such as contumaciously refused to drink of the water of the brook (v. 20). The spirit of the narrative forbids us to conceive that the act of the Levites was anything like an indiscriminate massacre. An amnesty had first been offered to all in the words, "Who is on the LORD'S side?" Those who were forward to draw the sword were directed not to spare their closest relations or friends; but this must plainly have been with an understood qualification as regards the conduct of those who were to be slain. Had it not been so, they who were on the LORD's side would have had to destroy each other. We need not stumble at the bold, simple way in which the statement is made. The Bible does not deign to apologise for itself; and hence at times it affords occasion to gainsayers, who shut their eyes to the spirit while they are captiously looking at dissevered fragments of the letter.

29. Consecrate yourselves to day to the LORD] The margin contains the literal rendering. Our version gives the most probable meaning of the Hebrew (see Lev. viii, 22, 27), and is supported by the best authority. The Levites were to prove themselves in a special way the servants of Jehovah, in anticipation of their formal consecration as ministers of the Sanctuary, by manifesting a self-sacrificing zeal in carrying out the divine command, even upon their nearest relatives (cf. Deut. x. 8). Kurtz, adopting the rendering of the Targums, supposes that what the Levites were commanded to do was to offer sacri

morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.

31 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin them. upon

fices upon the Altar to expiate the blood which they were directed to shed. But this interpretation cannot be well reconciled with the Hebrew, and it is hard to imagine that expiation could be required for what was done in direct obedience to the command of the LORD. It may be added that the Sinoffering, the only kind of sacrifice that would be suitable on such a hypothesis, had not yet been instituted.

31. returned unto the LORD] i.e. he again ascended the Mount.

gods of gold a god of gold,

32. For a similar form of expression, in which the conclusion is left to be supplied by the mind of the reader, see Dan. iii. 15; Luke xiii. 9, xix. 42; John vi. 62; Rom. ix. 22.For the same thought, see Rom. ix. 3. It is for such as Moses and St Paul to realize, and to dare to utter, their readiness to be wholly sacrificed for the sake of those whom God has entrusted to their love. This expresses the perfected idea of the whole Burnt-offering.

thy book] The figure is taken from the enrolment of the names of citizens. This is its first occurrence in the Scriptures. See Ps. lxix. 28; Isa. iv. 3; Dan. xii. 1; Luke x. 20; Phil. iv. 3; Rev. iii. 5, &c.

33, 34. Each offender was to suffer for his own sin. On xx. 5 cf. Ezek. xviii. 4, 20. Moses was not to be taken at his word. He was to fulfil his appointed mission of leading on the people towards the Land of Promise.

34. mine Angel shall go before thee] See on xxiii. 20, and xxxiii. 3.

in the day when I visit, &c.] This has been supposed to refer to the sentence that was pronounced on the generation of Israelites then living, when they murmured on account of the report of the ten spies, that they should not enter the land (Num. xiv.). On that occasion they were charged with having tempted God "these ten times" (v. 22). But though the LORD visited the sin upon those who rebelled, yet He "repented of the evil which He thought to do unto His people." He chastised the individuals, but did not take His blessing from the nation.

35. and the LORD] Thus Jehovah.

CHAP. XXXIII.

The Conference between Jehovah and His mediator is continued in this Chapter. It had been conceded to Moses that the nation should not be destroyed (see xxxii. 10 sq.), and that he should lead them on towards the place of which the LORD had spoken (see xxxii. 34). But the favour was not to be awarded according to the terms of the original promise (xxiii. 20-23). The Covenant on which the promise was based had been broken by the people. Jehovah now therefore declared that though His Angel should go before Moses (xxxii. 34) and should drive out the heathen from the land, He would withhold His own favouring presence, lest he should consume them in the away (xxxiii. 2, 3). Thus were the people forcibly warned that His presence could prove a blessing to them only on condition of their keeping their part of the covenant (see on v. 3). If they failed in this, His presence would be to them "a consuming fire" (Deut. iv. 24). The people, when they heard the Divine message, mourned and humbled themselves, stripping off their accustomed ornaments in accordance with the command (vv. 4—6). Moses now appointed a religious service of a peculiar kind, dedicating a Tent pitched at some distance from the camp, as a meeting-place for Jehovah and himself (vv. 7—11). Here he again intercedes with persevering fervour until

he obtains the answer, "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest" (v. 14; see note). He then dares to reason on this answer and to prove its necessity, as one man might discuss terms with another (v. 11). The answer is at last given in a still clearer and more gracious form: "I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name" (v. 17). Having proved himself worthy of his calling as a mediator, both in vindicating the honour of Jehovah and in his self-sacrificing intercession with Jehovah for the nation, he is rewarded by a special vision of the Divine nature: Jehovah reveals Himself to him in His essential character to the utmost point that such revelation is possible to a finite being (vv. 18—23).

