Discovery BoxExodus 33:7--34:35
Context33:7 1 Moses took 2 the tent 3 and pitched it outside the camp, at a good distance 4 from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. Anyone 5 seeking 6 the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp.
33:8 And when Moses went out 7 to the tent, all the people would get up 8 and stand at the entrance to their tents 9 and watch 10 Moses until he entered the tent. 11 33:9 And 12 whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord 13 would speak with Moses. 14 33:10 When all the people would see the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people, each one at the entrance of his own tent, would rise and worship. 15 33:11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, 16 the way a person speaks 17 to a friend. Then Moses 18 would return to the camp, but his servant, Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the tent. 19
33:12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you have been saying to me, ‘Bring this people up,’ 20 but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. But you said, ‘I know you by name, 21 and also you have found favor in my sight.’ 33:13 Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me 22 your way, that I may know you, 23 that I may continue to find 24 favor in your sight. And see 25 that this nation is your people.”
33:14 And the Lord 26 said, “My presence 27 will go with you, 28 and I will give you rest.” 29
33:15 And Moses 30 said to him, “If your presence does not go 31 with us, 32 do not take us up from here. 33 33:16 For how will it be known then that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not by your going with us, so that we will be distinguished, I and your people, from all the people who are on the face of the earth?” 34
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 35 you by name.”
33:18 And Moses 36 said, “Show me your glory.” 37
33:19 And the Lord 38 said, “I will make all my goodness 39 pass before your face, and I will proclaim the Lord by name 40 before you; I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.” 41 33:20 But he added, “You cannot see my face, for no one can 42 see me and live.” 43 33:21 The Lord said, “Here 44 is a place by me; you will station yourself 45 on a rock. 33:22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and will cover 46 you with my hand 47 while I pass by. 48 33:23 Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back, 49 but my face must not be seen.” 50
34:1 51 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out 52 two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write 53 on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you smashed. 34:2 Be prepared 54 in the morning, and go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and station yourself 55 for me there on the top of the mountain. 34:3 No one is to come up with you; do not let anyone be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks or the herds may graze in front of that mountain.” 34:4 So Moses 56 cut out two tablets of stone like the first; 57 early in the morning he went up 58 to Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him, and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.
34:5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name. 59 34:6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: 60 “The Lord, the Lord, 61 the compassionate and gracious 62 God, slow to anger, 63 and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, 64 34:7 keeping loyal love for thousands, 65 forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression 66 of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”
34:8 Moses quickly bowed 67 to the ground and worshiped 34:9 and said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord 68 go among us, for we 69 are a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
34:10 He said, “See, I am going to make 70 a covenant before all your people. I will do wonders such as have not been done 71 in all the earth, nor in any nation. All the people among whom you live will see the work of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I am doing with you. 72
34:11 “Obey 73 what I am commanding you this day. I am going to drive out 74 before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 34:12 Be careful not to make 75 a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it become a snare 76 among you. 34:13 Rather you must destroy their altars, smash their images, and cut down their Asherah poles. 77 34:14 For you must not worship 78 any other god, 79 for the Lord, whose name 80 is Jealous, is a jealous God. 34:15 Be careful 81 not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when 82 they prostitute themselves 83 to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you, 84 you will eat from his sacrifice; 34:16 and you then take 85 his daughters for your sons, and when his daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will make your sons prostitute themselves to their gods as well. 34:17 You must not make yourselves molten gods.
34:18 “You must keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days 86 you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you; do this 87 at the appointed time of the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt.
34:19 “Every firstborn of the womb 88 belongs to me, even every firstborn 89 of your cattle that is a male, 90 whether ox or sheep. 34:20 Now the firstling 91 of a donkey you may redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then break its neck. 92 You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons.
“No one will appear before me empty-handed. 93
34:21 “On six days 94 you may labor, but on the seventh day you must rest; 95 even at the time of plowing and of harvest 96 you are to rest. 97
34:22 “You must observe 98 the Feast of Weeks – the firstfruits of the harvest of wheat – and the Feast of Ingathering at the end 99 of the year. 34:23 At three times 100 in the year all your men 101 must appear before the Lord God, 102 the God of Israel. 34:24 For I will drive out 103 the nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one will covet 104 your land when you go up 105 to appear before the Lord your God three times 106 in the year.
