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Exodus Chapter
Thirty-four
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
EXODUS 34
In this chapter Moses has
orders to hew two tables of stone, that God might write on them the ten
commands, and bring them up with him to the mount, Exodus 34:1 where
the Lord proclaimed his name, and caused his glory and his goodness to pass
before him, Exodus 34:5 when
Moses took this favourable opportunity that offered to pray for the people,
that God would forgive their sin, and go along with them, Exodus 34:8 upon
which he made a covenant with them, which on his part was to do wonders for
them, and drive out the inhabitants of Canaan before them; and on their part,
that they should have no confederacy and communion with these nations, and shun
their idolatry, and everything that might lead unto it, Exodus 34:10 and he
repeated several laws before given, and urged the observance of them, which
Moses was to acquaint the people with, Exodus 34:18 and
after a stay of forty days and forty nights on the mount, he came down with the
two tables of the law; and the skin of his face shone so bright, that the
people of Israel were afraid to come nigh him, and therefore he put a vail over
his face while he conversed with them, Exodus 34:28.
Exodus 34:1 And the Lord said to Moses,
“Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these
tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke.
YLT 1And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Hew for
thyself two tables of stone like the first, and I have written on the tables
the words which were on the first tables which thou hast broken;
And the Lord
said unto Moses,.... Out of the cloudy pillar, at the door of the tabernacle,
where he had been conversing with him in the most friendly manner, as related
in the preceding chapter:
hew thee two
tables of stone like unto the first; of the same form, and of
the same dimensions, and it may be of the same sort of stone, which perhaps was
marble, there being great plenty of that kind on Mount Sinai. Now Moses being
ordered to hew these tables, whereas the former were the work of God himself,
as well as the writing, shows that the law was to be the ministration of Moses,
and be ordained in the hand of him as a mediator, who had been praying and
interceding for the people; and as a token of the reconciliation made, the
tables were to be renewed, yet with some difference, that there might be some
remembrance of their crime, and of their loss by it, not having the law on
tables of stone, which were the work of God, but which were the work of man:
and I will
write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables which
thou brakest; the writing of these was by the Lord himself, as the former,
shows that the law itself was of God, though the tables were hewn by Moses, and
that he would have it known and observed as such; and the same being written on
these tables, as on the former, shows the unchangeableness of the law of God,
as given to the people of Israel, that he would have nothing added to it, or
taken from it; and the writing of it over again may have respect to the
reinscribing it on the hearts of his people in regeneration, according to the
tenor of the new covenant: the phrase, "which thou brakest", is not
used as expressing any displeasure at Moses for that act of his, but to
describe the former tables; and the breaking of them might not be the effect of
passion, at least of any criminal passion, but of zeal for the glory of God,
and the honour of his law, which was broken by the Israelites, and therefore
unworthy of it; and might be according to the counsel of the divine will, and
the secret direction of his providence.
Exodus 34:2 2 So be ready in the
morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me
there on the top of the mountain.
YLT 2and be prepared at morning, and thou hast
come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and hast stood before Me there, on the
top of the mount,
And be ready in
the morning,.... This was, according to the Jewish chronologyF5Seder
Olam Rabba, c. 6. p. 19. , on the twenty eighth day of the month Ab or July:
and come up in
the morning unto Mount Sinai; the same mount where he had been before:
and present
thyself there to me on the top of the mount; where the pillar of
cloud removed and stood, and near it Moses was to stand and wait to hear what
would be said unto him, and to see what would be made to pass before him.
Exodus 34:3 3 And no man shall come up
with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither
flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.”
YLT 3and no man cometh up with thee, and also no
man is seen in all the mount, also the flock and the herd do not feed
over-against that mount.'
And no man
shall come up with thee,.... Before, Aaron and his two sons, and the seventy elders of
Israel, went up with Moses, though they did not go so near the Lord as he did;
but now having sinned in the matter of the golden calf, though a reconciliation
was made, they were not allowed to go with him, nor even Joshua his servant,
though he had no concern in the sin; Moses must be alone, that the ministration
of the law might be by him only, and in order to receive a peculiar favour in
answer to his request:
neither let any
man be seen throughout all the mount; in any part of it, as
Joshua was before in some part of it, even all the while that Moses was there;
but now not a single person must be seen anywhere, not only because of the
giving of the law to Moses, but because of the display of the divine glory,
which was to be made particularly to him:
neither let the
flocks nor herds feed before that mount; or over against it, or
rather "near" itF6אל מול ההר ההוא
πλησιον του ορους, Sept.
"prope montem illum", Noldius, p. 80. ; which was ordered, not so
much on the account of the flocks themselves, who were not capable of any moral
guilt; nor that they might not come to any hurt, since they were to be stoned
or thrust through with a dart if they touched it, which order it is highly
probable was in force as before; but on the account of their keepers, that
there might be none of them on the spot, or near, to observe what passed; and
chiefly this was said to command fear and reverence in the minds of the people,
while this solemn affair was transacting between God and Moses, and to check
all curiosity in them.
Exodus 34:4 4 So he cut two tablets of
stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went
up Mount Sinai, as the Lord
had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.
YLT 4And he heweth two tables of stone like the
first, and Moses riseth early in the morning, and goeth up unto mount Sinai, as
Jehovah commanded him, and he taketh in his hand two tables of stone.
