What Does Exodus 35:31 Mean in the King James?

And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;
Exodus 35:31 · KJV
The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

God’s breath becomes visible not only as inward inspiration, but as wisdom that takes shape in skilled work.

God’s breath fills you with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge that reach into what your hands can make. The work of your hands can carry that living breath into form.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

This undoes the belief that spiritual life and practical making belong to separate worlds: wisdom from God’s breath reaches all the way into the work of the hands.

חָכְמָה

ḥokhmāh

GROWS FROM

ח־כ־ם

ḥ-k-m

To be wise or skilled; to have capable understanding.

The English “wisdom” can sound purely mental, but ⁨חָכְמָה⁩ (ḥokhmāh, wisdom or skill) also names practical ability. Here it leads directly into workmanship: discernment is already capable of taking form.

ALSO GROWS

ḥākām: A person known for wisdom or practical skill.

חָכָם

This root can describe both a wise person and a capable maker, so wisdom here includes the ability to do skilled work.

ḥokhmāh: Wisdom; practical skill or capability.

חָכְמָה

Its place beside “workmanship” shows that this wisdom reaches beyond thought into making.

רוּחַ

ruach

GROWS FROM

ר־ו־ח

r-w-ḥ

To blow; moving air, breath.

⁨רוּחַ⁩ (ruach, breath or wind) is the same Hebrew word that English renders as “spirit,” “wind,” and “breath.” That unity places God’s presence in living movement and animation, right alongside a person’s capacities to perceive and make.

ALSO GROWS

ruach: Wind or moving air.

רוּחַ

Genesis 8:1 uses the same word for wind, letting movement remain audible beneath “spirit of God.”

ruach: Breath that animates a living body.

רוּחַ

Ezekiel 37:5 uses ruach for breath; here the same word carries God’s living breath into a person’s understanding and craft.

God’s breath becomes visible through distinct capacities, including wisdom, knowledge, and skilled work.

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 31:3 · KJVThe same pairing of God’s spirit with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and workmanship shows these capacities flowing together.
He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.
1 Kings 7:14 · KJVWisdom, understanding, and knowledge appear as the practical skill of a worker in brass.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
1 Corinthians 12:7-8 · KJVThe Spirit’s presence becomes visible through particular gifts of wisdom and knowledge that benefit others.
He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.
1 Kings 7:14 · KJV

The same Hebrew words ⁨חָכְמָה⁩ (ḥokhmāh, wisdom or skill), ⁨בִּינָה⁩ (bināh, understanding), and ⁨דַּעַת⁩ (daʿat, knowledge) appear together here in a sentence about brasswork. “Knowledge” is rendered “cunning” and is directed toward making, showing how these capacities take material form.

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Exodus 35:31 KJV Meaning