Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Bezalel and Oholiab are designated by God as architects of the tabernacle; secondly, verse 13, God repeats and emphasizes the observance of the Sabbath; thirdly, verse 18, God gives Moses two stone tablets of the law.
Vulgate Text: Exodus 31:1-18
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2. Behold, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3. and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, in every kind of work, 4. to devise whatever can be skillfully made from gold, and silver, and bronze, 5. marble, and gems, and variety of woods. 6. And I have given him as a companion Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And in the heart of every skilled person I have placed wisdom, that they may make all the things I have commanded you: 7. the tabernacle of the covenant, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is upon it, and all the vessels of the tabernacle, 8. and the table and its vessels, the pure candlestick with its vessels, and the altars of incense, 9. and of burnt offering, and all their vessels, the basin with its stand, 10. the holy vestments for the ministry of Aaron the priest, and for his sons, that they may fulfill their office in the sacred rites. 11. The oil of anointing, and the incense of spices in the Sanctuary; all that I have commanded you, they shall make. 12. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 13. Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say to them: See that you keep My Sabbath; for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord, who sanctifies you. 14. Keep My Sabbath, for it is holy to you: whoever profanes it shall be put to death; whoever does work on it, that soul shall perish from the midst of his people. 15. Six days shall you do work; on the seventh day is the Sabbath, a holy rest to the Lord. Everyone who does work on this day shall die. 16. Let the children of Israel keep the Sabbath, and celebrate it throughout their generations. It is an everlasting covenant 17. between Me and the children of Israel, and a perpetual sign. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh He rested from His work. 18. And the Lord gave to Moses, when these words were completed on Mount Sinai, two tablets of testimony made of stone, written with the finger of God.
Verse 2: I Have Called by Name Bezalel
Verse 2. I HAVE CALLED BY NAME BEZALEL, that is to say, I, God, have called Bezalel, that he himself should build the tabernacle and all its furnishings; by catachresis, "I have called" is used for "I have designated": for those who are designated by men as magistrates or officials are customarily summoned by name to this position; hence the Spanish call them criados.
BEZALEL, THE SON OF URI, THE SON OF HUR. This Hur, the grandfather of Bezalel, appears to have been the same one mentioned in Chapter XVII, verse 14, and Chapter XXIV, verse 14. For he was one of the elders of Israel, and next in dignity to Aaron, the brother of Moses, and therefore Moses stops the genealogy of Bezalel at him, as though Bezalel, being descended from his grandfather Hur, whom he had mentioned earlier, was sufficiently well known. And it could easily have been the case that Bezalel, even as an elderly man, lived at the same time as his grandfather Hur -- for example, if we grant Bezalel sixty years and Hur one hundred, or one hundred and ten. Abulensis denies this, and thinks that Bezalel at this time was ninety-two years old. But who would believe that such an old man was chosen for so great and laborious a construction?
Furthermore, this Hur was the son of Caleb -- not that famous explorer who alone with Joshua resisted those who murmured, as Rabbi Solomon claims (for that Caleb had not yet reached the age of forty at this time, as is evident from Joshua XIV, 10), but of another, much older Caleb, namely the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah the patriarch. See I Chronicles II, verses 6, 9, 19.
Symbolically, Strabus, or the Glossa Ordinaria, says: "In the construction of the tabernacle, the mystery of the Trinity is shown, just as in the baptism and transfiguration of Christ. For in the baptism, the Father sounded by His voice, and the Son was baptized, and the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove. In like manner here, Oholiab, which means 'my protection is the Father,' signifies the Person of the Father. Bezalel, which means 'in the shadow of God,' signifies the Holy Spirit, of whom it is said: 'The power of the Most High, that is, the Holy Spirit, will overshadow you.' But the command, that is, the Word by which the tabernacle was ordered to be made, is the Son, through whom the Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit, works all things." For the Holy Trinity builds and fashions both this material tabernacle and its antitype, the Church, and holy souls as a temple for Himself.
Tropologically, "Hur" in Hebrew signifies brightness and shining light, which is faith. "Uri" signifies fire, which is charity. "Bezalel" signifies "in the shadow of God," which is hope: for hope rests securely in the help of God, as if in a shadow. Now these three -- faith, hope, and charity -- build the tabernacle, that is, the house of the soul, so that it may be a temple of God.
