transgressions (of the Torah), and our missing the mark; and make us Your inheritance. v.9: This verse is poetic Hebrew, and it could be rendered: we

Transcription

1 Exodus 34 v.1: Then Adonai said to Moshe: Chisel out for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones; then I will write the words on the tablets that were on the first tablets that you smashed. v. 2: So it will be in the morning that you will come up to Mt. Sinai, and you will stand before Me there, on the top of the mountain. v. 3: But no one is to go up with you; and no one else is to be seen anywhere on the mountain. Also, the sheep and cattle cannot be tended opposite this mountain. v.4: Accordingly, he chiseled two stone tablets like the first ones. Then Moshe rose up early in the morning, and ascended to Mt. Sinai just as Adonai instructed him. And he took in his hand the two stone tablets. v. 5: Then Adonai descended in a cloud, and stood with him there, calling upon the name of Adonai! v. 6: So Adonai passed before him, crying: Adonai, Adonai, Compassionate and Merciful God, long-nosed, and great in covenant love and truth! v.6: Long nosed is an ancient idiom for patient. v.7: Locking up covenant love for thousands; carrying away Torah transgressions, crimes and missings of the mark; but He will not totally sanitize the Torah transgressions. The Torah transgressions of fathers afflicting upon the children, and upon the children of the children, unto the third and fourth generations. v.7: Locking up, netzor, נצור, is an idiom here; it means to literally lock something; in other words, God is preserving it. Preserving covenant love is also a valid translation here. The three Hebrew phrases used for transgressions, crimes and missings of the mark are very descriptive. Avon,,אוון is a transgression of the Torah; while pesha,,פשע is a crime (against God) and hattat,,חטאת is to miss the target. To sanitize (Torah transgressions) is the word nakeh,,נקה and it literally means to sanitize something. v.8: Then Moshe hurried, bowing down to the ground and prostrating himself in worship. v.9: Then he said: If, please, I have found favor with you, Adonai, please Adonai, come with us, because it s a stubborn people. Pardon our

2 transgressions (of the Torah), and our missing the mark; and make us Your inheritance. v.9: This verse is poetic Hebrew, and it could be rendered: we are a stubborn people. The literal text is it (or he ), as we have translated it. The word used for inheritance is nahalah,,נחלה most often referring to a land or property inheritance. v.10: So He responded: See, I have cut a covenant with all your people. I will do incredible actions that have never been done in all the earth, not among any people. And all the people in your midst will see the actions of Adonai, because what I will do with your people is incredible! v.10: The phrase cut a covenant is poetic and idiomatic language. The phrase that have never been done in all the earth is a smoother rendering of the literal that have never been created in all the earth. The word for done and created here is nivra,.נברא Although it can mean created (as used in the beginning of the book of Genesis), it also means done, and we translated it this way here. v.11: Guard over what I am instructing you today! Look, I will drive out the Emorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites from right in front of your face! v.11: Guard over is the military term shemar,,שמר meaning to post guards to protect something (a city, a people, an outpost, a road, etc.). We see this root used a lot when referring to the Torah. v.12: Be on guard against making a covenant with the inhabitants of the Land where you are going, or they will be a bird-hunter s trap in your midst. v.12: Be on guard again uses the military term shemar. In ancient Hebrew moqesh,,מוקש refers to a bird-hunting net or trap, while modern Hebrew uses moqesh as a military term, referring to a land mine which explodes, horrendously injuring and killing upon contact. The power of the modern use of the word is also helpful in our considering what Abba is saying to us in this verse. v.13: But you must totally destroy their altars, smash their cultic memorials, and cut up their asherah poles, v.13: We retain the word asherah, which is used in many translations of the Bible. This could also be translated as sacred poles (CJB). v.14: because you must not prostrate yourselves to another god, since Adonai s reputation is a jealous one; He is a jealous God. 2

