Exodus 33:21-22

33:21 The Lord said, “Here ¹  is a place by me; you will station yourself ²  on a rock. 33:22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and will cover ³  you with my hand ⁴  while I pass by. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 9:2

9:2 (9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the desert

where I could spend some time like a weary traveler. ⁶ 

Then I would desert my people

and walk away from them

because they are all unfaithful to God,

a congregation ⁷  of people that has been disloyal to him. ⁸ 

Hebrews 11:38

11:38 (the world was not worthy of them); they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and openings in the earth.

¹ tn The deictic particle is used here simply to call attention to a place of God’s knowing and choosing.

² tn Heb “and you will,” or interpretively, “where you will.”

³ sn Note the use in Exod 40:3, “and you will screen the ark with the curtain.” The glory is covered, veiled from being seen.

⁴ tn The circumstantial clause is simply, “my hand [being] over you.” This protecting hand of Yahweh represents a fairly common theme in the Bible.

⁵ tn The construction has a preposition with an infinitive construct and a suffix: “while [or until] I pass by” (Heb “in the passing by of me”).

⁶ tn Heb “I wish I had in the desert a lodging place [inn, or place to spend the night] for travelers.”

⁷ tn Or “bunch,” but this loses the irony; the word is used for the solemn assemblies at the religious feasts.

⁸ tn Heb “they are all adulterers, a congregation of unfaithful people.” However, spiritual adultery is, of course, meant, not literal adultery. So the literal translation would be misleading.