And he hewed
two tables of stone like unto the first,.... Which may be an
emblem of the ministry of men, which God makes use of in hewing of his people,
and bringing them to a sense of their sins, the breach of his law, and
repentance for them, Hosea 6:5,
and Moses rose
up early in the morning: which, according to the JewsF7Seder Olam Rabba, c. 6.
p. 19. , was the twenty ninth of Ab or July, which showed his ready and
cheerful obedience to the divine will, and the quick dispatch he had made in
hewing the tables; which whether he did with his own hands only, or made use of
others whom he directed, is not very material; though the phrase "hew
thee", or "hew unto thee", seems as if he were to do it himself,
and not another:
and went up
unto Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him; which was the third time
of his going there, and every time he continued forty days and forty nights, as
Aben Ezra observes, see Deuteronomy 9:18,
and took in his
hand the two tables of stone; which could not be very thick and heavy to
carry in one hand up a mountain, but must be a sort of marble slab or slate: at
this same time an ark was ordered to be made, and was made, to put the tables
into, which was a type of Christ, the fulfilling end of the law for
righteousness, Deuteronomy 10:1.
Exodus 34:5 5 Now the Lord descended in
the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
YLT 5And Jehovah cometh down in a cloud, and
stationeth Himself with him there, and calleth in the Name of Jehovah,
And the Lord
descended in the cloud,.... The same with the cloudy pillar, which was now gone up from
the door of the tabernacle, and was on high in the air over the mount, and on
which the Lord now descended in it, as he had before, Exodus 19:9,
and stood with
him there; not Moses stood with the Lord, as the Vulgate Latin version; but
the Lord, or the cloud in which the Lord was, stood near to Moses:
and proclaimed
the name of the Lord: Jehovah declared with a loud voice out of the cloud, that the
Lord was there; the Targum of Jonathan is,"and Moses called on or in the
name of the Word of the Lord;'and so the Vulgate Latin version refers it to
Moses, and renders the words, "calling on the name of the Lord"; but
the following verse clearly shows that it must be understood of the Lord, and
not of Moses.
Exodus 34:6 6 And the Lord passed before
him and proclaimed, “The Lord,
the Lord
God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
YLT 6and Jehovah passeth over before his face, and
calleth: `Jehovah, Jehovah God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and
abundant in kindness and truth,
And the Lord
passed by before him,.... Or caused his Shechinah, his divine Majesty, and the glory
of it, to pass before him, as the Targums; his glory and goodness, which he had
promised should pass before him, Exodus 33:19 and it
is but a transient passing view the greatest of men, God's peculiar favourites,
have of him in this life:
and proclaimed,
the Lord, the Lord God; the Jerusalem Targum wrongly paraphrases the words as a prayer
of Moses thus, "and Moses prayed, and said, O Lord, Lord"; and so the
Vulgate Latin version; but it is quite clear, and beyond all doubt, from Numbers 14:17 that
what follow are the words of God, and not of Moses: the sense is, that the
Lord, as he passed by Moses, to raise and fix his attention, declared it was
Jehovah that passed by; which is repeated the more to excite his attention, and
is the name by which he had made himself known to Moses, even when he sent him
into Egypt; for "I am that I am" is an explanation of this name, see Exodus 3:14 and the
word "El", translated "God", signifies mighty and powerful,
and is true of all the three divine Persons, to whom respect may be had in the
use of these three words. What is proclaimed or declared concerning God is,
that he is
merciful and
gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth; first
"merciful", and he is so in the most tender and affectionate manner;
he is rich and plenteous in mercy, freely giving it, delights in bestowing it,
constantly shows it to his people; it is manifested and displayed in Christ,
the mercy seat; and it lays a foundation for faith and hope, and is the spring
of all good things in time, and to eternity: and he is also
"gracious", good and kind to men, without any merit or desert of
theirs, but bestows good things on them freely, of his own free grace, favour,
and good will, as appears by various acts of his; in the eternal choice of them
to everlasting happiness; in providing a Saviour for them, and giving all grace
and spiritual blessings to them in him; by giving Christ to them, and for them,
justifying them freely by his righteousness, pardoning their sins according to
the riches of his grace, regenerating, calling, preserving, and saving them by
it: likewise "longsuffering"; both towards wicked men, the vessels of
wrath, by whom his patience and longsuffering are abused and despised; and
towards his elect, on whom he waits to be gracious, not willing that any of
them should perish, but all be brought to repentance; and his longsuffering is
their salvation: and it follows, "abundant in goodness and truth"; in
providential goodness to all men; in special goodness to his chosen people,
which he has laid up, and wrought out for them, and shown them in Christ; in
his truth and faithfulness, in fulfilling his promises, both with respect to
the mission of his Son into the world, to be the Saviour of it, and with
respect to all other things promised, whether relating to this life, or that to
come, to grace or glory; he never suffers his truth and faithfulness to fail;
his promises are all yea and amen in Christ.
Exodus 34:7 7 keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the
guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the
children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
YLT 7keeping kindness for thousands, taking away
iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and not entirely acquitting, charging
iniquity of fathers on children, and on children's children, on a third
[generation], and on a fourth.'
Keeping mercy
for thousands,.... In his own heart, in his purposes and decrees, in his
counsels and covenant, in his Son, with whom he keeps it for ever, and for all
in him, Psalm 89:28 and
they are many who are ordained to eternal life, for whom Christ gave his life a
ransom, and for whom his blood was shed for the remission of their sins; and
whom he justifies by his knowledge, and at last brings to glory as the great
Captain of their salvation; these are even a number which no man can number.
