Exodus 31:18 Kommentar

God is here drawing towards a conclusion of what he had to say to Moses upon the mount, where he had now been with him forty days and forty nights; and yet no more is recorded of what was said to him in all that time than what we have read in the six chapters foregoing. In this, I. He appoints what workmen should be employed in the building and furnishing of the tabernacle (Exo 31:1-11). II. He repeats the law of the sabbath, and the religious observance of it (Exo 31:12-17). III. He delivers to him the two tables of the testimony at parting (Exo 31:18).

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 31 In this chapter an account is given of the persons whom God had chosen, and qualified for the work of building the tabernacle, and all things relating to it, and for the direction and oversight thereof, Exo 31:1 and an enumeration is made of the several things that were to be wrought, some in one way, some in another, Exo 31:7 the law of the sabbath is repeated, and the violation of it made death, Exo 31:12 and the chapter is concluded with observing, that at the close of the above orders, two tables of stone, with the law written upon them by the finger of God, were given to Moses, Exo 31:18.

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him on Mount Sinai,.... After all those laws, orders, and instructions before related, which having done, he ceased to converse with him any longer in that manner he had, and at parting gave him two tables of testimony; the two tables of the law, which is a testimony of the will of God, and contained the duty of the Israelites both towards God and man, and are reducible to these two, love to God, and love to our neighbour: five of the commands of the decalogue were written on one table, and five on the other; or it may be rather four on one table, the first being the largest, and containing the duty owing to God, and six on the other, which regard the duty of men one to another; so Orpheus the Heathen poet, speaking of the law of Moses, calls it (s). "Tables of stone"; the Targum of Jonathan will have them to be of the sapphire stone, from the throne of glory; the paraphrast seems to have respect to Exo 24:10 and, with as little appearance of truth, says their weight was forty seahs; it is more probable they were of marble stone, of which there were great quantities in Mount Sinai. Dr. Shaw says (t) that part of Mount Sinai, which lies to the westward of the plain of Rephidim, consists of a hard reddish marble like "porphyry", but is distinguished from it by the representations of little trees and bushes, which are dispersed all over it. The naturalists call this sort of marble "embuscatum", or "bushy marble"; some think Sinai had its name from thence (u). This may denote the firmness, stability, and duration of the law, not as in the hands of Moses, from which these tables were cast and broke, but as in the hands of Christ, and laid up in him the ark of the covenant, the fulfilling end of the law for righteousness: and it may also figure the hardness of man's heart, which is destitute of spiritual life, obdurate and impenitent, stupid, senseless and ignorant, stubborn and inflexible, and not subject to the law of God, and on which no impressions can be made but by the power and grace of God: written with the finger of God: by God himself, and not by an angel, or by any creature or instrument: and it is by the finger of God, the Spirit, grace, and power of God, that the laws of God are put into the inward part, and written on the heart, to which the apostle refers, Co2 3:3. This account is given by way of transition to what is recorded in the next chapter. (s) De Deo, "prope finem". (t) Travels, p. 443. (u) See Buxtorf. in voce Next: Exodus Chapter 32

This law was “written with the finger of God,” and this finger of God the New Testament explicitly identifies with the Holy Spirit. For when one Evangelist has “By the finger of God, I cast out devils,” another says this same thing thus: “By the spirit of God, I cast out devils.” Who would not have this joy in the divine mysteries, when the redemptive doctrine shines with so clear a light, rather than all the powers of this world though they be infused with unwonted peace and happiness?

Let us look at the Decalogue itself. Undoubtedly Moses received on the mount a law to be ministered to the people, written on tables of stone by the finger of God. It is comprised in ten commandments, among which there is no charge of circumcision or of the animal sacrifices which by Christians are no longer offered. In these ten commandments, apart from the observance of the sabbath, I would ask what the Christian is not bound to observe. Of the commands, not to make or worship idols or any other gods but the one true God, not to take God’s name in vain, to honor parents, to avoid fornication, murder, theft, false witness, adultery, and the coveting of that which is another’s—which among these commands can be said not to bind the Christian? What the apostle calls “the letter that kills” is not this law, written on the two tables, but that of circumcision and the other ancient ordinances now done away. For in the law of the tables comes “You shall not covet,” the command by which (says Paul), “though it is holy and righteous and good, sin deceived me and thereby slew me”8—which can only be “the letter killing.”