3 v.14: Reputation, shem,,שם is a word meaning both reputation and name in ancient and modern Hebrew. v.15: Elsewise you may make a covenant with the inhabitants of the Land, and prostitute yourselves to their gods, then sacrifice to their gods. And they will ask you to eat from their altar. v.16: Then you will marry their daughters to your sons. Their daughters will go after their gods and cause your sons to prostitute themselves to their gods. v.16: That is, the sons (of Israel) will prostitute themselves to their (the Canaanite) idols. v.17: Do not make masked gods for yourselves. v.18: Guard the chag, חג (Pilgimage Festival) of Matzah. For seven days eat matzas which I have instructed, at the national meeting time in the month of Aviv, because in the month of Aviv you left Egypt. v.19: Every first-born is Mine; including all your animals. You are reminded (to set aside) male bulls and sheep. v.19: This verse includes an incredible mnemonic device, that is, a sound alike word that is used to emphasize the point made in the text. A male in Hebrew is the word zakar, which is a noun. To be reminded is the verb tizakar. So in instructing the people to remember (to set aside) the first-born males, the verb literally reminds us of the content of the instruction! Our verse literally states you are reminded, which sounds nearly the same as using the word for male. v.20: You will redeem a first born donkey with a lamb. But if you do not redeem it, you will behead it. You must redeem every first born of your sons; and they must not be seen in My presence empty handed. v.21: You will work six days, and on the seventh day you will have a Shabbat; you will have a Shabbat from plowing and reaping. v.21: The twice used phrase in this verse, to have a Shabbat, is literally tishbot,,תשבת a verb, meaning to sabbath. Since the word Shabbat means Stop, this verb can also have a wide variety of meanings that imply stopping, ceasing, or to stop creating. v.22: And you will carry out for yourself the Feast of Weeks the firstfruits of (the) wheat harvest, and the Feast of harvesting for the entire year. 3

4 v.23: Three times a year all of your males will be seen in the Presence of the Lord: Adonai, God of Israel. v.23: Two different names are used to refer here to God Lord.(יהוה אלוהי ישראל Yisrael, ; and Adonai Elohay האדון (Ha Adon, v.24: Because when I drive out the nations from before your very face, I will make your borders wider, so that no one will desire your Land, when you make aliya to be seen by the Presence of Adonai your God three times a year. v.24: Aliya,,עליה means going up. In this verse the people of Israel going up to Jerusalem for the chagim. The word aliya can refer to immigrating to Israel, to climbing up a mountain, or carrying out any upward movement. Israel s national airlines is el al, literally, to up. It also refers to the act of going up (to Jerusalem) for the mo edim of Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Weeks), and Sukkot (Booths). v.25: Do not slaughter the blood of my offering with leaven, and the Passover offering must not remain till the morning. v.26: You will bring the best quality of the first fruits of your Land to the House of Adonai your God. Do not cook a kid in its mother s milk. v.27: So God spoke to Moshe: Write these words for yourself, since according to these words I have cut a covenant with you and Israel. v.27: Cutting a covenant is the literal rendition, meaning to make a covenant. v.28: And he was there with Adonai 40 days and 40 nights; he did not eat and he did not drink. So he wrote the words of the covenant on the tablets the 10 words. v.28: Words is devarim,,דברים which can have a lot of meanings, such as: words, things, matters, items, instructions, speeches or spoken words. v.29: So when Moshe descended from Mt. Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony were in Moshe s hand as he came down from the mountain. And Moshe did not know that his face was shining like a beam of light when he spoke with Him. v.29: The word keren,,קרן is used for beam. It has mistakenly been translated as horn here, although the same word can, in other contexts, be a horn. 4

5 v.30: Then Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moshe, that his face was shining, so they were afraid to approach him. v.31: So Moshe called out to them. Then Aaron and all of the community s officials came back to him, and Moshe talked to them. v.32: Afterwards, all the people of Israel approached Moshe, and he instructed them concerning all that Adonai had told him on Mt. Sinai. v.33: Then Moshe finished speaking to them, and he put a covering on his face. v.33: This particular type of covering, masveh,,מסוה is a camouflage covering; the word used does not refer specifically to a mask, veil or scarf. v.34: When Moshe came before the Presence of Adonai, to speak with Him, he took off his covering until his departure. Then he would leave and speak to the people of Israel what he was instructed. v.35: So the people of Israel saw the face of Moshe, because the face of Moshe was like a beam of light. And Moshe would put the covering on his face until he came to speak with Him. 5