מדרש אויף שמות 31:6

(Fol. 55a) R. Jochanan said: "Three things God Himself proclaimeth: Famine, plenty and a good chief of the community. Famine, as it is written (II Kings 8. 7.)' The Lord hath called for a famine; Plenty, as it is written (Ezek. 36, 29.) And I will call for corn and increase it; A good chief of the community, as it is written (Ex. 31, 2.) Behold, I have called by name, Bezalel." R. Isaac said: "A chief of a community is not to be appointed unless the community be consulted first; as it is written (Ex. 35, 30.) And Moses said to the children of Israel, behold God hath called by name Bezalel. i.e., The Holy One, praised be He! said thus to Moses, 'Moses! is Bezalel worthy enough for you?' 'Sovereign of the universe,' replied Moses, 'if he is worthy in thine eyes, then he certainly is worthy enough for me.' Then said God to him: 'Consult then, the children of Israel.' Moses thereupon went and said thus to the children of Israel: 'Is Bezalel worthy of you?' They said, 'If he is worthy for the Holy One, praised be He! and for thee, then he is surely worthy enough for us.' " R. Samuel b. Nachmeini in the name of R. Jonathan said: "The name Bezalel was given to him because of his wisdom; for when the Holy One, praised be He! said unto Moses, ' Go, tell Bezalel to erect for me a Mishkan, ark and vessels.' Moses went and told it to him in the reverse order — make ark, vessels and a Mishkan. [Upon hearing the order] Bezalel said: 'Moses, our teacher, the custom of the world is that a man first builds a house and then brings into it vessels, and thou sayest to me I should first make the ark, and then the Mishkan; where shall I put the vessels if I make them first? Perhaps the Holy One, praised be He! said first Mishkan and then the ark and the vessels?' Thereupon Moses said to him: 'Perhaps in the shadow of God hast thou been that thou knowest.'" [Thus Bezalel means — Bezal (in the shadow), El (of God)]. R. Juda said in the name of Rab: "Bezalel knew how to arrange the letters with which heaven and earth were created, for it is written here (Ex. 35, 31.) And He hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom (Chachma) in uderstanding (Bithbuna), and in knowledge, and it is written (Pr. 3, 19.) The Lord hath founded the earth through wisdom (Chachma); He hath established the heavens through understanding (Tebuna). And it is further written By His knowledge were the depths split open." R. Jochanan said: "The Holy One, praised be He! doth not give wisdom to a man unless he possesses some; as it is said (Dan. 2, 21.) Who giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to those who possess understanding." When R. Tachalifa of the west (Palesine) heard this he went and related it to R. Abuhu, whereupon the latter replied: "What you infer from that passage, we derive from another; it is written (Ex. 31, 6.) And in the heart of all that are wise-hearted have I put wisdom."

Another matter, “see, I have called by name,” this is one of seven people who were called by several names. There were those called by four, such as Elijah; Betzalel, six; Joshua, six; Moses, seven; Mordekhai, two; Daniel, five; Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya, four. Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat said: Elijah was a Jerusalemite, from among those who sat in the chamber of Hewn Stone, and was from a city in Judah. His property was in two tribes; five portions in Benjamin, as it is stated: “Tzela, HaElef, and the Yevusites, which is Jerusalem [Givat, Kiryat; fourteen cities and their surrounding areas. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin]” (Joshua 18:28), three in Judah, as it is stated: “Tzenan, Ḥadasha, and Migdal Gad” (Joshua 15:37). Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa said: Tzenan, as he was a shield [tzina];⁷Elijah shielded Israel from divine punishment. Ḥadasha, as the Holy One blessed be He will restore it [meḥadesha] in the future; and Migdal Gad, as from there the Holy One blessed be He will emerge and raze [magdid] the foundations of Esau. Elijah was called four names, as it is written: “Yaareshya, Elijah, and Zikhri, the sons of Yeroḥam” (I Chronicles 8:27).⁸The midrash regards Yaareshya, Elijah, Zikhri, and Yeroḥam to all refer to the same individual. Why was he called these names? It is because when the Holy One blessed be He seeks to shake [leharish] His world, [Elijah] stands and mentions [mazkir] the merit of the ancestors and God has mercy [meraḥem] on His world.
