Chapter Thirty-Five
Sabbath Regulations
35:1 Moses assembled all the congregation of the people of Israel and said to them, “These are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do.
Moses tells the gathered people of Israel,[1] about the renewed covenant and God’s regulations, beginning with the Sabbath.
35:2 Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.
God required the Israelites to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest, no work was to be done on that day as it was holy to YHWH. One way they were identified as God’s people was through them being seen as people who did not work on the Sabbath, similar to the way Christians can often be identified as people who go to church on Sunday mornings. However, God wanted it understood that since it was holy to Him, the penalty for doing work on the Sabbath was death.
35:3 You shall kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.”
The interpretation of this verse is often debated, varying from no use of any fire during the Sabbath, to no one can cook during the Sabbath. Even the Talmud has opposing views, ranging from the Hebrew word ‘mō·šeḇō’ṯê’,[2] translated here as “dwelling places” referring to the inhabiting of the land, not a home, being used as a metaphor for minor offenses and therefore being punished only by flogging.[3] Most interpret this regulation as a temporary suspension of lighting fires, not the extinguishing of fire started prior to the beginning of the Sabbath period.
Contributions for the Tabernacle
35:4 Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. 5 Take from among you a contribution to the LORD. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD’s contribution: gold, silver, and bronze; 6 blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats’ hair, 7 tanned rams’ skins, and goatskins; acacia wood, 8 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 9 and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.
Now that the golden calf incident was over and the covenant has been restored, it was time to focus on the making of the Tabernacle. Much of the remaining chapters in Exodus will mirror the description given in chapters 25-31.[4] Here Moses asks the people of Israel for generous donations of specific materials as an offering to YHWH. Even though worded as a commandment (Hebrew word ‘ṣiw·wā(h)’,[5] to order), this was to be a free-will contribution (Hebrew ‘terû·mā(h)’,[6] from the root word that means to lift up, here referring to an offering). The request matches the instructions given to Moses on Mount Sinai (see Exodus 25:1-9). While the text does not mention what the materials were being requested for, it is generally assumed the Israelites were already aware of the Tabernacle project.
35:10 “Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the LORD has commanded: 11 the tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 12 the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the veil of the screen;
The Tabernacle was to be built by those given Spiritual gifts (see Exodus 31:1-11, 35:30-35) and other skilled craftsmen. Moses lists what needs to be built beginning with the tent structure followed by items to be placed in the Most Holy Place, the ark of testimony (with the appropriate poles for transporting), the mercy seat, and the veil that will be used to separate the two rooms in the structure.
35:13 the table with its poles and all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand also for the light, with its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 and the altar of incense, with its poles, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle;
Next on the list were items that were to be placed in the Holy Place, the first room in the structure, including: the table with poles and utensils; lampstand with its utensils, lamps, and oil; the golden altar of incense with its poles; anointing oil; fragrant incense; and the front door screen (curtain). It is interesting to note that the listing included the bread of Presence. Since the bread would be perishable and was only temporary (changed weekly), it would need to be prepared near the time of construction completion.
35:16 the altar of burnt offering, with its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin and its stand; 17 the hangings of the court, its pillars and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court, and their cords;
Next would be all the outdoor items: the bronze altar with its grating, poles, and utensils; the wash basin with its stand; the hangings for the courtyard fence, along with its pillars, bases, the screen for the front gate; and all the necessary pegs and cords (rope) to tie down the structure and the courtyard fence.
35:19 the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests.”
Then finally, the various garments the priests will need to wear. The penalty for any priest not wearing the appropriate garment while serving God was death (see Exodus 28:43).
35:20 Then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. 22 So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the LORD. 23 And every one who possessed blue or purple or scarlet yarns or fine linen or goats’ hair or tanned rams’ skins or goatskins brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the LORD’s contribution. And every one who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it.
The people of Israel wasted no time as they immediately responded to God’s request for donations. They willingly contributed personal items of gold, silver, bronze, blue yarn, purple yarn, scarlet yarn, fine linen, goats’ hair, rams’ skins, goatskins, and acacia wood. Many believe that most of the precious metal objects were given to the Israelites by the Egyptians while the Israelites were leaving Egypt after the tenth plague (see Exodus 12:35).
35:25 And every skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 26 All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats’ hair.
All of the women skilled in weaving and linen-making were willing to spin the received yarn and make garments from the fine linen. The women whose hearts desired to serve God used their skill to make coverings made of the goats’ hair.
35:27 And the leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod and for the breastpiece, 28 and spices and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD.
The Israelite leaders brought onyx and the other stones, as well as the spices and oil for the light, anointing oil, and incense. All the people of Israel who were moved to give to YHWH, did so as a freewill offering to YHWH.
General Contractors Named to Build the Tabernacle
35:30 Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, 32 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 33 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. 34 And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.
Now that the construction materials have been obtained, God had provided the necessary knowledge and skill through Spiritual gifts to begin the construction of the Tabernacle. Previously introduced (see Exodus 31:1-11), Bezalel and Oholiab were selected by God to oversee the building project. They were also to teach and guide other skilled workers to assist them.
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[1] See commentary under Exodus 12:3 regarding the word that is translated here as ‘congregation’.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 4186.
[3] Neusner, J. (2011). The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary (Vol. 2, pp. 303–304), (Vol. 8, p. 22-25), (Vol. 16, p. 175). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
[4] See Introduction to the Tabernacle under Exodus 25:9.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 6680.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 8641.