Chapter Thirty-Four

1–4. Renewal of the tablets. 5–7. Explanation to Moses of the nature of the Lord. 8–27. The covenant of God with the people. 28–35. Moses’ stay on the mountain and the shining of his face upon his descent.

Exodus 34:1. And the Lord said to Moses: “Hew out 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; Exodus 34:2. “and be ready by morning, and come up to Mount Sinai in the morning, and present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain; Exodus 34:3. “but no one shall come up with you, nor shall any man be seen throughout all the mountain; nor shall the flocks and herds pasture near that mountain. Exodus 34:4. So Moses hewed out two tablets of stone like the first ones; and he rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him; and he took the two tablets of stone in his hands. As is evident from the preceding chapter, Israel, rejected by God, is given the promise that it will continue to be a chosen people. The fulfillment of such a promise is the restoration of the broken covenant. Since in its essence this second covenant is similar to the first, it is concluded under the same circumstances. Tablets are prepared, but not by the Lord (Exod 32:16), but by Moses as a reminder of the breach of the covenant; it is forbidden to anyone but Moses to ascend Sinai (cf. Exod 19:12); the mediator of the covenant is Moses, and the Lord descends to him in a cloud (Exod 19:9).

Exodus 34:5. And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. Exodus 34:6. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, God of mercy and compassion, slow to anger and abounding in faithfulness and truth, Exodus 34:7. “keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and fourth generation. A necessary condition at the conclusion of a covenant was the consent of the people (Exod 19:8 and so on); but this is already insufficient for the restoration of the covenant. The latter may be desirable for the one who broke the covenant, that is, Israel, and not at all desirable for the one who remained faithful to it, that is, God. Therefore, while at the conclusion of the covenant the Lord offered Israel the opportunity to express its desire to enter into a union with Him, now He indicates the possibility on His part to restore the broken covenant. It is rooted in the properties He revealed to Moses (Exod 33:19, Num 14:17-18) of divine mercy and patience, which result in all-forgiveness, yet do not exclude justice. He who revealed Himself earlier at the burning bush as the one existing, unchanging, Most High, now reveals Himself as merciful and compassionate. And insofar as these latter qualities assure the restoration of the broken covenant, thereby, through them, the Lord shows Himself as not having changed His original promise to be the God of the Hebrew people 22.

Exodus 34:8. Moses immediately fell to the ground and bowed down Exodus 34:9. “and said: “If I have found favor in Your eyes, O Lord, please let the Lord go in our midst; for although this people is stiff-necked, forgive our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance. As he bows before the Lord’s mercy, Moses asks that in the future He manifest His presence among Israel as Lord (Adonai) and by His omnipotence restrain its stiff-neckedness, and now forgive its sin, make it His portion. On mercy is based the acceptance into the covenant, on justice, not leaving sin unpunished, the future guidance of the people 23.

Exodus 34:10. And the Lord said: “Behold, I make a covenant: before all your people I will perform wonders such as have not been done in all the earth or in any nation; and all the people among whom you live shall see the work of the Lord; for it is a fearful thing that I will do with you; The promise to perform great wonders before Israel, such as have never been done on earth, is equivalent to the promise to be its God (Deut 4:34, 2 Sam 7:23).

Exodus 34:11. “Observe what I command you this day: behold, I am driving out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Gibeonites, and the Jebusites; Exodus 34:12. “Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in the midst of you. Exodus 34:13. “You shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images, and burn the images of their gods with fire; Exodus 34:14. “for you shall not bow down to any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Exodus 34:15. “Lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot after their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you and you eat of his sacrifice; Exodus 34:16. “and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters play the harlot after their gods and cause your sons to play the harlot after their gods. Exodus 34:17. “You shall not make for yourself any molded gods. When the covenant was restored, as when it was originally concluded, the Israeli people were given the fundamental laws determining their relationship to God. And since the restored covenant is the same as the one concluded the first time, the same laws are given. The first commandment is repeated (Exod 34:12-17, cf. Exod 20:2-3) with intensified exhortation and command to avoid everything that leads to its violation. This includes alliances, and especially marriage unions with the inhabitants of the land of Canaan (Josh 23:7) and the preservation of pagan monuments, in particular “sacred groves,” Hebrew “asherah” (Exod 34:13)—that is, artificially made wooden statues of the goddess Astarte (Deut 12:2 et al., 1 Sam 14:23, 2 Sam 17:10, Jer 17:2, etc.).

Exodus 34:18. “You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Aviv; for in the month of Aviv you came out of Egypt. See the explanation of verses 15 and onward of chapter 12; verses 15 of chapter 23.

Exodus 34:19. “All the firstborn of your livestock are Mine, whether ox or sheep, the male ones. Exodus 34:20. “But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. And no one shall appear before Me empty-handed. See the explanation of chapter 13, verses 2, 13.

Exodus 34:21. “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest time you shall rest. See the explanation of chapter 20, verses 8–11. New in the repetition of the fourth commandment is the exhortation to observe the Sabbath rest even during urgent field work.

Exodus 34:22. “And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end. Exodus 34:23. “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God. Exodus 34:24. “For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; nor will any man covet your land when you go up three times a year before the Lord your God. See the explanation of verses 14–17 of chapter 23.

Exodus 34:25. “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning. Exodus 34:26. “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. See the explanation of verses 18–19 of chapter 23.

Exodus 34:27. “And the Lord said to Moses: “Write these words for yourself, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. In requiring the people to have faith in Jehovah and live it out in practice (feasts, consecration of the firstborn), the laws listed here reminded them of the basic principles and requirements of theocracy and were therefore sufficient for the restoration of the covenant.

Exodus 34:28. “So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. Exodus 34:29. “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand as he descended from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had spoken with God. The radiance emanating from Moses’ face was the result of his proximity to God: it brightened and purified the flesh of the prophet.

Exodus 34:30. “And 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. Exodus 34:31. “But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him; and Moses spoke to them. Exodus 34:32. “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. During the Sinai legislation, the people could not bear the proximity of the Most High and therefore asked Moses to speak to them on behalf of God (Exod 20:19). They now see Him in their midst in the radiance of the prophet’s face, dare not approach him, as they did not dare approach the mountain (Exod 20:18).

Exodus 34:33. “And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. Exodus 34:34. “But whenever Moses went before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he came out and spoke to the children of Israel what he had been commanded. Exodus 34:35. “And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of his face shone; and Moses would put the veil back on his face until he went in to speak with Him. This disposition did not leave the people at any later time: “and the children of Israel saw that the skin of Moses’ face shone” (cf. Exod 34:30), and therefore when announcing the revelation, Moses wore a veil. * * * Notes In the Slavic Bible (from the Greek text of the Septuagint), these words sound somewhat different: “And the Lord descended in a cloud, and stood there with Moses, and called upon the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before His face...” (Exod 34:5-6) etc. As is evident from the context, the word “Jehovah” in the Slavic and Greek variants is absent and is translated by its meaning—the Lord (more precisely—the One Who Is). And calling upon the name of the Lord can be fully interpreted as exultant: O Most High! Translator’s note. The use in the Hebrew text of the word “Adonai” is not a proper name, but rather a designation of God as the All-Merciful and Righteous Judge (from the word “dan”—judge, as indicated before). In such a context, the word “Adonai” is used in all Sacred Hebrew texts—where it is said of the Most High as executing righteous and inevitable judgment, and accordingly with this meaning it is correctly used in Slavic and Greek translations. Translator’s note.