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Éxodo 31

VBL · Chapter 31/40

1El Señor le dijo a Moisés:

2“He escogido por nombre a Bezalel, hijo de Uri, hijo de Hur, de la tribu de Judá.

3Lo he llenado con el Espíritu de Dios dándole habilidad, creatividad y experiencia en todo tipo de artesanías.

4Puede producir diseños en oro, plata y bronce,

5puede tallar piedras preciosas para colocarlas en los marcos, y puede tallar madera. Es un maestro de todas las artes.

6“También he elegido a Aholiab, hijo de Ahisamac, de la tribu de Dan, para que le ayude. También he dado a todos los artesanos las habilidades necesarias para hacer todo lo que te he ordenado hacer:

7“El Tabernáculo de Reunión, el Arca del Testimonio y su tapa de expiación; y todos los demás muebles de la Tienda:

8la mesa con su equipamiento, el candelabro de oro puro con todo su equipo, el altar de incienso,

9el altar del holocausto con todos sus utensilios, y la palangana más su soporte;

10así como las ropas tejidas tanto para Aarón el sacerdote como para sus hijos para servir como sacerdotes,

11así como el aceite de unción y el incienso fragante para el Lugar Santo. Deben hacerlos siguiendo todas las instrucciones que les he dado”.

12El Señor le dijo a Moisés:

13“Dile a los israelitas, ‘Es absolutamente esencial que guarden mis sábados. El sábado será una señal entre ustedes y yo para las generaciones futuras, para que sepan que yo soy el Señor que los santifica.

14Guardarán el sábado porque es santo para ustedes. Cualquiera que lo deshonre debe ser asesinado. Cualquiera que trabaje en ese día debe ser cortado de su pueblo.

15Seis días podrán trabajar, pero el séptimo día será un día de descanso, santo para el Señor. Cualquiera que trabaje en el día de descanso debe ser asesinado.

16Los israelitas deben guardar el sábado, observando el sábado como un acuerdo eterno para las generaciones futuras.

17Es una señal entre los israelitas y yo para siempre, porque el Señor hizo los cielos y la tierra en seis días, pero en el séptimo día se detuvo y descansó’”.

18Cuando el Señor terminó de hablar con Moisés en el Monte Sinaí, le dio las dos tablas del Testimonio, tablas de piedra escritas por el dedo de Dios.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God appoints Bezalel and Aholiab, craftsmen filled with the Spirit of God, to lead the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings; the importance of the Sabbath is reaffirmed, and Moses receives the two stone tablets written by God's own finger.

Explanation

This chapter highlights something remarkable: the artistic and technical skill of Bezalel and Aholiab is described as a direct gift of the Spirit of God, showing that creative excellence in craftsmanship and artistry is also a legitimate and valued form of spiritual service, not something separate from faith. This is one of the earliest explicit biblical mentions of the 'Spirit of God' equipping someone for a specific task, broadening our understanding of how God equips different people with varied gifts to fulfill his collective purposes. The renewed emphasis on the Sabbath, right after the extensive instructions for building the tabernacle, serves as a reminder that even the most sacred work should not override the rhythm of rest God established at creation. The chapter closes with the solemn handing over of the stone tablets 'written with the finger of God' (v. 18), a symbolic milestone of the direct, divine authority of the Law that Moses was about to bring to the people — though, as the next chapter will reveal, this handover would tragically coincide with the people's worst moment of unfaithfulness so far.

Fun facts

  • Bezalel, whose name means 'in the shadow (protection) of God,' is the first individual in the Bible explicitly described as 'filled... with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship' (v. 3), setting an important theological precedent for the divine origin of creativity and craftsmanship.
  • The expression that the tablets were written 'with the finger of God' (v. 18) is used in another context by Jesus in Luke 11:20, when he describes his own miracles of deliverance as performed 'with the finger of God,' poetically connecting the authority of the ancient Law to the authority of Jesus' ministry.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Éxodo 31:1After all the detailed instructions about construction, God reveals who would actually carry out the work, starting with the name of the chief craftsman.
  2. Éxodo 31:2Bezaleel, of the tribe of Judah, is called by name by God to lead the entire work of building the tabernacle and its objects.
  3. Éxodo 31:3Bezaleel was the craftsman chosen to lead the building of the tabernacle and its objects. The text describes his technical skill, working gold, silver, stone, and wood, as a gift coming directly from God, not just talent learned on his own.
  4. Éxodo 31:4Bezaleel’s skill included devising original designs and precisely working the three metals used in the construction: gold, silver, and bronze.
  5. Éxodo 31:5Besides the metals, Bezaleel also mastered the cutting of precious stones and detailed woodwork, covering practically every technique needed.
  6. Éxodo 31:6God also appoints a second craftsman, Aholiab, of the tribe of Dan, to work alongside Bezaleel, besides granting skill to other talented craftsmen among the people.
  7. Éxodo 31:7Lists the main pieces this team of craftsmen would need to build: the tent, the ark, the mercy seat, and the other utensils of the tabernacle.
  8. Éxodo 31:8Continues the list with the table of bread, the lampstand, and the altar of incense, picking up items already detailed in the previous chapters.
  9. Éxodo 31:9Completes the list with the altar of sacrifice and the basin for washing, located in the outer area of the tabernacle.
  10. Éxodo 31:10Also includes making the priestly garments, both the ones for ordinary use and the special garments of Aaron and his sons.
  11. Éxodo 31:11Closes the team’s list of responsibilities with the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, the last two items in this long list of tasks.
  12. Éxodo 31:12After the whole extensive list of instructions about construction, God returns to a theme already mentioned before: the importance of keeping the sabbath.
  13. Éxodo 31:13The sabbath is presented as a visible sign of the covenant between God and Israel, a weekly reminder that it is God who sanctifies the people.
  14. Éxodo 31:14The sabbath, the weekly day of rest, is presented here as a “sign” between God and the people of Israel, something that set them apart from the other nations. The death penalty prescribed for anyone who worked on that day shows how much weight this law carried within the Old Testament’s legal system, even though there is no detailed record of how or how often it was actually applied.
  15. Éxodo 31:15Reinforces the seriousness of the sabbath law, repeating the death penalty for anyone who worked on that specific day, even amid the urgency of building the tabernacle.
  16. Éxodo 31:16Determines that the observance of the sabbath had to keep being practiced by all of Israel’s future generations, as a permanent part of the covenant.
  17. Éxodo 31:17The word used here for “was refreshed” carries the sense of catching one’s breath, breathing a sigh of relief, a very human way of describing God’s rest after creation, as told in Genesis. It is that pause that serves as the model for the weekly rest the people were to follow.
  18. Éxodo 31:18The phrase “finger of God” indicates that the Ten Commandments, unlike the other laws given through Moses, were recorded directly, with no intermediary. It is a way of marking the special authority of this particular set of rules.

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