Глава 31

1–11. Appointment of Tabernacle Ministers. 12–18. Repetition of the Sabbath law and presentation of the tablets to Moses. Exodus 31:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Exodus 31:2. Behold, I appoint Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, from the tribe of Judah; Exodus 31:3. and I filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding, knowledge and all skill, Exodus 31:4. to work in gold, silver and brass, [blue, purple and scarlet wool and fine woven linen], Exodus 31:5. cutting stones for setting and cutting wood for every purpose; Exodus 31:6. and behold, I have given him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, as an assistant, and I will put wisdom in the heart of every wise man, that they may do all that I have commanded you: Exodus 31:7. the tabernacle of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat thereof, and all the furnishings of the tabernacle, Exodus 31:8. and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand of pure gold and all its utensils, and the altar of incense, Exodus 31:9. and the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its socket, Exodus 31:10. and the garments of office, and the garments of the sacred, for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons for the priestly service, Exodus 31:11. and the anointing oil and incense for the sanctuary: according to all that I commanded you, they will do. The work of building the tabernacle according to the model indicated by Moses must be completed by builders also appointed by God himself. That Aholiab was only an assistant (Exodus 31:6) to Bezaliel is evident not only from the fact that Bezaliel is placed in first place, but also from the fact that he receives the special gifts of God (Exodus 31:3–4). The same thing is revealed from mentions in other places (Ex. 37.1) about him alone. When listing the items that must be built by the builders of the tabernacle (Ex. 31:7–11), Aaron’s garments are given a special name “serad”, the meaning of which is unclear. Based on Ref. 35.19 and Ex. 39.41 one might think that the clothes are called official, i.e. designated for wearing during religious services. Exodus 31:12. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Exodus 31:13. Say to the children of Israel this: You shall keep My Sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you; Exodus 31:14. and keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you: whoever profanes it shall be put to death; whoever begins to do business in it, that soul must be destroyed from among his people; Exodus 31:15. For six days let them do work, and on the seventh a Sabbath of rest, dedicated to the Lord: whoever does work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death; Exodus 31:16. and let the children of Israel keep the Sabbath, keeping the Sabbath throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant; Exodus 31:17. This is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever, because in six days the Lord created heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed. The inviolability of the Sabbath rest. Since the commandment about the Sabbath was repeated for the entire people of Israel, one can no longer think that the repetition was necessary in order to keep the builders of the tabernacle from carrying out work on the Sabbath days. The purpose of the reminder of the Sabbath rest is different. The sanctuary, the construction of which was discussed, is designated for the service of God. The essence of this latter is the constant confession of the sovereignty of God in word and deed. It finds its expression, among other things, in the observance of the Sabbath rest. The use of the word “Saturday” in the plural gives every right to assert that we are not talking about just the seventh day, but also other days of rest from work. Compliance with this injunction is “a sign between God and the Jews,” testifying to the people’s loyalty to their Lord and their separation from other nations. Failure to fulfill the commandment of the Sabbath rest is tantamount to a conscious denial of the sovereignty of the Most High and therefore should result in the removal of the denier from among the people of God (Num. 15.34–35). Exodus 31:18. And when [God] stopped speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him two tablets of revelation, tablets of stone, on which was written by the finger of God. Spoken in the hearing of all the people (Exodus 20.17), the ten commandments were given by God himself in writing on two stone tablets, covered with writing on the front and back (Exodus 32.15). Judging by the fact that Moses carried the tablets in one hand and placed them in a small ark, one can think that they were not particularly large. You might be interested in: