Discovery BoxExodus 32:31-32
Context32:31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has committed a very serious sin, 1 and they have made for themselves gods of gold. 32:32 But now, if you will forgive their sin…, 2 but if not, wipe me out 3 from your book that you have written.” 4
Exodus 32:1
Context32:1 5 When the people saw that Moses delayed 6 in coming down 7 from the mountain, they 8 gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up, 9 make us gods 10 that will go before us. As for this fellow Moses, 11 the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what 12 has become of him!”
Exodus 25:25
Context25:25 You are to make a surrounding frame 13 for it about three inches broad, and you are to make a surrounding border of gold for its frame.
Psalms 78:8
Context78:8 Then they will not be like their ancestors,
who were a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation that was not committed
and faithful to God. 14
Proverbs 21:12
Context21:12 The Righteous One 15 considers 16 the house 17 of the wicked;
he overthrows the wicked to their ruin. 18
Isaiah 43:24-25
Context43:24 You did not buy me aromatic reeds; 19
you did not present to me 20 the fat of your sacrifices.
Yet you burdened me with your sins;
you made me weary with your evil deeds. 21
43:25 I, I am the one who blots out your rebellious deeds for my sake;
your sins I do not remember.
Jeremiah 50:20
Context50:20 When that time comes,
no guilt will be found in Israel.
No sin will be found in Judah. 22
For I will forgive those of them I have allowed to survive. 23
I, the Lord, affirm it!’” 24
Micah 7:18-19
Context7:18 There is no other God like you! 25
You 26 forgive sin
and pardon 27 the rebellion
of those who remain among your people. 28
You do not remain angry forever, 29
but delight in showing loyal love.
7:19 You will once again 30 have mercy on us;
you will conquer 31 our evil deeds;
[32:31] 1 tn As before, the cognate accusative is used; it would literally be “this people has sinned a great sin.”
[32:32] 2 tn The apodosis is not expressed; it would be understood as “good.” It is not stated because of the intensity of the expression (the figure is aposiopesis, a sudden silence). It is also possible to take this first clause as a desire and not a conditional clause, rendering it “Oh that you would forgive!”
[32:32] 3 tn The word “wipe” is a figure of speech indicating “remove me” (meaning he wants to die). The translation “blot” is traditional, but not very satisfactory, since it does not convey complete removal.
[32:32] 4 sn The book that is referred to here should not be interpreted as the NT “book of life” which is portrayed (figuratively) as a register of all the names of the saints who are redeemed and will inherit eternal life. Here it refers to the names of those who are living and serving in this life, whose names, it was imagined, were on the roster in the heavenly courts as belonging to the chosen. Moses would rather die than live if these people are not forgiven (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 356).
[32:1] 5 sn This narrative is an unhappy interlude in the flow of the argument of the book. After the giving of the Law and the instructions for the tabernacle, the people get into idolatry. So this section tells what the people were doing when Moses was on the mountain. Here is an instant violation of the covenant that they had just agreed to uphold. But through it all Moses shines as the great intercessor for the people. So the subject matter is the sin of idolatry, its effects and its remedy. Because of the similarities to Jeroboam’s setting up the calves in Dan and Bethel, modern critics have often said this passage was written at that time. U. Cassuto shows how the language of this chapter would not fit an Iron Age setting in Dan. Rather, he argues, this story was well enough known for Jeroboam to imitate the practice (Exodus, 407-10). This chapter can be divided into four parts for an easier exposition: idolatry (32:1-6), intercession (32:7-14), judgment (32:15-29), intercession again (32:30-33:6). Of course, these sections are far more complex than this, but this gives an overview. Four summary statements for expository points might be: I. Impatience often leads to foolish violations of the faith, II. Violations of the covenant require intercession to escape condemnation, III. Those spared of divine wrath must purge evil from their midst, and IV. Those who purge evil from their midst will find reinstatement through intercession. Several important studies are available for this. See, among others, D. R. Davis, “Rebellion, Presence, and Covenant: A Study in Exodus 32-34,” WTJ 44 (1982): 71-87; M. Greenberg, “Moses’ Intercessory Prayer,” Ecumenical Institute for Advanced Theological Studies (1978): 21-35; R. A. Hamer, “The New Covenant of Moses,” Judaism 27 (1978): 345-50; R. L. Honeycutt, Jr., “Aaron, the Priesthood, and the Golden Calf,” RevExp 74 (1977): 523-35; J. N. Oswalt, “The Golden Calves and the Egyptian Concept of Deity,” EvQ 45 (1973): 13-20.
