Exodus 33

a valiant man, for so he was; or, he had waited on Moses from his youth: or, as Maimonides, this is the phrase of the Hebrew nation, who call all men young, till they begin * to decay; as Joseph is called, when he was thirty years old, Gen. xlii. 2. More Nevoch. par. ii. cap. 32.. from all other essences, till he knew the truth of it, as it is in itself." But he confesses, in another placo of that book, (cap.G4.) that by the glory of the Lord, is many times understood a created light or splendour, whereby God miraculously set forth his majesty, (xxiv. 20. and other places.) And I can sec no reason^why it should not so signify here, and-thc meaning be, that he desired to see that glorious presence (or face of God, as it is called) which he promised should go with them; not veiled ia a cloud, but in its full splendour and majesty. For hearing him speak* from tho Schechinah, he supposed, perhaps, that.God appeared therein, in some visible shape, which he desired to be acquainted withal. To confirm this, it is observable that God himself, in his answer to Moses, calls this glory his face, (ver. 20.) as he had done, vcr. 14, 15. And thus R. Jehudah, in the book Cosri, pars iv. sect. 3. (towards the latter end of it) seems to have understood it. (See upon vcr. 20.)

Exodus 33:1

JjlND the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, andgo tip hence, thou and thy people, &c. This is a renewal of the order he had already, given, (xxxii. 34.) which he further explains, by expressly, assuring him he would make good his promise to their forefathers, of which Moses had remembered him, (xxxii. 13.) But they were not by this ordered presently to remove, till Moses had been again in the mount, and the tabernacle was set up, and all the service of it prescribed. And I will send an angel before thee, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, &c] I will not wholly withdraw my protection from you (as he had for the present, xxxii. 25.) but send one of my ministers to discomfit your enemies, till you get possession of their land.

Exodus 33:3

For I will not go up in the midst of thee. For though I intended to have dwelt among you myself, by my special presence, (which was in the Schechinah, xxv. 8. xxix. 43. 45, 46.) you have justly forfeited that favour. The Chaldee gives the true sense of tins speech, I will not make my majesty (so the Schechinah or Divine Glory was called) to go up in the midst of thee. And accordingly it follows, (ver. 7 — 9.) that he did remove to a distance from them. Concerning that phrase, in the midst of thee, see xvii. 7. For thou art a stiff-necked people.] See xxxii. 9. Lest I consume thee in the way.] It is not fit for me to see myself affronted to my face by stiff-necked offenders, and not punish them with utter destruction. This is an argument that the angel, he saith he would send before them, was not God himself (as the eternal AOrOS is), for then he would have had the same reason to consume them for their disobedience..

Exodus 33:4

And when the people heard these evil tidings. This threatening of such a grievous punishment.; They mourned.] Fasted, perhaps, and wept; and hung down their heads with shame and sorrow.. And no man did put on him his ornaments.] But every one laid aside his usual attire, and appeared in the habit of penitents; which, in aftertimes, was sackcloth.

Exodus 33:5

For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiff-necked people: I tvill come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee. This verse gives a reason of their mourning, because Moses had by God’s order said to them, what God said to him, that they were such a perverse people, it was not safe for them that he should stay among them; and be provoked by. their transgressions suddenly to destroy them. Therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee^] These words shew that he had not peremptorily resolved to forsake them (as he threatened, ver. 3.) but might be moved by their repentance to continue with them. And therefore he orders them to put themselves in a mourning habit, in token of their hearty sorrow for their sin. Tliat I may know tvhat to do unto thee.] Deal with you according as I find you disposed. (See’Gen. xxii. 12.)

Exodus 33:6

And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments. Not only of those wherewith they had decked themselves, at their late festival, but of all other that they ordinarily wore; which they, who were not dressed, forbore to put on, (ver. 4.) By the Mount Horeb.’] Or rather (as the Hebrew word mehar imports) from the mount; that is, a great w£y off from the place where God appeared;.as unworthy to come into his presence.