Verse 3: I Have Filled Him with the Spirit of God
Verse 3. AND I HAVE FILLED HIM WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD, that is, with My Spirit. For God speaks in the Hebrew manner, of Himself as if of a third person. A similar interchange of persons occurs in the last verse, and in Genesis XIX, 25, and Numbers XII, verses 6 and 8, and Amos IV, 11, and elsewhere. Now the "Spirit of God" is what follows, namely wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in every kind of craftsmanship, given and inspired by God. For it is an apposition: "with the Spirit of God (which is) wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in every kind of work." See what was said at Chapter XXVIII, verse 3.
Verse 6: I Have Given Him as a Companion Oholiab
Verse 6. AND I HAVE GIVEN HIM AS A COMPANION OHOLIAB, THE SON OF AHISAMACH. "Oholiab" in Hebrew means "my tabernacle," or "my protection is the Father," namely the heavenly Father; "Ahisamach" means "brothers joining together."
This therefore signifies the Apostles and apostolic men, who through hope in God and God's help and protection -- which Oholiab signifies -- and through mutual and fraternal help -- which Ahisamach signifies -- built the Church, which is the tabernacle of God. And specifically, says the Gloss: "Bezalel and Oholiab are Peter and Paul, who after Christ built the Church of the Jews and of the Gentiles. For Bezalel, which means 'shadow of God,' signifies Peter: for at the touch of his shadow the sick were healed by divine power, Acts V. Oholiab, which means 'my protection' or 'my dwelling is the Father,' is Paul, who in mind dwelt in God the Father of all; whence he himself says in Philippians III: 'Our citizenship is in heaven.'"
AND IN THE HEART OF EVERY SKILLED PERSON I HAVE PLACED WISDOM, THAT THEY MAY MAKE ALL THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU -- that is to say, to the skilled craftsmen of lesser and lower rank I have also given their industry and expertise, so that they may assist Bezalel and Oholiab in the construction of the tabernacle.
Learn from this that all arts, even mechanical ones, are gifts of God, at least natural gifts, and that a man should not glory in them as his own, as things invented or acquired by his own industry, but that they should be ascribed to God, sought from Him, and expended in His service. So says Rupert on Chapter XXXV of Exodus, at the end.
Verse 13: See That You Keep My Sabbath
Verse 13. SEE THAT YOU KEEP MY SABBATH, FOR IT IS A SIGN BETWEEN ME AND YOU. Abulensis and Lipomanus think that the mention of the Sabbath is interjected here for this reason: namely, lest the Hebrews think it was permitted for them to build the tabernacle on the Sabbath day. But this reasoning is too narrow, and Scripture gives no indication of it.
I say therefore that God here repeats the commandment of the Sabbath alone, and again sanctions it with the added penalty of death, both because this ceremonial law of the Sabbath was the chief one, recurring every week; and because the Sabbath was the most public and solemn worship of God, whence He adds: "For it is a sign between Me and you," that is to say: Because the Sabbath is a sign that you are My people and I am your God, inasmuch as in His honor and out of obedience to Him you observe the seventh day, namely the Sabbath, by sacred rest, as if proclaiming that I am the Creator of all things that were made in six days, and that on this seventh day I ceased from all My work; and therefore you must strive that on that day the mind may rest in God through prayer and other pious exercises -- here through grace, and in the future through glory.
THAT YOU MAY KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD, WHO SANCTIFIES YOU -- who, namely, applies you to My worship, and as it were sets apart and consecrates you through this My feast of the Sabbath, so that in it you may worship Me in holiness.
Verse 14: For It Is Holy to You
Verse 14. FOR IT IS HOLY TO YOU -- that is to say, the Sabbath is for you a solemn feast, dedicated to the holy worship of God. See Deuteronomy V, 12.
WHOEVER DOES WORK ON IT, THAT SOUL (that is, life) SHALL PERISH FROM THE MIDST OF HIS PEOPLE -- that is to say: Whoever by laboring violates the rest of the Sabbath, let him be punished with death by the sentence of a judge, if the crime, namely the violation of the Sabbath, is established; if it is not established, then that man shall be punished by death through other means by God's vengeance -- whether through men as if by chance, but with God intending and directing this chance, as I said in Chapter XXI, 13, or through other creatures that serve as God's agents -- and, what is greatest of all, he shall perish eternally in hell, as one guilty of the greatest crime.