2. See on iii. 8.

3. milk and honey] See on iii. 8.

for I will not go up in the midst of thee] This is the awful qualification with which the possession of the promised Land might have been granted: Jehovah Himself was not to go before the people. According to the Targums, it was the shekinah that was to be withheld (see on xiv. 19, 20). Hengstenberg supposes that the Angel promised in xxiii. 20-23 was "the Angel of Jehovah," Kar' çoxnv, the Second Person of the Trinity, in whom Jehovah was essentially present, the same whom Isaiah called "the Angel of His presence" (lxiii. 9) and Malachi, "the Angel of the Covenant" (iii. 1); but that the Angel here mentioned was an ordinary Angel, one commissioned for this service out of the heavenly host (Christology, Vol. I. p. 107). It should however be noted that this Angel is expressly spoken of as the Angel of Jehovah in xxxii. 34. But in whatever way we understand the mention of the Angel in this passage as compared with xxiii. 20, the meaning of the threat appears to be that the nation should be put on a level with other nations, to lose its character as the people in special covenant with Jehovah (see on v. 16).—On the name Angel

4 ¶ And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his orna

ments.

5 For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.

6 And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.

7 And Moses took the tabernacle,

of Jehovah, see on Gen. ii. 1. Hengstenberg's arguments have been elaborately answered by Kurtz, Hist of O. C.' Vol. 1. § 50 (2), and Vol. III. § 14 (3).

lest I consume thee in the way] See introd. note to this chap. St Augustine speaks of the mystery that Jehovah should declare Himself to be less merciful than His Angel (Quæst. 150). It would seem that the presence of Jehovah represented the Covenant with its penalties as well as its privileges. See preceding note.

4-6. See introd. note.

5. I will come up...consume thee] By far the greater number of versions put this conditionally; If I were to go up for one moment in the midst of thee, I should

consume thee (see v. 3). This rendering seems best to suit the context. Our trans

lators follow the earlier English versions, which are supported by the Syriac, Vulg.

and Luther.

that I may know, &c.] and I shall know by that what to do unto thee. That is, by that sign of their repentance Jehovah would decide in what way they were to be punished.

6. by the mount Horeb] from mount Horeb onwards. The meaning, according to all the best authorities, appears to be that they ceased to wear their ornaments from the time they were at Mount Horeb.

The Temporary Tent of Meeting.

7-11.

7. the tabernacle] The original word signifies the Tent. The only word in the Old Testament which ought to be rendered tabernacle (mishkān) does not occur once in this narrative (see on xxvi. 1). What is here called The Tent has been understood in three different ways. It has been taken to denote:

and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.

8 And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle.

9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door

1. The Tabernacle constructed according to the pattern showed to Moses in the Mount (our version and the earlier English ones, several Jewish authorities, Knobel, &c.). But if we are in any degree to respect the order of the narrative, the Tabernacle was not made until after the events here recorded (see xl. 2).

2. An old sanctuary, or sacred tent, which the Israelites had previously possessed (Michaelis, Rosenmüller, &c.). But it is incredible that such a structure should not have been spoken of elsewhere, had it existed.

3. A tent appointed for this temporary purpose by Moses, very probably the one in which he was accustomed to dwell. According to the Hebrew idiom, the article may stand for the possessive pronoun, and thus it is most likely that the right rendering is, bis tent. This is by far the most satisfactory interpretation (LXX., Syriac, Jarchi, AbenEzra, Drusius, Grotius, Geneva French, Kurtz, Wogue, &c.).

pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp] This tent was to be a place for meeting with Jehovah, like the Tabernacle which

was about to be constructed. But in order that the people might feel that they had forfeited the Divine presence (see xxv. 8), the Tent of meeting (as it should be called, see on xxvii. 21, and Note at the end of Chap. xl.) was placed "afar off from the camp," and the Mediator and his faithful servant Joshua were alone admitted to it (v. 11).

8. the tabernacle] the Tent.

at his tent door] at the entrance of his tent (see on xxvi. 36). The people may have stood up either out of respect to Moses, or from doubt as to what was going to occur. But as soon as the cloudy pillar was seen, they joined in worship (v. 10).

9. as Moses entered...talked with Moses] "As Moses entered into the Tent, the cloudy

of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.

10 And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.

II And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

12 ¶ And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.

me.

13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know

pillar came down and stood at the

entrance of the Tent and talked with Moses" (LXX.., Vulg., Onk., de Wette, Knobel, &c.). The Cloudy pillar is the proper nominative to the verb talked (cf. xiii. 21, xix. 9, xxiv. 16, xl. 35).

10. the tabernacle door] the entrance of the Tent.

rose up and worshipped] or, began to worship. The people by this act gave another proof of their penitence.

in his tent door] at the entrance of his tent.

11. face to face] The meaning of these words is limited by v. 20, see note; cf. also Num. xii. 8; Deut. iv. 12.

Joshua] See on xvii. 9.
the tabernacle] the Tent.

The Mediator is rewarded.
12-13.

12. let me know whom thou wilt send with me] Jehovah had just previously commanded Moses to lead on the people and had promised to send an Angel before him (v. 2, xxxii. 34). Moses was now anxious to know who the Angel was to be.

I know thee by name] The LORD had called him by his name, iii. 4; cf. Isa. xliii. 1, xlix. I. found grace] xxxii. 10, &c.

13. thy way] He desires not to be left in uncertainty, but to be assured, by Jehovah's mode of proceeding, of the reality of the promises that had been made to him.

14.] Ewald considers that this verse should

thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.

14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee

rest.

15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.

16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

17 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.

18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

be read interrogatively, "Must my presence go with thee, and shall I give thee rest?" This rendering may make the connection more simple; but it appears to be supported by no other authority. See on xxxiv. 9.

rest] This was the common expression for the possession of the promised Land. Deut. iii. 20; Josh. i. 13, 15, xxii. 4, &c.; cf. Heb. iv. 8.

15, 16] Moses would have preferred that the people should forego the possession of the Land and remain in the wilderness, if they were to be deprived of the presence of Jehovah, as the witness for the Covenant, according to the original promise. It was this which alone distinguished (rather than "separated") them from other nations, and which alone would render the Land of Promise a home to be desired.

17. Cf. v. 13. His petition for the nation, and his own claims as a mediator, are now granted to the full.

vant of Jehovah, now assured by the success 18. shew me thy glory] The faithful serof his mediation, yearns, with the proper tendency of a devout spirit, for a more inti

mate communion with his Divine Master than he had yet enjoyed. He seeks for something surpassing all former revelations. He had talked with the LORD "face to face as a man

speaketh unto his friend" (v. 11; cf. Deut. xxxiv. 10), but it was in the Cloudy pillar: he, and the people with him, had seen "the glory of the LORD," but it was in the form of devouring fire" (xvi. 7. 10, xxiv. 16, 17):

66

15.

19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD Rom. 9. before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:

22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:

he had even beheld the "similitude" of the LORD in a mystical sense (Num. xii. 8). But he asks now to behold the face of Jehovah in all its essential glory, neither veiled by a cloud nor represented by an Angel.

19, 20] But his request could not be granted in accordance with the conditions of human existence. The glory of the Almighty in its fulness is not to be revealed to the eye of man. A further revelation of the Divine goodness was however possible. Jehovah was to reveal Himself as the gracious One, whose mercy in forgiving iniquity included, and brought into harmony, all the claims of justice (xxxiv. 6, 7; see on xxxii. 14). The promise here given was to be fulfilled on the morrow, when the mediator was to receive the twofold reward of his spiritual wrestling; the covenant was to be renewed with the nation according to its original terms, and he himself was to be permitted to penetrate more deeply into the mysteries of the Divine nature than had ever before been granted to mortal man.

It was vouchsafed to St Paul, as it had been to Moses, to have special “visions and revelations of the Lord" (2 Cor. xii. 1-4); He was "caught up into the third heaven" and heard "unspeakable words which it is not possible for a man to utter." But he had, also like Moses, to find the narrow reach of the intellect of man in the region of Godhead. It was long after he had heard the unspeakable words in Paradise that he spoke of the Lord as dwelling "in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen nor can see" (1 Tim. vi. 16). He knew of the Mediator greater than Moses (Heb. iii. 5, 6), who being "in the bosom of the Father" had declared Him in a higher sense than He had been declared to Moses, but still it remains true that "no man hath

23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

I The tables are renewed. 5 The name of the LORD proclaimed. 8 Moses intreateth God to go with them. 10 God maketh a covenant with them, repeating certain duties of the first table. 28 Moses after forty days in the mount cometh down with the tables. 29 His face shineth, and he covereth it with a vail.

ND the LORD said unto Moses,

AND

Hew thee two tables of stone Deut like unto the first: and I will write" upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.

2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto

seen God at any time” (John i. 18). However intimate may be our communion with the Holy One, we are still, as long as we are in the flesh, "to see through a glass darkly," waiting for the time when we shall see, with no figure of speech, "face to face" (1 Cor. xiii. 12). Then we know "that we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 John iii. 2). It was in a tone of aspiration lower than that of Moses or St Paul, that St Philip said, "Lord, shew us the Father” (John xiv. 8).

19. will be gracious to whom I svill be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy] Jehovah declares His own will to be the ground of the grace which He is going to shew the nation. St Paul applies these words to the election of Jacob in order to overthrow the self-righteous boasting of the Jews (Rom. ix. 15).

20. Cf. xix. 21. Such passages as this being clearly in accordance with what we know of the relation of spiritual existence to the human senses, shew how we are to interpret the expressions "face to face” (v. 11), "mouth to mouth” (Num. xii. 8), and others of the like kind. See especially xxiv. 10, 11; Isa. vi. 1 ; and cf. John xiv. 9.

21-23.] The conjectures and traditions on the place of this vision, inconclusive as they must be, are given by Robinson, Bib. Res.' Vol. 1. p. 153.

CHAP. XXXIV.

The Covenant and the Tables are renewed-The second revelation of the Divine Name to Moses.

I-10.

1. Hew thee] See v. 4.

The former tables are called "the work of God,” xxxii. 16. the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest] These were "the words