Women of the Word, Exodus 35:30 – 38:8

April 12, 2012

Exodus 35:30 – 38:8

At the conclusion of the 35^th chapter, after Moses has told the Israelite community of the Lord’s command to build a Tabernacle and an Ark, he has them gather all their valuables as a contribution to the construction effort.  He then appoints two head contractors to oversee the building and the decorative work: Bezalel from the Tribe of Judah, skilled in metalworking and carving, and Aholiab from the Tribe of Dan, a fine weaver and engraver.  The next three chapters (36-38) are basically a repetition of the construction as described by the Priestly writer in chapters 25 to 31 without as much detail.  The difference is that here the J writer starts with the building of the Tabernacle first and works inward to the building of the Ark, while the Priestly writer reversed the order, having the Ark built first and then the Tabernacle to house it.  We need to remember that the J writer is the older of the two scribes and tends to take a different and terser perspective.  He also injects an air of practicality into his story, having the Israelites gather the needed materials and assign skilled workmen before starting the labor.

Of particular interest during the building of both the Tabernacle and the Ark is the use of acacia wood, a fragrant and pest-resistant hardwood still found today throughout the Sinai desert and the Jordan valley.  Valued metals, gold and bronze, were, naturally, applied in abundance, and the woven hangings were dyed crimson, blue, and purple.  Not only are these three colors, especially purple, often associated with royalty, but they are also fragile dyes and require skill in processing.

Bezalel is specifically credited with the carving of the Ark of the Covenant,* a smallish chest approximately four feet long, two feet wide, and two feet high with a gold cover called the “mercy seat.”  Standing at each end facing inward was a Cherubim with outstretched wings.  It had poles running on each side so that it could be carried. 

Bezalel also made the altar out of one piece of acacia wood, seven and a half feet square around by four feet in height, with all its vessels of bronze and a bronze network of grates under it for fire.  He showed his consummate skill as a carver since the altar ended up as a hollow shell perfectly readied for the animal sacrifices commanded by God.

Verse 8 (chapter 38) interjects an odd note when the text states that Bezalel made the basin and its stand “out of the bronze mirrors of the women who were on duty at the entrance to the Tent of the Presence [Meeting].”  No one is sure what service these women rendered; suggestions range from cleaning the tent to taking part in the liturgy with singing and dancing.  They remain an intriguing, albeit anonymous, side note in Israel’s early history.

As the Israelite craftsmen worked on the Tabernacle, it “became a single whole.” (36:13) They had a single focus as they labored:  they were inviting God into their midst; they wanted Him to be pleased and to stay.  Therefore, unlike the earlier Tent of the Meeting, which was placed outside the camp, the Tabernacle stood in the very center of it as its heart.

  

*For any who might be interested: “the contents of the Ark were: the two tables of stone, on which Jehovah wrote the Ten Commandments; . . . the autograph copy of the law, written by Moses, presumed to be the Pentateuch in full; . . . a golden pot of miraculously preserved manna and ‘Aaron’s rod that budded’ [cf. Num. 17]” (Unger’s Bible Dictionary, p. 1065)

Submitted by Karilyn Jaap