Bezaleel appointed for the work of the tabernacle, Exo 31:1-5. Aholiab appointed for the same, Exo 31:6. The particular things on which they were to be employed, the ark and mercy-seat, Exo 31:7. Table, candlestick, and altar of incense, Exo 31:8. Altar of burnt-offering and the laver, Exo 31:9. Priest's garments, Exo 31:10. Anointing oil and sweet incense, Exo 31:11. God renews the command relative to the sanctification of the Sabbath, Exo 31:12-17. Delivers to Moses the two tables of stone, Exo 31:18.

When he had made an end of communing - When the forty days and forty nights were ended. Two tables of testimony - See Clarke's note on Exo 34:1. Tables of stone - That the record might be lasting, because it was a testimony that referred to future generations, and therefore the materials should be durable. Written with the finger of God - All the letters cut by God himself. Dr. Winder, in his History of Knowledge, thinks it probable that this was the first writing in alphabetical characters ever exhibited to the world, though there might have been marks or hieroglyphics cut on wood, stone, etc., before this time; see Exo 17:14. That these tables were written, not by the commandment but by the power of God himself, the following passages seem to prove: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mountain, and be thou there; and I will give thee tables of stone Which I Have Written, that thou mayest teach them;" Exo 24:12. "And he gave unto Moses, upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, Written With The Finger Of God;" Exo 31:18. "And Moses went down from the mount, and the two tables of testimony were in his hand; the tables were Written on both their sides. And the tables were The Work Of God, and the Writing Was The Writing Of God, graven upon the tables;" Exo 32:15, Exo 32:16. "These words [the ten commandments] the Lord spake in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice; and he added no more, But He Wrote Them on two tables of stone;" Deu 5:22. It is evident therefore that this writing was properly and literally the writing of God himself. God wrote now on tables of stone what he had originally written on the heart of man, and in mercy he placed that before his eyes which by sin had been obliterated from his soul; and by this he shows us what, by the Spirit of Christ, must be rewritten in the mind, Co2 3:3; and this is according to the covenant which God long before promised to make with mankind, Jer 31:33. See also what is said on this subject, Exo 20:1 (note), Exo 34:1 (note), and Exo 17:14 (note). "No time," says Dr. A. Bayley, "seems so proper from whence to date the introduction of letters among the Hebrews as this, for after this period we find continual mention of letters, reading, and writing, in the now proper sense of those words. See Deu 27:8; Deu 31:9. Moses, it is said, επαιδευθη, was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians - in all the learning they possessed; but it is manifest that he had not learned of them any method of writing, otherwise there had been no want of God's act and assistance in writing the two tables of the law, no need of a miraculous writing. Had Moses known this art, the Lord might have said to him, as he does often afterwards, Write thou these words; Exo 34:27. Write on the stones the words of this law; Deu 27:3. Write you this song for you; Deu 31:19. Perhaps it may be said, God's writing the law gave it a sanction. True; but why might it not also teach the first use of letters, unless it can be proved that they were in use prior to this transaction? It might be thought too much to assert that letters no more than language were a natural discovery; that it was impossible for man to have invented writing, and that he did not invent it: yet this may appear really the case from the following reflections: - 1. Reason may show us how near to an impossibility it was that a just and proper number of convenient characters for the sounds in language should naturally be hit upon by any man, for whom it was easy to imitate and vary, but not to invent. 2. From evidence of the Mosaic history, it appears that the introduction of writing among the Hebrews was not from man, but God. 3. There are no evident vestiges of letters subsisting among other nations till after the delivery of the law at Mount Sinai; nor then, among some, till very late."

