Exo 33:17-34:1

EXO 33

17 And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”

Rashi’s Commentary

This very thing—That my glory shall not rest henceforth upon the other nations of the world, I will do. Balaam’s (the heathen prophet) words did not come about through the resting of the glory upon him, but his prophecy would occur when he would “fall and his eyes would be unveiled” (Num 24:4); such as “Now a word was brought to me stealthily” (Job 4:12). They (the heathen prophets) used to hear God’s message through a medium.

In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. JOH 16:23

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. JAS 5:16

14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 1JN 5:14-15

18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”

Rashi’s Commentary

Moses said, “Please show me your glory”—Moses saw that it was a time of God’s good will, and that his petitions were being favourably received, he therefore made a further request—that God show him a reflection of his glory.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2CO 3:18

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2CO 4:6

waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, TIT 2:13

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. REV 21:23

19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Rashi’s Commentary

He said, “I will make . . . pass before you”—The time has arrived when you shall see of my glory so much as I will allow you to see according as I wish, and therefore I find it necessary to teach you a set form of prayer. Just now when you felt the need to pray for mercy on Israel’s behalf you besought me to remember the merits of the patriarchs and you thought that if the merits of the patriarchs are exhausted there is no more hope—I will therefore cause all the attribute of my goodness to pass before you whilst you are placed in the cave.

And will proclaim before you my name “The Lord,” to teach you the formula when praying for mercy even though the merits of the patriarchs should be exhausted. And according to the manner in which you see me doing this, cloaked and proclaiming the thirteen attributes, do you teach Israel to do. And because that they will make mention before me of the attributes: “Merciful,” “Gracious!” thereby proclaiming that my mercies do not fail (Rosh Hashanah 17b).

And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious—In times when I shall be disposed to be gracious.

And will show mercy—Those times that I shall desire to show mercy (Midrash Tanchuma 3:9:27). For the time being he only gave him (Moses) the promise: At times I will answer, at times I will not answer. But at the time this was carried out (when he proclaimed the attributes) he said to him (Exo 34:10) “Behold, I am making a covenant.” He promised him that they the Israelites would never return empty i.e., without an answer to their prayers (Rosh Hashanah 17b).

Berakhot 7a:29

Rabbi Yoḥanan’s opinion, that God granted Moses all three of his requests, disagrees with that of Rabbi Meir, as Rabbi Meir said: Two of Moses’ requests were granted to him, and one was not granted to him. God granted him that the divine presence would rest upon Israel and not leave, and that the divine presence would not rest upon the nations of the world, but God did not reveal to Moses the ways in which he conducts the world. As it is said: “And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious” (Exo 33:19); in his mercy, God bestows his grace upon every person, even though he is not worthy. Similarly, God says: “And I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy,” even though he is not worthy. According to Rabbi Meir, the way in which God conducts the world and bestows grace and mercy was not revealed even to Moses.

Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ROM 2:4

6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight EPH 1:6-8

20 “But,” he said, “you will not be able to see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”

Rashi’s Commentary

He said, “you will not be able . . .”—And even when I make all my goodness pass before you I shall not allow you to see my face.

Yevamot 49b:7

The Gemara expands on the events surrounding Isaiah’s death: Rava said: Manasseh judged him as a false witness for issuing statements contradicting the law and only then killed him. Manasseh said to Isaiah: Moses your master said in the law: “He said, ‘You will not be able to see my face, for man cannot see me and live’ ” (Exo 33:20), and yet you said: “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” (Isa 6:1). Moses your master said: “For which great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is, whenever we call upon him?” (Deu 4:7), and yet you said: “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near” (Isa 55:6), which implies that God is not always near. Moses your master said: “I will fulfill the number of your days” (Exo 23:26), which implies that each individual has a preordained allotted lifespan that he cannot outlive, and yet you said in a prophecy to King Hezekiah: “And I will add fifteen years to your life” (2Ki 20:6).

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. JOH 1:18

who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. 1TI 6:16

And to which of the angels has he ever said,

“Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? HEB 1:13

16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, REV 1:16-17

22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

Rashi’s Commentary

While my glory passes by—While I pass by before you.

In a cleft of the rock—Like the following verses: “Will you pick out these people’s eyes” (Num 16:14); “Will be picked out by the ravens of the valley” (Pro 30:17); and “I dug wells and drank waters” (Isa 37:25). All these have the same derivation a place dug out of the rock.

And I will cover you with my hand—Hence it is evident that permission has been given to the destructive agencies to wound. The Targum renders “and I will protect with my word.” This is merely a circumlocution in a manner more respectful to the Most High God, because He (God) does not need to cover a person with an actual hand.

and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 1CO 10:4

that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 2CO 5:19

23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.

Berakhot 7a:33

What did Moses see? It is said: “Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face you will not see” (Exo 33:23). Rav Ḥana bar Bizna said in the name of Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida, the expression: “And you shall see my back,” should be understood as follows: This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be he, who, as mentioned above, wears phylacteries, showed him the knot of the phylacteries of his head, which is worn on the back of the head.

EXO 34

Moses Makes New Tablets

1 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.”

Menachot 99b:1

The apparent dereliction of the study of the law is its foundation, e.g., if one breaks off his studies in order to participate in a funeral or a wedding procession. This is derived from a verse, as it is written: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which [asher] you broke’ ” (Exo 34:1). The word “asher” is an allusion to the fact that that the Holy One, blessed be he, said to Moses: Your strength is true [yishar koḥakha] in that you broke the tablets, as the breaking of the first tablets led to the foundation of the law through the giving of the second tablets.

Nedarim 38a:3

Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: Moses became wealthy only from the waste remaining from hewing the tablets of the covenant, as it is stated: “Cut for you two tablets of stone like the first” (Exo 34:1). “Cut for you” means that their waste shall be yours. As the tablets were crafted from valuable gems, their remnants were similarly valuable.

Yevamot 62a:4

And his perception agreed with the perception of the Omnipresent, as it is written: “The first tablets that you broke [asher shibbarta]” (Exo 34:1), and Reish Lakish said: The word asher is an allusion to the fact that the Holy One, Blessed be he, said to Moses: May your strength be true [yishar koḥakha] that you broke the tablets.