All the Targums render it to a thousand generations; and Jarchi interprets of
two thousand generations. The first letter in the word, rendered
"keeping", is longer than is usual, in the Hebrew text; which,
according to the JewsF8Vid. Buxtorf. Tiberiad. c. 14. p. 38. ,
denotes the largeness of the grace of God, its great extent and long
continuance:
forgiving iniquity,
and transgression, and sin; the word used signifies a lifting it up,
and taking it away: thus Jehovah has taken it from the sinner, and put it on
his Son, who has borne it, and made satisfaction for it; and in so doing has
taken it quite away, so as to be seen no more; and, through the application of
his blood to the conscience of a sinner, it is taken away from thence, and
removed as far as the east is from the west; from whence it appears, that it is
in Christ, and for his sake, that God forgives sin, even through his blood,
righteousness, sacrifice, and satisfaction; and this forgiveness is of all sin,
of all sorts of sin, original or actual, greater or lesser, public or private,
open or secret, of omission or commission, of heart, lip, and life. The Jews
sometimes distinguish these three words; "iniquity", they say,
signifies sins through pride and presumption; "transgression" intends
rebellions against God; and "sin", what is committed through error
and mistakeF9Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Yoma, c. 4. sect. 2. ;
and much to this sense is Jarchi's interpretation of these words; they no doubt
include all manner of sin, which God for Christ's sake forgives:
and will by no
means clear the guilty; without a full and proper satisfaction to
justice; which is provided in Christ, whom God has set forth to be the
propitiation for sin, to declare his righteousness, that he might appear to be
just, while he justifies and pardons those that believe in Jesus; otherwise all
the world are guilty before God, and none would be cleared; but those for whom
satisfaction is made, and a righteousness wrought out, they are cleared,
acquitted, and discharged, and they only: or "though he will by no means
let it go unpunished"F11ונקה לא ינקה "et impunita minime
dimittens", Tigurine version; "et non exercens impunitatem",
Coccei Lexic. in voce נקה. ; that is, sin, expressed
by the several words preceding; and so to this purpose is this phrase
translated in Jeremiah 30:11 and
the meaning is, that though God pardons sin, all manner of sin, and so displays
his grace and mercy, yet he takes care of the honour of his justice, and never
suffers any sin to go unpunished, either on the sinner, or on the surety.
Pardon of sin always proceeds upon the redemption that is through the blood of
Christ, and is a branch of it, see Romans 3:24. Some
understand these words as relating not to the justice, but to the mercy and
goodness of God; and render the words, either "in extirpating he will not
extirpate", as MaimonidesF12Moreh Nevochim, par. 1. c. 54. ;
and as Jonathan translates the same phrase in Jeremiah 30:11
"in destroying I will not destroy"; and so De Dieu here, "in
emptying he will not empty", or destroy; and this sense is thought to be
most agreeable to the prayer of Moses, and the promise of God, that his
goodness and glory should pass before him, to which the other sense seems
contrary; but the justice of God is as much his glory, and in it lies his
goodness, as well as his grace and mercy; besides, the following words cannot
be thought to be so expressive of the grace, and mercy, and goodness of God,
but of his punitive justice, and so the objection would still remain:
visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the childrens' children,
unto the third and to the fourth generation; See Gill on Exodus 20:5.
Exodus 34:8 8 So Moses made haste and
bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.
YLT 8And Moses hasteth, and boweth to the earth,
and doth obeisance,
And Moses made
haste,.... Perceiving the voice ceased, and the Lord was passing on, lest
he should be gone, and he lose the favourable opportunity he had:
and bowed his
head toward the earth, and worshipped; threw himself prostrate
upon it, and in the most humble manner put up his requests to God, which are
expressed in the following verse; he gladly laid hold on this opportunity to
use his interest with God for the people of Israel, and to improve the
proclamation of grace and mercy, in the forgiveness of sins, now made; which
encouraged his faith and hope to draw nigh with a holy boldness, and use
freedom with him, and yet with an awe of his majesty, with reverence and godly
fear.
Exodus 34:9 9 Then he said, “If now I
have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even
though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our
sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”
YLT 9and saith, `If, I pray Thee, I have found
grace in Thine eyes, O my Lord, let my Lord, I pray Thee, go in our midst (for
it [is] a stiff-necked people), and thou hast forgiven our iniquity and our
sin, and hast inherited us.'
And he said, if
now I have found grace in thy sight,.... Or "seeing
now", for he could have no doubt upon his mind but that he had found grace
and favour in the sight of God, since he had caused his goodness and glory to
pass before him, and made such a proclamation of his grace and mercy to him;
but he takes it for granted, and improves it, and argues upon it, as follows:
O Lord, let my
Lord, I pray thee, go amongst us; as the Lord had
signified as if he would not go among them, but leave them to the conduct of a
created angel; and Moses had before prayed that his presence or face might go
with them, Exodus 33:3 and now
having some fresh tokens of the favour and good will of God towards him, renews
his request with great earnestness and importunity, entreating the Lord Jehovah
the Father, that Moses's Lord Jehovah the Son, the Angel of God's presence, in
whom his name was, might go with them, as he had said he should:
for it is a
stiffnecked people; and therefore have need of such an one to be with them, to rule
and govern them, to restrain and keep them within due bounds; or "thoughF13Quamvis,
Piscator, Patrick; so R. Marinus in Aben Ezra; and some in Abendana. it is a
stiffnecked people"; for this is the reason given by the Lord why he would
not go among them, Exodus 33:3
wherefore Moses prays that he would go, notwithstanding this; he owns the
character of them was just, yet humbly prays that God would nevertheless
vouchsafe his presence:
and pardon our
iniquity, and our sin; which he had the greater reason to hope he would, since he had
just proclaimed his name, a God pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin;
and, the more to gain his suit, makes himself a party concerned, calling the
sin committed, "our iniquity, and our sin"; even his among the rest,
who had found grace in the sight of God, and therefore entreats others might
also, since they were all sinners, and there was forgiveness with him:
and take us for
thine inheritance; to possess and enjoy, protect and defend, cultivate and improve,
keep and preserve for ever.
Exodus 34:10 10 And He said: “Behold, I
make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been
done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are
shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an
awesome thing that I will do with you.
