Exodus 31:2

31:2 “See, I have chosen ¹  Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

Exodus 35:34

35:34 And he has put it in his heart ²  to teach, he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

Exodus 38:22

38:22 Now Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that the Lord had commanded Moses;

Exodus 39:14

39:14 The stones were for the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, corresponding to the number of ³  their names. Each name corresponding to one of the twelve tribes was like the engravings of a seal.

Exodus 35:30

35:30 Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen ⁴  Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

Exodus 28:21

28:21 The stones are to be for the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, according to the number of ⁵  their names. Each name according to the twelve tribes is to be like ⁶  the engravings of a seal.

Exodus 24:4

24:4 and Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Early in the morning he built ⁷  an altar at the foot ⁸  of the mountain and arranged ⁹  twelve standing stones ¹⁰  – according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Exodus 31:6

31:6 Moreover, ¹¹  I have also given him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and I have given ability to all the specially skilled, ¹²  that they may make ¹³  everything I have commanded you:

Exodus 38:23

38:23 and with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an artisan, a designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen.

Exodus 2:1

The Birth of the Deliverer

2:1 ¹⁴ A man from the household ¹⁵  of Levi married ¹⁶  a woman who was a descendant of Levi. ¹⁷ 

Exodus 28:9-10

28:9 “You are to take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, ¹⁸  28:10 six ¹⁹  of their names on one stone, and the six remaining names on the second stone, according to the order of their birth. ²⁰ 

Exodus 6:14

The Ancestry of the Deliverer

6:14 ²¹ These are the heads of their fathers’ households: ²² 

The sons ²³  of Reuben, the firstborn son of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans ²⁴  of Reuben.

Exodus 39:6

39:6 They set the onyx stones in gold filigree settings, engraved as with the engravings of a seal ²⁵  with the names of the sons of Israel. ²⁶ 

Exodus 28:29

28:29 Aaron will bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of decision over his heart ²⁷  when he goes into the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.

Exodus 32:26

32:26 So Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come ²⁸  to me.” ²⁹  All the Levites gathered around him,

[31:2]  ¹ tn Heb “called by name.” 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.

[35:34]  ² 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.

[39:14]  ³ tn The phrase “the number of” has been supplied.

[35:30]  ⁴ 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.

[28:21]  ⁵ tn For clarity the words “the number of” have been supplied.

[28:21]  ⁶ tn The phrase translated “the engravings of a seal” is an adverbial accusative of manner here.

[24:4]  ⁶ tn The two preterites quite likely form a verbal hendiadys (the verb “to get up early” is frequently in such constructions). Literally it says, “and he got up early [in the morning] and he built”; this means “early [in the morning] he built.” The first verb becomes the adverb.

[24:4]  ⁷ tn “under.”

[24:4]  ⁸ tn The verb “arranged” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied to clarify exactly what Moses did with the twelve stones.

[24:4]  ⁹ tn The thing numbered is found in the singular when the number is plural – “twelve standing-stone.” See GKC 433 §134.f. The “standing-stone” could be a small piece about a foot high, or a huge column higher than men. They served to commemorate treaties (Gen 32), or visions (Gen 28) or boundaries, or graves. Here it will function with the altar as a place of worship.

[31:6]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “and in the heart of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom.”

[31:6]  ⁹ 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.”

[2:1]  ⁸ sn The chapter records the exceptional survival of Moses under the decree of death by Pharaoh (vv. 1-10), the flight of Moses from Pharaoh after killing the Egyptian (vv. 11-15), the marriage of Moses (vv. 16-22), and finally a note about the Lord’s hearing the sighing of the people in bondage (vv. 23-25). The first part is the birth. The Bible has several stories about miraculous or special births and deliverances of those destined to lead Israel. Their impact is essentially to authenticate the individual’s ministry. If the person’s beginning was providentially provided and protected by the Lord, then the mission must be of divine origin too. In this chapter the plot works around the decree for the death of the children – a decree undone by the women. The second part of the chapter records Moses’ flight and marriage. Having introduced the deliverer Moses in such an auspicious way, the chapter then records how this deliverer acted presumptuously and had to flee for his life. Any deliverance God desired had to be supernatural, as the chapter’s final note about answering prayer shows.

[2:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “house.” In other words, the tribe of Levi.

[2:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “went and took”; NASB “went and married.”

[2:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a daughter of Levi.” The word “daughter” is used in the sense of “descendant” and connects the new account with Pharaoh’s command in 1:22. The words “a woman who was” are added for clarity in English.

[28:9]  ⁹ tn Although this is normally translated “Israelites,” here a more literal translation is clearer because it refers to the names of the twelve tribes – the actual sons of Israel.

[28:10]  ¹⁰ tn This is in apposition to the direct object of the verb “engrave.” It further defines how the names were to be engraved – six on one and the other six on the other.

[28:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “according to their begettings” (the major word in the book of Genesis). What is meant is that the names would be listed in the order of their ages.

[6:14]  ¹¹ sn This list of names shows that Moses and Aaron are in the line of Levi that came to the priesthood. It helps to identify them and authenticate them as spokesmen for God within the larger history of Israel. As N. M. Sarna observes, “Because a genealogy inherently symbolizes vigor and continuity, its presence here also injects a reassuring note into the otherwise despondent mood” (Exodus [JPSTC], 33).

[6:14]  ¹² tn The expression is literally “the house of their fathers.” This expression means that the household or family descended from a single ancestor. It usually indicates a subdivision of a tribe, that is, a clan, or the subdivision of a clan, that is, a family. Here it refers to a clan (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 46).

[6:14]  ¹³ tn Or “descendants.”

[6:14]  ¹⁴ tn Or “families,” and so throughout the genealogy.

[39:6]  ¹² tn Or “as seals are engraved.”

[39:6]  ¹³ sn The twelve names were those of Israel’s sons. The idea was not the remembrance of the twelve sons as such, but the twelve tribes that bore their names.

[28:29]  ¹³ sn So Aaron will have the names of the tribes on his shoulders (v. 12) which bear the weight and symbol of office (see Isa 9:6; 22:22), and over his heart (implying that they have a constant place in his thoughts [Deut 6:6]). Thus he was to enter the presence of God as the nation’s representative, ever mindful of the nation’s interests, and ever bringing the remembrance of it before God (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 306).

[32:26]  ¹⁴ tn “come” is not in the text, but has been supplied.

[32:26]  ¹⁵ tn S. R. Driver suggests that the command was tersely put: “Who is for Yahweh? To me!” (Exodus, 354).