Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

Exodus 34 Study Notes

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General

Which description best matches how the LORD describes Himself in 34:6?

Answer: Full of compassion and grace, patient, and rich in steadfast love and faithfulness

When the LORD proclaims His name, the first words He speaks about Himself are words of mercy: He is full of compassion and grace, slow to become angry, and overflowing with loyal love and faithfulness (34:6). The word behind loyal love here is the Hebrew hesed, meaning faithful, steadfast covenant love, the kind of love that keeps its promises. It is striking that God says this right after Israel's great sin with the golden calf. Later believers often repeated this description in their prayers and songs (Psalm 86:15; Psalm 103:8), and Nehemiah's generation confessed that because God is like this, He did not abandon His stubborn people (Nehemiah 9:17).

  • Exodus 34:6 (BSB)
    “Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,”
    The first part of the LORD's self-proclamation stresses His compassion, grace, patience, love, and faithfulness.
  • Psalm 86:15 (BSB)
    “But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.”
    David prays back these same attributes, showing how Israel's worship drew on this self-description.
  • Psalm 103:8 (BSB)
    “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.”
    Another psalm repeats the same description of God's character as the basis for praise.
  • Nehemiah 9:17 (BSB)
    “They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.”
    The returned exiles confess that God, true to this character, did not abandon a stubborn people.

Theological

In 34:6 the LORD's self-proclamation first expounds His name chiefly in terms of what?

Answer: Compassion, grace, patience, and abundant covenant love (hesed) and faithfulness

The first movement of the proclamation (34:6) is weighted toward mercy: the LORD is rahum (compassionate) and hannun (gracious), long-suffering, and rich in hesed and emet, steadfast covenant love and faithfulness. Coming directly after the calf apostasy, the order is significant: God's self-revelation to a covenant-breaking people leads with grace. This formula became a creedal confession in Israel, echoed in worship (Psalm 86:15; 103:8) and in penitential prayer, where the post-exilic community acknowledged that God, being such, did not forsake a people who stiffened their necks (Nehemiah 9:17).

  • Exodus 34:6 (BSB)
    “Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,”
    The first part of the LORD's self-proclamation stresses His compassion, grace, patience, love, and faithfulness.
  • Psalm 86:15 (BSB)
    “But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness.”
    David prays back these same attributes, showing how Israel's worship drew on this self-description.
  • Psalm 103:8 (BSB)
    “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion.”
    Another psalm repeats the same description of God's character as the basis for praise.
  • Nehemiah 9:17 (BSB)
    “They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.”
    The returned exiles confess that God, true to this character, did not abandon a stubborn people.

General

What does the LORD promise when He announces in 34:10 that He is making a covenant?

Answer: To do wonders before all Israel unmatched anywhere on earth, so the peoples around them see His awesome work

The LORD answers Moses' prayer by declaring that He is making a covenant, renewing the relationship Israel had broken (34:10). He promises wonders unmatched among the nations, and the peoples among whom Israel lives will see how awesome the LORD's work is. The renewal comes from God's side, not from Israel's promises to do better. God's great works for Israel were meant to show the world that the LORD alone is God (Deuteronomy 4:34-35), and the psalms praise Him as the God of marvels among the nations (Psalm 77:14). On the eve of crossing the Jordan, Joshua told Israel to prepare, because the LORD was about to work wonders among them (Joshua 3:5).

  • Exodus 34:10 (BSB)
    “And the LORD said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will perform wonders that have never been done in any nation in all the world. All the people among whom you live will see the LORD’s work, for it is an awesome thing that I am doing with you.”
    The LORD announces He is making a covenant and will do unprecedented wonders before Israel.
  • Deuteronomy 4:34-35 (BSB)
    “Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation—by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors—as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes? You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.”
    Shows that God's unmatched works for Israel were meant to make known that the LORD alone is God.
  • Psalm 77:14 (BSB)
    “You are the God who works wonders; You display Your strength among the peoples.”
    Praises God as the one who works wonders and displays His strength among the peoples.
  • Joshua 3:5 (BSB)
    “Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.””
    Joshua announces that the LORD will do wonders among Israel as they prepare to cross into the land.

Theological

In 34:10, what does the LORD pledge as He announces the renewed covenant?

Answer: Unprecedented wonders before all Israel, so the surrounding peoples see His awesome work

The covenant renewal of 34:10 is a divine initiative answering Moses' intercession: the LORD declares that He is making a covenant and will perform wonders unparalleled among the nations, so that the peoples see His work. Nothing in 34:10 grounds the renewal in Israel's repentance or merit; it flows from the character just proclaimed. The purpose is doxological: God's mighty acts for Israel display that the LORD alone is God (Deuteronomy 4:34-35; Psalm 77:14). Joshua uses the same language of wonders as Israel prepares to cross the Jordan into the land (Joshua 3:5).

  • Exodus 34:10 (BSB)
    “And the LORD said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will perform wonders that have never been done in any nation in all the world. All the people among whom you live will see the LORD’s work, for it is an awesome thing that I am doing with you.”
    The LORD announces He is making a covenant and will do unprecedented wonders before Israel.
  • Deuteronomy 4:34-35 (BSB)
    “Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation—by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors—as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes? You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.”
    Shows that God's unmatched works for Israel were meant to make known that the LORD alone is God.
  • Psalm 77:14 (BSB)
    “You are the God who works wonders; You display Your strength among the peoples.”
    Praises God as the one who works wonders and displays His strength among the peoples.
  • Joshua 3:5 (BSB)
    “Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.””
    Joshua announces that the LORD will do wonders among Israel as they prepare to cross into the land.

General

According to the New Testament, how can God both forgive sin and still refuse to let the guilty go unpunished, as 34:7 says?

