Exodus 35:34

35:34 And he has put it in his heart ¹  to teach, he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

Exodus 4:14

4:14 Then the Lord became angry with ²  Moses, and he said, “What about ³  your brother Aaron the Levite? ⁴  I know that he can speak very well. ⁵  Moreover, he is coming ⁶  to meet you, and when he sees you he will be glad in his heart. ⁷ 

Exodus 36:2

36:2 Moses summoned ⁸  Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in whom ⁹  the Lord had put skill – everyone whose heart stirred him ¹⁰  to volunteer ¹¹  to do the work,

[35:34]  ¹ 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.

[4:14]  ² tn Heb “and the anger of Yahweh burned against.”

[4:14]  ³ tn Heb “Is not” or perhaps “Is [there] not.”

[4:14]  ⁴ sn S. R. Driver (Exodus, 29) suggests that the term “Levite” may refer to a profession rather than ancestry here, because both Moses and Aaron were from the tribe of Levi and there would be little point in noting that ancestry for Aaron. In thinking through the difficult problem of the identity of Levites, he cites McNeile as saying “the Levite” referred to one who had had official training as a priest (cf. Judg 17:7, where a member of the tribe of Judah was a Levite). If it was the duty of the priest to give “torah” – to teach – then some training in the power of language would have been in order.

[4:14]  ⁵ tn The construction uses the Piel infinitive absolute and the Piel imperfect to express the idea that he spoke very well: דַבֵּר יְדַבֵּר (dabber yÿdabber).

[4:14]  ⁶ tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with the participle points to the imminent future; it means “he is about to come” or “here he is coming.”

[4:14]  ⁷ sn It is unlikely that this simply means that as a brother he will be pleased to see Moses, for the narrative has no time for that kind of comment. It is interested in more significant things. The implication is that Aaron will rejoice because of the revelation of God to Moses and the plan to deliver Israel from bondage (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 93).

[36:2]  ³ tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) plus the preposition “to” – “to call to” someone means “to summon” that person.

[36:2]  ⁴ tn Here there is a slight change: “in whose heart Yahweh had put skill.”

[36:2]  ⁵ tn Or “whose heart was willing.”

[36:2]  ⁶ 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.