Verse 15: The Sabbath Is a Rest
Verse 15. THE SABBATH IS A REST, etc. The Hebrew is: sabbaton is sabbat. The Hebrews understand by sabbaton, that is, "little Sabbath," a small addition to the Sabbath; for since they do not know precisely the moment when the Sabbath begins, in order to satisfy it, they begin it one hour earlier and end it one hour later, and this small period of time they think is called sabbaton, that is, "little Sabbath." But this is too narrow and anxious a form of religion. Therefore our Translator has rendered and punctuated it excellently, and others generally follow him.
Verse 17: It Is an Everlasting Covenant
Verse 17. IT IS AN EVERLASTING COVENANT BETWEEN ME AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. He calls the Sabbath a "covenant," that is, a condition of the covenant. The Septuagint translates: "an eternal testament or covenant is in me and the children of Israel" -- so that the children of Israel may rest in Me, that is in God, and in the vision and enjoyment of God, through the eternal rest which I have promised them, says St. Augustine, Question CXXXIX. But this sense does not correspond to the Hebrew, in which the word is not "in" but "between"; and so the preposition "in," which the Septuagint has, must be understood as "between."
ON THE SEVENTH HE RESTED FROM HIS WORK. In Hebrew yinnaphesh, that is, "He breathed again after labor, and by breathing rested." Scripture speaks of God anthropopathically.
Verse 18: The Lord Gave to Moses Two Stone Tablets
Verse 18. AND THE LORD GAVE TO MOSES, etc. TWO TABLETS OF TESTIMONY (that is, of the Decalogue or law, which is a testimony of the divine will, namely what God wills to be done by us) MADE OF STONE, WRITTEN WITH THE FINGER OF GOD -- with His own finger, that is, by Himself, not by a man or an angel; it is a change of person, as I explained at verse 3. Note the word "gave" -- not as though God had not previously given the Decalogue: for He had implanted this law in all men together with nature, as teach St. Irenaeus, Book IV, Chapter XXX; Cyril, Book I on John I, Chapter 1; St. Jerome on Chapter XXIV of Isaiah; Ambrose, On Flight from the World, Chapter III. But He gave it again written on stone tablets, and this in order to avert the forgetfulness which was creeping in through the neglect and sluggishness of men; and to sharpen minds by this sign to a firm and strict keeping of the law; and therefore He gave it inscribed not on paper, but on stone.
Furthermore, it is reasonable to conjecture that this stone was precious, inasmuch as it was formed and destined anew for this divine writing. The Hebrews believe it was sapphire, as Lyranus attests on Exodus XXIV, 12. Where Abulensis likewise testifies the same about the same tablets and rightly refutes those who say that Moses, after breaking these sapphire tablets on account of the people's sin, collected the fragments and enriched himself from them. That these tablets were also made of sapphire is expressly taught by Suidas under the word "Moses," St. Epiphanius, in his book On the Twelve Gems, Anastasius of Nicaea, Question XXXVIII on Sacred Scripture, and Nilus the Metropolitan, On the Theory of Stones. It is supported by the fact that God, when about to give the law to Moses, appeared with a sapphire footstool in Chapter XXIV, verse 10. See what I noted about sapphire there, and Revelation XXI, 21. But on this matter nothing certain can be established, since Scripture does not specify the kind of stone. Furthermore, what the Chaldean paraphrase and the Rabbis report -- that the sapphire of the tablets of the law was cut from the sapphire throne of God, Exodus XXIV, 12 -- is a crude fable of theirs.
Mystically, these tablets signified the tablets of the heart, on which the commandments of God must be written, I Corinthians III, 3 and following.
Isidore, Abulensis, Hugo, Lipomanus, the Hebrews, and others generally note that on the first tablet were written the commandments that concern God and the love and worship of God, which the Hebrews number as four; for they divide the first commandment into two, namely: "Worship one God," and "You shall not make a graven image or idol." But Catholics join these two into one, and count only three commandments on the first tablet, on which see Deuteronomy V. On the second tablet were written the commandments that concern one's neighbor and love of neighbor, which the Hebrews number as six: for they join the last two commandments about coveting a wife and another's property into one; but Catholics more correctly divide them, and consequently count seven commandments on the second tablet. The summary therefore of both tablets and of the whole law is: "Love God, and love your neighbor," as Christ teaches.