34:25 “You must not offer the blood of my sacrifice with yeast; the sacrifice from the feast of Passover must not remain until the following morning. 107
34:26 “The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.
You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.” 108
34:27 The Lord said to Moses, “Write down 109 these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 34:28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; 110 he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. 111
34:29 112 Now when Moses came down 113 from Mount Sinai with 114 the two tablets of the testimony in his hand 115 – when he came down 116 from the mountain, Moses 117 did not know that the skin of his face shone 118 while he talked with him. 34:30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone; 119 and they were afraid to approach him. 34:31 But Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and Moses spoke to them. 34:32 After this all the Israelites approached, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. 34:33 When Moses finished 120 speaking 121 with them, he would 122 put a veil on his face. 34:34 But when Moses went in 123 before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. 124 Then he would come out and tell the Israelites what he had been commanded. 125 34:35 When the Israelites would see 126 the face of Moses, that 127 the skin of Moses’ face shone, Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with the Lord. 128
[33:7] 1 sn This unit of the book could actually include all of chap. 33, starting with the point of the
[33:7] 2 tn Heb “and Moses took.”
[33:7] 3 sn A widespread contemporary view is that this section represents a source that thought the tent of meeting was already erected (see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 359). But the better view is that this is a temporary tent used for meeting the
[33:7] 4 tn The infinitive absolute is used here as an adverb (see GKC 341 §113.h).
[33:7] 5 tn The clause begins with “and it was,” the perfect tense with the vav conjunction. The imperfect tenses in this section are customary, describing what used to happen (others describe the verbs as frequentative). See GKC 315 §107.e.
[33:7] 6 tn The form is the Piel participle. The seeking here would indicate seeking an oracle from Yahweh or seeking to find a resolution for some difficulty (as in 2 Sam 21:1) or even perhaps coming with a sacrifice. B. Jacob notes that the tent was even here a place of prayer, for the benefit of the people (Exodus, 961). It is not known how long this location was used.
[33:8] 7 tn The clause is introduced again with “and it was.” The perfect tense here with the vav (ו) is used to continue the sequence of actions that were done repeatedly in the past (see GKC 331-32 §112.e). The temporal clause is then formed with the infinitive construct of יָצָא (yatsa’), with “Moses” as the subjective genitive: “and it was according to the going out of Moses.”
[33:8] 9 tn The subject of this verb is specified with the individualizing use of “man”: “and all Israel would station themselves, each person (man) at the entrance to his tent.”
[33:8] 10 tn The perfect tense with the vav (ו) continues the sequence of the customary imperfect. The people “would gaze” (after) Moses until he entered the tent.
[33:8] 11 tn This is a temporal clause using an infinitive construct with a suffixed subject.
[33:9] 12 tn Heb “and it was when.”
[33:9] 13 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the
[33:9] 14 tn Both verbs, “stand” and “speak,” are perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutive.
[33:10] 15 tn All the main verbs in this verse are perfect tenses continuing the customary sequence (see GKC 337 §112.kk). The idea is that the people would get up (rise) when the cloud was there and then worship, meaning in part bow down. When the cloud was not there, there was access to seek God.
[33:11] 16 tn “Face to face” is circumstantial to the action of the verb, explaining how they spoke (see GKC 489-90 §156.c). The point of this note of friendly relationship with Moses is that Moses was “at home” in this tent speaking with God. Moses would derive courage from this when he interceded for the people (B. Jacob, Exodus, 966).
[33:11] 17 tn The verb in this clause is a progressive imperfect.
[33:11] 18 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[33:11] 19 sn Moses did not live in the tent. But Joshua remained there most of the time to guard the tent, it seems, lest any of the people approach it out of curiosity.
[33:12] 20 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] 21 tn That is, “chosen you.”
[33:13] 22 tn The prayer uses the Hiphil imperative of the verb “to know.” “Cause me to know” is “show me, reveal to me, teach or inform me.” Moses wanted to know more of God’s dealings with people, especially after all that has happened in the preceding chapter.