Answer: At the cross God punished sin in Jesus as the substitute, so He is both just and the one who declares believers righteous

The LORD describes Himself as keeping loyal love for a thousand generations and forgiving every kind of wrongdoing, and then immediately adds that He will certainly not let the guilty go unpunished (34:7; compare Nahum 1:3). Both are true of God at once: He is merciful and He is just. The Old Testament states both without fully explaining how they fit together. The New Testament gives the answer in the cross: God put Jesus forward as a sacrifice of atonement, meaning a sacrifice that pays for sin, so that God could be just and at the same time declare righteous the sinners who trust in Jesus (Romans 3:25-26). Forgiveness never means God pretends sin does not matter; sin is punished, either in the sinner or in the Substitute. That is why 1 John 1:9 can call God just, and not only faithful, when He forgives.

  • Exodus 34:7 (BSB)
    “maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.””
    The LORD declares both that He forgives sin and that He will not leave the guilty unpunished.
  • Romans 3:25-26 (BSB)
    “God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.”
    Shows how the cross displays God as both just and the one who justifies, holding forgiveness and justice together.
  • Nahum 1:3 (BSB)
    “The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.”
    Repeats the justice clause of this proclamation, confirming that God's patience never means ignoring guilt.
  • 1 John 1:9 (BSB)
    “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
    Calls God just, and not only faithful, when He forgives confessed sin.

Theological

How does the New Testament resolve the apparent tension in 34:7 between forgiving iniquity and refusing to clear the guilty?

Answer: At the cross God punishes sin in Christ as substitute, so He is both just and the justifier of those who believe in Jesus

The proclamation holds together what seems irreconcilable: the LORD forgives every form of wrongdoing, yet will never acquit the guilty (34:7; cf. Nahum 1:3). The Old Testament leaves the tension standing; the cross resolves it. God set forth Christ as a propitiation in His blood to display His righteousness, having passed over former sins in forbearance, so that He might be just and also the justifier of believers in Jesus (Romans 3:25-26). Divine forgiveness is therefore never the suspension of justice but its satisfaction by a substitute, which is why 1 John 1:9 can call God just, not merely faithful, in forgiving.

  • Exodus 34:7 (BSB)
    “maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.””
    The LORD declares both that He forgives sin and that He will not leave the guilty unpunished.
  • Romans 3:25-26 (BSB)
    “God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.”
    Shows how the cross displays God as both just and the one who justifies, holding forgiveness and justice together.
  • Nahum 1:3 (BSB)
    “The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.”
    Repeats the justice clause of this proclamation, confirming that God's patience never means ignoring guilt.
  • 1 John 1:9 (BSB)
    “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
    Calls God just, and not only faithful, when He forgives confessed sin.

General

According to 34:28, how long did Moses stay with the LORD on this occasion, and what did he go without?

Answer: Forty days and nights, with no food or water

Moses remained with the LORD on Sinai for forty days and nights and neither ate bread nor drank water (34:28). No person can normally survive that long without water, so this shows God Himself sustaining Moses in His presence. It matches Moses' first forty-day stay when he received the original tablets (24:18), which Deuteronomy describes the same way (Deuteronomy 9:9). Jesus also fasted forty days and nights in the wilderness before His ministry (Matthew 4:2).

  • Exodus 34:28 (BSB)
    “So Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.”
    Moses stays with the LORD forty days and nights with neither food nor water.
  • Exodus 24:18 (BSB)
    “Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.”
    Records Moses' earlier forty days and nights on the mountain when the first tablets were given.
  • Deuteronomy 9:9 (BSB)
    “When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I ate no bread and drank no water.”
    Moses recalls that during his first stay on the mountain he also ate no bread and drank no water.
  • Matthew 4:2 (BSB)
    “After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.”
    Jesus also fasted forty days and nights, a parallel to Moses' fasts in God's presence.

Theological

What does 34:28 record about the length and conditions of Moses' stay with the LORD?

Answer: Forty days and nights, with no food or water

34:28 records a forty-day, forty-night sojourn in God's presence without bread or water, a total fast beyond natural endurance, which points to God's sustaining power. It parallels the first ascent when the original tablets were given (24:18), which Moses describes in the same terms (Deuteronomy 9:9). Jesus' own forty-day fast in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2) recalls these fasts of Moses in God's presence.

  • Exodus 34:28 (BSB)
    “So Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.”
    Moses stays with the LORD forty days and nights with neither food nor water.
  • Exodus 24:18 (BSB)
    “Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.”
    Records Moses' earlier forty days and nights on the mountain when the first tablets were given.
  • Deuteronomy 9:9 (BSB)
    “When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I ate no bread and drank no water.”
    Moses recalls that during his first stay on the mountain he also ate no bread and drank no water.
  • Matthew 4:2 (BSB)
    “After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.”
    Jesus also fasted forty days and nights, a parallel to Moses' fasts in God's presence.

General

According to 34:15-16, what danger would come from covenants and marriages with the land's inhabitants?

Answer: Israel would be drawn into their sacrificial feasts and led to follow their gods

God warns that if Israel makes covenants with the land's inhabitants, those peoples will invite them to eat at the meals connected with their idol sacrifices, and when Israelite sons marry their daughters, those wives will lead the sons into worshiping their gods (34:15-16). The danger is spiritual, not racial: Ruth, a Moabite woman, was welcomed because she took Israel's God as her God (Ruth 1:16). The warning proved true, for Solomon's foreign wives drew his heart away to other gods (1 Kings 11:1-4). Verse 17 adds that Israel must make no molten (melted and cast) gods, a pointed command right after the molten calf of 32:4. The New Testament applies the principle by telling believers not to be yoked together with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14).

