The term "skilful" in the Bible often refers to individuals who possess expertise, wisdom, or proficiency in a particular area, whether it be craftsmanship, music, leadership, or understanding. The concept of skill is highly valued in the Scriptures, as it is seen as a gift from God that should be used for His glory and the benefit of His people.

Old Testament References

1. Craftsmanship: One of the most notable mentions of skill in the Old Testament is in the context of craftsmanship. In the construction of the Tabernacle, God specifically chose Bezalel and Oholiab, filling them with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship. Exodus 31:3-5 states, "And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding, and ability in all kinds of craftsmanship, to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze, to cut gemstones for settings, and to carve wood, so that he may be a master of every craft."

2. Music: Skill in music is also highlighted in the Bible. David, known for his musical talent, was chosen to play the harp for King Saul. His skill in music was not only a personal talent but also a means through which God provided relief to Saul. 1 Samuel 16:17-18 records, "So Saul said to his servants, 'Find me someone who plays well, and bring him to me.' One of the servants answered, 'I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior, wise in speech and handsome, and the LORD is with him.'"

3. Wisdom and Leadership: Solomon is another example of a skilful individual, particularly in wisdom and governance. When God offered Solomon anything he desired, Solomon asked for wisdom to govern the people effectively. God granted him unparalleled wisdom, making him renowned for his judicious and skilful leadership. 1 Kings 4:29-30 states, "And God gave Solomon wisdom, exceedingly deep insight, and understanding beyond measure, like the sand on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt."

New Testament References

While the New Testament does not focus as heavily on the concept of skill in the same way as the Old Testament, the idea of using one's gifts and talents for the service of God and others is prevalent. The Apostle Paul speaks of the diversity of gifts within the body of Christ, emphasizing that each believer is endowed with specific skills and abilities for the edification of the church.

1. Spiritual Gifts: In 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 , Paul writes, "There are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. There are different ways of working, but the same God works all things in all people. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." This passage underscores the importance of recognizing and utilizing one's skills and gifts for the benefit of the community of believers.

2. Workmanship: Ephesians 2:10 highlights the concept of believers being God's workmanship, created for good works. "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life." This suggests that the skills and abilities given to each person are part of God's divine plan and purpose.

Conclusion

The Bible presents skill as a valuable and divinely endowed attribute, meant to be developed and used in service to God and others. Whether in the form of craftsmanship, music, wisdom, or spiritual gifts, skill is portrayed as a means through which God's purposes are fulfilled and His glory is manifested.(a.) See Skilful.SKILL; SKILFUL

skil, skil'-fool (forms of yadha` (2 Chronicles 2:14, etc.), bin (1 Chronicles 15:22), sakhal (Daniel 1:4, etc.), lamadh (1 Chronicles 5:18), chakham (1 Chronicles 28:21), charash (Ezekiel 21:31), yaTabh (Psalm 33:3); in Apocrypha empeiria (The Wisdom of Solomon 13:13), episteme (Sirach 1:19; 38:3, 6); adverb eumathos (The Wisdom of Solomon 13:11)): As a verb "to skill," meaning to have understanding or to be dexterous, common in Elizabethan English and in the King James Version and the English Revised Version (1 Kings 5:6 2 Chronicles 2:7; 2 Chronicles 34:12), is obsolete. The American Standard Revised Version substitutes such expressions as "knoweth how" (1 Kings 5:6) and "were skillful with" (2 Chronicles 34:12). As a noun the word is used in the sense of "knowledge" (Ecclesiastes 9:11), "insight" (Daniel 1:17), and "wisdom" (1 Chronicles 28:21). The adjective skillful is used in corresponding senses, especially in the American Standard Revised Version, where it takes the place of "cunning" (Exodus 26:31; Exodus 31:4; Exodus 35:33, 35; 38:23 2 Chronicles 2:7, 13, 14 Songs 7:1 Isaiah 40:20 Jeremiah 10:9) and of "curious" (Exodus 35:32), where the Hebrew chashabh suggests planning or devising, and thus what we should call "original" work. Both the English Revised Version and the American Standard Revised Version use the word in place of "eloquent" (Isaiah 3:3), "right" (Ecclesiastes 4:4) and "cunning" (1 Chronicles 25:7). In the first of these instances the Hebrew word means "understanding"; in the second, it refers to the manner of doing a thing, and in the third, to the training that makes one "skilled." the Revised Version (British and American) uses the word "skilled" of those that "took the war upon them" (Numbers 31:27 the King James Version). Skillfulness (Psalm 78:72) is used with reference to the hands, not only in their work, but also in guiding (as, e.g., a pilot). To play well (Hebrew heTibhu naggen), is rendered "play skillfully" (Psalm 33:3). "Unskillful" is used with reference to the uninitiated in the sense of "inexperienced" (Hebrews 5:13, apeiros).

