Exodus34

God commands Moses to hew new stone tables, promising to re-inscribe the covenant words upon them. The LORD descends, proclaiming His merciful yet just character, and renews the covenant with Israel, reiterating laws concerning idolatry, feasts, and firstborn. Moses descends from Sinai after forty days, his face shining from God's presence, necessitating a veil when speaking to the people.

Preparation for Covenant Renewal

ADONAI said to Moshe, "Cut yourself two tablets of stone like the first ones; and I will inscribe on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.

Be ready by morning; in the morning you are to ascend Mount Sinai and present yourself to me on the top of the mountain.

No one is to come up with you, and no one is to be seen anywhere on the mountain; don't even let the flocks or herds feed in front of this mountain."

Moshe cut two stone tablets like the first. Then he got up early in the morning and, with the two stone tablets in his hands, ascended Mount Sinai, as ADONAI had ordered him to do.

The LORD Proclaims His Name

ADONAI descended in the cloud, stood with him there and pronounced the name of ADONAI.

ADONAI passed before him and proclaimed: "YUD-HEH-VAV-HEH!!! Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh [ADONAI] is God, merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in grace and truth;

showing grace to the thousandth generation, forgiving offenses, crimes and sins; yet not exonerating the guilty, but causing the negative effects of the parents' offenses to be experienced by their children and grandchildren, and even by the third and fourth generations."

At once Moshe bowed his head to the ground, prostrated himself

and said, "If I have now found favor in your view, Adonai, then please let Adonai go with us, even though they are a stiffnecked people; and pardon our offenses and our sin; and take us as your possession."

Renewal of the Covenant Stipulations

He said, "Here, I am making a covenant; in front of all your people I will do wonders such as have not been created anywhere on earth or in any nation. All the people around you will see the work of ADONAI. What I am going to do through you will be awesome!

Observe what I am ordering you to do today. Here! I am driving out ahead of you the Emori, Kena'ani, Hitti, P'rizi, Hivi and Y'vusi.

Be careful not to make a covenant with the people living in the land where you are going, so that they won't become a snare within your own borders.

Rather, you are to demolish their altars, smash their standing-stones and cut down their sacred poles;

because you are not to bow down to any other god; since ADONAI -whose very name is Jealous -is a jealous God.

Do not make a covenant with the people living in the land. It will cause you to go astray after their gods and sacrifice to their gods. Then they will invite you to join them in eating their sacrifices,

and you will take their daughters as wives for your sons. Their daughters will prostitute themselves to their own gods and make your sons do the same!

"Do not cast metal gods for yourselves.

"Keep the festival of matzah by eating matzah, as I ordered you, for seven days during the month of Aviv; for it was in the month of Aviv that you came out from Egypt.

"Everything that is first from the womb is mine. Of all your livestock, you are to set aside for me the males, the firstborn of cattle and flock.

The firstborn of a donkey you must redeem with a lamb; if you won't redeem it, break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you are to redeem, and no one is to appear before me empty-handed.

"Six days you will work, but on the seventh day you are to rest - even in plowing time and harvest season you are to rest.

"Observe the festival of Shavu'ot with the first-gathered produce of the wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year.

Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Lord, ADONAI, the God of Isra'el.

For I am going to expel nations ahead of you and expand your territory, and no one will even covet your land when you go up to appear before ADONAI your God three times a year.

You are not to offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, and the sacrifice of the feast of Pesach is not to be left until morning.

You are to bring the best firstfruits of your land into the house of ADONAI your God. "You are not to boil a young goat in its mother's milk."

ADONAI said to Moshe, "Write these words down, because they are the terms of the covenant I have made with you and with Isra'el."

Moses’ Shining Face and the Veil

Moshe was there with ADONAI forty days and forty nights, during which time he neither ate food nor drank water. [ADONAI] wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Words.

When Moshe came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, he didn't realize that the skin of his face was sending out rays of light as a result of his talking with [ADONAI].

When Aharon and the people of Isra'el saw Moshe, the skin of his face was shining; and they were afraid to approach him.

But Moshe called to them; then Aharon and all the community leaders came back to him, and Moshe spoke to them.

Afterwards, all the people of Isra'el came near; and he passed on to them all the orders that ADONAI had told him on Mount Sinai.

