Bible Strands
Exodus 31:4
to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God speaks to Moses, declaring that he has filled Bezalel with the Spirit to execute sacred craftsmanship. This declaration occurs amid the detailed instructions for building the tabernacle and its furnishings.
The words — The Hebrew לַ/חְשֹׁב מַחֲשָׁבֹת (la/ḥšōḇ maḥăšāḇōṯ) literally means "to design designs" or "to plan artistic works." It is immediately followed by לַ/עֲשׂ֛וֹת בַּ/זָּהָ֥ב וּ/בַ/כֶּ֖סֶף וּ/בַ/נְּחֹֽשֶׁת (la/ʿăśōṯ baḥōzāḇ ūḇakkeṣep ūḇannəḥōšeṯ), meaning "to work in gold, silver, and bronze."
The thread — The materials appear in Exodus 28:15, which commands gold for the breastpiece of judgment, while Exodus 25:32 and 26:1 describe structural elements without listing these metals. The verse anchors the broader sanctuary construction narrative in specific, divinely sanctioned materials.
Why it lands — The text defines artistic planning as a Spirit-empowered task rather than mere human technique. A reader must accept that sacred work requires both spiritual gifting and exact material execution.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,
Cross-references
- Exodus 25:32 Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other.
- Exodus 26:1 “You are to construct the tabernacle itself with ten curtains of finely spun linen, each with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and cherubim skillfully worked into them.
- Exodus 28:15 You are also to make a breastpiece of judgment with the same workmanship as the ephod. Construct it with gold, with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and with finely spun linen.
- 1 Kings 7:14 He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge for every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.
- 2 Chronicles 2:7 Send me, therefore, a craftsman skilled in engraving to work with gold and silver, with bronze and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with my craftsmen in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David provided.
- 2 Chronicles 2:13 So now I am sending you Huram-abi, a skillful man endowed with creativity.