Nathan Isaacs

3835. panourgos -- ready to do anything, crafty, skillful
... Noun, Masculine Transliteration: panourgos Phonetic Spelling: (pan-oor'-gos) Short
Definition: cunning, crafty Definition: cunning, crafty, skilful, clever. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3835.htm - 7k

3981. peithos -- persuasive
... Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: peithos Phonetic Spelling: (pi-thos')
Short Definition: persuasive Definition: persuasive, enticing, skilful. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3981.htm - 6k

2451. chokmah -- wisdom
... skilful, wisdom, wisely, wit. From chakam; wisdom (in a good sense) -- skilful,
wisdom, wisely, wit. see HEBREW chakam. 2450, 2451. chokmah. 2452 . ...
/hebrew/2451.htm - 6k

2796. charash -- engraver, artificer
... workers (1). artificer, carpenter, craftsman, engraver, maker, mason, skilful,
smith,. From charash; a fabricator or any material ...
/hebrew/2796.htm - 6k

6264. athid -- ready, prepared
... From athad; prepared; by implication, skilful; feminine plural the future; also
treasure -- things that shall come, ready, treasures. see HEBREW athad. ...
/hebrew/6264.htm - 6k

2450. chakam -- wise
... cunning man, subtil, wisehearted,. From chakam; wise, (ie Intelligent, skilful or
artful) -- cunning (man), subtil, ((un-)), wise((hearted), man). ...
/hebrew/2450.htm - 6k

3045. yada -- to know
... be, make, make to be, make self) known, + be learned, + lie by man, mark, perceive,
privy to, X prognosticator, regard, have respect, skilful, shew, can (man of ...
/hebrew/3045.htm - 8k

3925. lamad -- to exercise in, learn
... to goad, ie (by implication) to teach (the rod being an Oriental incentive):(un-)
accustomed, X diligently, expert, instruct, learn, skilful, teach(-er, - ing ...
/hebrew/3925.htm - 6k

2453. Chakmoni -- "wise," two Israelites
... NASB Word Usage Hachmoni (1), Hachmonite (1). Hachmoni, Hachmonite. From chakam;
skilful; Chakmoni, an Israelite -- Hachmoni, Hachmonite. see HEBREW chakam. ...
/hebrew/2453.htm - 6k

4106. mahir -- quick, prompt, ready, skilled
... diligent, hasty, ready. Or mahir {maw-here'}; from mahar; quick; hence, skilful --
diligent, hasty, ready. see HEBREW mahar. 4105, 4106. mahir or mahir. 4107 ...
/hebrew/4106.htm - 6k

Treats of the Same.
... yet is profitable for him: Therefore he believes not his Appetite, nor trusts in
his own Judgment, but yields himself up to a skilful Physitian, obeying him in ...
/.../the spiritual guide which disentangles the soul/chap xii treats of the.htm