BEZALEEL AND AHOLIAB. (Exo. 31:1-18) See, I have called--Though the instructions about the tabernacle were privately communicated to Moses, it was plainly impossible that he could superintend the work in person, amid the multiplicity of his other duties. A head director or builder was selected by God Himself; and the nomination by such high authority removed all ground of jealousy or discontent on the part of any who might have thought their merits overlooked (compare Mat 18:1). by name Bezaleel--signifying "in the shadow or protection of God"; and, as called to discharge a duty of great magnitude--to execute a confidential trust in the ancient Church of God, he has his family and lineage recorded with marked distinction. He belonged to the tribe of Judah, which, doubtless for wise and weighty reasons, God all along delighted to honor; and he was the grandson of Hur, a pious patriot (Exo 17:12), who was associated, by a special commission, with Aaron in the government of the people during the absence of Moses. Moreover, it may be noticed that a Jewish tradition affirms Hur to be the husband of Miriam; and if this tradition may be relied on, it affords an additional reason for the appointment of Bezaleel emanating from the direct authority of God.

tables of stone, written with the finger of God--containing the ten commandments (Exo 24:12), called "tables of testimony," because God testified His will in them. Next: Exodus Chapter 32

The Builders (cf. Ex 35:30-36:1). - After having given directions for the construction of the sanctuary, and all the things required for the worship, Jehovah pointed out the builders, whom He had called to carry out the work, and had filled with His Spirit for that purpose. To "call by name" is to choose or appoint by name for a particular work (cf. Isa 45:3-4). Bezaleel was a grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, who is mentioned in Exo 17:10; Exo 24:14, and was called to be the master-builder, to superintend the whole of the building and carry out the artistic work; consequently he is not only invariably mentioned first (Exo 35:30; Exo 36:1-2), but in the accounts of the execution of the separate portions he is mentioned alone (Exo 37:1; Exo 38:22). Filling with the Spirit of God signifies the communication of an extraordinary and supernatural endowment and qualification, "in wisdom," etc., i.e., consisting of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and every kind of workmanship, that is to say, for the performance of every kind of work. This did not preclude either natural capacity or acquired skill, but rather presupposed them; for in Exo 31:6 it is expressly stated in relation to his assistants, that God had put wisdom into all that were wise-hearted (see at Exo 28:3). Being thus endowed with a supernaturally exalted gift, Bezaleel was qualified "to think out inventions," i.e., ideas or artistic designs. Although everything had been minutely described by Jehovah, designs and plans were still needed in carrying out the work, so that the result should correspond to the divine instructions.

When Moses had received all the instructions respecting the sanctuary to be erected, Jehovah gave him the two tables of testimony-tables of stone, upon which the decalogue was written with the finger of God. It was to receive these tables that he had been called up the mountain (Exo 24:12). According to Exo 32:16, the tables themselves, as well as the writing, were the work of God; and the writing was engraved upon them (חרוּת from חרת = χαράττειν), and the tables were written on both their sides (Exo 32:15). Both the choice of stone as the material for the tables, and the fact that the writing was engraved, were intended to indicate the imperishable duration of these words of God. The divine origin of the tables, as well as of the writing, corresponded to the direct proclamation of the ten words to the people from the summit of the mountain by the mouth of God. As this divine promulgation was a sufficient proof that they were the immediate word of God, unchanged by the mouth and speech of man, so the writing of God was intended to secure their preservation in Israel as a holy and inviolable thing. The writing itself was not a greater miracle than others, by which God has proved Himself to be the Lord of nature, to whom all things that He has created are subservient for the establishment and completion of His kingdom upon earth; and it can easily be conceived of without the anthropomorphic supposition of a material finger being possessed by God. Nothing is said about the dimensions of the tables: at the same time, we can hardly imagine them to have been as large as the inside of the ark; for stone slab 2 1/2 cubits long and 1 1/2 cubits broad, which must necessarily have been some inches in thickness to prevent their breaking in the hand, would have required the strength of Samson to enable Moses to carry them down the mountain "in his hand" (Exo 32:15), or even "in his two hands" (Deu 9:15, Deu 9:17). But if we suppose them to have been smaller than this, say at the most a cubit and a half long and one cubit broad, there would have been plenty of room on the four sides for the 172 words contained in the decalogue, with its threats and promises (Ex 20:2-17), without the writing being excessively small.