  • Exodus 34:15-17 (BSB)
    “Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices. And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same. You shall make no molten gods for yourselves.”
    Covenants and marriages with the land's peoples would draw Israel into their worship; no cast idols are allowed.
  • 1 Kings 11:1-4 (BSB)
    “King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines—and his wives turned his heart away. For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.”
    Solomon's foreign wives turning his heart to other gods shows exactly the danger described here.
  • Exodus 32:4 (BSB)
    “He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!””
    Recalls the molten calf, the recent sin that makes the ban on molten gods in 34:17 so pointed.
  • Ruth 1:16 (BSB)
    “But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”
    Shows a foreign woman who embraced Israel's God, indicating that the concern is religious rather than ethnic.
  • 2 Corinthians 6:14 (BSB)
    “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?”
    Carries the principle of not binding oneself to unbelievers into the life of the church.

Theological

What danger does 34:15-16 identify in covenants and marriages with the land's inhabitants?

Answer: Participation in their sacrificial meals and apostasy to their gods

The prohibition of 34:15-16 is religious, not ethnic: covenants with the Canaanites would draw Israel into their cultic meals, and intermarriage would lead Israel's sons into the harlotry of idolatry. Ruth's inclusion upon confessing Israel's God (Ruth 1:16) shows the line is drawn at worship, not blood. Solomon's apostasy through his foreign wives (1 Kings 11:1-4) is the paradigm case of the danger. The ban on molten gods (34:17) is pointed after the molten calf (32:4). Paul applies the underlying principle to believers' partnerships with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14).

  • Exodus 34:15-17 (BSB)
    “Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices. And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same. You shall make no molten gods for yourselves.”
    Covenants and marriages with the land's peoples would draw Israel into their worship; no cast idols are allowed.
  • 1 Kings 11:1-4 (BSB)
    “King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines—and his wives turned his heart away. For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.”
    Solomon's foreign wives turning his heart to other gods shows exactly the danger described here.
  • Exodus 32:4 (BSB)
    “He took the gold from their hands, and with an engraving tool he fashioned it into a molten calf. And they said, “These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!””
    Recalls the molten calf, the recent sin that makes the ban on molten gods in 34:17 so pointed.
  • Ruth 1:16 (BSB)
    “But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”
    Shows a foreign woman who embraced Israel's God, indicating that the concern is religious rather than ethnic.
  • 2 Corinthians 6:14 (BSB)
    “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?”
    Carries the principle of not binding oneself to unbelievers into the life of the church.

General

True or False: In 34:3 the LORD allows Aaron and the elders to come partway up the mountain with Moses, as they had in chapter 24.

Answer: False

This is false. In chapter 24 Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders were invited to come up and bow down from afar (24:1), but this time the LORD says Moses must come up entirely alone. No person may even appear anywhere on Sinai, and even the livestock must be kept from grazing before it (34:3). This echoes the boundary set around Sinai in 19:12-13, where even an animal that touched the mountain had to die. The restrictions teach how holy God is. Sinful people cannot simply walk into His presence. Hebrews 12 looks back on these fearful limits at Sinai to show how different the approach to God is for those who come through Jesus.

  • Exodus 34:2-3 (BSB)
    “Be ready in the morning, and come up on Mount Sinai to present yourself before Me on the mountaintop. No one may go up with you; in fact, no one may be seen anywhere on the mountain—not even the flocks or herds may graze in front of the mountain.””
    Moses alone is to meet the LORD on the mountaintop; no person or animal may be near.
  • Exodus 19:12-13 (BSB)
    “And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows—whether man or beast, he must not live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.””
    The earlier boundary around Sinai shows the same concern that neither people nor animals approach the holy mountain.
  • Exodus 24:1 (BSB)
    “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders—and you are to worship at a distance.”
    Shows that on an earlier occasion Aaron, his sons, and seventy elders were called to worship at a distance, unlike this time.
  • Hebrews 12:18-21 (BSB)
    “For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm; to a trumpet blast or to a voice that made its hearers beg that no further word be spoken. For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.” The sight was so terrifying that even Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.””
    Recalls the terror of Sinai's restrictions to show how unapproachable God's holiness was under that covenant.
  • Hebrews 12:24 (BSB)
    “to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
    Names Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, as the one to whom believers now come, in contrast to the terrors of Sinai.

Theological

True or False: In 34:3 the LORD allows Aaron and the elders to come partway up the mountain with Moses, as they had in chapter 24.

Answer: False

This is false. Whereas Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders were summoned to worship from afar in 24:1, in 34:3 Moses alone ascends; no other person may appear anywhere on Sinai, and even livestock must be kept from grazing before it. The prohibition renews the holiness boundary of 19:12-13 and, after the covenant breach of chapter 32, underlines Moses' unique mediatorial role. Hebrews 12:18-21 recalls these Sinai restrictions to contrast the terror of that approach with the access believers now have through Jesus, who mediates a new covenant.

  • Exodus 34:2-3 (BSB)
    “Be ready in the morning, and come up on Mount Sinai to present yourself before Me on the mountaintop. No one may go up with you; in fact, no one may be seen anywhere on the mountain—not even the flocks or herds may graze in front of the mountain.””
    Moses alone is to meet the LORD on the mountaintop; no person or animal may be near.
  • Exodus 19:12-13 (BSB)
    “And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows—whether man or beast, he must not live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.””
    The earlier boundary around Sinai shows the same concern that neither people nor animals approach the holy mountain.
  • Exodus 24:1 (BSB)
    “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD—you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders—and you are to worship at a distance.”
    Shows that on an earlier occasion Aaron, his sons, and seventy elders were called to worship at a distance, unlike this time.
  • Hebrews 12:18-21 (BSB)
    “For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm; to a trumpet blast or to a voice that made its hearers beg that no further word be spoken. For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.” The sight was so terrifying that even Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.””
    Recalls the terror of Sinai's restrictions to show how unapproachable God's holiness was under that covenant.
  • Hebrews 12:24 (BSB)
    “to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
    Names Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, as the one to whom believers now come, in contrast to the terrors of Sinai.

