In Exodus 31:1-6 and chapters 36 to 39, Bezalel, Bezaleel, or Betzalel (, ''Bəṣalʼēl''), was the chief

artisan An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...

of the

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

and was in charge of building the

Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant, also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, was a religious storage chest and relic held to be the most sacred object by the Israelites. Religious tradition describes it as a wooden storage chest decorat ...

, assisted by Oholiab. The section in chapter 31 describes his selection as chief artisan, in the context of Moses' vision of how God wanted the tabernacle to be constructed, and chapters 36 to 39 recount the construction process undertaken by Bezalel, Oholiab and every gifted artisan and willing worker, in accordance with the vision. Elsewhere in the Bible the name occurs only in the genealogical lists of the

Book of Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( , "words of the days") is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third section of the Jewish Heb ...

, but according to

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

inscriptions a variant form of the same, " Ṣil-Bēl," was borne by a king of Gaza who was a contemporary of

Hezekiah Hezekiah (; ), or Ezekias (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the thirteenth king of Kingdom of Judah, Judah according to the Hebrew Bible.Stephen L Harris, Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "G ...

and

Manasseh Manasseh () is both a given name and a surname. Its variants include Manasses and Manasse. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh (died 1944), Singaporean rice and opium merchant and hotelier * Jacob Manasseh ( ...

. The name "Bezalel" means "in the shadow rotectionof the god El." Bezalel is described in the genealogical lists as the son of Uri (Exodus 31:1), the son of Hur, of the

tribe of Judah According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah (son of Jacob), Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was one of the tribes to take its place in Canaan, occupying it ...

(I Chronicles 2:18, 19, 20, 50). He was said to be highly gifted as a craftsman, showing great skill and originality in engraving precious metals and stones and in wood-carving. He was also a master-craftsman, having many apprentices under him whom he instructed in the arts (Exodus 35:30–35). According to the narrative in Exodus, he was called and endowed by God to direct the construction of the tent of meeting and its sacred furniture, and also to prepare the priests' garments and the oil and incense required for the service. He was also in charge of the holy oils,

incense Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremonial reasons. It ...

, and priestly

vestments Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans, and Anglicans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; amo ...

. Caleb was his great-grandfather.

In rabbinic literature

The rabbinical tradition relates that when God determined to appoint Bezalel architect of the desert Tabernacle, He asked

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

whether the choice was agreeable to him, and received the reply: "Lord, if he is acceptable to Thee, surely he must be so to me!" At God's command, however, the choice was referred to the people for approval and was endorsed by them. Moses thereupon commanded Bezalel to set about making the Tabernacle, the holy Ark, and the sacred utensils. It is to be noted, however, that Moses mentioned these in somewhat inverted order, putting the Tabernacle last (compare Exodus 25:10, 26:1 et seq., with Exodus 31:1–10). Bezalel sagely suggested to him that men usually build the house first and afterward provide the furnishings; but that, inasmuch as Moses had ordered the Tabernacle to be built last, there was probably some mistake and God's command must have run differently.Bezalel
-

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

article Bezalel possessed such great wisdom that he could combine those letters of the alphabet with which heaven and earth were created; this being the meaning of the statement (Exodus 31:3): "I have filled him ... with wisdom and knowledge," which were the implements by means of which God created the world, as stated in

Proverbs A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial ...

3:19, 20 ( Berakhot 55a). By virtue of his profound wisdom, Bezalel succeeded in erecting a sanctuary which seemed a fit abiding-place for God, who is so exalted in time and space ( Exodus R. 34:1; Numbers R. 12:3; Midrash Teh. 91). The candlestick of the sanctuary was of so complicated a nature that Moses could not comprehend it, although God twice showed him a heavenly model; but when he described it to Bezalel, the latter understood immediately, and made it at once; whereupon Moses expressed his admiration for the quick wisdom of Bezalel, saying again that he must have been "in the shadow of God" (Hebrew, "beẓel El") when the heavenly models were shown him (Numbers R. 15:10; compare Exodus R. 1. 2; Berakhot l.c.). Bezalel is said to have been at least thirteen years of age when he accomplished his great work (

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Middle Aramaic , a loanword from , 'assembly,' 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was a Jewish legislative and judicial assembly of either 23 or 70 elders, existing at both a local and central level i ...

69b); he owed his wisdom to the merits of pious parents; his grandfather being Hur and his great-grandmother Miriam, he was thus a grandnephew of Moses (Exodus R. 48:3, 4).

Legacy

The Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and the

Bezalel School The Bezalel academy was founded as an art movement in Israel in the late Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire and Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate periods. The name Bezalel was chosen from the bible, he was a master craftsman, specifically the chi ...

art movement in Israel are both named after him.

Bibliography

* Sed-Rajna, G., "From Bezalel to Bezalel," in Bianca Kuhnel (ed), ''The Real and Ideal Jerusalem in Jewish, Christian and Islamic Art/Jewish Art: Studies in Honor of Bezalel Narkiss on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday'', (Jerusalem: Centre for Jewish art, 1998).

References

{{Authority control Tabernacle and Temples in Jerusalem Ancient artisans Book of Exodus people Ark of the Covenant Tribe of Judah