The Personal Character of this Book.
... being destitute of the support of learning; and, when you mentioned me, bestowed
on me the complimentary phrases of "most learned" and "most skilful." But yet ...
/.../augustine/anti-pelagian writings/chapter 1 i the personal character.htm

Andromeda
... Over the sea, past Crete, on the Syrian shore to the southward, Dwells in the
well-tilled lowland a dark-haired AEthiop people, Skilful with needle and loom ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/andromeda and other poems/andromeda.htm

How the Valentinians Pervert the Scriptures to Support their Own ...
... Their manner of acting is just as if one, when a beautiful image of a king has been
constructed by some skilful artist out of precious jewels, should then take ...
/.../irenaeus/against heresies/chapter viii how the valentinians pervert.htm

Of the Variety of Philosophers, and their Truth.
... since so great a world, so adorned and of such magnitude, could neither have been
made nor arranged and set in order without some most skilful author, and that ...
/.../lactantius/the divine institutes/chap vii of the variety of.htm

Whether the Son of God Ought to have Assumed Human Nature in all ...
... in all its supposita. Objection 3: Further, a skilful workman completes
his work in the shortest manner possible. But it would have ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether the son of god 3.htm

Gifts and Talents.
... The construction of the tabernacle required capable workmen, skilful carpenters,
goldsmiths, and silversmiths, and masters in the arts of weaving and ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/viii gifts and talents.htm

Conformity to Type
... notion, that some more subtle aid to vision than an achromatic would show the hidden
artist, with his plan before him, striving with skilful manipulation to ...
/.../drummond/natural law in the spiritual world/conformity to type.htm

On the Soul and the Resurrection.
... Well, she gave in to me for a little while, like a skilful driver, in the ungovernable
violence of my grief; and then she tried to check me by speaking, and to ...
/.../gregory/gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/on the soul and the 2.htm

On Accusations, and the Treatment of Accusers.
... written, "Judge righteous judgment;" [2760] and elsewhere, "Why do ye not even of
yourselves judge what is right?" [2761] Be ye therefore as skilful dealers in ...
/.../various/constitutions of the holy apostles/sec v on accusations and the.htm

Skilful (38 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (a.) See Skilful. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
SKILL; SKILFUL. skil, skil'-fool (forms of yadha` (2 ...
/s/skilful.htm - 21k

Skilled (44 Occurrences)
... thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains: of fine twined linen, and blue,
and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim the work of the skilful workman shalt ...
/s/skilled.htm - 20k

Finely (27 Occurrences)
... thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains: of fine twined linen, and blue,
and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim the work of the skilful workman shalt ...
/f/finely.htm - 14k

Skilfully (13 Occurrences)
... thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains: of fine twined linen, and blue,
and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim the work of the skilful workman shalt ...
/s/skilfully.htm - 10k

Craftsman (23 Occurrences)
... Exodus 35:35 Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of
workmanship, of the engraver, and of the skilful workman, and of the embroiderer ...
/c/craftsman.htm - 13k

Twisted (79 Occurrences)
... thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains: of fine twined linen, and blue,
and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim the work of the skilful workman shalt ...
/t/twisted.htm - 28k

Experienced (23 Occurrences)
... 2 Chronicles 2:7 And now send me a man skilful to work in gold, and in silver, and
in bronze, and in iron, and in purple and crimson and blue, and experienced ...
/e/experienced.htm - 13k

Danite (7 Occurrences)
... 2 Chronicles 2:14 the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was
a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in ...
/d/danite.htm - 9k

Colours (20 Occurrences)
... Exodus 35:35 Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of
workmanship, of the engraver, and of the skilful workman, and of the embroiderer ...
/c/colours.htm - 12k

Cunning (43 Occurrences)
... kun'-ing (chakham, chashabh): In Bible-English "cunning" means always "wise" or
"skilful"; the word does not occur in the bad sense, and it is found in the Old ...
/c/cunning.htm - 22k

Skilful: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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