Глава 33

1–6. God's command to the people to continue on their way and allowing the Angel to lead them. 7–10. Setting up the tabernacle outside the camp. 11–17. The mercy of the Lord to Moses. 18–23. Moses asks to see the glory of the Lord. Exodus 33:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Go, go from here, you and the people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land about which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying: To your descendants I will give it; Exodus 33:2. And I will send [My angel] before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, Exodus 33:3. [and he will bring you] into a land flowing with milk and honey; for I myself will not go among you, lest I destroy you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people. Having rejected their lawgiver, God, the people have no need or incentive to remain with the mountain of legislation, the dwelling place of the Most High (Ex. 19); he can move on further towards the promised land: “get out of here, you and the people.” He must enter into it by virtue of God’s immutable oath promise to the patriarchs. The fulfillment of this latter does not allow, however, the possibility of the presence of the Lord among the Jews, since He will not tolerate further manifestations of the stiff-necked people and will destroy them on the way before arriving in Canaan (Ex. 33:3). But since, on the other hand, the Jews cannot master it without higher help, an Angel is sent to them from God. The latter is no longer the Angel of the Most High, or of the covenant (Ex. 23:20), and therefore his presence differs from dwelling among the people of God himself. First of all, it is temporary in nature - it will continue only until the expulsion of the inhabitants of Canaan from the areas they occupy; secondly, it will not be accompanied by any communication with the people: “an angel will go before the people” (cf. Ex. 23:20–22) and, thirdly, will not demand holiness from Israel: the procession of the Angel before the people will not be hindered by the latter’s stiff neck (Exodus 33:3, cf. Exodus 23:21). But if Jehovah is not present among the Jews, then they cease to be God’s chosen people and become equal with other peoples. Therefore, Moses later says: “If you go with us, then I and Your people will be more glorious than any people on earth” (Ex. 33:16). Exodus 33:4. The people, having heard this terrible word, wept, and no one put on their ornaments. Abandoned by God, Israel realized its own weakness among the other powerful nations of the earth, realized that, left to its own strengths, it had nothing in the future except the same slavery and oppression that it experienced in Egypt. This consciousness caused in him a feeling of repentance, which manifested itself in crying and reluctance to put jewelry on himself. Exodus 33:5. For the Lord said to Moses: Say to the children of Israel, “You are a stiff-necked people; If I walk among you, I will destroy you in one minute; Therefore take off your ornaments; I will see what I should do with you. Exodus 33:6. The children of Israel took off their ornaments at Mount Horeb. The repentance caused by the consciousness of the impending disaster, although it does not cancel the divine determination, but, manifested with the permission of God in a more intensified form: “take off your jewelry,” gives some hope for the possibility of pardon: “I will see what I should do with you.” As a sign of repentance and sorrow, Jews take off their expensive clothes and precious jewelry (cf. John 3:6–7) and put them at the foot of the mountain, saying that from now on they dedicate them to the one God, and will not make them, as before, images of pagan gods. Exodus 33:7. Moses took and pitched a tent for himself outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting; and everyone who sought the Lord came to the tabernacle of meeting, which was outside the camp. A visible indication of God’s dwelling among Israel, and therefore of the latter’s chosenness by God, was the appearance, the revelation of the Lord among the people. But since he is now deprived of the title and rights of God’s chosen people, the Almighty does not live among him, then, as a sign of this, Moses takes outside the camp the tent in which God appears to him. This tent was neither the permanent dwelling of Moses - he came to it from the camp to receive revelation, and then returned back (Ex. 33: 8-11) - nor the tabernacle of meeting that was subsequently built, it was the receiving tent of the leader of Israel. Exodus 33:8. And when Moses came out to the tabernacle, all the people rose up, and stood every one at the door of his tent, and looked after Moses until he entered into the tabernacle. Exodus 33:9. When Moses entered the tabernacle, then a pillar of cloud came down and stood at the entrance to the tabernacle, and [the Lord] spoke to Moses. Exodus 33:10. And all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tabernacle; and all the people stood up and worshiped, every one at the door of his tent. The result of this measure of Moses was an increase in popular repentance. Having previously reacted