[33:13] 23 tn The imperfect tense of the verb “to know” with the vav follows the imperative of this root, and so this indicates the purpose clause (final imperfect): “in order that I may know you.” S. R. Driver summarizes it this way: that I may understand what your nature and character is, and shape my petitions accordingly, so that I may find grace in your sight, and my future prayers may be answered (Exodus, 361).
[33:13] 24 tn The purpose clause simply uses the imperfect, “that I may find.” But since he already has found favor in God’s eyes, he is clearly praying that it be so in the future as well as now.
[33:13] 25 tn The verb “see” (an imperative) is a request for God to acknowledge Israel as his people by providing the divine leadership needed. So his main appeal will be for the people and not himself. To underscore this, he repeats “see” the way the section opened.
[33:14] 26 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (the
[33:14] 27 sn Heb “my face.” This represents the presence of Yahweh going with the people (see 2 Sam 17:11 for an illustration). The “presence” probably refers to the angel of the presence or some similar manifestation of God’s leading and caring for his people.
[33:14] 28 tn The phrase “with you” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.
[33:14] 29 sn The expression certainly refers to the peace of mind and security of knowing that God was with them. But the expression came to mean “settle them in the land of promise” and give them rest and peace from their enemies. U. Cassuto (Exodus, 434) observes how in 32:10 God had told Moses, “Leave me alone” (“give me rest”), but now he promises to give them rest. The parallelism underscores the great transition through intercession.
[33:15] 30 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (
[33:15] 31 tn The construction uses the active participle to stress the continual going of the presence: if there is not your face going.
[33:15] 32 tn “with us” has been supplied.
[33:15] 33 tn Heb “from this.”
[33:16] 34 sn See W. Brueggemann, “The Crisis and Promise of Presence in Israel,” HBT 1 (1979): 47-86; and N. M. Waldman, “God’s Ways – A Comparative Note,” JQR 70 (1979): 67-70.
[33:17] 35 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.”
[33:18] 36 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (
[33:18] 37 sn Moses now wanted to see the glory of Yahweh, more than what he had already seen and experienced. He wanted to see God in all his majesty. The LXX chose to translate this without a word for “glory” or “honor”; instead they used the pronoun seautou, “yourself” – show me the real You. God tells him that he cannot see it fully, but in part. It will be enough for Moses to disclose to him the reality of the divine presence as well as God’s moral nature. It would be impossible for Moses to comprehend all of the nature of God, for there is a boundary between God and man. But God would let him see his goodness, the sum of his nature, pass by in a flash. B. Jacob (Exodus, 972) says that the glory refers to God’s majesty, might, and glory, as manifested in nature, in his providence, his laws, and his judgments. He adds that this glory should and would be made visible to man – that was its purpose in the world.
[33:19] 38 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (the
[33:19] 39 sn The word “goodness” refers to the divine appearance in summary fashion.
[33:19] 40 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
[33:19] 41 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.
[33:20] 42 tn In view of the use of the verb “can, be able to” in the first clause, this imperfect tense is given a potential nuance.
[33:20] 43 tn Gesenius notes that sometimes a negative statement takes the place of a conditional clause; here it is equal to “if a man sees me he does not live” (GKC 498 §159.gg). The other passages that teach this are Gen 32:30; Deut 4:33, 5:24, 26; Judg 6:22, 13:22, and Isa 6:5.
[33:21] 44 tn The deictic particle is used here simply to call attention to a place of God’s knowing and choosing.
[33:21] 45 tn Heb “and you will,” or interpretively, “where you will.”
[33:22] 46 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.
[33:22] 47 tn The circumstantial clause is simply, “my hand [being] over you.” This protecting hand of Yahweh represents a fairly common theme in the Bible.
[33:22] 48 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”).
[33:23] 49 tn The plural “my backs” is according to Gesenius an extension plural (compare “face,” a dual in Hebrew). The word denotes a locality in general, but that is composed of numerous parts (see GKC 397 §124.b). W. C. Kaiser says that since God is a spirit, the meaning of this word could just as easily be rendered “after effects” of his presence (“Exodus,” EBC 2:484). As S. R. Driver says, though, while this may indicate just the “afterglow” that he leaves behind him, it was enough to suggest what the full brilliancy of his presence must be (Exodus, 363; see also Job 26:14).
