Exo 34:10-26

The Covenant Renewed

10 And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or among all the nations. 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.”

Rashi

I am making a covenant about this.

Before all your people I will do marvels—An expression of the same meaning as “and we shall be distinguished” (Exo 33:16), meaning that you shall be different from all the pagan nations, that my glory will not rest upon them.

Rosh Hashanah 17b:7

Rav Yehuda said: A covenant was made with the thirteen attributes that they will not return empty-handed, meaning that if one mentions them, he will certainly be answered, as it is stated in this regard: “Behold, I am making a covenant” (Exo 34:10).

14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),

Chullin 62b:9

Rav Pappa says: The bird known as the reclining and eating mardu is permitted, while the bowing and eating mardu is forbidden. And your mnemonic to remember this is the verse: “You shall worship no other god” (Exo 34:14). Shmuel says: The bird called the wine drinker is forbidden. And your mnemonic to remember this is the halakha: Those who drank wine are unfit for service in the temple. And Shmuel says: The bird called the wine pourer is forbidden.

Gittin 57b:16

They then brought in another son, and said to him: Worship the idol. He said to them: I cannot do so, as it is written in the law: “You shall worship no other god” (Exo 34:14). And so they took him out and killed him. They then brought in yet another son, and said to him: Worship the idol. He said to them: I cannot do so, as it is written in the law: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deu 6:4). And so they took him out and killed him.

Horayot 4a:20

The Gemara cites proof against the statement of Rav Yehuda, citing Shmuel. We learned in the mishna: The judges are liable if they said: There is a prohibition against engaging in idol worship written in the law, but one who bows to the idol but did not sacrifice an offering is exempt. The Gemara asks: And why should they be liable in that case? With regard to one who bows to an idol, isn’t it written in the law, as it is written: “You shall not bow to another god” (Exo 34:14)?

Rashi

Whose name is Jealous—Who is zealous to exact punishment and is not indulgent. This is the meaning of every expression of jealousy wherever it is used in connection with God. He maintains (insists upon) his superiority over other gods, and punishes his enemies (those who worship idols).

Sanhedrin 60b:12

The baraita asks: We have heard the punishment for bowing down to an idol, but from where is the prohibition against doing so derived? The baraita answers that the verse states: “For you shall bow to no other god” (Exo 34:14).

Sanhedrin 63a:2

The Gemara asks: And does Abaye actually say this? But doesn’t Abaye say: Why are there three mentions in the law of the prohibition against bowing to an object of idol worship? The prohibition against bowing to an idol appears three times: “You shall not bow to them or worship them” (Exo 20:5), “You shall not bow to their gods nor serve them” (Exo 23:24), and “For you shall bow to no other god” (Exo 34:14).

Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God

and him only shall you serve.’ ” MAT 4:10

Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 1CO 10:22

16 and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

Avodah Zarah 36b:9

The Gemara rejects this: The prohibition concerning a Jew who engaged in intercourse with a Gentile woman is a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai, not a rabbinic ordinance. As the Master said: With regard to one who engages in intercourse with an Aramean woman, zealots may attack him, as Phinehas did to Zimri in the wilderness (see Num 25:6–8).

18 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.

Rashi

The month of Abib—The month of early ripening, when the grain is in its first stage of ripening.

It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, MAR 14:1

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. LUK 22:1

and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. ACT 12:3

22 You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the first of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year.

Menachot 84b:4

The baraita continues: And from where is it derived that the two loaves precede the bringing of the firstfruits as well? The verse states: “You shall observe a Feast of Weeks, the first of the wheat harvest” (Exo 34:22). The order of the verse teaches that the offering of the feast, which is the two loaves offering, precedes the bringing of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. I have derived only that the two loaves precede the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. From where do I derive that they also precede the bringing of the firstfruits of the barley harvest? The verse states with regard to the Feast of Weeks: “You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you will sow in the field” (Exo 23:16). The order of the verse teaches that the offering of the feast, which is the two loaves offering, precedes all forms of firstfruits that are sown in the field, which includes barley.

Menachot 84b:6

The baraita continues: From this verse, I have derived only that the two loaves precede the bringing of produce that grew in a field. From where do I derive to include even produce that grew on a roof, or that grew in a ruin, or that grew in a flowerpot, or that grew on a ship? The verse states with regard to the priestly gifts: “The first fruit of all that grows in their land, which they shall bring to the Lord, shall be yours” (Num 18:13). The term “first fruits” in this verse is referring to all types of first fruits. This teaches that when the two loaves are referred to as the first fruits (see Exo 34:22), the intention is that they should be brought first before all other types of produce.

Rashi

The first—It is so called because it is the first meal offering which is brought in the temple of the new wheat crop; for the meal offering of the omer which had already been brought on Passover was of barley (Menachot 84a).

The first of the wheat harvest—This is the feast on which you offer the two loaves of wheat (Lev 23:17).

And the Feast of Ingathering—Which falls at the time you gather your produce from the field into the barns. This gathering is a term denoting bringing in as (Deu 22:2) “You shall take it home to your house” (cf. Rashi on Exo 23:16 and on Gen 49:29).

תְּקוּפַת is a term denoting going round.

At the end of the year—Which is at the return of the year, at the beginning of the coming year.

Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. JOH 7:2

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ACT 2:1

24 For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.

Pesachim 8b:1

This person is a full-fledged righteous person as far as that commandment is concerned? These ulterior motives, e.g., seeking a reward, do not detract from the value of the commandment. The Gemara answers: There is still concern lest he look for the needle after he searched for leaven and completed the search. There is danger that since he already completed the commandment, its merit will not protect him when he is searching for the needle.

Pesachim 8b:7

The Gemara answers: It is in accordance with the opinion of this tanna, as it was taught in a baraita that Isi ben Yehuda says: With regard to that which the law said: “No one shall covet your land, when you go up to appear before God your Lord three times in the year” (Exo 34:24), this teaches that your cow shall graze in the meadow and no beast will harm it, and your rooster shall peck in the garbage dump and no marten shall harm it. In other words, your property will be protected while everyone ascends to Jerusalem for the feast, despite the fact that the farm will not be defended.

26 The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Chullin 115b:1

Is that derivation that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi taught ugly, that you derive a new one? The verse states with regard to an animal’s blood: “You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the earth like water” (Deu 12:24), and the next verse adds: “You shall not eat it, that all may go well with you and with your children after you.” Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi teaches that the redundant second verse is not referring to the prohibition of blood. Rather, the verse is speaking of the prohibition of meat cooked in milk, teaching that it is prohibited for consumption.

Rashi

The best of the firstfruits of your ground—But only from the seven kinds of produce which are mentioned as an excellency of your land (Deu 8:8) “A land of wheat and barley, of vines, fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey” (Mishnah Bikkurim 1:3). That is the honey of dates.

You shall not cook a young goat—This is a prohibition to mix meat with milk. This is written three times in the law: once to prohibit the eating of such mixture, once to prohibit us from deriving any other benefit from it and once to prohibit the cooking of it (Chullin 115b; cf. Rashi on Exo 23:19).

A young goat—Heb. גְּדִי. Any tender young animal is meant, even a calf or a lamb. From the fact that the writer felt it necessary to state specifically in several passages “a young goat” you may learn that the term גְּדִי without further definition implies any suckling (Chullin 113a; cf. Rashi on Exo 23:19).

In its mother’s milk—A fowl is therefore really excluded from this law since it has no milk; for the prohibition regarding it is not a Biblical law but only an enactment of the scribes (Chullin 113a).

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. MAT 6:33

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 1CO 15:20

Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. JAS 1:18