Exodus 33:7

And Moses took the tabernacle. His own tent, as the LXX. interpret it, ri)v o-ktjv^v avrov: meaning, I suppose, not his own private tent, where he and his family lived; but a public tent, where he gave audience, and heard causes, and inquired of God; which Bonavcntura C. Bertramus calls castrorum prcetorium, in his book do Repub. Jud. cap. 4. For such a place, we cannot but think there was, before that tabernacle^ was erected, whose pattern he saw in the mount; where all great affairs were 2T2 Microsoft® [chap, xxxm, transacted, and where religious, offices, in all probability, were performed. And pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp.] At the distance of two thousand cubits, as R. Solomon interprets it. Which was done to humble them, when they saw the displeasure of God and of his servant against them, declared by this departure far from them: for they might justly fear he would remove.quite out of their sight. And called it the tabernacle of the congregation.’] Gave it the same name which was afterward appropriated to the tabernacle built for Divine service alone, because here God met with Moses, and communicated his mind to him; and hither they w r ere all to resort, who had any business with Moses; or would receive an answer to their inquiries from God. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was tvithout the camp.] This is commonly understood of those who came to desire resolution in any case of difficulty; which they could not have, as formerly, within the camp; but were forced to go and seek it without. Which, as it shewed God’s displeasure, so withal gave them some hope of mercy; because it plainly appeared, God was not quite alienated and estranged from them. Ver. S. Wlien Moses went into the tabernacle, all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent-door.] In reverence to him, as their leader, whom they had lately despised. Or, it may be thought also, a posture wherein they implored his intercession for them, that God would be graciously pleased to return to them: which is expressed by what follows. And looked after Moms.) Expecting what would be the end of this business; both God and his minister being removed from them. Until he was gone into the tabernacle.] As long as they could see him.

Exodus 33:9

And it came to pass, as Moses went into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended. In w f hich the Schochinah, or Divine Majesty, was, (xl. 35.) which was gone up’ before, because of their idolatry, whereby the camp was become unclean; but now came down again upon the removal of the tabernacle. Where, it is very probable, it used to be settled, as the token of the Divine presence among them: and afterward was translated to the tabernacle, made after God’s appointment, where this cloud stood just as it did here, at the door of it, (Numb. xii. 5.) And stood at the door of the tabernacle.] Openly to assert the authority of Moses, with whom God shewed himself present, though he had forsaken them. And the Lord talked with Moses.] Which shews the Divine Glory was within the tabernacle, where Moses now was: and so the people understood it, as appears by the next verse.,

Exodus 33:10

And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle-door. Which they knew was an evident token that God was there. And all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent-door.] Bowed themselves unto the Divine Majesty, and humbly deprecated his displeasure; acknowledging, we may reasonably think, his great goodness, in condescending to appear again to them, though at a distance from them.