[33:23] 50 tn The Niphal imperfect could simply be rendered “will not be seen,” but given the emphasis of the preceding verses, it is more binding than that, and so a negated obligatory imperfect fits better: “it must not be seen.” It would also be possible to render it with a potential imperfect tense: “it cannot be seen.”
[34:1] 51 sn The restoration of the faltering community continues in this chapter. First, Moses is instructed to make new tablets and take them to the mountain (1-4). Then, through the promised theophany God proclaims his moral character (5-8). Moses responds with the reiteration of the intercession (8), and God responds with the renewal of the covenant (10-28). To put these into expository form, as principles, the chapter would run as follows: I. God provides for spiritual renewal (1-4), II. God reminds people of his moral standard (5-9), III. God renews his covenant promises and stipulations (10-28).
[34:1] 52 tn The imperative is followed by the preposition with a suffix expressing the ethical dative; it strengthens the instruction for Moses. Interestingly, the verb “cut out, chisel, hew,” is the same verb from which the word for a “graven image” is derived – פָּסַל (pasal).
[34:1] 53 tn The perfect tense with vav consecutive makes the value of this verb equal to an imperfect tense, probably a simple future here.
[34:2] 54 tn The form is a Niphal participle that means “be prepared, be ready.” This probably means that Moses was to do in preparation what the congregation had to do back in Exod 19:11-15.
[34:2] 55 sn The same word is used in Exod 33:21. It is as if Moses was to be at his post when Yahweh wanted to communicate to him.
[34:4] 56 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified here and the name “Moses,” which occurs later in this verse, has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”), both for stylistic reasons.
[34:4] 57 sn Deuteronomy says that Moses was also to make an ark of acacia wood before the tablets, apparently to put the tablets in until the sanctuary was built. But this ark may not have been the ark built later; or, it might be the wood box, but Bezalel still had to do all the golden work with it.
[34:4] 58 tn The line reads “and Moses got up early in the morning and went up.” These verbs likely form a verbal hendiadys, the first one with its prepositional phrase serving in an adverbial sense.
[34:5] 59 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.
[34:6] 60 tn Here is one of the clearest examples of what it means “to call on the name of the Lord,” as that clause has been translated traditionally (וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יְהוָה, vayyiqra’ vÿshem yÿhvah). It seems more likely that it means “to make proclamation of Yahweh by name.” Yahweh came down and made a proclamation – and the next verses give the content of what he said. This cannot be prayer or praise; it is a proclamation of the nature or attributes of God (which is what his “name” means throughout the Bible). Attempts to make Moses the subject of the verb are awkward, for the verb is repeated in v. 6 with Yahweh clearly doing the proclaiming.
[34:6] 61 sn U. Cassuto (Exodus, 439) suggests that these two names be written as a sentence: “Yahweh, He is Yahweh.” In this manner it reflects “I am that I am.” It is impossible to define his name in any other way than to make this affirmation and then show what it means.
[34:6] 62 tn See Exod 33:19.
[34:6] 63 sn This is literally “long of anger.” His anger prolongs itself, allowing for people to repent before punishment is inflicted.
[34:6] 64 sn These two words (“loyal love” and “truth”) are often found together, occasionally in a hendiadys construction. If that is the interpretation here, then it means “faithful covenant love.” Even if they are left separate, they are dual elements of a single quality. The first word is God’s faithful covenant love; the second word is God’s reliability and faithfulness.
[34:7] 65 tn That is, “for thousands of generations.”
[34:7] 66 sn As in the ten commandments (20:5-6), this expression shows that the iniquity and its punishment will continue in the family if left unchecked. This does not go on as long as the outcomes for good (thousands versus third or fourth generations), and it is limited to those who hate God.
[34:8] 67 tn The first two verbs form a hendiadys: “he hurried…he bowed,” meaning “he quickly bowed down.”
[34:9] 68 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” two times here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[34:9] 69 tn Heb “it is.” Hebrew uses the third person masculine singular pronoun here in agreement with the noun “people.”