YLT 10And He saith, `Lo, I am making a covenant:
before all thy people I do wonders, which have not been done in all the earth,
or in any nation, and all the people in whose midst thou [art] have seen the
work of Jehovah, for it [is] fearful that which I am doing with thee.
And he said,
behold, I will make a covenant,.... Or renew the covenant before made the
people had broke; which on his part was, that he would, as Moses had entreated,
forgive the sin of the people, go along with them, and introduce them into the
land of Canaan, and drive out the inhabitants of it before them; and, on their
part, that they should avoid idolatry, and everything that led unto it,
particularly making covenants, and entering into alliances with the idolatrous
nations cast out:
before all thy
people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in
any nation; both in their passage through the wilderness, and entrance into
Canaan's land, and the conquest of that; such as the earth opening its mouth
and swallowing alive Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and was a new thing God
created; the smiting of the rock at Kadesh, from whence flowed waters
abundantly; the healing of such as were bit by fiery serpents through looking
at a serpent of brass; Balaam's ass speaking, and reproving the madness of the
prophet; the division of the waters of Jordan; the fall of the walls of Jericho
at the sound of rams' horns; the sun and moon standing still, until the Lord
had avenged himself of his enemies:
and all the
people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord; for it should
be visible, as the above things were, and plainly appear to be the Lord's
doing, and not man's, being above the power of any created being to perform:
for it is a
terrible thing that I will do with thee; Aben Ezra restrains this
to Moses's person, and interprets this of the wonderful shining of the skin of
his face, when he came down from the mount, which made the children of Israel
afraid to come nigh him; and of his vigorous constitution at the time of his
death, when his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated, contrary to the
nature of ancient persons: but it is better to understand it of the ministry of
Moses, and of the awful things that God would do by him; or rather of the
people of Israel, among whom, and for whose sake, God would do such things as
should cause a panic among the nations all around them; particularly what he
did for them to Og king of Bashan, and Sihon king of the Amorites, on account
of which terror fell, as on the king of Moab, so on the inhabitants of Canaan;
see Numbers 21:33 Joshua 2:9.
Exodus 34:11 11 Observe what I command you
this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the
Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.
YLT 11`Observe for thyself that which I am
commanding thee to-day: lo, I am casting out from before thee the Amorite, and
the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the
Jebusite;
Observe thou
that which I command thee this day,.... Which words are
either said to Moses personally, as Aben Ezra thinks, as a direction to him to
observe what had been said to him, and declare them to the children of Israel;
or rather to the children of Israel, and respect the commands which are afterwards
delivered out to be observed by them in the following verses; and what is
expressed in the next clause is such as was not done by the ministry of Moses,
nor in his time:
behold, I drive
out before thee; not before Moses, but the people of Israel:
the Amorite,
and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the
Jebusite; six nations are only mentioned, though there were seven, the
Girgashites being omitted, because either they left the land before, as some
think, or because they at once submitted; they are added in the Septuagint
version.
Exodus 34:12 12 Take heed to yourself,
lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going,
lest it be a snare in your midst.
YLT 12take heed to thyself, lest thou make a
covenant with the inhabitant of the land into which thou art going, lest it
become a snare in thy midst;
Take heed to
thyself,.... This is said not to Moses, but to the people of Israel, as a
caution to them when they should enter the land of Canaan, and possess it:
lest thou make
a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest: enter into a
league and alliance, to live friendly and amicably, and support and assist each
other against the common enemy; whereas they were to smite the seven nations
and destroy them, and show them no mercy, Deuteronomy 7:1.
lest it be for
a snare in the midst of thee; be the means of drawing them into the same
sinful practices with themselves, especially into idolatrous ones, and so of
bringing ruin and destruction on them.
Exodus 34:13 13 But you shall destroy
their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden
images
YLT 13for their altars ye break down, and their
standing pillars ye shiver, and its shrines ye cut down;
But ye shall
destroy their altars,.... On which they had sacrificed to their idols; since, if they
were allowed to continue, they might be temptations to offer sacrifice thereon,
contrary to the command of God:
break their
images: of gold or silver, wood or stone, which they made for
themselves, and worshipped as deities; seeing if these continued, the sight of
them might lead to the worship of them, and so bring under the divine
displeasure, as a breach of the command of God given them:
and cut down
their groves; which were clusters of trees, where they had their temples and
their idols, and did service to them, and where, besides idolatry, many
impurities were committed. Such places were originally used by good men for
devotion, being shady and solitary, but when abused to superstitious and
idolatrous uses, were forbidden. It is saidF14R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel
Moed, fol. 72. 1. , the word for "grove" is general, and includes
every tree they serve, or plant, for an idol.
Exodus 34:14 14 (for you shall worship no
other god, for the Lord,
whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),
YLT 14for ye do not bow yourselves to another god
-- for Jehovah, whose name [is] Zealous, is a zealous God.
For thou shall
worship no other god,.... Than the Lord their God, the one only living and true God,
which was the first command given to the people of Israel, and binding upon all
men:
for the Lord
whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God; his name and nature
answer to one another; he admits of no rival or competitor in worship; he will
not give his glory to another god, or one so called, nor his praise to graven
images; and in this he is distinguished from all nominal and fictitious gods,
who have many joined with them, and are rivals of them, which gives them no
concern, because insensible; but it is otherwise with the Lord, who knows the
dishonour done him, and resents it, and is as jealous of any worship being
given to another, as the husband is of the honour of his marriage bed; for
idolatry is spiritual adultery, as is suggested in the following verse.
Exodus 34:15 15 lest you make a covenant
with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and
make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of
his sacrifice,
YLT 15`Lest thou make a covenant with the
inhabitant of the land, and they have gone a-whoring after their gods, and have
sacrificed to their gods, and [one] hath called to thee, and thou hast eaten of
his sacrifice,
Lest thou make
a covenant with the inhabitants of the land,.... A marriage covenant,
taking their daughters in marriage to their sons, and "vice versa",
as the following words show; here the caution is to be understood and the words
supplied from Exodus 34:12 and
inserted and connected thus, "take heed to thyself, lest thou make",
&c.
and they go a
whoring after their gods; that is, the inhabitants of the land, and particularly those
with whom the Israelites made a covenant, and entered into a marriage relation
with, and perhaps on this condition, that they would abstain from idolatry; and
yet, contrary to the obligation they laid themselves under, lust after their
idols, and commit spiritual fornication or adultery with them, which is
explained by the next clause:
and do
sacrifice unto their gods; such as the first institutors of their
idolatry enjoined, and their ancestors had observed, and were according to the
rites and customs of the country:
and one
call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; invite to eat of what
remained, that was offered to the idol: hence it appears, that having feasts at
sacrifices, and eating things offered to idols in a festival way, are very
ancient practices; see 1 Corinthians 10:27.
Exodus 34:16 16 and you take of his
daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and
make your sons play the harlot with their gods.
YLT 16and thou hast taken of their daughters to thy
sons, and their daughters have gone a-whoring after their gods, and have caused
thy sons to go a-whoring after their gods;
And thou take of
their daughters unto thy sons,.... That is, marry them to them, which
explains what is meant by making a covenant with them, entering into such a
near relation, and joining families, and thus intermixing with one another:
and their
daughters go a whoring after their gods; the worship of whom they
have been trained up in from their infancy, and therefore hanker after them,
and commit whoredom in a spiritual sense with them:
and make thy
sons go a whoring after their gods; by the means of tempting
and drawing them into idolatrous practices, as the wives of Solomon were a
snare to him.
Exodus 34:17 17 “You shall make no molded
gods for yourselves.
YLT 17a molten god thou dost not make to thyself.
Thou shalt make
thee no molten gods. Made of a melted liquid, whether gold, or silver, or brass,
poured into a mould; and though graven images are not mentioned, they are
included, a part being put for the whole, as appears not only from the
injunction to break images in general, whether graven or molten, Exodus 34:13 but
from the second command, which expressly forbids the making and worshipping of
them; but "molten" ones are particularly mentioned, because it is
probable they were chiefly such the Canaanites worshipped, and especially,
because the calf the Israelites had lately made and worshipped was a molten one.
Exodus 34:18 18 “The Feast of Unleavened
Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded
you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you
came out from Egypt.
YLT 18`The feast of unleavened things thou dost
keep; seven days thou dost eat unleavened things, as I have commanded thee, at
an appointed time, the month of Abib: for in the month of Abib thou didst come
out from Egypt.
The feast of
unleavened bread shalt thou keep,.... Which was instituted
at the time of their coming out of Egypt, and on that account, and then
observed, Exodus 12:15 and
afterwards repeated, and the month expressed in which they were to keep it, and
the reason of it, as it here follows; see Gill on Exodus 13:15.
Exodus 34:19 19 “All that open the womb are
Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or
sheep.
YLT 19`All opening a womb [are] Mine, and every
firstling of thy cattle born a male, ox or sheep;
All that
openeth the matrix is mine,.... Or "the womb", and therefore
to be sanctified, and set apart for his use: this also was declared, and the
law concerning it given, at the time of their coming out of Egypt, and here
repeated; see Gill on Exodus 13:2, Exodus 13:12.
Exodus 34:20 20 But the firstborn of a
donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him,
then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem.
“And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.
YLT 20and the firstling of an ass thou dost ransom
with a lamb; and if thou dost not ransom, then thou hast beheaded it; every
first-born of thy sons thou dost ransom, and they do not appear before Me
empty.
Every firstling
of an ass thou shalt redeem,.... This goes along with the former; see
Gill on Exodus 13:13,
and none shall
appear before me empty; at the grand festivals, the passover, pentecost, and
tabernacles; see Gill on Exodus 13:15.
Exodus 34:21 21 “Six
days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and
in harvest you shall rest.
YLT 21`Six days thou dost work, and on the seventh
day thou dost rest; in ploughing-time and in harvest thou dost rest.
Six days shalt
thou work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest,.... This is
the law of the seventh day sabbath, which is after repeated, to fix it in the
minds and memories of the people, see Exodus 20:10 and
here it is added, which has not been mentioned before:
in earing and
in harvest thou shall rest; that is, in the time of ploughing, and in
the time of reaping and gathering in the harvest, which are both very busy
seasons; the rest of the sabbath was not to be violated; such sort of works,
though they might require haste and expedition, yet the sabbath was not to be
broken on account of them: this is the common sense of the law, as it is
understood; but MaimonidesF15In Misn. Sheviith, c. 14. sect. 1.
gives another sense from their doctors, who say, it is forbidden to plough in
the sixth year what cannot be reaped but in the seventh; and so likewise that
it is forbidden to reap on the seventh year, that of which profit may be had on
the eighth year, and this is founded on what the Scripture says, Exodus 34:21
"in earing", &c. and they say, that here ploughing and harvest
are not to be understood of the seventh day, because this is included in the
general rule, "thou shalt not do any work"--they say, of that which
is ploughed, whose reaping or harvest is forbidden, is the ploughing at the
evening of the seventh year, and at the going out of the seventh; and know
this, that the evening of the seventh is the sixth year, and the going out of
the seventh is the eighth year, and so Jarchi on the text observes, that some
of their Rabbins say, this is to be understood of the ploughing of the seventh
year, the seventh year entering, and the harvest of the seventh year, at the
going out of it; so that as there is a seventh day of rest, there is a year in
which ploughing and harvest are forbidden; but there are others, he says, who
say the text speaks only of the sabbath.