General

True or False: When Moses descended Sinai carrying the new tablets, he knew his face was shining and made a point of showing it to the people.

Answer: False

This is false. Moses did not know that his face was shining because he had been talking with the LORD (34:29). When Aaron and the Israelites saw it, they drew back in fear. Moses called to them; Aaron and the leaders came back first, then all the Israelites approached, and he passed on everything God had commanded on Sinai (34:30-32). The glow was a reflection of God's glory, not something Moses produced or showed off. Paul refers to this event, saying Israel could not look steadily at Moses' face because of its glory (2 Corinthians 3:7). Even greater glory is seen in Jesus, whose face shows God's glory (2 Corinthians 4:6), and who is worthy of more glory than Moses (Hebrews 3:3).

  • Exodus 34:29-32 (BSB)
    “And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was unaware that his face had become radiant from speaking with the LORD. Aaron and all the Israelites looked at Moses, and behold, his face was radiant. And they were afraid to approach him. But Moses called out to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. And after this all the Israelites came near, and Moses commanded them to do everything that the LORD had told him on Mount Sinai.”
    Moses' face shines after speaking with the LORD; the people fear, then gather to hear God's commands.
  • 2 Corinthians 3:7 (BSB)
    “Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory,”
    Paul refers directly to this event: Israel could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, a glory Paul calls fleeting.
  • 2 Corinthians 4:6 (BSB)
    “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
    Shows the light of the knowledge of God's glory now given in the face of Jesus Christ.
  • Hebrews 3:3 (BSB)
    “For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.”
    Affirms that Jesus is worthy of greater glory than Moses.

Theological

True or False: When Moses descended Sinai carrying the new tablets, he knew his face was shining and made a point of showing it to the people.

Answer: False

This is false. 34:29 stresses that Moses was unaware of his radiance, a reflected glory derived from his conversation with the LORD, not self-generated. The people's fear (34:30) gives way when Moses summons Aaron, the leaders, and then all Israel, and delivers the commands received on Sinai (34:31-32). Paul cites the episode as evidence that the old covenant ministry came with real, though fleeting, glory (2 Corinthians 3:7), and he later speaks of God's glory made known in Christ's face (2 Corinthians 4:6); Hebrews holds that Christ deserves more glory than Moses (Hebrews 3:3).

  • Exodus 34:29-32 (BSB)
    “And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was unaware that his face had become radiant from speaking with the LORD. Aaron and all the Israelites looked at Moses, and behold, his face was radiant. And they were afraid to approach him. But Moses called out to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke to them. And after this all the Israelites came near, and Moses commanded them to do everything that the LORD had told him on Mount Sinai.”
    Moses' face shines after speaking with the LORD; the people fear, then gather to hear God's commands.
  • 2 Corinthians 3:7 (BSB)
    “Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory,”
    Paul refers directly to this event: Israel could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, a glory Paul calls fleeting.
  • 2 Corinthians 4:6 (BSB)
    “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
    Shows the light of the knowledge of God's glory now given in the face of Jesus Christ.
  • Hebrews 3:3 (BSB)
    “For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.”
    Affirms that Jesus is worthy of greater glory than Moses.

General

What does Moses ask of the Lord in 34:9?

Answer: That the Lord would go among them, pardon their sin, and claim Israel as His own possession

As soon as the LORD finishes proclaiming His name, Moses bows low and worships (34:8). Then he prays: if he has found favor, would the Lord go with them, forgive their sin, and take Israel as His own inheritance (34:9). Earlier God had said He would not go with Israel because they were so stubborn (33:3), and Moses had insisted that without God's presence Israel should not move at all (33:15-16). Now Moses admits the people really are stubborn, includes himself by saying our sin, and asks for mercy anyway. Moses' pleading points ahead to Jesus, the greater go-between, who always lives to pray for His people (Hebrews 7:25).

  • Exodus 34:8-9 (BSB)
    “Moses immediately bowed down to the ground and worshiped. “O Lord,” he said, “if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, my Lord, please go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our iniquity and sin, and take us as Your inheritance.””
    Moses bows in worship and pleads for God's presence, pardon, and ownership of the people.
  • Exodus 33:3 (BSB)
    “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise, I might destroy you on the way.””
    God had given the people's stubbornness as the reason He would not go with them, the very trait Moses now names.
  • Exodus 33:15-16 (BSB)
    ““If Your Presence does not go with us,” Moses replied, “do not lead us up from here. For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favor in Your sight, unless You go with us? How else will we be distinguished from all the other people on the face of the earth?””
    Shows that God's presence going with Israel is what Moses had already insisted on as essential.
  • Hebrews 7:25 (BSB)
    “Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.”
    Points to Christ as the greater mediator who always lives to intercede for His people.

Theological

What is notable about the way Moses frames his petition in 34:9?

Answer: He names the people's stubbornness, includes himself in the confession, and pleads for God's presence, pardon, and possession of Israel

Moses responds to the proclamation first with worship (34:8), then with a petition built on the character just revealed (34:9). Strikingly, he names the very trait God cited as grounds for withdrawing His presence, the people's stiff neck (33:3), and rather than hiding it, confesses it while still pleading for both God's presence and His pardon. He identifies himself with the guilty (our iniquity) and asks that God take Israel as His inheritance, echoing his earlier insistence that only God's presence distinguishes His people (33:15-16). Moses' intercession foreshadows Christ, the one mediator, who lives forever to plead for all who come to God by Him (Hebrews 7:25).

