Exo_30:1-38; Exo_31:1-18; Exo_32:1-35; Exo_33:1-23; Exo_34:1-35
SECTIONXXI.
KITHISSA. AND the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying, When thoutakest the account of the sons of Israel according to their number, they shallgive every man a ransom for his soul before the Lord, when thou numberest them,that there may not be death among them when thou numberest them. This theyshall give: every one who cometh over to the adnumberment, a half shekel, ofthe shekel of the sanctuary, of twenty mayin the shekel, half a shekel shall beset apart before the Lord. Every one who cometh over to the adnumberment, froma son of twenty years and above, shall give the separation before the Lord. Hewho is rich shall not increase (it), and he who is poor shall not diminish fromthe half shekel in presenting the separation before the Lord to propitiate foryour souls. And thou shalt take the silver of the propitiation from the sons ofIsrael, and appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of ordinance and itshall be to the sons of Israel for a memorial before the Lord to propitiate foryour souls. And the Lord spakewith Mosheh, saying, Thou shalt make a LAVER of brass, and its foundation ofbrass for purifying; and set it between the tabernacle of ordinance and thealtar, and put water therein. And Aharon and his sons shall purify at it theirhands and their feet. In their entering into the tabernacle of ordinance theyshall cleanse themselves with water, that they die not; or when they approachthe altar to minister, to offer an oblation before the Lord; and (thus) theyshall purify their hands and their feet, that they may not die. And it shall beto them an everlasting statute, to him and to his sons unto their generations. And the Lord spakewith Mosheh, saying, Take thou also to thee choice (first or principal)aromatics: pure myrrh, five hundred (shekels’ weight); and sweet cinnamon, onehalf (as much), two hundred and fifty (shekelsÕ) weight; of sweet calamus, twohundred and fifty (shekels’) weight; and cassia, five hundred (shekelsÕ)weight, of the shekels of the sanctuary; and olive oil, a hina full; and makeit a holy anointing oil, most fragrant, the work of the perfumer; it shall bethe holy oil for anointing. And thou shalt anoint therewith the tabernacle ofordinance and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its vessels, andthe candelabrum and its vessels, and the altar of sweet incense, and the altarof burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its foundation, andconsecrate them. They shall be most holy; whoever approacheth them shall besanctified. And Aharon and his sons thou shalt anoint, and consecrate them tominister before Me. And thou shalt speak to the sons of Israel, saying, A holyanointing oil shall thus be unto Me for your generations. Upon the flesh of manit shall not be poured, nor the like to it be made; sacred is it, and sacredshall it be to you. The man who compoundeth the like to it, or who putteth itupon an alien, shall be destroyed from his people. And the Lord said toMosheh, Take thee spices, stachte[1] <l > and onycha, and galbanum spices, andpure frankincense, weight for weight shall they be; and thou shalt make it asweet incense, fragrant, the work of the, perfumer, mixed, pure, forconsecration. And thou shalt beat some of it and make it fine, and put thereofbefore the testimony in the tabernacle of ordinance, where I will appoint MyWord to be with thee; to you it shall be most holy. And of the sweet incensewhich thou shalt make you must not make the like for yourselves; it shall besacred to thee before the Lord. The man who maketh the like of it, to smellthereto, shall be destroyed from his people.
XXXI. And the Lordspake with Mosheh, saying, Behold, I have named by name Bezalel bar Uri barHur, of the tribe of Jehudah, and have fulfilled him with the spirit ofprophecy from before the Lord, with wisdom and with intelligence, and withknowledge, and in all work (to excel), to Instruct artificers to work in gold,and in silver, and in brass, and in artisanship of precious stone, to fill in,and in carving of wood, to accomplish all the work. And I, behold, have givenwith him Ahaliab bar Achisamak, of the tribe of Dan; and in the heart of allthe wise of heart have I ingiven wisdom, that they may make all that I havecommanded thee: The tabernacle of ordinance, and the ark of the testimony, andthe propitiatory that is upon it, and all the vessels of the tabernacle; andthe table and its vessels, and the pure candelabrum and all its vessels, andthe altar of sweet incense, and the altar of burnt offering and all itsvessels, and the laver and its foundation. And the vestments of ministration,and the holy vestments of Aharon the priest, and the vestments of his sons forministry; and the oil of anointing and the sweet incense for the sanctuary,according to all that I have commanded thee, they shall make. And the Lord spakewith Mosheh, saying, Speak thou also with the sons of Israel, saying, The daysof My Sabbaths ye shall indeed keep; for it is a sign between My Word and you,unto your generations, that ye may know that I am the Lord who sanctifieth you.And you shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy unto you; whosoever profanethit, dying, he shall die; for whosoever doeth work therein, that man shall bedestroyed from among his people. Six days shalt thou do work, and the seventhday is Sabbath, the Holy Sabbath before the Lord: whosoever doeth work on theday of the Sabbath, dying, he shall die. And the sons of Israel shall keep theSabbath to fulfil (lit., perform) the Sabbath unto their generations, a statutefor ever. Between My Word and the sons of Israel it is a sign for ever for insix days the Lord made the heavens and the earth; and in the seventh day restedand was refreshed.[2] <l > And He gave to Mosheh, when He hadfinished to speak with him on Mount Sinai, two tablets of the testimony,tablets of stone inscribed with the finger of the Lord.