Exodus 34:22 22 “And you shall observe the
Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of
Ingathering at the year’s end.
YLT 22`And a feast of weeks thou dost observe for
thyself; first-fruits of wheat-harvest; and the feast of in-gathering, at the
revolution of the year.
And thou shalt
observe the feast of weeks,.... The feast of Pentecost, called the
feast of weeks, because seven sabbaths or weeks, or fifty days, were to be
reckoned from the day in the passover feast, on which the sheaf of the wave
offering was brought, Leviticus 23:15 and
which was also called the feast
of the first
fruits of wheat harvest, to distinguish it from the barley harvest, at the time of the
passover, when a sheaf of barley was the wave offering to the Lord; but at this
two loaves or cakes of fine wheaten flour were brought as the first fruits of
the wheat harvest, see Leviticus 23:17.
and the feast
of ingathering at the year's end; which was the feast of
tabernacles, called the feast of ingathering, because at this time all the
fruits of the earth, the corn, wine, and oil, and all others were gathered in;
and this was at the close of the old year, and at the beginning of the new,
according to the ancient account, which made Tisri or September the first month
in the year; See Gill on Exodus 23:16.
Exodus 34:23 23 “Three times in the year
all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel.
YLT 23`Three times in a year do all thy males
appear before the Lord Jehovah, God of Israel;
Thrice in the
year shall all your men children appear before the Lord God,.... At the
three above mentioned feasts; see Gill on Exodus 23:17 here
it is added:
the God of
Israel; who had chosen them to be his special people, had redeemed them
out of Egypt, and done great things for them since; had made a covenant with
them, and had now renewed that covenant with them, and was their covenant God,
and they his people, and so were under great obligations to present themselves
unto him at the times appointed by him.
Exodus 34:24 24 For I will cast out the
nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your
land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in
the year.
YLT 24for I dispossess nations from before thee,
and have enlarged thy border, and no man doth desire thy land in thy going up
to appear before Jehovah thy God three times in a year.
For I will cast
out the nations before thee,.... Who are particularly mentioned, Exodus 34:11 and
therefore they need not be in any fear of them, when they should go up to the
appointed place, and appear before the Lord; for to this they were not obliged,
until they were come into the land of Canaan, and the inhabitants driven out
before them:
and enlarge thy
borders; so that as they should have no enemies within them, to hinder
and molest them, or discourage and deter them from attendance on the Lord at
such set times, so they would be set at a great distance from them, that they
should have nothing to fear from them; and should it be objected that at such
times, when only women and children were left at home, and their borders were
defenceless, it would be a proper opportunity for their enemies to invade them,
it is further promised:
neither, shall
any man desire thy land; though it is a desirable land; and their neighbours, and
especially the old inhabitants of it, envied the happiness of the Israelites,
and could not but wish it was in their possession; yet God, who has the hearts
of all men in his hands, and can direct their thoughts, and turn the
inclinations of their minds, and influence their affections, and engage them
with other objects, promises that they should not think of an invasion of them,
or have their minds, and the desires and affections of their hearts, in the
least turned that way at these seasons, whatever they might have at other
times; even
when thou shall
go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in a year; at the feasts
before mentioned, which was a most wonderful display of the power and
providence of God.
Exodus 34:25 25 “You shall not offer the
blood of My sacrifice with leaven, nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the
Passover be left until morning.
YLT 25`Thou dost not slaughter with a fermented
thing the blood of My sacrifice; and the sacrifice of the feast of the passover
doth not remain till morning:
Thou shall not
offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven,.... That is, not kill
the passover, while there was any leaven in their houses; so the Targum of
Jonathan; see Gill on Exodus 23:18.
neither shall
the sacrifice of the feast of passover be left unto the morning; neither any
of the flesh, nor of the fat of the passover lamb: if any were left, it was to
be burnt, see Exodus 12:10.
Exodus 34:26 26 “The first of the
firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You
shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
YLT 26the first of the first-fruits of the land
thou dost bring into the house of Jehovah thy God; thou dost not boil a kid in
its mother's milk.'
The first of
the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring,.... This, and another
law in this verse, concerning not seething a kid in his mother's milk, are
repeated from Exodus 23:19. See
Gill on Exodus 23:19.
Exodus 34:27 27 Then the Lord said to Moses,
“Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a
covenant with you and with Israel.”
YLT 27And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Write for
thyself these words, for, according to the tenor of these words I have made
with thee a covenant, and with Israel.'
And the Lord
said unto Moses,.... Being still with him on the mount:
write thou
these words; expressed in the preceding verses, from Exodus 34:11, as he
before had written in a book all those laws, contained in Exodus 21:1 called
the book of the covenant, Exodus 24:4 and
which perhaps might be destroyed, as well as the two tables were broken; and
therefore upon the renewal of the covenant here, there is a repetition made of
the principal laws before given, which are ordered also to be written in a
book, which may very well be called by the same name, since it follows:
for after the
tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel, with Moses,
as their representative and mediator, and with them represented by him: what is
above related carries in it the form of a covenant between them, God having
declared on his part what he would do for them, and what laws and rules he
required to be observed on their part; which Moses assented to in their name,
and was ordered to write them down, that he might repeat them to them.
Exodus 34:28 28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and
forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets
the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.[a]
YLT 28And he is there with Jehovah forty days and
forty nights; bread he hath not eaten, and water he hath not drunk; and he
writeth on the tables the matters of the covenant -- the ten matters.
And he was
there with the Lord forty days and forty nights,.... These were other forty
days and nights, besides those he had been with the Lord, when he came down and
broke the two tables in his hand, on sight of the idolatry of the people; yea,
not only the Jewish writers think that he was on the mount three times forty
days and forty nights, but also several learned Christian writers, as Dr.
