Exodus 31:5
in Exodus 31to cut gemstones for settings, and to carve wood, so that he may be a master of every craft.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of workmanship.
KJV
And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.
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This verse in Exodus 31
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I have filled him with the spirit of God--It is probable that he was naturally endowed with a mechanical genius, and had acquired in Egypt great knowledge and skill in the useful, as well as liberal, arts so as to be a first-class artisan, competent to take charge of both the plain and ornamental work, which the building of the sacred edifice required.
This site's exposition
I have filled him with the spirit of God
on Exodus 31:3-5
Bezaleel is the first person in Scripture said to be filled with the spirit of God. Genesis 1:2 has the Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters, and no man before this verse is said to be filled with him. What the filling is for is spelled out in the two verses that follow, gold and silver and brass, the cutting of stones and the carving of timber, and the word wisdom first occurs at 28:3, where it is also given to craftsmen.
This site's exposition
to cut gemstones for settings
Adam Clarke places this work under the lapidary, the cutter of gems, with the jeweler and the carver. The gemstones are those of the priestly garments, the two onyx stones on the shoulders of the ephod at 28:9 and the twelve stones of the breastpiece at 28:17. The wood throughout the tabernacle is acacia.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And in cutting of stones to set them,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
In cutting of stones, etc. - Every thing that concerned the lapidary’s, jeweler’s, and carver’s art.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבַחֲרֹ֥שֶׁת | uvacharoshet | and in carving of | H2799 → | 4 times |
| אֶ֛בֶן | ʾeven | stone | H68 → | 273 times |
| לְמַלֹּ֖את | lemalot | to fill | H4390 → | 249 times |
| וּבַחֲרֹ֣שֶׁת | uvacharoshet | and in carving of | H2799 → | 4 times |
| עֵ֑ץ | ʾetz | wood | H6086 → | 328 times |
| לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת | laasot | to work | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מְלָאכָֽה׃ | melakhah | workmanship | H4399 → | 167 times |
וּבַחֲרֹ֥שֶׁתand in carving of
uvacharoshetH2799 →4 times
אֶ֛בֶןstone
ʾevenH68 →273 times
לְמַלֹּ֖אתto fill
lemalotH4390 →249 times
וּבַחֲרֹ֣שֶׁתand in carving of
uvacharoshetH2799 →4 times
עֵ֑ץwood
ʾetzH6086 →328 times
לַעֲשׂ֖וֹתto work
laasotH6213 →2628 times
בְּכָל־in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
מְלָאכָֽה׃workmanship
melakhahH4399 →167 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.