Betzalel was called six names and you trace his lineage from the tribe of Judah, as it is stated: “The sons of Judah: Peretz, Ḥetzron, Karmi, Hur, and Shoval, and Re’aya…” (I Chronicles 4:1–2). Ḥetzron is none other than the grandson of Judah, as it is stated: “The sons of Peretz were Ḥetzron and Ḥamul” (Genesis 46:12). And it is written: “After the death of Ḥetzron in Caleb Efrata” (I Chronicles 2:24). Does a person die in a person, that it is written: “After the death of Ḥetzron in Caleb”? Reish Lakish said: What is “after the death of Ḥetzron in Caleb…”? After Ḥetzron died, Caleb consorted with Efrat, namely Miriam, whose name was Efrat. Why was she called that? It is because the children of Israel were fruitful and multiplied [parim veravim] because of her.⁹Miriam is identified as one of the Israelite midwives in Egypt (see Shemot Rabba 1:13). “She bore him Ḥur, Ḥur begot Uri, and Uri begot Betzalel” (I Chronicles 2:19–20). “Re’aya son of Shoval begot Yahat, and Yaḥat begot Aḥumai and Laḥad. These are the families of the Tzoratites” (I Chronicles 4:2). Betzalel, that is what his nation called him. The Holy One blessed be He called him by five names of endearment after the Tabernacle. Re’aya, as the Holy One blessed be He showed [herahu] him to Moses and to all of Israel and said to them: ‘From the beginning I appointed him to build the Tabernacle.’ Shoval, because he built a dovecote [shovakh] for God; this is the Tabernacle, that would stand like a dovecote.¹⁰It stood tall, like a dovecote (Etz Yosef). Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: The Holy One blessed be He established a Tabernacle for Israel like a dovecote.¹¹Just as a dovecote protects doves who flock to it, the Israelites would flock to the Tabernacle on the festivals (Etz Yosef). Yaḥat, because he imposed fear of Him [ḥitito] upon Israel. Aḥumai, because he united [iḥa] Israel with the Holy One blessed be He, and rendered them like brothers [aḥim] to the Omnipresent. Alternatively, Aḥumai, because he imposed the fear of God upon Israel. Laḥad, because he placed glory and grandeur upon Israel, as the Tabernacle was their glory. Alternatively, Laḥad, because the lowliest of tribes cleaved to him. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Pazi said: You have none greater than the tribe of Judah, and you have no lowlier that the tribe of Dan, as it was from the concubines. And what is written in its regard? “The son of Dan was Ḥushim” (Genesis 46:23).¹²The fact that Dan had only one son is another reason he was considered of lower status than other tribes (Etz Yosef). Alternatively, the term “son” is written in plural such that a literal rendition of the verse would be: The sons of Dan were Ḥushim. Dan’s only son was referred to in plural as a sign that he was important even though he was from Dan. The Holy One blessed be He said: Let him¹³Dan. come and join him,¹⁴Judah. so that [people] will not demean him and so there will be no person who is arrogant, because the great and the lowly are equal before the Omnipresent. Betzalel was from Judah and Oholiav from Dan, and he joined him.¹⁵See Exodus 31:6.
Rabbi Ḥanina said: The great and the lowly are equal. A person should never forsake his strength.¹⁶A person should not think that he cannot be strengthened and aided by an individual of humble lineage. The Tabernacle was crafted by these two tribes, and likewise the Temple [was constructed by] Solomon from Judah, and Ḥiram “son of a widowed woman from the tribe of Naphtali” (I Kings 7:14).
The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I am your strength.’ Do not forsake your strength or the strength of your fathers, so, too, do not forsake Him, as it is written: “The Almighty shall be your strength [betzarekha]” (Job 22:25). Make Him your strength so that He will be with you in all distress [betzara] that befalls you, as it is stated: “I will be with him in distress” (Psalms 91:15). Alternatively, betzarekha, that if enemies come, I will be against them, as it is stated: “The Almighty shall be your strength [betzarekha].”¹⁷Tzarekha means “your enemies” and therefore the term betzarekha can be understood to mean “against your enemies.” Alternatively, He will become your walls, as betzarekha is nothing other than a wall, just as it says: “The fortification [umivtzar] of your towering walls” (Isaiah 25:12). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘In this world I am a wall for you, and likewise in the future when Zion will be rebuilt, I will become a wall for it,’ as it is stated: “I will be for it, the utterance of the Lord, a wall of fire all around, and I will be in its midst for glory” (Zechariah 2:9), and likewise: “I have called your name, you are Mine” (Isaiah 43:1).¹⁸The subsequent verses discuss how God will protect Israel.