LightfootF16Works, vol. 1. p. 715, 716. and others; and it seems
plain that he went up to the mountain three times, Exodus 24:15 and it
is not improbable that he was each time so long there; about the first and
third times there can be no doubt, see Exodus 24:18 and
the text before us; and at the second time, when he went up to make
reconciliation for the people, Exodus 32:30 he
says, that he fell down before the Lord, as at the first forty days and forty
nights, Deuteronomy 9:18
and from the seventh day of the month Sivan, the day after the giving of the
law, to the tenth of Tisri, on which day he now descended, are just so many
days:
he did neither
eat bread nor drink water: and it is very likely slept not, he being
supported without either of these by the power of God; and having such nearness
of communion with God, and his mind taken up with what he heard and saw, he had
no thoughts of, nor desires and cravings after such things, as well as he stood
in no need of them; all which must be ascribed to the miraculous interposition
of God in the support of him; see Gill on Exodus 24:18.
and he wrote on
the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments; not Moses,
for these were tables of stone, which he could not write or engrave upon
without proper instruments, which it does not appear he had with him on the
mount; but it was God that wrote them, who, in Exodus 34:1 says he
would write them, and from Deuteronomy 10:2 we
are assured he did.
Exodus 34:29 29 Now it was so, when Moses
came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in
Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that
the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.
YLT 29And it cometh to pass, when Moses is coming
down from mount Sinai (and the two tables of the testimony [are] in the hand of
Moses in his coming down from the mount), that Moses hath not known that the
skin of his face hath shone in His speaking with him,
And it came to
pass, when Moses came down Mount Sinai,.... Which was on the day
of atonement, according to Jarchi, that is, the tenth of Tisri, or September;
and so the Jewish chronologersF17Seder Olam Rabba, c. 6. p. 19. fix
his descent on this day:
with the two
tables of testimony in Moses's hand; the two tables he
carried up, on which God had wrote the law, called "the testimony",
being a testification and declaration of his will to the children of Israel:
when he came
down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone, while
he talked with him: the Targum of Jonathan is,"Moses knew not that the
splendour of the form of his face was become illustrious, which he had from the
brightness of the glory of the Shechinah of the Lord, at the time he talked
with him.'And this the apostle calls "the glory of his countenance", 2 Corinthians 3:7
the glory of the Lord as it passed before him, when in the cleft of the rock,
and that degree of it he was admitted to the sight of, while conversing with
God, during his stay on the mount forty days and forty nights, left a shining
glory on his countenance; which while he was with God he could not be at all sensible
of, the glory of God so infinitely surpassing that; and when he came down the
mount, as he could not see his own face without a glass, so though the rays of
light and glory that darted from his face were so bright and strong, that they
might have been observed by him, yet his mind was so intent on what he had seen
and heard, that he took no notice of them. The Vulgate Latin version renders it
very wrongly, "that his face was horned", which has given occasion to
painters to represent him in a ridiculous manner, as having horns coming out of
his forehead; though the word has the signification of an horn, and the meaning
of that version, as of others, may only be, that the skin of his face
"darted out rays"F18קרן
"radios ejacularetur", Tigurine version; "in modum cornu
radiaret", Munster, Fagius, "vel rediasset", Vatablus;
"splendere instar cornu", Drusius; so Karnon * in the Arabic language
signifies the rays of the sun. * Golius, col. 1896. Castel. col. 3455. like
horns, such as the rays of the sun appear to be like to the eye, see Habakkuk 3:4 hence
Jupiter Ammon, the same with the sun, is described as having hornsF19Vid.
Diodor. Sicul. l. 3. p. 201. Macrob. Saturnal. l. 1. c. 21. ; and so Bacchus,
who is supposed to be the same with Moses, is represented as having a horned
faceF20Diodor. Sicul. l. 4. p. 212. so Orpheus calls Bacchus, δικερωτα, Hymn. p. 126. and Horace ascribes to him, "cornu
decorum", Carmin. l. 2. Ode 19. . Now this glory was left on the
countenance of Moses, to show that he had had communion with God, and that the
law he brought with him was from him; and to signify the glory of it, and to
command awe and reverence, and make men afraid to break it.
Exodus 34:30 30 So when Aaron and all the
children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were
afraid to come near him.
YLT 30and Aaron seeth -- all the sons of Israel
also -- Moses, and lo, the skin of his face hath shone, and they are afraid of
coming nigh unto him.
And when Aaron
and all the children of Israel saw Moses,.... Who very probably
met him at the bottom of the mount; these Israelites with Aaron were the
princes, as Aben Ezra seems rightly to interpret it, and as appears from the
following verse; for Moses could not well be seen by the whole body of the
people at once, upon his descent from the mount:
behold, the
skin of his face shone; darted out rays of light and glory all around it, much perhaps
in the same manner as the glory about our Lord, and others, is painted by the
Romanists:
and they were
afraid to come nigh him; there was something so majestic and striking in it; and perhaps
they could not tell whether it foreboded good or evil to them; and this may
signify, that as by the light of the law sin is discovered, it fills with a
sense of wrath and fear of damnation; and being the ministration of condemnation
and death, it is terrifying and killing, though it has a glory in it.
Exodus 34:31 31 Then
Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned
to him; and Moses talked with them.
YLT 31And Moses calleth unto them, and Aaron and
all the princes in the company return unto him, and Moses speaketh unto them;
And Moses
called unto them,.... Who, as it appears by what follows, on sight of him were so
terrified, that they did not proceed on to meet him, but went back, and
therefore he called unto them to return and come forward:
and Aaron and
all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him; knowing him
by his voice, and encouraged by his call of them, who before might take him to
be something more than human, some glorious form, one of the heavenly angels
appearing in this manner:
and Moses
talked with them; after he had put a vail on his face, of which there is an
account in the following verses. He talked with them friendly, and told them
all that had happened to him in the mount; what a glorious sight he had been
indulged with; what a proclamation of the grace and goodness of God had been
made to him; and what laws and ordinances God had enjoined him and them the
observance of.
