Глава 34

1–4. Renewal of the tablets. 5–7. Explaining the essence of the Lord to Moses. 8–27. God's covenant with the people. 28–35. The stay of Moses on the mountain and the radiance of his face after descending from there. Ex.34:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Hew out for yourself two tablets of stone, like the first ones, [and go up to Me on the mountain,] and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets that you broke; Ex.34:2. and be ready for the morning, and go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and appear before Me there on the top of the mountain; Exodus 34:3. but no one should go up with you, and no one should appear on the whole mountain; Even livestock, small and large, should not graze near this mountain. Exodus 34:4. And Moses hewed two tablets of stone, similar to the first ones, and, rising early in the morning, went up to Mount Sinai, as the Lord commanded him; and took the two tablets of stone in his hands. As seen in the previous chapter, God's rejected Israel is given the promise that they will continue to be God's chosen people. The fulfillment of such a promise is the restoration of a broken covenant. Since this second covenant is essentially similar to the first, it is made under the same conditions. The tablets are prepared, but not by the Lord (Ex. 32:16), but by Moses as a reminder of the violation of the covenant; it is forbidden for anyone other than Moses to ascend Sinai (cf. Ex. 19:12); the mediator in concluding the covenant is Moses, and the Lord comes to him in the cloud (Ex. 19:9, 20:20). Ex.34:5. And the Lord came down in the cloud, and stood there near him, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah. Exodus 34:6. And the Lord passed before him and cried: The Lord, the Lord, the gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in mercy and truth, Exodus 34:7. preserving [righteousness and showing] mercy for thousands of generations, forgiving guilt and crime and sin, but not leaving it unpunished, punishing the guilt of the fathers on the children and on the children’s children to the third and fourth generation. A necessary condition for concluding a covenant was the consent of the people (Ex. 19:8, etc.); but it is no longer sufficient in the restoration of the covenant. The latter may be desirable for the covenant breaker, i.e. Israel, and is completely undesirable for those who remain faithful to him, i.e. God. Therefore, while at the making of the covenant the Lord invited Israel to express their desire to enter into a union with Him, He now points out the possibility on His part of restoring the broken covenant. It is rooted in the properties of divine mercy and long-suffering revealed to him by Moses (Exodus 33:19, Numbers 14:17–18), which come with forgiveness, but do not exclude justice. Having previously revealed himself at the bush as one existing, unchangeable, the Almighty is now revealed as a merciful and humane being. And since these last properties ensure the restoration of the broken covenant, insofar, thanks to them, the Lord appears to have not changed His original promise to be the God of the Jewish people 22. Exodus 34:8. Moses immediately fell to the ground and worshiped [God] Exodus 34:9. and said: If I have found favor in Thy sight, O Master, then let the Master go among us; for this people is stiff-necked; forgive our iniquities and our sins and make us your inheritance. Bowing before the mercy of the Lord, Moses asks that in the future He would reveal His presence among Israel as the Lord (Adonai) and with His omnipotence would curb their stiff-neckedness, and now He would forgive their sin and make it His destiny. Acceptance into the covenant, justice, which does not leave guilt unpunished, and further leadership of the people are based on mercy 23 . Exodus 34:10. And [the Lord said to Moses]: Behold, I make a covenant: before all your people I will do miracles such as have not been done in all the earth or among any people; and all the people among whom you are will see the work of the Lord; for what I will do for you will be terrible; The promise to perform great miracles before Israel, such as have never been seen on earth, is tantamount to the promise to be their God (Deut. 4:34, 37–38, 2 Sam. 7:23). Exodus 34:11. keep what I command you today: behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, the [Girgashites], and the Jebusites; Exodus 34:12. Be careful not to enter into an alliance with the inhabitants of the land into which you will enter, lest they become a snare among you. Exodus 34:13. Destroy their altars, crush their pillars, cut down their sacred groves, [and burn the images of their gods with fire], Exodus 34:14. for you must not worship any god other than the Lord [God], for His name is Zealot; He is a jealous God. Exodus 34:15. Do not enter into an alliance with the inhabitants of that land, lest when they commit fornication after their gods and offer sacrifices to their gods, they invite you too, and you do not taste their sacrifices; Exodus 34:16. and do not take wives from their daughters for your sons [and do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons], lest their daughters, having committed fornication after their gods, lead your sons also to commit fornication after their gods. Exodus 34:17. Don't make cast gods for yourself. At the restoration of the covenant, as at its conclusion, the people of Israel are given the basic laws that determine their relationship to God. And since the covenant being restored is the same as that