Exodus 33:11

And the Lord spake unto Moses, face to face. In a familiar manner, which dJ not affright or astonish him, by a dreadful appearance of his majesty; which, in the sight of the children of Israel, looked like devouring fire, (xxiv. 17.) but appeared to Moses in a milder and more cheerful brightness. The like expression in Numb, xii. 8. seems to relate only to the discourse he had with Moses, which w r as clear and plain, and by a voice; not in visions and dreams, and obscure resemblances: and so it may be understood here, as Maimonides takes it, (More Nevoch. par. iii. cap. 45.) But Abarbinel thinks that these expressions signify, God treated with Moses in his own person, not by an ambassador; just as one friend converses with another. And this is a common notion among the Jews, that God did not speak to Moses by an angel, but by himself: which they take to be the meaning of this phrase, face to face. Which seems to me rather to import the clearness and evidence of that Divine light, wherein God revealed himself to Moses; w r hcther it was by himself, or an angel, it matters not. Yet the New Testament determines this question, when he tells us, the law itself was given by angels, in the hand of a mediator. And accordingly the old tradition was, that Moses saw things in a clear’and bright glass; but the rest of the prophets, in a glass that was dim and cloudy. As a man speaks to his friend.] This is added, to shew how differently God treated Moses from all other men. For he is said to have talked face to face with all tho Israelites, (Deut v. 4.) but it was out of the midst of the fire, which struck a terror into them: whereas he spake to Moses out of the midst of a glorious but comfortable light, which gave him high satisfaction. ^ And he turned again into the camp.] After some time spent in conversation with the Divine Majesty, he went to comfort the people, it is likely, with hopes of recovering his favour; of which they might have quite despaired, if he had stayed long from them. But his sei’vant Joshua, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.] It is hard to tell for what end Joshua should stay behind his master; and it seems not decent that Moses should return alone without his servant to attend him. They that say he stayed to guard the tabernacle, have no foundation for it; and they have not much, who say he stayed to give judgment in small causes, which needed not Moses’s resolution, (according to xviii. 2G.) For we never read that Joshua was a judge, but a constant attendant upon Moses’s person. And therefore the words may better be translated, as they plainly run in the Hebrew, he turned again to the camp, and his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man. At which there is^a stop in the Hebrew (over the word naar, young man) to distinguish these from the following words; which are, Departed not out of the tabernacle.] That is, the Lord departed not from thence, but his presence remained there; and would not come into the camp, as Moses did. And this interpretation is the more likely, because the last words in the Hebrew are, otit of the midst of the tabernacle: which cannot refer to Joshua, because he did not go thither; but only Moses, who conversed alone with the Divine Majesty, Why Joshua is called a young man, when he was near sixty years old, is not easy to resolve. Perhaps it signifies

Exodus 33:12

And Moses said unto the Lord. When, or where Moses spake what follows, we are not here informed. It is likely, that after he was satisfied the people were very penitent, he returned to the tabernacle; and there made this address unto the Divine Majesty, for a perfect reconciliation with his people. See.] A word imploring attention and regard to his petition. Thou sayest unto me, Bring tip this people.] Lead them to the land of promise, (xxxii. 34. xxxiii. 1;) And thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me.] Thou hast only said, thou wilt send an angel before me; but I hope to obtain greater favour from thee, which thou hast not yet declared to me. And I have no heart to proceed, if thou thyself w r ilt not guide us in the pillar of cloud, as thou hast done hitherto, and dwell among us, as thou hast promised, in thy sanctuary. This seems to be the sense (if this verse be compared with the fifteenth), and not barely that he did not know what angel he would send with him. Yet thou hast said, I knoiv thee by name.] The Chaldee takes it to be the same with what is said of Bezalcel, whom God called byname, (xxxi. 2.) that is, particularly designed to make the tabernacle, and all belonging to it. But to know is more than to call; signifying God’s special love and kindness to Moses above all men, as the LXX, interpret it. And thou hast also found grace in my sight.] God had often heard his prayers for this people, as he hoped he would do now. For that was the effect of his being an acceptable person unto him; which is the proper signification of this phrase.

Exodus 33:13

Now therefore I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight. If I still continue in thy favour. Shew me now thy way.] The interpretation of Maimonidcs (More Nevoch. par. i. cap. 54.) is too much strained, who thinks he here desires the knowledge of God’s attributes, as ver. 18. he desires the sight of his essence. The plain meaning of this prayer is, that God himself would conduct him, and shew him the way wherein he should lead his people unto their rest in the land of Canaan, (xxxii. 34.) That I may knoiv thee, that I may find grace in thy sight.] That I may be fully assured of thy gracious acceptance of me. And consider that this nation is thy people.] I do not beg this merely upon my own account, but for those who have been redeemed by thee out of the land of Egypt, and have engaged themselves to be thine by a solemn covenant, (xxiv.) and now return unto thee by repentance, (ver. 6.)

Exodus 33:14

And he said, My presence shall go with thee. In the Hebrew, my face, i. e. I myself, as the LXX. translate it: my majesty, as the Chaldee. He promises, that is, to continue with them, as he had done hitherto, and not merely send an angel to accompany them: but to lead and guide them himself, by the pillar of the cloud, and his glorious presence in the tabernacle. And I will give thee rest.] Some think these words are particularly spoken to Moses; and signify, that God would give him ease in this point, and quiet his spirit (which was r now very solicitous about his departure from them) by re-, turning to them. But as the foregoing words are a pro-, mise, that he would take the conduct of the people again;, so is this, that he would not leave them till he had brought them to their rest.

Exodus 33:15

And he said unto him, If thy presence go not tvith us. Some translate the words,/or Ae(i. c. Moses) had said unto him, i. e. to God, If thy presence, &c. So that these words and the following arc the reason of God’s answer to him, ver, 14. And if they be not thus taken, one would have expected Moses should rather have given God thanks for his gracious promise, than further pressed him to it. But the seventeenth verse doth not well agree with this; and therefore these words are to be. looked on only as part of what Moses said to God after his promise, that his presence should go. with him. Which he acknowledged to be the greater favour, because otherwise he had rather never stir from the place where they now were. Carry us not up hence.] Let us go no further, if thou thyself dost not lead and guide us in our way.

Exodus 33:16

For wherein shall it be known here, that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight?. How shall all the people round about us be convinced that we are not abandoned by thee in this wilderness?; Is it not in that thou goest with us?] Is not this the great demonstration of it, that thou leadest us in a pillar of cloud and fire, day and night? So shall zve be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.] This will distinguish us, while it continues with us, from all other people whatsoever; none of which have such a token of thy presence with them. The manna, indeed, continued all this time to descend for their sustenance, which was a miraculous food: but it might have been ascribed to other causes, if this glorious token of God’s presence had not still appeared among them. Ver." 17. And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken.] Distinguish you from all other people; not only by leading you in a pillar of cloud and fire, but dwelling among you, as I designed, xxv. 8. For thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.] He owns Moses still to be most acceptable and dear to him as he had been, (ver. 12.) and therefore, at his intercession, promises to be perfectly reconciled, and return to his people.

Exodus 33:18

And he said, I beseech thee. Having obtained so much favour of God, he presumes to ask something be* yond all this, but with all humility. Shew me thy glory.] In the Hebrew the word is liareni, make me to see thy glory. Where Maimonides takes the word see to signify, apprehend with the understanding, not with the bodily eye, (More Nevoch. par. i. cap. 4.) For by glory he there understands (cap. 54.) the Divine essence, which he makes Moses to be desirous to apprehend; which is not likely such a man as he should think possible. For thus he explains himself in his book de Fundamentis Legis, cap.l. n. 10. " Closes desired toknowthe truth of the Divine essence, as one man knows another, whose face he beholds, and his image is so engraven in his mind, that he exists there distinguished from all other men: so he begs that the Divine essence might be distinct in his mind

Exodus 33:19

And he said, I will make all my goodness.pass before thee. Which Maimonides thinks signifies his mak-‘ing Moses to understand the nature of all creatures, and how they are knit and united together, and after what manner they are governed, both in general and particular; because when God had made all his works, he saw that they were very good, (Gen. i. 31.) But that text is a very slender ground for such an interpretation. The LXX. seem to come nearer to the matter, who interpret this passage, ira~ pzktvaonat ttq6tzq6z gov t$ SoSy jiov, I will pass before thee with my glory. That is, he promises to give him a transient view of his glory, while it passed by, him, (ver. 22.) though it could not be seen in its full majesty. And then the word tobh (which we translate my goodness) must rather be rendered my beauty, it being the same with glory, only a softer word, to express such a degree of its splendour as would not hurt him, but be delightful to him. And thus the word tobhis used in the second chapter.of this book, ver. 2. and 1 Sam. ix. 2. Or, if this be not the meaning, all his goodness must signify his gracious intentions concerning the children of Israel, to whom, he assures him, he would fulfil all his promises, which was sufficient for him to know..And I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee.] The LXX. seem to have understood this right, when they translated it, I will call to thee by my name (saying), Tlie Lord is before thee. That is, lest, when I pass by thee, thou shouldcst not observe it, I will admonish thee, by a voice calling to thee, and telling thee, that now the Lord is presenting himself to thee. And so we find he did, xxxiv. 6.. And ivill be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.] This is the sub- Stance of the words, which he tells him he would proclaim, after notice given him of his coming to pass by him. And their meaning is, that he would dispense his favours, according to his own good pleasure, as he did now to Moses; unto whom he vouchsafed such a revelation of himself, as ho did not make to others. For thus he explains it, xxxiv. G, 7. where he tell$ him, he would be very gracious, patient, and long-suffering, uiito some; but punish severely the iniquity of others.

