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Exodus 39:6-7:

וַֽיַּעֲשׂוּ֙ אֶת־אַבְנֵ֣י הַשֹּׁ֔הַם וַיָּ֣שֶׂם אֹתָ֗ם עַ֚ל כִּתְפֹ֣ת הָאֵפֹ֔ד

And they wrought the onyx stones, And he (Betzalel according to Netziv here) put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod.

This seems like a split job. Multiple people were involved in making it. Why didn't they finish the job and setting it in its proper place? Why did only Betzalel do that?

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  • Because shaping it just right takes time and can be split up whereas placing it doesn't, I guess. – msh210♦ Mar 12 '15 at 18:03
  • How do you know the singular referent is Betzalel? – Double AA♦ Mar 1 '16 at 4:01
  • @DoubleAA, Netziv says that, I'll edit it in – רבות מחשבות Mar 9 '18 at 2:59
  • It is far from clear that אבני שהם are onyx. The Targum says בורלא. – Dov F Mar 9 '18 at 21:34
  • Betzalel had assistants, but he was the "master craftman" who applied the finishes. – Josh Friedlander Sep 5 '18 at 9:19
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Netziv (Shemos 36:9, see also 36:2 at that link) answers this question by saying that in each Melacha, the Torah makes an effort to use a Lashon Rabim to give credit to the workers. Generally this pattern is that a singular wording is used to open the Melacha, as Betzalel was the one who initiated each Melacha, and then the group is mentioned, but here, since Betzalel alone placed the stones in the Choshen, the group of workers was mentioned in the first Passuk only.

Essentially, the work of placing the stones was a single person's job, while the creation was not. Netziv also notes that each Melacha is "called by the name of the finisher", which may be another reason for emphasizing just him.

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