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 31:6

31:6 Moreover, ⁶  I have also given him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and I have given ability to all the specially skilled, ⁷  that they may make ⁸  everything I have commanded you:

Exodus 36:1-2

36:1 So Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person ⁹  in whom the Lord has put skill ¹⁰  and ability ¹¹  to know how ¹²  to do all the work for the service ¹³  of the sanctuary are to do the work ¹⁴  according to all that the Lord has commanded.”

36:2 Moses summoned ¹⁵  Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in whom ¹⁶  the Lord had put skill – everyone whose heart stirred him ¹⁷  to volunteer ¹⁸  to do the work,

Exodus 23:7

23:7 Keep your distance ¹⁹  from a false charge ²⁰  – do not kill the innocent and the righteous, ²¹  for I will not justify the wicked. ²² 

Proverbs 14:1

14:1 Every wise woman ²³  builds ²⁴  her household, ²⁵ 

but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

Proverbs 31:19-24

31:19 Her hands ²⁶  take hold ²⁷  of the distaff,

and her hands grasp the spindle.

31:20 She extends ²⁸  her hand ²⁹  to the poor,

and reaches out her hand to the needy.

31:21 She is not ³⁰  afraid of the snow ³¹  for her household,

for all of her household are clothed with scarlet. ³² 

31:22 She makes for herself coverlets; ³³ 

her clothing is fine linen and purple. ³⁴ 

31:23 Her husband is well-known ³⁵  in the city gate ³⁶ 

when he sits with the elders ³⁷  of the land.

31:24 She makes linen garments ³⁸  and sells them,

and supplies the merchants ³⁹  with sashes.

Luke 8:2-3

8:2 and also some women ⁴⁰  who had been healed of evil spirits and disabilities: ⁴¹  Mary ⁴²  (called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had gone out, 8:3 and Joanna the wife of Cuza ⁴³  (Herod’s ⁴⁴  household manager), ⁴⁵  Susanna, and many others who provided for them ⁴⁶  out of their own resources.

Acts 9:39

9:39 So Peter got up and went with them, and ⁴⁷  when he arrived ⁴⁸  they brought him to the upper room. All ⁴⁹  the widows stood beside him, crying and showing him ⁵⁰  the tunics ⁵¹  and other clothing ⁵²  Dorcas used to make ⁵³  while she was with them.

Romans 16:1-4

Personal Greetings

16:1 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant ⁵⁴  of the church in Cenchrea, 16:2 so that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and provide her with whatever help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many, including me.

16:3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, ⁵⁵  my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 16:4 who risked their own necks for my life. Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

Romans 16:6

16:6 Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you.

Romans 16:12

16:12 Greet Tryphena ⁵⁶  and Tryphosa, laborers in the Lord. Greet my dear friend ⁵⁷  Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord.

Galatians 3:28

3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave ⁵⁸  nor free, there is neither male nor female ⁵⁹  – for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:3

4:3 Yes, I say also to you, true companion, ⁶⁰  help them. They have struggled together in the gospel ministry ⁶¹  along with me and Clement and my other coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.

[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.

[31:6]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “and in the heart of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom.”

[31:6]  ⁸ 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.”

[36:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “wise of [in] heart.”

[36:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “wisdom.”

[36:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “understanding, discernment.”

[36:1]  ¹² 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.

[36:1]  ¹³ 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.”

[36:1]  ¹⁴ 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.

[36:2]  ¹⁵ tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) plus the preposition “to” – “to call to” someone means “to summon” that person.

[36:2]  ¹⁶ tn Here there is a slight change: “in whose heart Yahweh had put skill.”

[36:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “whose heart was willing.”

[36:2]  ¹⁸ 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.

[23:7]  ¹⁹ tn Or “stay away from,” or “have nothing to do with.”

[23:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a false matter,” this expression in this context would have to be a case in law that was false or that could only be won by falsehood.

[23:7]  ²¹ tn The two clauses probably should be related: the getting involved in the false charge could lead to the death of an innocent person (so, e.g., Naboth in 1 Kgs 21:10-13).