XXXII.But the people saw that Mosheh delayed to come down from the Mount; and thepeople gathered together unto Aharon, and said to him, Arise, make us gods (dachalan,pl., objects to bevenerated) that may proceed before us;[3] <l > for this Mosheh, the man who broughtus up from the land of Mizraim, we know not what hath been to him. And Aharonsaid to them, Take off the golden ear-rings which are in the ears of yourwives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me. And all the peopletook off the golden rings which were in their ears and brought them untoAharon. And he took them from their hands, and formed it with a graver, andmade it a molten calf. And they said, These are thy gods, Israel, which broughtthee up from the land of Mizraim. And Aharon saw,[4] <l > andbuilded an altar before it; and
Aharon proclaimed and said, A feastshall be held before the Lord to-morrow. And they arose next day, andsacrificed burnt offerings and offered oblations; and the people sat around toeat and drink, and rose up to disport. And the Lord spakewith Mosheh, Go, descend, for thy people whom thou broughtest up from the landof Mizraim have corrupted themselves; they have quickly warped from the waywhich I had taught them; they have made a molten calf, and have worshipped it,and sacrificed unto it and have said, These are thy gods, Israel, which havebrought thee up from the land of Mizraim. And the Lord said to Mosheh, It isseen before Me that this people are hard-necked. And now refrain from thyprayer before Me, and My anger shall prevail against them, and I will destroythem, and will make thee to a great people. But Mosheh prayed before the Lordhis God, and said, Why, Lord, is Thy anger strong against Thy people, whom Thoudidst bring up from the land of Mizraim with great power and with might hand?Where fore should the Mizraee speak to say, With evil (purpose) He led them outto kill them among the mountains, and to consume them from the face of theearth? Turn from the strength of Thine anger, and revert from the evil whichThou hast threatened to do unto Thy people. Remember Abraham, Izhak, andIsrael, Thy servants to whom Thou hast sworn by Thy Word, and to whom Thou hastsaid, I will multiply your sons as the stars of the heavens, and all this landof which I have spoken I will give unto your sons, and they shall own it forever. And the Lord did turnfrom the evil which He had threatened to do unto the people. And Moshehreturned and went down from the Mount, and the two tablets of testimony were inhis hand: the tablets were inscribed on their two sides, here and there werethey inscribed. And the tablets were the work of the Lord, and the writing wasthe writing of the Lord set forth distinctly upon the tablets. And Jehoshua heard thevoice of the people as they made outcry, and he said to Mosheh, The voice ofwar is in the camp. But he said, It is not the voice of men who are victorious,nor is it the voice of the weak who are beaten, but it is the voice of revelersthat I hear. And it was that as he drew nigh the camp, and saw the calf andthe dancing, that the anger of Mosheh grew strong, and he cast from his handsthe tablets, and brake them at the declivity of the mountain. And he took thecalf which they had made, and burned it in fire, and ground it until it waspowder, and spread it on the face of the water, and made the sons of Israeldrink it. And Mosheh said to Aharon, What did this people to thee, that thouhast brought upon them so great a sin? And Aharon said, Let not my lordÕs angerbe violent: thou knowest the people, that it is prone to evil. And they said tome, Make us gods that shall go before us: for this Mosheh, the man who broughtus up form the land of Mizraim, we know not what hath been done to him. And Isaid to them, Whoever hath gold let him deliver, and give it to me; and I castit into the fire, and this calf came forth. And Mosheh saw that the people wereundone (or, made empty); for Aharon had undone them, to defile them with anevil name in their generations; and Mosheh stood at the gate of the camp, andsaid, Let those who fear the Lord come to me. And all the sons of Levi gatheredtogether to him. And he said to them., Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel,Let every man put his sword upon his thigh, pass through, and return, from gateto gate in the camp, and slay, a man his brother, and a man his companion, anda man his neighbour. And the sons of Levi did according to the word fo Mosheh,and there fell of the people in that day as three thousand men. And Moshehsaid, Present your hands[5] <l > this day an offering before the Lord,every man with (or, on account of) his son and his brother, that you may bringblessings upon you this day. And it was on the dayfollowing that Mosheh said to the people, You have sinned a great sin; but nowI will go up before the Lord, if haply I may propitiate for your sin. AndMosheh returned before the Lord, and said in his prayer, This people havesinned a great sin, for they have made to them gods of gold. But now, if Thouwilt forgive their sin! But if not, blot me now out of the Book which Thou hastwritten. And the Lord said to Mosheh, Him who hath sinned before Me, will Iblot from My book. But now, go, lead the people to the place that I have toldthee of: behold, My Angel shall proceed before thee; and in the day that Ivisit, I will visit upon them their sin. And the Lord smote the people becausethey had worshipped (or served) the calf which Aharon had made.