  • Exodus 34:8-9 (BSB)
    “Moses immediately bowed down to the ground and worshiped. “O Lord,” he said, “if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, my Lord, please go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our iniquity and sin, and take us as Your inheritance.””
    Moses bows in worship and pleads for God's presence, pardon, and ownership of the people.
  • Exodus 33:3 (BSB)
    “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise, I might destroy you on the way.””
    God had given the people's stubbornness as the reason He would not go with them, the very trait Moses now names.
  • Exodus 33:15-16 (BSB)
    ““If Your Presence does not go with us,” Moses replied, “do not lead us up from here. For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favor in Your sight, unless You go with us? How else will we be distinguished from all the other people on the face of the earth?””
    Shows that God's presence going with Israel is what Moses had already insisted on as essential.
  • Hebrews 7:25 (BSB)
    “Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.”
    Points to Christ as the greater mediator who always lives to intercede for His people.

General

What does the LORD tell Moses to do at the start of Exodus 34?

Answer: Cut a new pair of stone tablets matching the first ones and bring them to the top of Sinai in the morning

After Moses shattered the first tablets at the sight of the golden calf (32:19), the LORD tells him to cut two new stone tablets matching the originals and promises to inscribe on them the same words the first set carried (34:1). Moses must be prepared by morning and present himself on the mountaintop, and he does exactly that, rising early and climbing Sinai with the tablets in hand (34:2, 4). The new tablets are a picture of grace: Israel broke the covenant almost as soon as it was made, yet God does not throw it away. He restores it on the same terms, with the same words. Moses later retells this very command in Deuteronomy 10.

  • Exodus 34:1-2 (BSB)
    “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and come up on Mount Sinai to present yourself before Me on the mountaintop.”
    The LORD orders replacement tablets and promises to write the same words again.
  • Exodus 34:4 (BSB)
    “So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the originals. He rose early in the morning, and taking the two stone tablets in his hands, he went up Mount Sinai as the LORD had commanded him.”
    Moses obeys, rising early and climbing Sinai with the two new tablets.
  • Exodus 32:19 (BSB)
    “As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain.”
    Records how the first tablets were shattered when Moses saw the calf, which is why new ones are needed.
  • Exodus 31:18 (BSB)
    “When the LORD had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.”
    Shows that the first tablets had been inscribed by God Himself, the standard the new tablets are to match.
  • Deuteronomy 10:1-2 (BSB)
    “At that time the LORD said to me, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood. And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you are to place them in the ark.””
    Moses' own retelling of this command confirms that God restored the covenant document after it was broken.

Theological

How does 34:1-4 signal that the covenant broken at the golden calf is being restored?

Answer: God has Moses prepare replacement tablets and promises to inscribe the same words the first ones bore

The first tablets, written by God's own finger (31:18), were shattered at the foot of the mountain when Moses saw the calf (32:19), a vivid enactment of Israel's breach of the covenant. In 34:1-4 God Himself takes the initiative to restore what was broken: Moses prepares two new tablets matching the originals, and the LORD promises to inscribe them with the very words of the first. The content of the covenant does not change, since God's moral standard is not lowered to accommodate the people's failure; what changes is that a sinful people is received again by grace. Deuteronomy 10:1-2 records the same command from Moses' side.

  • Exodus 34:1-2 (BSB)
    “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and come up on Mount Sinai to present yourself before Me on the mountaintop.”
    The LORD orders replacement tablets and promises to write the same words again.
  • Exodus 34:4 (BSB)
    “So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the originals. He rose early in the morning, and taking the two stone tablets in his hands, he went up Mount Sinai as the LORD had commanded him.”
    Moses obeys, rising early and climbing Sinai with the two new tablets.
  • Exodus 32:19 (BSB)
    “As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain.”
    Records how the first tablets were shattered when Moses saw the calf, which is why new ones are needed.
  • Exodus 31:18 (BSB)
    “When the LORD had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.”
    Shows that the first tablets had been inscribed by God Himself, the standard the new tablets are to match.
  • Deuteronomy 10:1-2 (BSB)
    “At that time the LORD said to me, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood. And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you are to place them in the ark.””
    Moses' own retelling of this command confirms that God restored the covenant document after it was broken.

General

In 34:11-13, what were the Israelites told to do about the altars, sacred stones, and Asherah poles of the land's inhabitants?

Answer: Destroy them, and make no treaty with those peoples

God promises to drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, and other nations ahead of Israel (34:11), but Israel must not enter an agreement with the land's inhabitants, because such agreements would become a trap (34:12). Instead Israel must demolish their altars, shatter the stone pillars, and fell their Asherah poles, which were wooden objects used in the worship of a Canaanite goddess (34:13). The ban on agreements repeats a warning from the earlier covenant laws (23:32-33), and Moses later restates the command to demolish their altars (Deuteronomy 7:5). Sadly, Israel did not obey, and in Judges the LORD's angel at Bochim announces that because of their disobedience He would not drive those peoples out, and their gods would become a trap to Israel (Judges 2:1-3).

  • Exodus 34:11-13 (BSB)
    “Observe what I command you this day. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land you are entering, lest they become a snare in your midst. Rather, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and chop down their Asherah poles.”
    God will drive out the nations; Israel must make no treaty and must destroy their places of worship.
  • Exodus 23:32-33 (BSB)
    “You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods. They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.””
    The earlier covenant law gave the same warning that the land's gods would become a snare.
  • Deuteronomy 7:5 (BSB)
    “Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.”
    Moses repeats the command to tear down altars, smash pillars, and cut down Asherah poles.
  • Judges 2:1-3 (BSB)
    “Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I had promised to your fathers, and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done? So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.””
    The angel of the LORD rebukes Israel for disobeying this command and announces that the land's gods will be a snare to them.