Once Moshe had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

But when he went in before ADONAI for him to speak, he would take the veil off until he came out; then, when he came out, he would tell the people of Isra'el what he had been ordered.

But when the people of Isra'el saw Moshe's face, that the skin of Moshe's face shone, he would put the veil back over his face until he went in again to speak with [ADONAI].

Study Notes for Exodus 34

Verse 1

God commands Moses to prepare new stone tablets, emphasizing that the covenant relationship is being restored despite Israel's recent failure (the Golden Calf incident).

Verse 5

This is a pivotal moment (a theophany) where God reveals His character, not just His power. The cloud signifies God's majestic presence and mystery.

Verse 6

This passage (v. 6-7), often called the 'Creed of Yahweh,' is the most quoted theological self-description of God in the Old Testament, emphasizing mercy, grace, and faithfulness.

Verse 7

The tension between forgiving sin and judging the unrepentant highlights God's perfect justice and holiness balanced with his love. The visitation of iniquity across generations refers to the societal consequences of persistent corporate sin, not individual eternal damnation.

Verse 8

Moses’ immediate response to God’s self-revelation is humble worship, demonstrating the appropriate reverence when encountering divine holiness.

Verse 9

Moses intercedes again, basing his plea for forgiveness not on Israel’s worthiness, but on God’s revealed character (v. 6-7) and the recognition that Israel is indeed a 'stiffnecked people.'

Verse 10

The covenant renewal is marked by a promise of divine intervention ('marvels') in the land conquest, confirming the LORD’s commitment to Israel despite their rebellion.

Verse 12

The prohibition against making covenants with the inhabitants of Canaan is central to maintaining Israel's distinct religious identity and holiness in the Promised Land.

Verse 13

The requirement to destroy foreign religious objects (altars, pillars, Asherah poles) emphasizes that Yahweh worship must be exclusive and intolerant of syncretism.

Verse 14

The name 'Jealous' (Hebrew: *qanna*) describes God's righteous demand for exclusive loyalty from His covenant people, not personal envy.

Verse 16

The prohibition against intermarriage is tied specifically to the danger of religious assimilation and apostasy, stressing the priority of theological separation over cultural integration.

Verse 17

This reiterates the second commandment, essential immediately following the recent sin of the Golden Calf (Exod 32).

Verse 18

This section (v. 18-26) restates several key laws and festival requirements often referred to by scholars as the 'Ritual Decalogue,' focusing on proper worship practice.

Verse 20

The redemption of the firstborn (human and animal) commemorates God sparing the Israelite firstborn during the final plague in Egypt (Exod 13).

Verse 21

The command for Sabbath rest is so absolute that it applies even during crucial agricultural periods ('earing time and in harvest'), underscoring its theological importance over economic urgency.

Verse 22

The three annual pilgrimage festivals—Unleavened Bread/Passover, Weeks (Pentecost), and Ingathering (Tabernacles)—structure the religious calendar and connect worship to the agricultural cycle.

Verse 24

This verse contains a remarkable promise of divine protection: God assures Israel that their land will not be coveted or seized by enemies while all the men are away performing their required pilgrimage duties.

Verse 26

The final dietary law, 'Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk,' likely prohibits an ancient Canaanite fertility rite, emphasizing humane treatment and separation from pagan practices.

Verse 27

God instructs Moses to write down these specific stipulations, confirming they form the binding terms of the renewed covenant.

Verse 28

Moses spends another forty days fasting in God's presence. The text clarifies that the Ten Commandments were written on the tablets, either by God directly or by Moses under divine command.

Verse 29

Moses was unaware that his face was radiating glory (*qaran*), a physical manifestation of having been intimately in the presence of God (the *Kavod*).

Verse 30

The fear of the Israelites demonstrates the awe and distance between divine holiness and human sinfulness that Moses’ reflected glory represented.

Verse 33

The veil served as an intermediary, protecting the people from the intense divine glory reflected on Moses' face, which was temporary and faded over time (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:13).

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Exodus34

Preparation for Covenant Renewal

The LORD Proclaims His Name

Renewal of the Covenant Stipulations

Moses’ Shining Face and the Veil

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