The KJV Holy Bible

 

Exodus Chapter Thirty One

 

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:

3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,

4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,

5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.

6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;

7 The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle,

8 And the table and his furniture, and the pure candlestick with all his furniture, and the altar of incense,

9 And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot,

10 And the cloths of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office,

11 And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.

12 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.

14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

 

 

Esoteric Interpretation & Commentary

 

The Hermetic Blueprint of Exodus: The Master Craftsmen and the Seal of the Sabbath

"Exodus Chapter Thirty-One bridges the gap between Divine Theory and physical manifestation. The Spiritual Will (Moses) has received the perfect, abstract blueprints of the Tabernacle while meditating in the void, but a blueprint cannot build itself. This chapter introduces the Supreme Hermetic Truth that the Great Work requires the active participation of the human Creative Faculties. However, earthly Intellect alone is insufficient to build a Spiritual Vessel. The faculties—represented by the master craftsmen Bezaleel and Aholiab—must be Directly Overshadowed and Infused with the Divine Spirit. Finally, the chapter concludes with a fierce reiteration of the Sabbath, serving as a Vital Occult Warning: the Adept must never let the grueling labor of Spiritual Discipline devolve into an egoic obsession."

 

 

Verses 1-5: Bezaleel and the Infusion of Divine Genius - "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship." 

Bezaleel literally translates to "In the shadow of God." He is from the tribe of Judah, which Esoterically represents the Heart Center and the driving Power of Spiritual Devotion. Bezaleel symbolizes the Highest Creative Imagination and the Active Executive Faculty of the Mind. The crucial lesson here is that this faculty does not rely on its own earthly cleverness; it is explicitly "filled with the spirit of God." True Alchemical Transmutation—working the gold (Spirit), silver (Intuition), brass (Physicality), stones (Immutable Law), and timber (Vital Energy)—requires Divine Genius. The Adept cannot build the Internal Temple through brute Intellectual Force; they must Elevate their Creative Faculties until they become open conduits for the Universal Mind to work through them.

 

 

Verses 6-11: Aholiab and the Union of Heart and Intellect - "And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee; The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony... and all the furniture of the tabernacle..." 

If Bezaleel (Judah/Heart) represents the Inspired Creative Genius, his partner Aholiab represents the Sharp, Analytical, and Structuring Intellect. Aholiab is from the tribe of Dan, which translates to "Judge." Together, they form the perfect Hermetic equilibrium required for manifestation: Inspiration perfectly balanced with analytical Judgment. The "wise hearted" represent the myriad of subordinate Subconscious Faculties that are brought into alignment by these two masters. The Divine does not just bless the top of the hierarchy; it Actively puts Wisdom into the Heart of every faculty involved, ensuring the entire Psychological matrix operates in Total, Unified Harmony to materialize the Spiritual blueprint.

 

 

Verses 12-17: The Sabbath as the Ultimate Occult Safeguard - "Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations... Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death... for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed." 

It is profoundly significant that immediately after commanding the construction of the Most Holy Sanctuary in Existence, the Divine strictly commands the Adept to stop working. This is a vital occult safeguard. The lower ego is highly deceptive; it will gladly hijack the Great Work, turning meditation, ritual, and Spiritual study into a frantic, exhausting, and prideful obsession. The Sabbath is the antidote to "spiritual materialism." The decree that whoever works on the Sabbath shall be "put to death" means that if the Adept refuses to Mentally let go, rest, and allow the Universe to operate on its own, their Spiritual connection will choke and die from sheer energetic exhaustion. The Mind must rhythmically detach even from the holy work to be "refreshed" by the Absolute.

 

 

Verse 18: The Tables of Stone and the Finger of God - "And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God." 

Having completed the transmission of the blueprint and the Laws of manifestation, the Divine Spirit gives the Spiritual Will (Moses) the final, physical anchor of the covenant. The tables are made of stone, representing the dense, unyielding, and permanent nature of Universal Law—it cannot be bent, bargained with, or altered by human logic. That they are written with the "finger of God" signifies that the fundamental physics of the Spiritual Universe are not derived from human Philosophy or earthly religion; they are the Direct, Unmediated Energetic imprint of the Absolute Truth upon the Fabric of Reality.