Exodus 34:32 32 Afterward all the children
of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken
with him on Mount Sinai.
YLT 32and afterwards have all the sons of Israel
come nigh, and he chargeth them with all that Jehovah hath spoken with him in
mount Sinai.
And afterward
all the children of Israel came nigh,.... That is, after Aaron
and the rulers had had a conversation with Moses, then the whole body of the
people by turns were admitted to come before him, and hear the laws of God from
him:
and he gave
them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai; besides the
two tables of stone, and the testimony written on them, he gave them all the
other commands he was ordered to write in a book, and which are recorded in
this chapter; he kept back nothing from them, but enjoined them to keep all the
Lord had commanded.
Exodus 34:33 33 And when Moses had
finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.
YLT 33And Moses finisheth speaking with them, and
putteth on his face a vail;
And till
Moses had done speaking with them,.... Not when he had
done, as the Septuagint version, for then there would have been no occasion for
it; but when he first began to speak to Aaron and the "rulers", and
continued to speak to the congregation until he had finished what he had to
say; even he did what follows, as soon as he perceived there was a glory on his
face, which they could not bear to look at:
he put a vail
on his face; something that covered it in a good measure, a mask, or linen
cloth, or some such thing. The obscurity of the law may be signified by this
vail, both of the moral and ceremonial law; the moral law, which though it
makes known the mind and will of God, with respect to what is to be done, or
not done, yet not with respect to the affair of life and salvation: it makes
known the one God as the object of worship, but gives no account of a trinity
of persons in the Godhead; no hint of God in Christ, nor revelation of the Son
of God; no view of a Saviour, no notion of pardon; nor does it point out the
righteousness of Christ unto us; nor do we from it hear anything of the Spirit
of God, and his grace, nor of eternal life and glory: the ceremonial law, and
its ordinances, did give some light into evangelical things, and did point out
Christ, and the blessings of his grace, yet but darkly and obscurely; they were
shadows of good things to come, and gave some dark and distant views of them,
but were not so much as the image of the things, and did not bring them near, and
set them in a clear light: likewise this vail may be an emblem of the darkness
of the minds of men, with respect to the law, and the knowledge of divine
things; especially of the Jews, who, as the apostle says, "could not
steadfastly look at the end of that which is abolished": of the ceremonial
law, which is disannulled, the end of which was Christ; he is the end for which
it was made, the scope or mark at which it aimed, the term in which it issued,
and in whom it had its complete fulfilment; but this they had not a perfect
view of, and could not steadfastly behold: the moral law also is in some sense
abolished by Christ, as the ministration of Moses, as a covenant of works, and
as to the curse and condemnation of it to those that believe; and Christ he is
the end of this, the fulfilling end of it, by conformity of nature, and
obedience of life unto it, and by suffering the penalty of it; but such was the
blindness of the Jews, that they were ignorant of the nature of this law, of
the spirituality and perfection of it, of its use to convince men of sin, to
condemn for it, but not to justify from it; were ignorant of the righteousness
of God which the law required, and of Christ, and of the way of life and
righteousness by him; and so of the Spirit of God, and his work, and of the
mysteries of the Gospel, and of the books of the Old Testament; see 2 Corinthians 3:14.
Exodus 34:34 34 But whenever Moses went in
before the Lord
to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would
come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded.
YLT 34and in the going in of Moses before Jehovah
to speak with Him, he turneth aside the vail until his coming out; and he hath
come out and hath spoken unto the sons of Israel that which he is commanded;
But when Moses
went in before the Lord to speak with him,.... Went into the
tabernacle to converse with him, to pray unto him, and inquire about any matter
of difficulty respecting the people of Israel he was concerned for, which he
often did:
he took the
vail off until he came out: and so when men are truly converted, and
turn to the Lord, the vail of darkness and unbelief is removed, and the true
light shines, in which they see things in another light than they did before;
and when they come into his presence, they come with hearts opened and
unveiled, all things being naked and open to him with whom they have to do; and
particularly saints under the Gospel dispensation, with an open face, as in a
glass, behold the glory of the Lord; and when they get to heaven, they will
then see face to face, and know as they are known, 2 Corinthians 3:16,
and he came
out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded; this respects
not the present time of his coming down from the mount, or out of the
tabernacle with the law and commands now given, for these he had already
declared; but after times, and all such times when he went in to the Lord to
inquire of him his mind and will concerning certain things, in which the people
wanted information, when, upon his return, he acquainted them with whatsoever
the Lord ordered to be done.
Exodus 34:35 35 And whenever the children
of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses
would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.
YLT 35and the sons of Israel have seen the face of
Moses that the skin of the face of Moses hath shone, and Moses hath put back
the vail on his face until his going in to speak with Him.
And the
children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses's face shone,.... That is,
not only when he came down from the mount, but whenever he came out of the
tabernacle, where he had been inquiring of God, and conversing with him:
and Moses put
the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him; this he did from
time to time, when he came out from the Lord he put on his vail, and when he
went in again, he put it off. How long this brightness on his countenance
remained, cannot be said with any certainty; Saadiah Gaon says, it did not
remove from him to the day of his death: hence it is said, "his eye was
not dim, nor his natural force abated", Deuteronomy 34:7
and Aben Ezra seems to approve of it; and it is the opinion of many great and
learned men, that it continued as long as he lived.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Exodus 34:28
Literally Ten Words