[34:10] 70 tn Here again is a use of the futur instans participle; the deictic particle plus the pronoun precedes the participle, showing what is about to happen.
[34:10] 71 tn The verb here is בָּרָא (bara’, “to create”). The choice of this verb is to stress that these wonders would be supernaturally performed, for the verb is used only with God as the subject.
[34:10] 72 sn The idea is that God will be doing awesome things in dealing with them, i.e., to fulfill his program.
[34:11] 73 tn The covenant duties begin with this command to “keep well” what is being commanded. The Hebrew expression is “keep for you”; the preposition and the suffix form the ethical dative, adding strength to the imperative.
[34:11] 74 tn Again, this is the futur instans use of the participle.
[34:12] 75 tn The exact expression is “take heed to yourself lest you make.” It is the second use of this verb in the duties, now in the Niphal stem. To take heed to yourself means to watch yourself, be sure not to do something. Here, if they failed to do this, they would end up making entangling treaties.
[34:12] 76 sn A snare would be a trap, an allurement to ruin. See Exod 23:33.
[34:13] 77 tn Or “images of Asherah”; ASV, NASB “their Asherim”; NCV “their Asherah idols.”
[34:14] 79 sn In Exod 20:3 it was “gods.”
[34:14] 80 sn Here, too, the emphasis on God’s being a jealous God is repeated (see Exod 20:5). The use of “name” here is to stress that this is his nature, his character.
[34:15] 81 tn The sentence begins simply “lest you make a covenant”; it is undoubtedly a continuation of the imperative introduced earlier, and so that is supplied here.
[34:15] 82 tn The verb is a perfect with a vav consecutive. In the literal form of the sentence, this clause tells what might happen if the people made a covenant with the inhabitants of the land: “Take heed…lest you make a covenant…and then they prostitute themselves…and sacrifice…and invite…and you eat.” The sequence lays out an entire scenario.
[34:15] 83 tn The verb זָנָה (zanah) means “to play the prostitute; to commit whoredom; to be a harlot” or something similar. It is used here and elsewhere in the Bible for departing from pure religion and engaging in pagan religion. The use of the word in this figurative sense is fitting, because the relationship between God and his people is pictured as a marriage, and to be unfaithful to it was a sin. This is also why God is described as a “jealous” or “impassioned” God. The figure may not be merely a metaphorical use, but perhaps a metonymy, since there actually was sexual immorality at the Canaanite altars and poles.
[34:15] 84 tn There is no subject for the verb. It could be rendered “and one invites you,” or it could be made a passive.
[34:16] 85 tn In the construction this verb would follow as a possible outcome of the last event, and so remain in the verbal sequence. If the people participate in the festivals of the land, then they will intermarry, and that could lead to further involvement with idolatry.
[34:18] 86 tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.
[34:18] 87 tn The words “do this” have been supplied.
[34:19] 88 tn Heb “everything that opens the womb.”
[34:19] 89 tn Here too: everything that “opens [the womb].”
[34:19] 90 tn The verb basically means “that drops a male.” The verb is feminine, referring to the cattle.
[34:20] 91 tn Heb “and the one that opens [the womb of] the donkey.”
[34:20] 92 sn See G. Brin, “The Firstling of Unclean Animals,” JQR 68 (1971): 1-15.
[34:20] 93 tn The form is the adverb “empty.”
[34:21] 94 tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.
[34:21] 95 tn Or “cease” (i.e., from the labors).
[34:21] 96 sn See M. Dahood, “Vocative lamed in Exodus 2,4 and Merismus in 34,21,” Bib 62 (1981): 413-15.
[34:21] 97 tn The imperfect tense expresses injunction or instruction.
[34:22] 98 tn The imperfect tense means “you will do”; it is followed by the preposition with a suffix to express the ethical dative to stress the subject.
[34:22] 99 tn The expression is “the turn of the year,” which is parallel to “the going out of the year,” and means the end of the agricultural season.
[34:23] 100 tn “Three times” is an adverbial accusative.
[34:23] 101 tn Heb “all your males.”
[34:23] 102 tn Here the divine name reads in Hebrew הָאָדֹן יְהוָה (ha’adon yÿhvah), which if rendered according to the traditional scheme of “
[34:24] 103 tn The verb is a Hiphil imperfect of יָרַשׁ (yarash), which means “to possess.” In the causative stem it can mean “dispossess” or “drive out.”
[34:24] 104 sn The verb “covet” means more than desire; it means that some action will be taken to try to acquire the land that is being coveted. It is one thing to envy someone for their land; it is another to be consumed by the desire that stops at nothing to get it (it, not something like it).
[34:24] 105 tn The construction uses the infinitive construct with a preposition and a suffixed subject to form the temporal clause.
[34:24] 106 tn The expression “three times” is an adverbial accusative of time.
[34:25] 107 sn See M. Haran, “The Passover Sacrifice,” Studies in the Religion of Ancient Israel (VTSup), 86-116.
[34:26] 108 sn See the note on this same command in 23:19.
[34:27] 109 tn Once again the preposition with the suffix follows the imperative, adding some emphasis to the subject of the verb.
[34:28] 110 tn These too are adverbial in relation to the main clause, telling how long Moses was with Yahweh on the mountain.
[34:28] 111 tn Heb “the ten words,” though “commandments” is traditional.
[34:29] 112 sn Now, at the culmination of the renewing of the covenant, comes the account of Moses’ shining face. It is important to read this in its context first, holding off on the connection to Paul’s discussion in 2 Corinthians. There is a delicate balance here in Exodus. On the one hand Moses’ shining face served to authenticate the message, but on the other hand Moses prevented the people from seeing more than they could handle. The subject matter in the OT, then, is how to authenticate the message. The section again can be subdivided into three points that develop the whole idea: I. The one who spends time with God reflects his glory (29-30). It will not always be as Moses; rather, the glory of the
[34:29] 113 tn The temporal clause is composed of the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), followed by the temporal preposition, infinitive construct, and subjective genitive (“Moses”).
[34:29] 114 tn The second clause begins with “and/now”; it is a circumstantial clause explaining that the tablets were in his hand. It repeats the temporal clause at the end.
[34:29] 115 tn Heb “in the hand of Moses.”
[34:29] 116 tn The temporal clause parallels the first temporal clause; it uses the same infinitive construct, but now with a suffix referring to Moses.
[34:29] 117 tn Heb “and Moses.”
[34:29] 118 tn The word קָרַן (qaran) is derived from the noun קֶרֶן (qeren) in the sense of a “ray of light” (see Hab 3:4). Something of the divine glory remained with Moses. The Greek translation of Aquila and the Latin Vulgate convey the idea that he had horns, the primary meaning of the word from which this word is derived. Some have tried to defend this, saying that the glory appeared like horns or that Moses covered his face with a mask adorned with horns. But in the text the subject of the verb is the skin of Moses’ face (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 449).
[34:30] 119 tn This clause is introduced by the deictic particle הִנֵּה (hinneh); it has the force of pointing to something surprising or sudden.
[34:33] 120 tn Heb “and Moses finished”; the clause is subordinated as a temporal clause to the next clause.
[34:33] 121 tn The Piel infinitive construct is the object of the preposition; the whole phrase serves as the direct object of the verb “finished.”
[34:33] 122 tn Throughout this section the actions of Moses and the people are frequentative. The text tells what happened regularly.
[34:34] 123 tn The construction uses a infinitive construct for the temporal clause; it is prefixed with the temporal preposition: “and in the going in of Moses.”
[34:34] 124 tn The temporal clause begins with the temporal preposition “until,” followed by an infinitive construct with the suffixed subjective genitive.
[34:34] 125 tn The form is the Pual imperfect, but since the context demands a past tense here, in fact a past perfect tense, this is probably an old preterite form without a vav consecutive.
[34:35] 126 tn Now the perfect tense with vav consecutive is subordinated to the next clause, “Moses returned the veil….”
[34:35] 127 tn Verbs of seeing often take two accusatives. Here, the second is the noun clause explaining what it was about the face that they saw.
[34:35] 128 tn Heb “with him”; the referent (the