Theological

What does 34:11-13 require of Israel regarding the peoples of Canaan and their places of worship?

Answer: No treaty with them, and the demolition of their cult objects

The covenant stipulations of 34:11-13 pair God's promise to dispossess the nations with Israel's obligation of exclusive loyalty: no treaty with the land's inhabitants, since alliances would ensnare Israel in their religion, and the demolition of their altars, standing stones, and Asherah poles. The ban on treaties renews the Book of the Covenant (23:32-33), and the demolition command is reiterated in Deuteronomy 7:5. Judges 2:1-3 records the tragic outcome: because Israel disobeyed this command, the LORD declared that He would no longer dispossess those peoples and that their gods would become a snare to Israel.

  • Exodus 34:11-13 (BSB)
    “Observe what I command you this day. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land you are entering, lest they become a snare in your midst. Rather, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and chop down their Asherah poles.”
    God will drive out the nations; Israel must make no treaty and must destroy their places of worship.
  • Exodus 23:32-33 (BSB)
    “You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods. They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.””
    The earlier covenant law gave the same warning that the land's gods would become a snare.
  • Deuteronomy 7:5 (BSB)
    “Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.”
    Moses repeats the command to tear down altars, smash pillars, and cut down Asherah poles.
  • Judges 2:1-3 (BSB)
    “Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I had promised to your fathers, and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done? So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.””
    The angel of the LORD rebukes Israel for disobeying this command and announces that the land's gods will be a snare to them.

General

What does 34:21 add to the command to work six days and rest on the seventh?

Answer: The rest was required even at the busiest farming times, when fields needed plowing or crops needed harvesting

The renewed covenant repeats the pattern of six days of work and a seventh day of rest (34:21; compare 23:12), and adds that the rest applies even during plowing time and harvest time. Those were the seasons when a farmer would feel most pressure to keep working, so keeping the Sabbath then required trusting God to provide. Israel had already learned this with the manna, when God gave a double portion the day before the Sabbath so they could rest (16:29). The Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, rooted in God's own rest after creating the world (31:16-17).

  • Exodus 34:21 (BSB)
    “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in the seasons of plowing and harvesting, you must rest.”
    The Sabbath command applies even during plowing and harvest.
  • Exodus 23:12 (BSB)
    “For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident.”
    The earlier covenant law gave the same six-days-and-rest pattern.
  • Exodus 16:29 (BSB)
    “Understand that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day He will give you bread for two days. On the seventh day, everyone must stay where he is; no one may leave his place.””
    The manna shows God providing in advance so that His people could rest on the seventh day.
  • Exodus 31:16-17 (BSB)
    “The Israelites must keep the Sabbath, celebrating it as a permanent covenant for the generations to come. It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’””
    Presents the Sabbath as a covenant sign for Israel grounded in God's rest after creation.

Theological

What does 34:21 specify about the scope of the Sabbath command?

Answer: It binds even in the critical agricultural times of plowing and harvest

The Sabbath law in 34:21 restates the six-and-one pattern of the Book of the Covenant (23:12) and specifies that it holds even in plowing and harvest, the seasons of greatest economic pressure. Observance at such times was an exercise of dependence on God's provision, a lesson already embodied in the double portion of manna (16:29). Within the Sinai covenant the Sabbath functioned as a perpetual sign between the LORD and Israel, grounded in the creation week (31:16-17).

  • Exodus 34:21 (BSB)
    “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in the seasons of plowing and harvesting, you must rest.”
    The Sabbath command applies even during plowing and harvest.
  • Exodus 23:12 (BSB)
    “For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident.”
    The earlier covenant law gave the same six-days-and-rest pattern.
  • Exodus 16:29 (BSB)
    “Understand that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day He will give you bread for two days. On the seventh day, everyone must stay where he is; no one may leave his place.””
    The manna shows God providing in advance so that His people could rest on the seventh day.
  • Exodus 31:16-17 (BSB)
    “The Israelites must keep the Sabbath, celebrating it as a permanent covenant for the generations to come. It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’””
    Presents the Sabbath as a covenant sign for Israel grounded in God's rest after creation.

General

Where in Exodus had God already given nearly the same commands found in 34:25-26 about leaven, firstfruits, and not boiling a kid in the milk of its mother?

Answer: In the covenant laws of chapter 23

The commands of 34:25-26 are almost word for word the same as 23:18-19: no leaven offered alongside sacrificial blood, nothing left over until morning, the best firstfruits brought to God's house, and no young goat cooked in the milk of its mother. One small difference is that 34:25 speaks directly of the Passover sacrifice. The text does not explain the reason for the young goat rule, and it appears again in Deuteronomy 14:21. The repetition shows again that the renewed covenant rests on the same laws God gave before the golden calf.

  • Exodus 34:25-26 (BSB)
    “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to Me along with anything leavened, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning. Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.””
    The renewed covenant repeats rules about leaven, the Passover sacrifice, firstfruits, and the young goat.
  • Exodus 23:18-19 (BSB)
    “You must not offer the blood of My sacrifices with anything leavened, nor may the fat of My feast remain until morning. Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
    The earlier covenant law contains nearly identical commands, showing this section is a restatement.
  • Deuteronomy 14:21 (BSB)
    “You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to the foreigner residing within your gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
    The goat-and-milk prohibition appears a third time in Deuteronomy, underscoring its place in Israel's law.

Theological

Which earlier section of Exodus contains nearly the same commands as 34:25-26 on leaven, firstfruits, and not boiling a kid in the milk of its mother?

