Go to Related Reading
About this book

LXX Exodus

Septuagint

About this book
Chapter 31

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 Look, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri the son of Or, of the tribe of Judah. 3 And I have filled him with a divine spirit of wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge,⁠ in every work, 4 to invent and to act as master builder, to labor in gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and spun scarlet, and fine linen spun, 5 and works in stone, and for craftsmen' work in wood, to work at all works. 6 And I have given him and Eliab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan, and to every one understanding in heart I have given understanding; and they shall make all things as many as I have appointed you, 7 the tabernacle of witness, and the ark of the covenant, and the propitiatory that is upon it, and the furniture of the tabernacle, 8 and the altars, and the table and all its furniture, and the pure candlestick and all its furniture, 9 and the laver and its base, 10 and Aaron's robes of ministry, and the robes of his sons to minister to me as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and the compound incense of the sanctuary; they shall make them according to all that I have commanded you. 12 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 13 And you, charge the children of Israel, saying, Take heed and keep my sabbaths; for they are a sign with me and among you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord that sanctifies you. 14 And you shall keep the sabbaths, because this is holy to the Lord for you; he that profanes it shall surely be put to death: every one who shall do a work on it, that soul shall be destroyed from the midst of his people. 15 Six days you shall do works, but the seventh day is the sabbath, a holy rest to the Lord; every one who shall do a work on the seventh day shall be put to death. 16 And the children of Israel shall keep the sabbaths, to observe them throughout their generations: a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a perpetual sign with me and the children of Israel; for in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, and on the seventh day he ceased, and rested. 18 And he gave to Moses when he left off speaking to him in mount Sinai the two tables of testimony, tables of stone written upon with the finger of God.

Texts in conversation

Compare Exodus 31:6 and LXX Exodus 31:6

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

Share:

Summary

Exodus 31 presents Oholiab as Bezalel's assistant. The Greek Septuagint changes this to "I have given him and Oholiab," placing them as equal partners. It also adds the Greek term for "architect" to describe their work, elevating their status.

Passages

Exodus 31:6

Hebrew Bible
2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God in skill, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, 4 to make artistic designs for work with gold, with silver, and with bronze, 5 and with cutting and setting stone, and with cutting wood, to work in all kinds of craftsmanship. 6 Moreover, I have also given him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and I have given ability to all the specially skilled, that they may make everything I have commanded you:
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Exodus

LXX Exodus 31:6

Septuagint
2 Look, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri the son of Or, of the tribe of Judah. 3 And I have filled him with a divine spirit of wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, in every work, 4 to invent and to act as master builder, to labor in gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and spun scarlet, and fine linen spun, 5 and works in stone, and for craftsmen' work in wood, to work at all works. 6 And I have given him and Eliab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan, and to every one understanding in heart I have given understanding; and they shall make all things as many as I have appointed you,
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Exodus

References

"... The Masoretic text of Exodus 31 provides no support for this equation, as there Oholiab is clearly Bezalel's assistant: "Moreover, I have assigned to/with him (itto) ..." (Exodus 31:6). The Septuagint, however, reads: "And I have appointed him and (kai) Eliab," creating a sense of equality between the craftsmen. ..."
Steven Fine, “Josephus's Portrayal of the Biblical ‘Architect’,” in Art, History and the Historiography of Judaism in Roman Antiquity, BRLJ 34 (Leiden: Brill, 2014), 26.
"... The extent of the man's expertise is extensively described in vv. 4-5. On ExodB's ἀρχιτεκτονῆσαι, see Wevers 1992, 227. ... In v. 6 the Lord announces to Mōusēs that he has appointed (ἔδωκα; see Wevers 1992, 227) him (Beseleēl) and a certain Ἐλιάβ, of the tribe of Dan. MT here reads "I have given him with Oholiab." Exod here uses the first sg. vb. with the emphatic first person personal prn. (ἐγώ). ..."
Daniel M. Gurtner, Exodus: A Commentary on the Greek Text of Codex Vaticanus (Leiden: Brill, 2013), 441.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Your feedback

Exodus 31:6 and LXX Exodus 31:6

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library