanations have been offered for the plural, but it is probably best understood as the editorial plural; so also with “me” later in this verse.

[2:23]  ²⁵ tn Aram “the word of the king.”

[21:15]  ²⁶ tn Grk “a mouth.” It is a metonymy and refers to the reply the Lord will give to them.

[21:15]  ²⁷ tn Grk “and wisdom.”

[6:45]  ²⁸ sn A quotation from Isa 54:13.

[6:45]  ²⁹ tn Or “listens to the Father and learns.”

[1:17]  ³⁰ tn The words “I pray” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to clarify the meaning; v. 17 is a subordinate clause to v. 16 (“I pray” in v. 17 is implied from v. 16). Eph 1:15-23 constitutes one sentence in Greek, but a new sentence was started here in the translation in light of contemporary English usage.

[1:17]  ³¹ tn Or “glorious Father.” The genitive phrase “of glory” is most likely an attributive genitive. The literal translation “Father of glory” has been retained because of the parallelism with the first line of the verse: “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.”

[1:17]  ³² tn Or “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,” or “a spirit of wisdom and revelation.” Verse 17 involves a complex exegetical problem revolving around the Greek term πνεῦμα (pneuma). Some take it to mean “the Spirit,” others “a spirit,” and still others “spiritual.” (1) If “the Spirit” is meant, the idea must be a metonymy of cause for effect, because the author had just indicated in vv. 13-14 that the Spirit was already given (hence, there is no need for him to pray that he be given again). But the effect of the Spirit is wisdom and revelation. (2) If “a spirit” is meant, the idea may be that the readers will have the ability to gain wisdom and insight as they read Paul’s letters, but the exact meaning of “a spirit” remains ambiguous. (3) To take the genitives following πνεῦμα as attributed genitives (see ExSyn 89-91), in which the head noun (“S/spirit”) functions semantically like an adjective (“spiritual”) is both grammatically probable and exegetically consistent.

[1:17]  ³³ tn Grk “in the knowledge of him.”

[1:18]  ³⁴ tc ‡ Most witnesses, especially of the Byzantine and Western texttypes, though with a few important Alexandrian witnesses (א A D F G Ψ 0278 Ï latt sy), add ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”) after καρδίας (kardias, “heart”), though it is clearly implied in the shorter (Alexandrian) reading (found in Ì⁴⁶ B 6 33 1175 1739 1881 pc). The longer reading thus looks to be a clarifying gloss, as is frequently found in the Byzantine and Western traditions. The translation above also uses “your” because of English requirements, not because of textual basis.

[1:18]  ³⁵ tn The perfect participle πεφωτισμένους (pefwtismenou") may either be part of the prayer (“that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened”) or part of the basis of the prayer (“since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened”). Although the participle follows the ἵνα (Jina) of v. 17, it is awkward grammatically in the clause. Further, perfect adverbial participles are usually causal in NT Greek. Finally, the context both here and throughout Ephesians seems to emphasize the motif of light as a property belonging to believers. Thus, it seems that the author is saying, “I know that you are saved, that you have had the blinders of the devil removed; because of this, I can now pray that you will fully understand and see the light of God’s glorious revelation.” Hence, the translation takes the participle to form a part of the basis for the prayer.

[1:18]  ³⁶ tn Or “the hope to which he has called you.”

[1:18]  ³⁷ tn Grk “of the glory of his inheritance.” Here “inheritance” is taken as an attributed genitive and the head noun, “glory,” is thus translated as an adjective, “glorious inheritance.”

[1:17]  ³⁸ tn The first phrase refers to the action of giving and the second to what is given.

[1:17]  ³⁹ tn Or “All generous giving and every perfect gift from above is coming down.”

[1:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “variation or shadow of turning” (referring to the motions of heavenly bodies causing variations of light and darkness).