Exodus — Chapter 31
GOD spoke to Moses:
See, I have singled out by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.
I have endowed him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge in every kind of craft;
to make designs for work in gold, silver, and copper,
to cut stones for setting and to carve wood—to work in every kind of craft.
Moreover, I have assigned to him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have also granted skill to all who are skillful, that they may make everything that I have commanded you:
the Tent of Meeting, the Ark for the Pact and the cover upon it, and all the furnishings of the Tent;
the table and its utensils, the pure lampstandapure lampstand Or “lampstand of pure gold.” and all its fittings, and the altar of incense;
the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its stand;
the servicebservice In contrast to others “plaited.” vestments—the sacral vestments of Aaron the priest and the vestments of his sons—for their service as priests;
as well as the anointing oil and the aromatic incense for the sanctuary. Just as I have commanded you, they shall do.
And GOD said to Moses:
Speak to the Israelite people and say: Nevertheless, you must keep My sabbaths, for this is a sign between Me and you throughout the ages, that you may know that I GOD have consecrated you.
You shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy for you. One who profanes it shall be put to death: whoever does work on it, that person shall be cut off from among kin.
Six days may work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest, holy to GOD; whoever does work on the sabbath day shall be put to death.
The Israelite people shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout the ages as a covenant for all time:
it shall be a sign for all time between Me and the people of Israel. For in six days GOD made heaven and earth, [before] ceasing from work and being refreshed on the seventh day.
Upon finishing speaking with him on Mount Sinai, [God] gave Moses the two tablets of the Pact, stone tablets inscribed with the finger of God.
✦ Connected Across Traditions
Impermanence & Letting Go
Dhammapada 20:277
“All conditioned things are impermanent. When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.”
Tao Te Ching 76
“A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and stiff. The soft and yielding is the disciple of life.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”
Bhagavad Gita 2:22
“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.”
The Path to Wisdom
Dhammapada 20:282
“Wisdom springs from meditation; without meditation wisdom wanes.”
Analects 2:11
“If you study the past and use it to understand the present, you are worthy of being a teacher.”
Tao Te Ching 33
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.”
Quran 39:9
“Are those who know equal to those who do not know?”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Dhammapada 1:1-2
“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
Bhagavad Gita 16:21
“There are three gates to self-destructive hell: lust, anger, and greed. Therefore, one must learn to give these up.”