made the first time, the same laws are given. The first commandment is repeated (Exod. 34:12–17, cf. Exod. 20:2–3, 23:23–49) with a strong admonition and command to avoid everything that leads to its violation. This includes unions and especially marriages with the inhabitants of the land of Canaan (Joshua 23:7, 12–13) and the preservation of pagan monuments, in particular “sacred groves”, Heb. “asher” (Ex.34:13), i.e. artificially made wooden statues of the goddess Astarte (Deut. 12:2, etc., 1 Kings 14:23, 2 Kings 17:10, Jer. 17:2, etc.). Exodus 34:18. You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread: for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt. See explanation of Art. 15 etc. Ch. 12; 15th century Chapter 23 Exodus 34:19. Everything that opens lies is mine, as are all your male cattle that open lies, such as oxen and sheep; Ex.34:20. replace the firstborn of the donkeys with a lamb, and if you cannot replace it, then redeem it; ransom all the firstborn of your sons; Let them not come before Me empty-handed. See interpretation of ch. 13, art. 2, 13. Exodus 34:21. Work six days, and rest on the seventh day; rest during sowing and harvest. See interpretation of Art. 8-11. 20 ch. What is new in the repetition of the fourth commandment is the exhortation to maintain the Sabbath rest even during urgent field work. Ex.34:22. And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of the Firstfruits of the Wheat Harvest, and the Feast of the Gathering of Fruits at the end of the year; Exodus 34:23. three times a year all your male sex shall appear before the Master, the Lord God of Israel, Exodus 34:24. For I will drive out the nations from before you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land, if you appear before the Lord your God three times a year. See interpretation of Art. 14–17 ch. 23. Exodus 34:25. Do not pour out the blood of My sacrifice on leaven, and the sacrifice of the Passover holiday must not spend the night until the morning. Ex.34:26. Bring the very first fruits of your land to the house of the Lord your God. Do not boil a kid in its mother's milk. See interpretation of Art. 18–19 ch. 23. Ex.34:27. And the Lord said to Moses, Write these words to yourself, for in these words I make a covenant with you and with Israel. Demanding from the people faith in Jehovah and its implementation (holidays, dedication of the firstborn), the laws listed in this case reminded them of the basic principles and requirements of theocracy, and therefore were sufficient for the restoration of the covenant. Exodus 34:28. And [Moses] stayed there with the Lord for forty days and forty nights, eating no bread or drinking water; and [Moses] wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten chapters. Ex.34:29. When Moses descended from Mount Sinai, and the two tablets of revelation were in Moses’ hand as he descended from the mountain, Moses did not know that his face began to shine with rays because God was speaking to him. The radiance emanating from the face of Moses was the result of approaching God: it enlightened and cleansed the prophet’s flesh. Ex.34:30. And Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, and behold, his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. Exodus 34:31. And Moses called them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation came to him, and Moses talked with them. Exodus 34:32. After this, all the children of Israel approached [him], and he commanded them everything that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. During the legislation of Sinai, the people could not bear the proximity of the Most High to themselves and therefore asked Moses to speak to them instead of God (Ex. 20:19). He now sees him in his midst in the radiance of the prophet’s face; he does not dare to approach him, just as he did not dare to approach the mountain (Ex. 20:18). Ex.34:33. And when Moses stopped speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. Ex.34:34. When Moses came in before the Lord to speak with Him, he took off the veil until he came out; And when he went out, he told the children of Israel everything that had been commanded [to him from the Lord]. Exodus 34:35. And the children of Israel saw that the face of Moses was shining, and Moses again put the veil on his face until he came in to speak with Him. A similar mood did not leave the people throughout the subsequent time: “and the children of Israel saw that the face of Moses was shining” (cf. Ex. 34:30), and therefore, when announcing the revelation, Moses wore a veil. In the Slavic Bible (from the Greek text LXX-i) these words sound somewhat different: “And the Lord came down in a cloud, and Moses appeared to him there, and called him in the name of the Lord. And the Lord was present before Him..." (Ex. 34:5-6), etc. As can be seen from the context, the word "Jehovah" is absent in the Slavic and Greek versions and is translated according to its meaning - Lord (more precisely, Jehovah). And the calling in the name of the Lord can be interpreted as enthusiastic: O Almighty! Note ed. The use of the word “adonai” in the Hebrew text is not a proper name, but rather a designation of God as the All-Merciful and Righteous Judge (from the word “dan” - judge, as stated earlier). In this context, the word “adonai” is used in all Holy Jewish texts - where the Almighty is spoken of as administering righteous and inevitable judgment, and accordingly with this meaning it is correctly used in the Slavic and Greek translations. Note ed. You might be interested in: