Exodus — Chapter 34

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1And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon

2And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.

3And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.

4And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.

5And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.

6And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

7Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear

8And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

9And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it

10And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou

11Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

12Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:

13But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:

14For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name

15Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and

16And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.

17Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.

18The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.

19All that openeth the matrix

20But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem

21Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

22And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.

23Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.

24For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year.

25Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.

26The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

27And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.

28And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

29And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

30And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.

31And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them.

32And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai.

33And

34But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel

35And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

1And Jehovah said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon the tables the words that were on the first tables, which thou brakest.

2And be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me on the top of the mount.

3And no man shall come up with thee; neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.

4And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as Jehovah had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone.

5And Jehovah descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah.

6And Jehovah passed by before him, and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth,

7keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children`s children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.

8And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

9And he said, If now I have found favor in thy sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.

10And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been wrought in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of Jehovah; for it is a terrible thing that I do with thee.

11Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

12Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:

13but ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their Asherim;

14for thou shalt worship no other god: for Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

15lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot after their gods, and sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee and thou eat of his sacrifice;

16and thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters play the harlot after their gods, and make thy sons play the harlot after their gods.

17Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.

18The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib; for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.

19All that openeth the womb is mine; and all thy cattle that is male, the firstlings of cow and sheep.

20And the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break its neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

21Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

22And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, [even] of the first-fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year`s end.

23Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before the Lord Jehovah, the God of Israel.

24For I will cast out nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou goest up to appear before Jehovah thy God three times in the year.

25Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.

26The first of the first-fruits of thy ground thou shalt bring unto the house of Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother`s milk.

27And Jehovah said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.

28And he was there with Jehovah forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

29And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of the testimony in Moses` hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking with him.

30And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.

31And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses spake to them.

32And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that Jehovah had spoken with him in mount Sinai.

33And when Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

34But when Moses went in before Jehovah to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.

35And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses` face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

1The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you smashed.

2Be prepared in the morning, and go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and station yourself for me there on the top of the mountain.

3No one is to come up with you; do not let anyone be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks or the herds may graze in front of that mountain.”

4So Moses cut out two tablets of stone like the first; early in the morning he went up to Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him, and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.

5The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name.

6The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness,

7keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.”

8Moses quickly bowed to the ground and worshiped

9and said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord go among us, for we are a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

10He said, “See, I am going to make a covenant before all your people. I will do wonders such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation. All the people among whom you live will see the work of the Lord, for it is a fearful thing that I am doing with you.

11“Obey what I am commanding you this day. I am going to drive out before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

12Be careful not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it become a snare among you.

13Rather you must destroy their altars, smash their images, and cut down their Asherah poles.

14For you must not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

15Be careful not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you, you will eat from his sacrifice;

16and you then take his daughters for your sons, and when his daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will make your sons prostitute themselves to their gods as well.

17You must not make yourselves molten gods.

18“You must keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you; do this at the appointed time of the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt.

19“Every firstborn of the womb belongs to me, even every firstborn of your cattle that is a male, whether ox or sheep.

20Now the firstling of a donkey you may redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons.“No one will appear before me empty-handed.

21“On six days you may labor, but on the seventh day you must rest; even at the time of plowing and of harvest you are to rest.

22“You must observe the Feast of Weeks—the firstfruits of the harvest of wheat—and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year.

23At three times in the year all your men must appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel.

24For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one will covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.

25“You must not offer the blood of my sacrifice with yeast; the sacrifice from the Feast of Passover must not remain until the following morning.

26“The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

27The Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

28So he was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights; he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

29Now when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand—when he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

30When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to approach him.

31But Moses called to them, so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and Moses spoke to them.

32After this all the Israelites approached, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai.

33When Moses finished speaking with them, he would put a veil on his face.

34But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. Then he would come out and tell the Israelites what he had been commanded.

35When the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with the Lord.

1Yahweh said to Moses, “Chisel two stone tablets like the first. I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.

2Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain.

3No one shall come up with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain. Do not let the flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain.”

4He chiseled two tablets of stone like the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up to Mount Sinai, as Yahweh had commanded him, and took in his hand two stone tablets.

5Yahweh descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed Yahweh’s name.

6Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth,

7keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children’s children, on the third and on the fourth generation.”

8Moses hurried and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.

9He said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, Lord, please let the Lord go among us; although this is a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

10He said, “Behold, I make a covenant: before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been worked in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among which you are shall see the work of Yahweh; for it is an awesome thing that I do with you.

11Observe that which I command you today. Behold, I drive out before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

12Be careful, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be for a snare among you:

13but you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their Asherah poles;

14for you shall worship no other god: for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

15“Don’t make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, lest they play the prostitute after their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and one call you and you eat of his sacrifice;

16and you take of their daughters to your sons, and their daughters play the prostitute after their gods, and make your sons play the prostitute after their gods.

