Exodus 36:1

Summary

Exodus 36:1 states that Bezalel, Oholiab, and every skilled craftsman whom Yehovah had endowed with wisdom and understanding were to carry out the construction work for the sanctuary, according to everything Yehovah had commanded. The verse links the craftsmen's ability directly to a divine gift of chokhmah ("skill", H2451) and tevunah ("understanding", H8394).

Key words

• 'a.Sah ("he will do", H6213A) — qal sequential perfect; in this position it continues a preceding narrative/instructional chain and can carry either simple past or prospective/injunctive force depending on context.
• cha.kham- ("skillful of", H2450) construct + Lev ("heart", H3820A) — the construct phrase "skillful of heart" is an idiom locating practical craft-ability in the "heart," the Hebrew seat of cognitive skill, not only emotion.
• na.Tan ("he has put", H5414H) — qal perfect (not sequential), marking a simple completed action: Yehovah's prior granting of skill, distinct grammatically from the main verb 'a.Sah.
• Da.'at ("to know", H3045) and 'a.Sot ("to do", H6213A) — two infinitives each governed by the preposition le- ("to", H9005), stacked to express purpose: "to know [how] to do."
• me.Le.khet ("work of", H4399) construct + 'a.vo.Dat ("service of", H5656I) construct + ha.Ko.desh ("the holy place", H6944G) — a double construct chain narrowing the object to "the work of the service of the holy place."

What the text says

The clause opens with ve-'a.Sah ("and he-will-do/did"), a sequential perfect. Because sequential perfects normally advance narrative action but can also carry modal or prospective nuance when following instructional material, the exact temporal force of "will do all this work" is grammatically flexible in the Hebrew — it does not by itself distinguish between "did" and "shall do." The subject is a compound of two proper names, Bezalel and Oholiab, expanded by kol 'ish chakham-lev ("every person skillful of heart"), a relative clause introduced by 'asher ("whom") that attributes their ability to Yehovah's completed act (natan, perfect tense) of placing chokhmah and tevunah "in them" (bahemmah). The purpose of this ability is expressed through two infinitives joined by le-: lada'at ("to know") la'asot ("to do"), forming a hendiadys-like sequence — knowing directed toward doing. The object is marked by the direct-object particle 'et, followed by the construct chain kol-melekhet 'avodat haqodesh ("all the work of the service of the holy place"), and the verse closes with a second relative clause, 'asher tzivvah Yehovah ("that Yehovah commanded"), using the piel perfect tzivvah, an intensive form denoting formal command.

Differences between versions

The Vulgate (Fecit ergo) and RV1909 (Hizo) render the opening verb as simple past ("he did/made"), while the BSB ("are to carry out") and SBLIBRE ("harán," "will do") render it as prospective/modal. This reflects the grammatical ambiguity of the Hebrew sequential perfect 'a.Sah noted above. The LXX (Swete) text given begins with "καὶ Ἐλιὰβ" ("and Eliab"), omitting Bezalel's name and rendering Oholiab's name as "Eliab," and it lacks an explicit initial verb corresponding to 'a.Sah, suggesting a different verse division from the Hebrew text at this point.