XXXIII. And the Lordsaid to Mosheh, Go, descend from hence, thou and the people thou hast broughtup from the land of Mizraim, unto the land which I have covenanted untoAbraham, to Izhak, and to Jakob, saying, To thy sons will I give it. Arid Iwill send My Angel before thee, and will drive oat the Kenaanaee, the Amoraee,and Hittaee, and the Pherizaee, the Hivaee, and the Jebusaee; to the landproducing milk and honey: for My Shekinah shall not go up among you, becausethou art a hard-necked people, lest I destroy thee in the way. And thepeople heard these words of evil, and lamented, and no man put on his usualornaments. And the Lord said to Mosheh, Say to the children of Israel, Ye are ahard-necked people; if one hour My Shekinah go up among thee, I should destroythee. And now take off thy garnishing from thee, and it will appear before mewhat I shall do with thee. Arid the children of Israel removed their usualornaments (on their return) from the mount of Horeb. Arid Mosheh took atabernacle, and spread it for himself without the camp, at a distance from thecamp, and called it the Tabernacle of the House of Instruction: and it was thatevery one who sought instruction from before the Lord, went forth to thetabernacle of the house of instruction without the camp. And it came to passthat when Mosheh went forth to the tabernacle, all the people rose up, andstood, every man at the door of his tent, and looked after Mosheh until he hadentered into the tabernacle. And it was when Mosheh had entered the tabernacle,the column of the Cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and(He) spake with Mosheh. And all the people saw the column of the Cloud standingat the door of the tabernacle, and all the people arose and worshipped, everyman at the door of his tent. And the Lord spake with Mosheh word with word, asa man speaketh with his companion. And he returned to the camp; but hisminister, Jehoshua bar Nun, a young man, did not remove from the tabernacle. And Mosheh said beforethe Lord, See, Thou hast said to me, Take this people up; but Thou hast not letme know whom Thou wilt send with me; yet Thou hast said, I have ordained theeby name, and thou hast found mercy before Me. And if now I have found mercybefore Thee, show me, I pray, Thy good way,[6] <l > that I may know Thyloving-kindness, and may find mercy before Thee, and make it manifestbefore Thee that this people is Thy people. And He said, My Shekinah shall go,and I will give thee rest. And he said before Him, If Thy Shekinah goeth not amongus, let us not ascend from hence. And in what shall it be known that I and Thypeople have found mercy before Thee, if Thy Shekinah go not up with us, to makefor us the distinction, and to distinguish me and Thy people from every peoplethat is upon the face of the earth? And the Lord said to Mosheh, This thingthat thou hast spoken will I do, because thou hast found mercy before Me, and Ihave ordained thee by mane. And he said, Show me, I pray, Thy Glory! And Hesaid, I will make all My Goodness pass before thy face,[7] <l > and Iwill proclaim the Name of the Lord before thee, and I will be gracious to whomI will be gracious, and have mercy on whom I will have mercy. And He said, Thoucanst not see the Face of My Shekinah; for no man can see Me and abide alive.And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place prepared before Me, and thou shaltstand upon the rock, and it shall be, when My Glory passeth, I will put thee ina cavern of the rock, and My Word shall overshadow thee until I have passed;and I will take away the word (dibberath) of My Glory, and thou shalt see that which is afterMe,[8] <l >bu My Aspect[9] <l > shall not be seen.