17“You shall make no cast idols for yourselves.

18“You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib; for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt.

19“All that opens the womb is mine; and all your livestock that is male, the firstborn of cow and sheep.

20You shall redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb. If you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before me empty.

21“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

22“You shall observe the feast of weeks with the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of harvest at the year’s end.

23Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord Yahweh, the God of Israel.

24For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither shall any man desire your land when you go up to appear before Yahweh, your God, three times in the year.

25“You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread. The sacrifice of the feast of the Passover shall not be left to the morning.

26“You shall bring the first of the first fruits of your ground to the house of Yahweh your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

27Yahweh said to Moses, “Write you these words: for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

28He was there with Yahweh forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread, nor drank water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

29When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mountain, Moses didn’t know that the skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking with him.

30When Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come near him.

31Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses spoke to them.

32Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them all the commandments that Yahweh had spoken with him on Mount Sinai.

33When Moses was done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

34But when Moses went in before Yahweh to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and he came out, and spoke to the children of Israel that which he was commanded.

35The children of Israel saw Moses’ face, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Reflection

Summary

God renews the covenant, gives Moses new tablets, and proclaims His name — merciful, gracious, slow to anger; Moses' face shines from God's presence.

Authorship & Background

Author: Moses (see Chapter 1 notes for full authorship details).
Historical Context: Exodus 34 records the renewal of the covenant after the golden calf disaster. God commands Moses to cut two new tablets of stone to replace those broken in chapter 32, and Moses ascends Sinai again for another forty days. This chapter contains one of the most important theological passages in the entire Old Testament: God's self-revelation of His character (vv.6–7), often called "the Gospel of the Old Testament."
The proclamation of God's name in verses 6–7 — "The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth" — is the most frequently quoted passage within the Old Testament itself. It becomes the foundation for Israel's understanding of who God is, echoed in Numbers 14:18, Nehemiah 9:17, Psalms 86:15, 103:8, 145:8, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2, and Nahum 1:3. This is God's definitive self-description.
The chapter also records the covenant renewal with its stipulations (vv.10–26), Moses' second forty-day fast (v.28), and the remarkable detail that Moses' face shone with reflected glory when he descended (vv.29–35). The shining face becomes a visible sign that Moses has been in God's presence — and Paul later uses this image in 2 Corinthians 3 to contrast the fading glory of the old covenant with the surpassing glory of the new.
Section Summaries: vv.1–4 — New tablets cut; Moses ascends Sinai alone. vv.5–9 — God proclaims His name and character; Moses worships. vv.10–26 — Covenant renewed with stipulations: no idolatry, feasts, firstborn. vv.27–28 — Moses writes; forty days without food or water. vv.29–35 — Moses' face shines; he veils himself before the people.

Map & Geography

  • Mount Sinai: Moses ascends again with new stone tablets (v.4). He remains 40 days and 40 nights a second time (v.28).
  • The covenant is renewed at the same mountain where it was first given and then broken.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik emphasizes vv.6-7 as the theological center of the OT — God's self-description that balances mercy and justice. He notes Moses' shining face as evidence that time in God's presence visibly transforms.
  • Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "The LORD's Name Proclaimed" on vv.6-7 (MTP Vol. 30, No. 1803) "Here is the gospel before the gospel. Merciful — He feels for our misery. Gracious — He acts for our relief. Longsuffering — He bears with our provocations. Abundant in goodness — His mercy overflows. Abundant in truth — His promises never fail. Forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin — every shade and degree of evil is covered. Yet He will by no means clear the guilty — there is no cheap grace. The cross alone reconciles these two truths: mercy and justice met at Calvary." Sermon: "The Veil of Moses" on vv.33-35 (MTP Vol. 15, No. 886) "Moses veiled his face because the glory was fading. He did not want Israel to see the end of that which was passing away. But we, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image. Our glory does not fade — it increases, from glory to glory."

Reflection

  • 1. God's self-description (vv.6-7) balances mercy and justice. Which aspect do you tend to emphasize — God's love or God's holiness? How does holding both together change your view of Him?
  • 2. Moses' face shone and he "wist not" — he was unaware (v.29). True spiritual transformation is often invisible to the one being transformed but visible to others. Are others seeing Christ's glory reflected in you?
  • 3. "The LORD, whose name is Jealous" (v.14). God's jealousy is for your exclusive devotion. What rivals compete with God for first place in your heart? How does knowing God is jealous for you affect your worship?
  • 4. Moses spent forty days in God's presence without food or water (v.28). What sustained him? What does this teach about the sufficiency of God's presence? How do you prioritize extended time with God?
  • 5. The covenant is renewed after catastrophic failure (vv.10-27). What does this teach about God's willingness to restore after sin? How does this encourage you in areas where you have failed?