Answer: The Book of the Covenant in chapter 23

34:25-26 reproduces 23:18-19 almost verbatim: no leaven with sacrificial blood, nothing of the feast left until morning, the choicest firstfruits brought to the LORD's house, and the prohibition on cooking a kid in the milk of its mother. The chief variation is that 34:25 names the Passover sacrifice explicitly. The text gives no rationale for the goat prohibition, which recurs in Deuteronomy 14:21. The recapitulation confirms that the renewed covenant reinstates the original stipulations.

  • Exodus 34:25-26 (BSB)
    “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to Me along with anything leavened, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning. Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.””
    The renewed covenant repeats rules about leaven, the Passover sacrifice, firstfruits, and the young goat.
  • Exodus 23:18-19 (BSB)
    “You must not offer the blood of My sacrifices with anything leavened, nor may the fat of My feast remain until morning. Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
    The earlier covenant law contains nearly identical commands, showing this section is a restatement.
  • Deuteronomy 14:21 (BSB)
    “You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to the foreigner residing within your gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
    The goat-and-milk prohibition appears a third time in Deuteronomy, underscoring its place in Israel's law.

General

How does the LORD fulfill His promise to Moses from chapter 33 in 34:5-6?

Answer: He comes down in a cloud, stands with Moses, and passes by him while proclaiming His name

In 33:19 the LORD promised Moses that He would make all His goodness pass before him and proclaim His name, while warning that seeing His face would mean death (33:20). In 34:5-6 that promise comes true: the LORD comes down in the cloud, stands there with Moses, and passes in front of him, calling out His name. In the Bible a name often stands for who someone is, so God proclaiming His name means God declaring His own character. Moses does not see God's face, but he hears God describe Himself. The New Testament teaches that God has never been seen directly by anyone, yet the Son has revealed Him (John 1:18).

  • Exodus 34:5-6 (BSB)
    “And the LORD descended in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name, the LORD. Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,”
    The LORD descends in the cloud, stands with Moses, and passes before him proclaiming His name.
  • Exodus 33:19 (BSB)
    ““I will cause all My goodness to pass before you,” the LORD replied, “and I will proclaim My name—the LORD—in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.””
    God had promised to make His goodness pass before Moses and to proclaim His name, which is fulfilled here.
  • Exodus 33:20 (BSB)
    “But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.””
    Explains why Moses sees God's glory passing by rather than His face.
  • John 1:18 (BSB)
    “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.”
    Confirms that no one has seen God directly and that the Son is the one who fully makes Him known.

Theological

In 34:5-6, how does the theophany fulfill the promise of 33:19-23?

Answer: The LORD descends in the cloud, stands with Moses, and passes before him proclaiming His name

The theophany of 34:5-6 answers Moses' request to see God's glory (33:18-23). The LORD had promised to make His goodness pass by Moses and to proclaim His name, while withholding the sight of His face (33:19-20). Now He descends in the cloud, stands with Moses, and passes before him, proclaiming the divine name. The revelation is primarily verbal: God's glory is disclosed as His character, expounded in the words that follow. The fullest disclosure of that character comes in the incarnate Son, Himself God, who reveals the Father (John 1:18).

  • Exodus 34:5-6 (BSB)
    “And the LORD descended in a cloud, stood with him there, and proclaimed His name, the LORD. Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,”
    The LORD descends in the cloud, stands with Moses, and passes before him proclaiming His name.
  • Exodus 33:19 (BSB)
    ““I will cause all My goodness to pass before you,” the LORD replied, “and I will proclaim My name—the LORD—in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.””
    God had promised to make His goodness pass before Moses and to proclaim His name, which is fulfilled here.
  • Exodus 33:20 (BSB)
    “But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.””
    Explains why Moses sees God's glory passing by rather than His face.
  • John 1:18 (BSB)
    “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.”
    Confirms that no one has seen God directly and that the Son is the one who fully makes Him known.

General

What name does the LORD give Himself in 34:14 when He forbids the worship of other gods?

Answer: Jealous

In 34:14 God forbids Israel to bow to any rival deity, because His very name is Jealous. This is not the petty envy people often feel. It is the right and holy desire of a husband that his wife belong to him alone. That is why the next verses describe idolatry as prostitution (34:15-16). God has redeemed Israel and bound them to Himself, so giving worship to another god is unfaithfulness to Him. Moses later calls God a consuming fire and a jealous God (Deuteronomy 4:24), and Paul applies the same idea to the church as a bride promised to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2) and warns believers against stirring up the Lord's jealousy through idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:22).

  • Exodus 34:14 (BSB)
    “For you must not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
    God forbids worship of any other god because His very name is Jealous.
  • Deuteronomy 4:24 (BSB)
    “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”
    Confirms that jealousy belongs to God's own character, joined with His holiness as a consuming fire.
  • 2 Corinthians 11:2 (BSB)
    “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.”
    Shows godly jealousy as the protective love of one who wants a bride kept pure for her husband.
  • 1 Corinthians 10:22 (BSB)
    “Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?”
    Warns believers that idolatry still provokes the Lord to jealousy.

Theological

In 34:14 the LORD declares that His very name is what?

Answer: Jealous

In 34:14 the prohibition of other gods is grounded in the divine name itself, since the LORD's name is Jealous. Divine jealousy is not a vice but the zeal of covenant love that rightly claims exclusive devotion, which is why the following verses cast idolatry as harlotry (34:15-16). The attribute is bound up with God's holiness (Deuteronomy 4:24) and carries into the New Testament, where Paul's godly jealousy for the church as a bride betrothed to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2) and his warning against arousing the Lord's jealousy through idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:22) show that God's claim on His people's exclusive worship remains.

