Exodus 31:4

31:4 to make artistic designs ¹  for work with gold, with silver, and with bronze,

Exodus 35:32

35:32 to design artistic designs, to work in gold, in silver, and in bronze,

Exodus 23:24

23:24 “You must not bow down to their gods; you must not serve them or do according to their practices. Instead you must completely overthrow them and smash their standing stones ²  to pieces. ³ 

Exodus 35:2

35:2 In six days ⁴  work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a holy day ⁵  for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. ⁶  Anyone who does work on it will be put to death.

Exodus 5:13

5:13 The slave masters were pressuring ⁷  them, saying, “Complete ⁸  your work for each day, just like when there was straw!”

Exodus 5:4

5:4 The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you cause the people to refrain from their work? ⁹  Return to your labor!”

Exodus 31:14-15

31:14 So you must keep the Sabbath, for it is holy for you. Everyone who defiles it ¹⁰  must surely be put to death; indeed, ¹¹  if anyone does ¹²  any ¹³  work on it, then that person will be cut off from among his ¹⁴  people. 31:15 Six days ¹⁵  work may be done, ¹⁶  but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, ¹⁷  holy to the Lord; anyone who does work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to death.

Exodus 35:35

35:35 He has filled them with skill ¹⁸  to do all kinds of work ¹⁹  as craftsmen, as designers, as embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and in fine linen, and as weavers. They are ²⁰  craftsmen in all the work ²¹  and artistic designers. ²² 

[31:4]  ¹ 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.

[23:24]  ² tn The Hebrew is מַצֵּבֹתֵיהֶם (matsevotehem, “their standing stones”); these long stones were erected to represent the abode of the numen or deity. They were usually set up near the altar or the high place. To destroy these would be to destroy the centers of Canaanite worship in the land.

[23:24]  ³ tn Both verbs are joined with their infinitive absolutes to provide the strongest sense to these instructions. The images of the false gods in Canaan were to be completely and utterly destroyed. This could not be said any more strongly.

[35:2]  ³ tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.

[35:2]  ⁴ 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.”

[35:2]  ⁵ 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.

[5:13]  ⁴ tn Or “pressed.”

[5:13]  ⁵ tn כַּלּוּ (kallu) is the Piel imperative; the verb means “to finish, complete” in the sense of filling up the quota.

[5:4]  ⁵ sn The clause is a rhetorical question. Pharaoh is not asking them why they do this, but rather is accusing them of doing it. He suspects their request is an attempt to get people time away from their labor. In Pharaoh’s opinion, Moses and Aaron were “removing the restraint” (פָּרַע, para’) of the people in an effort to give them rest. Ironically, under the Law the people would be expected to cease their labor when they went to appear before God. He would give them the rest that Pharaoh refused to give. It should be noted also that it was not Israel who doubted that Yahweh had sent Moses, as Moses had feared – but rather Pharaoh.

[31:14]  ⁶ tn This clause is all from one word, a Piel plural participle with a third, feminine suffix: מְחַלְלֶיהָ (mÿkhalleha, “defilers of it”). This form serves as the subject of the sentence. The word חָלַל (khalal) is the antonym of קָדַשׁ (qadash, “to be holy”). It means “common, profane,” and in the Piel stem “make common, profane” or “defile.” Treating the Sabbath like an ordinary day would profane it, make it common.

[31:14]  ⁷ tn This is the asseverative use of כִּי (ki) meaning “surely, indeed,” for it restates the point just made (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §449).

[31:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “the one who does.”

[31:14]  ⁹ tn “any” has been supplied.

[31:14]  ¹⁰ tn Literally “her” (a feminine pronoun agreeing with “soul/life,” which is grammatically feminine).

[31:15]  ⁷ tn This is an adverbial accusative of time, indicating that work may be done for six days out of the week.

[31:15]  ⁸ tn The form is a Niphal imperfect; it has the nuance of permission in this sentence, for the sentence is simply saying that the six days are work days – that is when work may be done.

[31:15]  ⁹ tn The expression is שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן (shabbat shabbaton), “a Sabbath of entire rest,” or better, “a sabbath of complete desisting” (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 404). The second noun, the modifying genitive, is an abstract noun. The repetition provides the superlative idea that complete rest is the order of the day.

[35:35]  ⁸ 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.

[35:35]  ⁹ tn The expression “all the work” means “all kinds of work.”

[35:35]  ¹⁰ tn Here “They are” has been supplied.

[35:35]  ¹¹ tn Heb “doers of all work.”

[35:35]  ¹² tn Heb “designers of designs.”