1.

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

And . Moses must have descended for the fifth time. See note on Exodus 19:3 .
the LORD . Hebrew. Jehovah . App-4 .
the LORD said . See note on Exodus 3:7 , and compare note on Exodus 6:10 .
Hew thee . Moses makes these second tables; Jehovah made the first. See on Exodus 31:18 .
write. See note on Exodus 17:14 and App-47 .

2.

And 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.

3.

And 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.

man . Heb, 'ish. See App-14 .

4.

And 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.

went up . Moses' sixth and last ascent. See note on Exodus 19:3 .
as = according as.

5.

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

proclaimed. As promised in Exodus 33:19 .

6.

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

GOD . Hebrew. EL See App-4 .
longsuffering = slow to anger.
goodness = lovingkindness, or grace.
truth = faithfulness.

7.

Keeping mercy 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, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

mercy = lovingkindness, or grace.
forgiving = bearing away.
iniquity = perverseness. Hebrew. avah , App-44 .
transgression = rebellion. Heb, pasha. App-44 .
sin. Hebrew. chat'a. See App-44 .
by no means clear the guilty . Not even Christ, when our sins were imputed to Him: therefore, all now in Him are "cleared", Figure of speech Polyptoton ( App-6 ). Hebrew "clearing will not clear", emphasis on "by no means". unto the third and to the fourth generation. This refrain recurs in whole or in part in Ex. Exodus 20:5 . Compare also Numbers 14:18 . Deuteronomy 5:9 . Nehemiah 9:17 . Psalms 103:8 . Jeremiah 9:24 ; Jeremiah 30:11 ; Jeremiah 46:28 ; Daniel 9:4 .Nahum 1:3 . The visiting spread over in mercy, not extended in wrath.

8.

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

worshipped . This is ever the effect of the manifestation of Jehovah in grace. Compare 2 Samuel 7:18 .

9.

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

Lord . . . my Lord. Hebrew. Adonai, Adonai. But this is one of the 134 places where Jehovah was altered to Adonai by the Sopherim. See App-32 .
for , &c. The moment Jehovah speaks of grace, Moses turns the very charge of Jehovah, in Exodus 33:5 , . into a plea and ground for His presence.

10.

And 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 art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.

He [Jehovah] said. See note on Exodus 3:7 , and Compare Exodus 6:10 .
Behold . Figure of speech Asterismos ( App-6 ) for emphasis.
covenant of marvels . This covenant finds its complete fulfilment in the Apocalypse.

11.

Observe 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.

12.

Take 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:

it = they.

13.

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

images = sacred pillars. Compare Exodus 23:24 ; Exodus 24:4 , and note on Leviticus 26:1 .
groves = Hebrew. 'asherah. First occurrence out of forty: always rendered "groves", but denotes a phallic image, worshipped by libidinous rites and lascivious practices See. App-42 .

14.

For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

is = "he [is]".
GOD = Hebrew El. App-4 .

15.

Lest 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 one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;

sacrifice . Hebrew. zabah. App-43 .

16.

And 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.

17.

Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.

18.

The 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.

as . Some codices, with Samaritan Pentateuch, The Targum of Onkelos, The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "according as".
time = appointed time.
Abib . See note on Exodus 13:4 , and App-51 .

19.

All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.

20.

But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

redeem . Hebrew. padah. See note on Exodus 6:6 , and Exodus 13:13 .
appear before Me. This is an alteration (in pointing) made by the Sopherim to soften the Figure of speech Anthropopatheia ( App-6 ) of the primitive text, which was "see My face". See note on Exodus 23:15 , and compare the other passages where this change is made, viz. Exodus 34:20 , Exodus 34:23 , Exodus 34:24 .Deuteronomy 16:16 ; Deuteronomy 31:11 .Psalms 11:7 ; Psalms 17:15 ; Psalms 42:2 .Isaiah 1:12 ; Isaiah 38:1 Isaiah 38:1 . In this, therefore, there is no contradiction of Exodus 33:20 .
empty = empty-handed.

21.

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

earing = ploughing. From A. S. erian, Latin. arare.

22.

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

23.

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

Thrice = the number of Divine perfection. ( App-10 .) Lord GOD, the God. Hebrew. the 'Adon, Jehovah Elohim. App-4 .

24.

For 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.

God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4 .

25.

Thou 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.

offer = slay. Hebrew. zabach. Supply Ellipsis ( App-6 ), "slay [and pour out]". See App-43 .

26.

The 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.

27.

And 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.


Write thou. See note on Exodus 17:14 and App-47 .

28.

And 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.

He = Jehovah. See Exodus 34:1 .
tables . See on Exodus 31:18 .
Two episodes , concluding the ascents and descents preparatory to the other great event of this section (Exodus 15:22 - Exodus 40:38 ), viz. the setting up of the Tabernacle, and the command that none of the work was to be done on the Sabbath.

29.

And 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.

came down . Moses' sixth and last descent. Compare Exodus 19:3 .
wist not = knew not. Compare Moses: unconscious moral strength for testimony.
Samson : unconscious weakness for unfaithfulness (Judges 16:20 ).
Peter : unconscious deliverance for service (Acts 12:9 ).
shone = radiated, or was glorious, i.e. reflected as a mirror the Divine glory, see 2 Corinthians 3:7 ; and compare 1 Corinthians 15:41 .Revelation 18:1 .Matthew 17:2 .Acts 6:15 . The Vulgate mistook the Hebrew word karan = to radiate, for keren, a beam or horn of light (see Habakkuk 3:4 and note on the subscription to Psalms 21 ). Hence the traditional paintings of Moses with two horns.
while , &c. = through his having spoken with him. This interprets 1 John 3:2 . Compare Matthew 17:2 , and the "till " of Exodus 34:33 , and the "until" of Exodus 34:35 .

30.

And 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.

children = sons. afraid. See Exodus 20:18-21 .

31.

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

32.

And 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.

gave them , &c. Charged them with.

33.

And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.

34.

But 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 that which he was commanded.

went in: i.e. into the tent.
he took the vail off . And, when Israel turns thus to Jehovah, He will take the vail from their heart, as Moses did from his face, 2 Corinthians 3:16 . We, now, are "not as Moses", Exodus 34:13 .

35.

And 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.

again . So 2 Corinthians 3:13 . Greek = kept putting a vail on his face" (imperfect tense). They could not see "the end of the Law", which is Christ. Romans 10:4 .