[32:1] 6 tn The meaning of this verb is properly “caused shame,” meaning cause disappointment because he was not coming back (see also Judg 5:28 for the delay of Sisera’s chariots [S. R. Driver, Exodus, 349]).
[32:1] 7 tn The infinitive construct with the lamed (ל) preposition is used here epexegetically, explaining the delay of Moses.
[32:1] 9 tn The imperative means “arise.” It could be serving here as an interjection, getting Aaron’s attention. But it might also have the force of prompting him to get busy.
[32:1] 10 tn The plural translation is required here (although the form itself could be singular in meaning) because the verb that follows in the relative clause is a plural verb – that they go before us).
[32:1] 11 tn The text has “this Moses.” But this instance may find the demonstrative used in an earlier deictic sense, especially since there is no article with it.
[32:1] 12 tn The interrogative is used in an indirect question (see GKC 443-44 §137.c).
[25:25] 13 sn There is some debate as to the meaning of מִסְגֶּרֶת (misgeret). This does not seem to be a natural part of the table and its legs. The drawing on the Arch of Titus shows two cross-stays in the space between the legs, about halfway up. It might have been nearer the top, but the drawing of the table of presence-bread from the arch shows it half-way up. This frame was then decorated with the molding as well.
[78:8] 14 tn Heb “a generation that did not make firm its heart and whose spirit was not faithful with God.” The expression “make firm the heart” means “to be committed, devoted” (see 1 Sam 7:3).
[21:12] 15 tn In the book of Proverbs, the Hebrew term צַּדִּיק (ysadiq) normally refers to a human being, and that is a possible translation here (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB), although it would have to refer to a righteous person who was a judge or a ruler with the right to destroy the wicked. Many commentators and English versions simply interpret this as a reference to God (cf. NIV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
[21:12] 16 tn The form מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is now used with the meaning “to consider; to give attention to; to ponder.” It is the careful scrutiny that is given to the household of the wicked before judgment is poured out on them.
[21:12] 17 tn Heb “house.” This term probably means “household” here – the family. One way to read the line is that the righteous judge (human or divine) takes into consideration the wicked person’s family before judging the wicked person. The other – and more plausible – interpretation is that the judge considers the household of the wicked and then on the basis of what was observed judges them.
[21:12] 18 tn Heb “to evil” (i.e., catastrophe); cf. NLT “to disaster.”
[43:24] 19 tn That is, “calamus” (so NIV); NCV, TEV, NLT “incense”; CEV “spices.”
[43:24] 20 tn Heb “you did not saturate me”; NASB “Neither have you filled Me.”
[43:24] 21 sn In vv. 22-24 the Lord appears to be condemning his people for failure to bring the proper sacrifices. However, this is problematic. If this refers to the nation’s behavior while in exile, such cultic service was impossible and could hardly be expected by the Lord. If this refers to the nation’s conduct before the exile, it contradicts other passages that depict Israel as bringing excessive sacrifices (see, e.g., Isa 1:11-14; Jer 6:20; Amos 4:4-5, 5:21-23). Rather than being a condemnation of Israel’s failure to bring sacrifices, these verses are better taken as a highly rhetorical comment on the worthlessness of Israel’s religious ritual. They may have brought sacrifices, but not to the Lord, for he did not accept them or even want them. See C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 127, and R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 91.
[50:20] 22 tn Heb “In those days and at that time, oracle of the
[50:20] 23 sn Compare Jer 31:34 and 33:8.
[50:20] 24 tn Heb “Oracle of the
[7:18] 25 tn Heb “Who is a God like you?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No one!”
[7:18] 26 tn Heb “one who.” The prayer moves from direct address (second person) in v. 18a to a descriptive (third person) style in vv. 18b-19a and then back to direct address (second person) in vv. 19b-20. Due to considerations of English style and the unfamiliarity of the modern reader with alternation of persons in Hebrew poetry, the entire section has been rendered as direct address (second person) in the translation.
[7:18] 28 tn Heb “of the remnant of his inheritance.”
[7:18] 29 tn Heb “he does not keep hold of his anger forever.”
[7:19] 30 tn The verb יָשׁוּב (yashuv, “he will return”) is here used adverbially in relation to the following verb, indicating that the
[7:19] 31 tn Some prefer to read יִכְבֹּס (yikhbos, “he will cleanse”; see HALOT 459 s.v. כבס pi). If the MT is taken as it stands, sin is personified as an enemy that the
[7:19] 32 tn Heb “their sins,” but the final mem (ם) may be enclitic rather than a pronominal suffix. In this case the suffix from the preceding line (“our”) may be understood as doing double duty.
[7:19] 33 sn In this metaphor the