indifferently to the call: “Whoever is the Lord’s, come to me!” (Exodus 32:26) the people now strive for God, seek Him (Exodus 33:7) and express feelings of respect for their God-chosen leader - Moses; who formerly worshiped the golden calf, now worships the Lord who revealed His presence in the pillar of cloud. Exodus 33:11. And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as one would speak to his friend; and he returned to the camp; and his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the tabernacle. Since, according to the Lord himself, a person cannot see the face of the Lord and remain alive (Ex. 33:20), the expression of this verse indicates the high moral perfection of Moses, in which he was allowed to approach mentally and morally to the source of all wisdom and truth and draw superhuman wisdom from this mysterious communication. Joshua's closeness to Moses prepares him for the future title of leader of the Jewish people. Exodus 33:12. Moses said to the Lord: Behold, you say to me: lead this people, and you have not revealed to me whom you will send with me, although you said: “I know you by name, and you have found favor in my sight”; Moses knew the divine promise to send an Angel (Ex. 33:2), but he did not know whether “the name of the Lord” would be on him or not. Therefore, the question about the name is tantamount to the question: will the Lord himself go with Israel, or will he leave it to the leadership of the created Angel, in other words, will the Jews remain God’s chosen people or not? Their further fate should be known to Moses, as a leader called to this position by God himself: “I know you by name” (cf. Ex. 3:4, 33:12), and the Lord can reveal it because of His favor towards him: “you have found favor in My sight.” Exodus 33:13. So, if I have found favor in Your sight, then I pray: open Your way to me, so that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight; and consider that these people are Your people. The Lord can reveal His will, His definitions (“ways”) to Moses due to his favor towards him; but Israel, who is the people of God, deserves the same mercy: “These people and Your people.” Exodus 33:14. [The Lord] said [to him]: I myself will go [before you] and bring you into rest. As can be seen from Ex. 34:6, etc., the determination of the Most High that He will go and bring rest, i.e. to the promised land (Deut. 3:20, Josh. 1:13, 22:4), based on His ineffable mercy. Exodus 33:15. [Moses] said to Him: If You Yourself do not go [with us], then do not lead us out of here, Exodus 33:16. for by what means can I know that I and Your people have found favor in Your sight? Is it not according to this, when You will go with us? then I and Your people will be more glorious than any people on earth. Although the promise of Exodus 33:14 was given personally to Moses, the latter also applies it to the people. Just as earlier he could not admit the thought of the destruction of the people without taking part in it himself, so now he does not recognize that God’s mercy was shown only to him. On the contrary, she vouches for the manifestation of divine mercy towards all of Israel. Otherwise, Jews do not need to move away from Sinai and enter into “peace.” The true goal of the people’s desires is not the Promised Land, but communication with God. Moses is ready to give up Palestine for the people, just to retain for them the position that elevated them above all other nations: “Isn’t this why I and Your people will be more glorious than any people on earth, because You will go with us?” Exodus 33:17. And the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do what you have spoken about, because you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Since Moses asked the Lord to go with the people and not deprive him of God’s chosenness, the words: “I will do what you say” indicate the fulfillment of the request and desires of the prophet. Exodus 33:18. [Moses] said: Show me Your glory. Having heard about the fulfillment of his request, Moses wants to enjoy the contemplation of the One who showed love and mercy to the Jewish people. Ex.33:19. And [the Lord said to Moses]: I will bring all My glory before you, and I will proclaim the name of Jehovah before you, and I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy on, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have mercy on. Exodus 33:20. And then He said: You cannot see My face, because man cannot see Me and live. Exodus 33:21. And the Lord said: This is my place; stand on this rock; Exodus 33:22. When My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I pass through; Ex.33:23. and when I remove My hand, you will see Me from behind, but My face will not be visible [to you]. The Lord does not refuse the prophet his request, but warns him that man cannot see the Lord; Moses hears only a voice pronouncing the sacred name of the Most High, and an explanation of His actions in his relationship to humanity in general and to Israel in particular (cf. Rom. 9:15). As one who is unable to contemplate the Lord, Moses will see only a glimpse of divine glory: “you will see Me from behind.” You might be interested in: