Midrash su Esodo 35:31

And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge (Exod. 35:31). Wisdom is mentioned, despite the fact that he had been endowed previously with wisdom, to teach us that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not grant wisdom to anyone unless he already possesses some wisdom. A lady asked R. Yosé the son of Halafta: “What is meant by He giveth wisdom to the wise (Dan. 2:21)? Should not the verse say ‘He giveth wisdom to the fool’?” He replied: “My daughter, if two men came to you to borrow money, one of them being poor and the other rich, to whom would you lend the money?” She answered: “I would lend the money to the rich man, of course.” “Why?” he asked. And she replied: “If the rich man should suffer a loss, he would still have sufficient money to repay me, but if the poor man lost my money, how could he possibly repay me?” He said to her: “Let your ears hear what your lips have said. If the Holy One, blessed be He, gave wisdom to fools, they would still sit in privies, in filthy alleys, and in bathhouses, and would not put the wisdom to use. Hence the Holy One, blessed be He, gives wisdom to the wise, who sit in the chambers of the elders, in synagogues, and in house of study, and they utilize that wisdom.” Therefore it is written: He hath filled him with wisdom (Exod. 35:35).

Another comment on Curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Blessed be He, who fashioned man with wisdom just as He created the earth with wisdom, as is said: The Lord with wisdom founded the earth (Prov. 3:19). Concerning Bezalel it is stated: He hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, and in knowledge (Exod. 35:31). The very attributes with which the Holy One, blessed be he, created His world and fashioned man were possessed by Bezalel. And he constructed the Tabernacle. Furthermore it is stated: The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens; by His knowledge the depths were broken up (Prov. 3:19–20). And about Bezalel it is written: And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom and in understanding, and in knowledge (Exod. 35:31). The three attributes mentioned in the verse are referred to in the other: Therefore who doeth great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number (Job 5:9).

(Exod. 35:30:) SEE, THE LORD HAS CALLED [BEZALEL BEN URI BEN HUR] <OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH> BY NAME. What need was there for Hur to be mentioned here?¹²Tanh., Exod. 10:4; Exod. R. 48:3. It was simply that he had given his life for the Holy One.¹³See above, 9:13, and the note there. When Israel wanted to practice idolatry, he did not allow them. They arose and killed him. The Holy One said: By your life, I am repaying you. To what is the matter comparable? To a king whose legions¹⁴Lat.: legiones. rebelled.¹⁵Matthew 21:33–46; Mark 12:1–12; Luke 20:9–19. The commander of his army arose and fought with them. He said to them: You are rebelling against the king. They arose against him and killed him. The king came and said: Where is the head of my army? They said to him: The legions have killed him. The king said to him: By your life, if you had given money to me, I should have repaid you. Now you have given your life for me. By your life, to all the children which you have I will give world-wide fame. I will make them commanders¹⁶Lat.: duces. and governors.¹⁷Gk.: eparchoi. Similarly, Hur gave his life for the Holy One during the incident of the < golden > calf. The Holy One said to him: By your life, to all your children I will give world-wide fame. (Exod. 35:30–31:) SEE, THE LORD HAS CALLED <BEZALEL BEN URI BEN HUR OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH> BY NAME; AND HE HAS FILLED HIM WITH THE DIVINE SPIRIT IN WISDOM, UNDERSTANDING, AND KNOWLEDGE. And < Scripture > does not speak about Bezalel alone, but about any who were engaged in the work of the tabernacle. In them the Holy One instilled understanding, wisdom and knowledge. It is so stated (in Exod. 36:8): THEN ALL THE WISE-HEARTED ONES < AMONG THE WORKERS MADE THE TABERNACLE >…. But out of all of them none was proclaimed <by name> except Bezalel. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 35:30:) SEE, THE LORD HAS CALLED BEZALEL <…> BY NAME.