Exodus 33:20

And he said, Thou canst not see my face. But as for thy request, that I would make thee see, my glory in its full splendour, thou art not capable of it. I know none that hath explained this whole matter better than R. Jehudah, in Sepher Cosri, par. iv. sect. 3. “For the glory mentioned in Scripture, there is on* of such a. nature, that ue eyes of the prophets could sustain it; another all the Israelite saw (as the cloud and the consuming fire); but another so pure and bright to. such a high degree, that no prophet is able, to apprehend it: but if he venture to look upon it, his composition is dissolved, i. e. he dies.” Such was the glory here spoken of, a splendour so great and piercing, that none could behold it. JPor there shall no man see me, and live.] Accordingly we find, when the Schechinah, or Divine Glory, filled the tabernacle, Moses was not able to enter into it, (xl. 35.) that is, he could not, with safety to his life, look upon it. And so it was after the temple of Solomon was built and consecrated by solemn prayer to God, " The glory of the Lord filled the house, and the priests could not enter into the house, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house," (2 Chron. vii. 1, 2.) From this speech to Moses, it is likely that men, in future timesy imagined they should die immediately, when they saw only an angel appear in such a high glittering manner that it amazed them. Vcr. 21. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me.] It doth not plainly appear by the story, from whence God now spake to Moses. It is most likely from the mount, where he had long conversed with him. Or, if it was from the tabernacle, (where his glory appeared, ver. 9. and continued, ver. 11.) that was not far from the mount; where he tells him, he would make his glory pass before him. And thou shalt stand upon a rockJ] It is probable, this was the rock in Horeb, where the Lord had formerlyappeared to Moses, (xvii. 6.)

Exodus 33:22

And it shall come to pass, that while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock. Perhaps it was in one of the clefts which was made in the rock, when God brought water out of it, (Psal. lxxviii. 15.) into which he directed Moses. For that is meant by putting him in the cleft; shewing him the place where he should be, while the Divine Majesty passed by. And I will cover thee with my hand, Sec] That he might not be hurt by the splendour of that glory, as it passed by the cleft. This doth not certainly signify, that the glory of the Lord appeared in a human shape: for hands are ascribed to God (in accommodation to us) when nothing is meant but this invisible power: which now, perhaps, cast a cloud about him, that he might not be struck dead by the inconceivable brightness and force of those rays which came from the face of the Divine Majesty. Vcr. 23. And I will take away mine hand.] As soon as the face (as it is called, ver. 20.) of the Divine Majesty \ms gone by him (which it was impossible for him to behold, and live), he promises to remove that cloud which covered him: so that he should look upon the hinder parts of his glory, though not upon the face. • And thou shalt see my back parts.] In which the glory of the Divine Majesty shone in a lower degree of light; which was not so piercing, as to put out the eyes, and take away the life of the beholders: and yet there was such a resplendent brightness in it, that Moses’s face shone when he came down from the sight of. it, (xxxiv. 29.) For that lustre in his countenance is to be ascribed, in all probability, to that sight which he had of the Divine Majesty at