XXXIV. And the Lordsaid to Mosheh, Hew thee two tablets of stone as the first ones, and I willwrite upon the tablets the words that were upon the former tablets which thouhast broken. And be ready in the morning, and go up at morn to Mount Sinai, andstand there before Me on the summit of the mountain. Let no man ascend withthee; let no man be seen upon all the mountain, nor sheep nor oxen be grazingupon the mountain. And hew two tablets of stone like the former ones. And Mosheh arose inthe morning, and ascended Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and tookin his hand two tablets of stone. And the Lord was revealed in the Cloud, andHe stood with him there, and He proclaimed the Name of the Lord.[10] <l >And the Lord made His Shekinah pass before his face; and he proclaimed, TheLord, the Lord God, Merciful and Gracious, slow to anger, and making goodnessand truth to abound; Keeping goodness for thousands of generations; Forgivinginiquity and rebellion and guilt; Pardoning them who convert unto His law, butacquitting not them who convert not; Visiting the guilt of fathers upon thechildren and upon the childrenÕs children of the rebellious, upon the third andupon the fourth generation. And Mosheh made haste, and bowed upon the groundand worshipped. And he said, If now Ihave found mercy before Thee, O Lord, let, I pray, the Shekinah of the Lord goamong us; for it is a hard-necked people; but forgive Thou our guilty and oursin, and take possession of us. And He said, Behold, I make a covenant beforeall thy people that I will do wonders which were never created upon all theearth, nor among any of the people; and all peoples among whom thou art shallsee the work of the Lord; for terrible shall that be which I will do with thee.Observe thou that which I command thee this day. Behold, I will drive out frombefore thee the Amoraee, and Kenaanaee, and Hittaee, and Pherizaee, and Hivaee,and Jebusaee. Beware lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the landupon which thou shalt enter, lest it become a stumbling-block in the midst ofthee: but their altars thou shalt destroy, and their statues break, and theirgroves cut down;[11] <l > for thou shalt not worship the idolsof the peoples; for the Lord, Zealous is His Name, a zealous God is He. Lestthou strike a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and go erring aftertheir idols, and to their idols offer sacrifices, and they invite thee, andthou eat of their sacrifices, and thou take of their daughters for thy sons,and they make thy daughters go erring after their idols, and thy sons to goerring after their idols. Molten gods thou shalt not make to thee. The feast of the unleavenedthou shalt keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened (bread) as I havecommanded thee, in the time of the month of Abiva; for in the month of Abivathou didst come out of Mizraim. All that openeth the womb is Mine; all males ofcattle thou shalt sanctify, the first-born of oxen and of sheep. But thefirstling of an ass thou mayest redeem with a lamb; but if thou redeem him not,thou shalt cut him off. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And let none appearbefore Me empty. Six days thou shalt labour, and on the seventh day rest; insowing (time) and in reaping thou shalt rest. And the feast of Weeks thou shaltmake to thee, of the firsts of the wheat harvest, and the feast of ingatheringin the cycle of the year. Three times in the year shall all your males appearbefore the Master of the World, the Lord God of Israel. For I will drive outthe nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders, and no man shall covet thyland when thou goest up to appear before the Lord thy God three times in theyear. Thou shalt not sacrifice the blood of My Pascha with leaven, nor shallthe fat of the sacrifices of the Paschal feast be left without the altar tillthe morning. The chief of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring to thesanctuary of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not eat flesh with milk. And the Lordsaid to Mosheh, Write for thee these words; for upon the expression of thesewords I make covenant with thee and with Israel. And he was therebefore the Lord forty days and forty nights; bread he ate not, nor water did hedrink; and he wrote upon the tablets the words of the covenant., the Ten Words.And it was when Mosheh descended from the mountain of Sinai with the twotablets of the testimony in the hand of Mosheh, in his descending from themount, that Mosheh knew not how great was the splendour of the glory of hiscountenance through His speaking with him. And Aharon and all the sons ofIsrael saw Mosheh, and, behold, great was the splendour of the glory of hiscountenance, and they were afraid to approach him. But Mosheh called to them,and Aharon and all the chiefs of the congregation returned to him, and Moshehconversed with them. And afterward all the sons of Israel drew near, and hetaught them all that the Lord had said to him on Mount Sinai. And when Moshehhad completed to speak with them, he put a veil upon his face. But when Moshehwent in before the Lord to speak with Him, he removed the veil until he cameout. And he went forth and spake with the sons of Israel of that which wascommanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Mosheh, that thesplendour of the glory of Mosheh’s face was great; and Mosheh put the veilagain upon his face until he went in to speak with Him.
[1] <l > Sam. Vers., Òbalsam.Ó
[2] <l > Sam. Vers., Òbreathed.Ó
[3] <l > Sam. Vers., Òas it may please us.Ó
[4] <l > Sam. Vers., Òfeared.Ó
[5] <l > Some copies omit Òyour hands,Ó andread, ÒPresent your offerings.Ó
[6] <l > Or, Òthe way of Thy Goodness.Ó
[7] <l > Sam. Vers., ÒMy loving-kindness shallgo before, and will lead thee.Ó
[8] <l >De-bathrai.
[9] <l >De-kadamai.
[10] <l > Or, Òproclaimed in the Name of theLord,Ó
[11] <l > Sam. Vers., Òroot up.Ó