Bezalel

Pronounced be-zal-'el and meaning "in the shadow of God" (i.e., under God's protection), two persons are reported in the OT by this name.

1. Taking pride of place, both for his fame and for the order of appearance, is Bezalel, "the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah," who was chosen by God to be the chief craftsman in-charge of the building of the tabernacle. His prominence is reflected both in the fact that he is the subject of eight of the nine times the name appears in the OT, but also by the repeated and, therefore, emphatic report that Yahweh had "chosen" him and "filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills" for the task (Exo 31:2; 35:30). Often named with him in the task is Oholiab; it seems clear, however, that Bezalel was the leader of the pair. Reading everything said about him gives the strong impression that, if anyone was to be named a person who took his vocation as a gift from God, Bezalel would be well ahead in the running.

Concordance:

NIV Exo 31:2 "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

NIV Exo 35:30 — Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

NIV Exo 36:1 — So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded."

NIV Exo 36:2 — Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work.

NIV Exo 37:1 — Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood-- two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.

NIV Exo 38:22 — ( Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the Lord commanded Moses;

NIV 1 Chron 2:20 — Hur was the father of Uri, and Uri the father of Bezalel .

NIV 2 Chron 1:5 — But the bronze altar that Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was in Gibeon in front of the tabernacle of the Lord; so Solomon and the assembly inquired of him there.

2. One of the descendants of Pahath-Moab, listed as among those who had returned from the exile and was investigated for having taken a non-Jewish woman for a wife during Ezra's reform (Ezra 10:30). We know nothing else about him.