Smith

Can skilled hands be a gift from God? Exodus says so. Bezaleel and Aholiab are named, and God has “filled him with the spirit of God” to work in gold, silver and brass, to cut stones and carve wood, and then to teach others. Isaiah goes further and says the Lord made “the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire.” The other side appears too: when Jerusalem fell, the craftsmen and smiths were among those carried away. Exodus 31 and 35 are the place to begin.

12 verses

Exodus

Exodus 31:3

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

Exodus 31:4

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

Exodus 31:5

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

Exodus 35:30

And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;

Exodus 35:31

And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;

Exodus 35:32

And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,

Exodus 35:33

And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.

Exodus 35:34

And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

Exodus 35:35

Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.

2 Kings

2 Kings 24:14

And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.

Isaiah

Isaiah 41:7

So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.

Isaiah 54:16

Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

The Hebrews were not permitted by the Philistines in the days of Samuel to have a smith amongst them, lest they should make them swords and spears (1 Sam. 13:19). Thus the Philistines sought to make their conquest permanent (comp. 2 Kings 24:16).

Based on Nave's Topical Bible by Orville J. Nave (1896). Dictionary entries from Easton's Bible Dictionary. Public domain. KJV scripture text, public domain.