Topic

Art

Passages from across the Bible

Passages on this topic

From Nave’s Topical Bible (1896), a historical reference index. The groupings are Nave’s; the verses are shown in the text used across this site.

Primitive

Invention of musical instruments and instruments of iron and copper (A. V., brass)

Genesis 4:21–22 And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute. And Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, a forger of every implement of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

Carpentry

Genesis 6:14–16 Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; make rooms in the ark and coat it with pitch inside and out. And this is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. You are to make a roof for the ark, finish its walls a cubit from the top, place a door in…
Exodus 31:2–9 “See, I have called by name Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship, to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze, to cut gemstones for settings, and to carve wo…

Of the apothecary or perfumer

Exodus 30:25 Prepare from these a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer; it will be a sacred anointing oil.
Exodus 30:35 and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.

Of the armorer

1 Samuel 8:12 He will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

Of the baker

Genesis 40:1 Some time later, the king’s cupbearer and baker offended their master, the king of Egypt.
1 Samuel 8:13 And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.

Of the barber

Isaiah 7:20 On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates— the king of Assyria— to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well.
Ezekiel 5:1 “As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword, use it as a barber’s razor, and shave your head and beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair.

Of the brickmaker

Genesis 11:3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.
Exodus 5:7–8 “You shall no longer supply the people with straw for making bricks. They must go and gather their own straw. But require of them the same quota of bricks as before; do not reduce it. For they are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’
Exodus 5:18 Now get to work. You will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the full quota of bricks.”

Of the calker

Ezekiel 27:9 The elders of Gebal were aboard as shipwrights, repairing your leaks. All the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside to barter for your merchandise.
Ezekiel 27:27 Your wealth, wares, and merchandise, your sailors, captains, and shipwrights, your merchants and all the warriors within you, with all the other people on board, will sink into the heart of the sea on the day of your downfall.

Of compounding confections

1 Samuel 8:13 And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.

Of the gardener

Jeremiah 29:5 “Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.
John 20:15 “Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus asked. “Whom are you seeking?” Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.”

Of the goldsmith

Isaiah 40:19 To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?

Of the mariner

Ezekiel 27:8–9 The men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen. Your men of skill, O Tyre, were there as your captains. The elders of Gebal were aboard as shipwrights, repairing your leaks. All the ships of the sea and their sailors came alongside to barter for your merchandise.

Of the mason

2 Samuel 5:11 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.
2 Chronicles 24:12 Then the king and Jehoiada would give the money to those who supervised the labor on the house of the LORD to hire stonecutters and carpenters to restore the house of the LORD, as well as workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of the LORD.

Of the musician

1 Samuel 18:6 As the troops were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs, and with tambourines and other instruments.
1 Chronicles 15:16 David also told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their relatives as singers to lift up their voices with joy, accompanied by musical instruments— harps, lyres, and cymbals.

Of the potter

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
Jeremiah 18:3 So I went down to the potter’s house and saw him working at the wheel.
Lamentations 4:2 How the precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in pure gold, are now esteemed as jars of clay, the work of a potter’s hands!
Zechariah 11:13 And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”— this magnificent price at which they valued me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

Of the refiner of metals

1 Chronicles 28:18 the weight of the refined gold for the altar of incense; and the plans for the chariot of the gold cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
Malachi 3:2–3 But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to…

Of the ropemaker

Judges 16:11 He replied, “If they tie me up with new ropes that have never been used, I will become as weak as any other man.”

Of the stonecutter

Exodus 20:25 Now if you make an altar of stones for Me, you must not build it with stones shaped by tools; for if you use a chisel on it, you will defile it.
1 Chronicles 22:15 You also have many workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and men skilled in every kind of work —

Of the shipbuilder

1 Kings 9:26 King Solomon also assembled a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.

Of the smelter of metals

Job 28:2 Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.

Of the spinner

Exodus 35:25 Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun: blue, purple, or scarlet yarn, or fine linen.
Proverbs 31:19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

Of the tailor

Exodus 28:3 You are to instruct all the skilled craftsmen, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, to make garments for Aaron’s consecration, so that he may serve Me as priest.

Of the tanner

Acts 9:43 And Peter stayed for several days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.
Acts 10:6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

Of the tentmaker

Genesis 4:20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and raise livestock.
Acts 18:3 and he stayed and worked with them because they were tentmakers by trade, just as he was.

Of the weaver

Exodus 35:35 He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and as weavers — as artistic designers of every kind of craft.’’
John 19:23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His garments into four parts, one for each soldier, with the tunic remaining. It was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

Of the winemaker

Nehemiah 13:15 In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day.
Isaiah 63:3 “I have trodden the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and all My clothes were stained.

Of the writer

Judges 5:14 Some came from Ephraim, with their roots in Amalek; Benjamin came with your people after you. The commanders came down from Machir, the bearers of the marshal’s staff from Zebulun.

Artisans, Skillful

Jubal

Genesis 4:21 And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.

Tubal-cain

Genesis 4:22 And Zillah gave birth to Tubal-cain, a forger of every implement of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

Bezaleel and Aholiab

Exodus 31:2–14 “See, I have called by name Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship, to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze, to cut gemstones for settings, and to carve wo…
Exodus 35:30–35 Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship, to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze, to cu…

Hiram

1 Kings 7:13–51 Now King Solomon sent to bring Huram from Tyre. He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a craftsman in bronze. Huram had great skill, understanding, and knowledge for every kind of bronze work. So he came to King Solomon and carried out all his work.…
2 Chronicles 2:13–14 So now I am sending you Huram-abi, a skillful man endowed with creativity. He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father is a man of Tyre. He is skilled in work with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple, blue, and crimson yarn, and fine linen. He is experien…