[23:7]  ²² sn God will not declare right the one who is in the wrong. Society should also be consistent, but it cannot see the intents and motives, as God can.

[14:1]  ²³ tn Heb “wise ones of women.” The construct phrase חַכְמוֹת נָשִׁים (khakhmot nashim) features a wholistic genitive: “wise women.” The plural functions in a distributive sense: “every wise woman.” The contrast is between wise and foolish women (e.g., Prov 7:10-23; 31:10-31).

[14:1]  ²⁴ tn The perfect tense verb in the first colon functions in a gnomic sense, while the imperfect tense in the second colon is a habitual imperfect.

[14:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “house.” This term functions as a synecdoche of container (= house) for contents (= household, family).

[31:19]  ²⁶ tn The first word of the tenth line begins with י (yod) the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:19]  ²⁷ tn The verb שִׁלַּח (shilakh), the Piel perfect of the verb “to send,” means in this stem “to thrust out; to stretch out.” It is a stronger word than is perhaps necessary. It is a word that is also used in military settings to describe the firmness and forthrightness of the activity (Judg 5:26).

[31:20]  ²⁸ sn The parallel expressions here underscore her care for the needy. The first part uses “she spreads her palm” and the second “she thrusts out her hand,” repeating some of the vocabulary introduced in the last verse.

[31:20]  ²⁹ tn The first word of the eleventh line begins with כּ (kaf), the eleventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:21]  ³⁰ tn The first word of the twelfth line begins with ל (lamed), the twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:21]  ³¹ sn “Snow” is a metonymy of adjunct; it refers to the cold weather when snow comes. The verse is saying that this time is not a concern for the wise woman because the family is well prepared.

[31:21]  ³² tn For the MT’s “scarlet” the LXX and the Latin have “two” or “double” – the difference being essentially the vocalization of a plural as opposed to a dual. The word is taken in the versions with the word that follows (“covers”) to means “double garments.” The question to be asked is whether scarlet would keep one warm in winter or double garments. The latter is the easier reading and therefore suspect.

[31:22]  ³³ tn The first word of the thirteenth line begins with מ (mem), the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The word rendered “coverlets” appears in 7:16, where it has the idea of “covered.” K&D 17:335 suggests “pillows” or “mattresses” here. The Greek version has “lined overcoats” or “garments,” but brings over the last word of the previous verse to form this line and parallel the second half, which has clothing in view.

[31:22]  ³⁴ sn The “fine linen” refers to expensive clothing (e.g., Gen 41:42), as does the “purple” (e.g., Exod 26:7; 27:9, 18). Garments dyed with purple indicated wealth and high rank (e.g., Song 3:5). The rich man in Luke 16:19 was clothed in fine linen and purple as well. The difference is that the wise woman is charitable, but he is not.

[31:23]  ³⁵ tn The first word of the fourteenth line begins with נ (nun), the fourteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The form is the Niphal participle of יָדַע (yada’); it means that her husband is “known.” The point is that he is a prominent person, respected in the community.

[31:23]  ³⁶ tn Heb “gate”; the term “city” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[31:23]  ³⁷ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct with the preposition and a pronominal suffix that serves as the subject (subjective genitive) to form a temporal clause. The fact that he “sits with the elders” means he is one of the elders; he sits as a judge among the people.

[31:24]  ³⁸ tn The first word of the fifteenth line begins with ס (samek), the fifteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:24]  ³⁹ tn Heb “to the Canaanites.” These are the Phoenician traders that survived the wars and continued to do business down to the exile.

[8:2]  ⁴⁰ sn There is an important respect shown to women in this text, as their contributions were often ignored in ancient society.

[8:2]  ⁴¹ tn Or “illnesses.” The term ἀσθένεια (asqeneia) refers to the state of being ill and thus incapacitated in some way – “illness, disability, weakness.” (L&N 23.143).

[8:2]  ⁴² sn This Mary is not the woman mentioned in the previous passage (as some church fathers claimed), because she is introduced as a new figure here. In addition, she is further specified by Luke with the notation called Magdalene, which seems to distinguish her from the woman at Simon the Pharisee’s house.

[8:3]  ⁴³ sn Cuza is also spelled “Chuza” in many English translations.

[8:3]  ⁴⁴ sn Herod’s refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.

[8:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Here ἐπίτροπος (epitropo") is understood as referring to the majordomo or manager of Herod’s household (BDAG 385 s.v. ἐπίτροπος 1). However, as BDAG notes, the office may be political in nature and would then be translated something like “governor” or “procurator.” Note that in either case the gospel was reaching into the highest levels of society.

[8:3]  ⁴⁶ tc Many mss (א A L Ψ Ë¹ 33 565 579 1241 2542 pm it co) read “for him,” but “for them” also has good ms support (B D K W Γ Δ Θ Ë¹³ 700 892 1424 pm lat). From an internal standpoint the singular pronoun looks like an assimilation to texts like Matt 27:55 and Mark 15:41.

[9:39]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “who.” The relative clause makes for awkward English style here, so the following clause was made coordinate with the conjunction “and” supplied in place of the Greek relative pronoun.

[9:39]  ⁴⁸ tn The participle παραγενόμενον (paragenomenon) is taken temporally.

[9:39]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “and all.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[9:39]  ⁵⁰ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[9:39]  ⁵¹ tn Or “shirts” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). The name for this garment (χιτών, citwn) presents some difficulty in translation. Most modern readers would not understand what a ‘tunic’ was any more than they would be familiar with a ‘chiton.’ On the other hand attempts to find a modern equivalent are also a problem: “shirt” conveys the idea of a much shorter garment that covers only the upper body, and “undergarment” (given the styles of modern underwear) is more misleading still. “Tunic” was therefore employed, but with a note to explain its nature.

[9:39]  ⁵² tn Grk “and garments,” referring here to other types of clothing besides the tunics just mentioned.

[9:39]  ⁵³ tn The verb ἐποίει (epoiei) has been translated as a customary imperfect.

[16:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “deaconess.” It is debated whether διάκονος (diakonos) here refers to a specific office within the church. One contextual argument used to support this view is that Phoebe is associated with a particular church, Cenchrea, and as such would therefore be a deacon of that church. In the NT some who are called διάκονος are related to a particular church, yet the scholarly consensus is that such individuals are not deacons, but “servants” or “ministers” (other viable translations for διάκονος). For example, Epaphras is associated with the church in Colossians and is called a διάκονος in Col 1:7, but no contemporary translation regards him as a deacon. In 1 Tim 4:6 Paul calls Timothy a διάκονος; Timothy was associated with the church in Ephesus, but he obviously was not a deacon. In addition, the lexical evidence leans away from this view: Within the NT, the διακον- word group rarely functions with a technical nuance. In any case, the evidence is not compelling either way. The view accepted in the translation above is that Phoebe was a servant of the church, not a deaconess, although this conclusion should be regarded as tentative.

[16:3]  ⁵⁵ sn On Prisca and Aquila see also Acts 18:2, 18, 26; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 4:19. In the NT “Priscilla” and “Prisca” are the same person. The author of Acts uses the full name Priscilla, while Paul uses the diminutive form Prisca.

[16:12]  ⁵⁶ sn The spelling Tryphena is also used by NIV, NKJV, NLT; the name is alternately spelled Tryphaena (NASB, NRSV).

[16:12]  ⁵⁷ tn Grk “Greet the beloved.”

[3:28]  ⁵⁸ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 1:10.

[3:28]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “male and female.”

[4:3]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “faithful fellow worker.” This is more likely a descriptive noun, although some scholars interpret the word σύζυγος (suzugos) here as a proper name (“Syzygos”), L&N 42.45.

[4:3]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “in the gospel,” a metonymy in which the gospel itself is substituted for the ministry of making the gospel known.