1Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said to them, “These are the words which Yahweh has commanded, that you should do them. 2‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of solemn rest to Yahweh: whoever does any work in it shall be put to death. 3You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day.’”
4Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which Yahweh commanded, saying, 5‘Take from among you an offering to Yahweh. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as Yahweh’s offering: gold, silver, bronze, 6blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goats’ hair, 7rams’ skins dyed red, sea cow hides, acacia wood, 8oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense, 9onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate.
10“‘Let every wise-hearted man among you come, and make all that Yahweh has commanded: 11the tabernacle, its outer covering, its roof, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 12the ark, and its poles, the mercy seat, the veil of the screen; 13the table with its poles and all its vessels, and the show bread; 14the lamp stand also for the light, with its vessels, its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15and the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, the screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle; 16the altar of burnt offering, with its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its vessels, the basin and its base; 17the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; 18the pins of the tabernacle, the pins of the court, and their cords; 19the finely worked garments for ministering in the holy place—the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons—to minister in the priest’s office.’”
20All the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21They came, everyone whose heart stirred him up, and everyone whom his spirit made willing, and brought Yahweh’s offering for the work of the Tent of Meeting, and for all of its service, and for the holy garments. 22They came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought brooches, earrings, signet rings, and armlets, all jewels of gold; even every man who offered an offering of gold to Yahweh. 23Everyone with whom was found blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goats’ hair, rams’ skins dyed red, and sea cow hides, brought them. 24Everyone who offered an offering of silver and bronze brought Yahweh’s offering; and everyone with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it. 25All the women who were wise-hearted spun with their hands, and brought that which they had spun: the blue, the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen. 26All the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun the goats’ hair. 27The rulers brought the onyx stones and the stones to be set for the ephod and for the breastplate; 28with the spice and the oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 29The children of Israel brought a free will offering to Yahweh; every man and woman whose heart made them willing to bring for all the work, which Yahweh had commanded to be made by Moses.
30Moses said to the children of Israel, “Behold, Yahweh has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of workmanship; 32and to make skillful works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 33in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all kinds of skillful workmanship. 34He has put in his heart that he may teach, both he and Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35He has filled them with wisdom of heart to work all kinds of workmanship, of the engraver, of the skillful workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of those who do any workmanship, and of those who make skillful works.
The Book of Ecclesiastes is classified as part of the "wisdom literature" of the ancient Hebrews. This genre may be said to encompass all literary writings current in ancient Mesopotamia (as well as in the neighboring lands of the Near East, including Egypt) whose content is concerned, in one way or another, with life and nature, and with man's evaluation of them, based either on direct observation or insight. Helpful to a determination of the usage of the term "Wisdom Literature” is an understanding of the root hkm, which underlies the basic expression of "wisdom" in Hebrew and its cognate languages. The root hkm in Akkadian has the meaning of "clever, cunning" as well as "wise" when applied to kings, elders, scribes, diviners, and especially craftsmen and technicians. The notion of skillful "making" gave rise to various adjectives meaning "experienced, able." The force of the term "wisdom" in Akkadian, therefore, was upon a skill or experience that brought expertise or enablement in an endeavor. In Biblical Hebrew, this same basic nuance of "skill" is evident in all derivatives of hkm. For example, the term is used of the special ability of "artisans" in Exod 28:3; 31:1-11; 35:30, 35; 36:1-3, of the technical expertise of "stonemasons" in 1 Chr 22:15, of the trained ability of "goldsmiths" in Jer 10:9, of the experienced competence of "mariners" in Ps 107:27, of the craftsmanship of "ship builders" in Ezek 27:8-9, of the artistry of "artificers" in 1 Kings 7:14, and of the wizardry (unusual art) of magicians in Isa 3:3. It also is employed to denote the peculiar prowess enabling the heads of tribes, judges, and kings to perform either special or official tasks (cf. Deut 1:13,15; 16:19; 2 Sam 14:20). Of the 318 uses of the root hkm in the Tanach, 196 instances appear in Wisdom Literature (i.e. Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and some Psalms). In these contexts it bears an ethical/moral nuance, for just as in the secular realm it had been applied to technical skill, so here it is applied to the ability to cope with life in general. Scott in his study of the term in the Wisdom writings concluded: "thus “wisdom” (Hebrew hokmah) gained the sense of 'skill in living,' the trained ability to live in equilibrium with the moral order of the world." The Israelites viewed the world as an ordered system (under the control of G-d, cf. Job 1:21; 42:1-2; Prov 16:1-4; 21:1; Eccl 3:1-8; 5:18-19; 12:14), and the responsibility of wisdom was the instruction of men in the practical affairs of life in such a system. This wisdom is, however, neither simply utilitarian or amoral, but linked inseparably with the concepts of "righteousness" and “the fear of the LORD" (Prov 9:9-10). Therefore, for the Israelite, "wisdom" and the literature that develops a “skill in living life” is related to God's righteous order that has been established ultimately for man's good. As part of this genre, Ecclesiastes was designed as a means of training youth in the often unequal and contradictory experiences of life in this world while reminding them of the godly values and virtues that order the world (Eccl 3:11-12; 8:11-12). Understanding these “facts of life” (Eccl 8:17; 10:2; 11:5) and how to maintain “spiritual balance” throughout the tests of life (Eccl 11:9-10; 12:1, 6, 14) is the product of “wisdom.”