Exodus 31:2

31:2 “See, I have chosen ¹  Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

Exodus 34:5

34:5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name. ² 

Exodus 33:17

33:17 The Lord said to Moses, “I will do this thing also that you have requested, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know ³  you by name.”

Exodus 35:30

35:30 Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen ⁴  Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

Exodus 33:12

33:12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you have been saying to me, ‘Bring this people up,’ ⁵  but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. But you said, ‘I know you by name, ⁶  and also you have found favor in my sight.’

Exodus 33:19

33:19 And the Lord ⁷  said, “I will make all my goodness ⁸  pass before your face, and I will proclaim the Lord by name ⁹  before you; I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.” ¹⁰ 

[31:2]  ¹ tn Heb “called by name.” This expression means that the person was specifically chosen for some important task (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 342). See the expression with Cyrus in Isa 45:3-4.

[34:5]  ² tn Some commentaries wish to make Moses the subject of the second and the third verbs, the first because he was told to stand there and this verb suggests he did it, and the last because it sounds like he was worshiping Yahweh (cf. NASB). But it is clear from v. 6 that Yahweh was the subject of the last clause of v. 5 – v. 6 tells how he did it. So if Yahweh is the subject of the first and last clauses of v. 5, it seems simpler that he also be the subject of the second. Moses took his stand there, but God stood by him (B. Jacob, Exodus, 981; U. Cassuto, Exodus, 439). There is no reason to make Moses the subject in any of the verbs of v. 5.

[33:17]  ³ tn The verb in this place is a preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive, judging from the pointing. It then follows in sequence the verb “you have found favor,” meaning you stand in that favor, and so it means “I have known you” and still do (equal to the present perfect). The emphasis, however, is on the results of the action, and so “I know you.”

[35:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “called by name” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV). This expression means that the person was specifically chosen for some important task (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 342). See the expression with Cyrus in Isa 45:3-4.

[33:12]  ⁵ tn The Hiphil imperative is from the same verb that has been used before for bringing the people up from Egypt and leading them to Canaan.

[33:12]  ⁶ tn That is, “chosen you.”

[33:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:19]  ⁷ sn The word “goodness” refers to the divine appearance in summary fashion.

[33:19]  ⁸ tn The expression “make proclamation in the name of Yahweh” (here a perfect tense with vav [ו] consecutive for future) means to declare, reveal, or otherwise make proclamation of who Yahweh is. The “name of Yahweh” (rendered “the name of the Lord” throughout) refers to his divine attributes revealed to his people, either in word or deed. What will be focused on first will be his grace and compassion.

[33:19]  ⁹ sn God declares his mercy and grace in similar terms to his earlier self-revelation (“I am that I am”): “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious.” In other words, the grace and mercy of God are bound up in his own will. Obviously, in this passage the recipients of that favor are the penitent Israelites who were forgiven through Moses’ intercession. The two words are at the heart of God’s dealings with people. The first is חָנַן (khanan, “to be gracious, show favor”). It means to grant favor or grace to someone, grace meaning unmerited favor. All of God’s dealings are gracious, but especially in forgiving sins and granting salvation it is critical. Parallel to this is רָחַם (rakham), a word that means “show compassion, tender mercy.” It is a word that is related to the noun “womb,” the connection being in providing care and protection for that which is helpless and dependent – a motherly quality. In both of these constructions the verbs simply express what God will do, without explaining why. See further, J. R. Lundbom, “God’s Use of the Idem per idem to Terminate Debate,” HTR 71 (1978): 193-201; and J. Piper, “Prolegomena to Understanding Romans 9:14-15: An Interpretation of Exodus 33:19,” JETS 22 (1979): 203-16.