  • Exodus 34:14 (BSB)
    “For you must not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
    God forbids worship of any other god because His very name is Jealous.
  • Deuteronomy 4:24 (BSB)
    “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”
    Confirms that jealousy belongs to God's own character, joined with His holiness as a consuming fire.
  • 2 Corinthians 11:2 (BSB)
    “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.”
    Shows godly jealousy as the protective love of one who wants a bride kept pure for her husband.
  • 1 Corinthians 10:22 (BSB)
    “Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?”
    Warns believers that idolatry still provokes the Lord to jealousy.

General

Which prophet complained to God, using the words of 34:6, because God had shown mercy to Nineveh?

Answer: Jonah

The way God describes Himself in 34:6-7 became one of the most repeated confessions in the Old Testament. Moses prays it back to God when Israel rebels again after the spies' report (Numbers 14:18-19), and Joel uses it to summon Israel to come back to God (Joel 2:13). Jonah quotes it too, but as a complaint: when God spared Nineveh, Jonah said he had run away in the first place because he knew God was gracious, compassionate, and slow to anger (Jonah 4:2). Nahum later speaks about Nineveh as well, but he echoes the justice side of the proclamation rather than complaining about mercy. God's own description of Himself here shaped how His people prayed for centuries.

  • Exodus 34:6 (BSB)
    “Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,”
    The LORD's self-description that later writers repeatedly quote.
  • Jonah 4:2 (BSB)
    “So he prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion—One who relents from sending disaster.”
    Jonah quotes this description of God as the reason he resented God's mercy to Nineveh.
  • Numbers 14:18-19 (BSB)
    “‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generation.’ Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your loving devotion, just as You have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.””
    Moses himself pleads these words when interceding for Israel after the spies' report.
  • Joel 2:13 (BSB)
    “So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.”
    The prophet grounds his call to repentance in this same description of God.

Theological

Which prophet invoked the language of 34:6 as a complaint against God's mercy toward Nineveh?

Answer: Jonah

The proclamation of 34:6-7 functions as a canonical creed, echoed across the Old Testament. Moses pleads it in intercession after Kadesh (Numbers 14:18-19); Joel grounds his summons to repentance in it (Joel 2:13); and Jonah, ironically, cites it as the very reason he fled to Tarshish, resenting that God's compassion would extend to Nineveh (Jonah 4:2). Nahum also addresses Nineveh but draws on the justice clause of the formula (Nahum 1:3), not in complaint. The recurrence shows that Israel's knowledge of God was anchored in this self-revelation given at Sinai after the calf.

  • Exodus 34:6 (BSB)
    “Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,”
    The LORD's self-description that later writers repeatedly quote.
  • Jonah 4:2 (BSB)
    “So he prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion—One who relents from sending disaster.”
    Jonah quotes this description of God as the reason he resented God's mercy to Nineveh.
  • Numbers 14:18-19 (BSB)
    “‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generation.’ Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your loving devotion, just as You have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.””
    Moses himself pleads these words when interceding for Israel after the spies' report.
  • Joel 2:13 (BSB)
    “So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.”
    The prophet grounds his call to repentance in this same description of God.

General

What does Paul in 2 Corinthians 3 draw from Moses' veil described in Exodus 34:33-35?

Answer: The veil hid a glory that was fading, and the covering over hearts is removed only in Christ, so believers, unveiled, reflect the Lord's glory and are changed

After speaking to the people, Moses covered his face with a veil. Whenever he entered the LORD's presence, he took it off, and as he returned to tell Israel what God commanded, they saw his shining face, and then he covered it again until his next meeting with God (34:33-35). Paul explains this in 2 Corinthians 3. Moses' veil, Paul says, kept Israel from watching a fading glory reach its end (2 Corinthians 3:13). Paul adds that the same kind of veil still covers Israel's hearts whenever Moses is read, and it is lifted only in Christ, whenever someone turns toward the Lord (3:14-16). Those who belong to Christ reflect the Lord's glory with faces unveiled and are being changed into His likeness (3:18). The law arrived by way of Moses, but grace and truth arrived in Jesus Christ (John 1:17).

  • Exodus 34:33-35 (BSB)
    “When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out. And when he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded, and the Israelites would see that the face of Moses was radiant. So Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.”
    Moses veils his face after speaking to Israel and removes the veil when he goes in before the LORD.
  • 2 Corinthians 3:13-16 (BSB)
    “We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed. And even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”
    Paul says Moses' veil kept Israel from gazing at the end of what was fading, and that the veil over Israel's hearts is lifted only in Christ.
  • 2 Corinthians 3:18 (BSB)
    “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
    Believers, with no veil, reflect the Lord's glory and are being transformed into His image.
  • John 1:17 (BSB)
    “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
    Contrasts the law given through Moses with the grace and truth that came through Jesus Christ.

Theological

What does Paul in 2 Corinthians 3 draw from the veiling of Moses' face in Exodus 34:33-35?

Answer: The veil concealed a transient glory, and the veil over hearts is removed only in Christ, so believers with unveiled faces reflect the Lord's glory and are transformed

34:33-35 describes a repeated practice: Moses unveiled before the LORD and while delivering God's word, then veiled until his next audience. Paul interprets the veil in 2 Corinthians 3:13-16 as keeping Israel from seeing the end of a transient glory, that of the Sinai ministry, and sees a corresponding veil lying over Israel's hearts whenever Moses is read aloud, lifted only in Christ whenever someone turns toward the Lord. In the new covenant believers with unveiled faces reflect the Lord's glory and are progressively changed into His likeness, a work of the Spirit (3:18). The contrast is not that Moses' ministry lacked glory, but that the grace and truth brought by Jesus Christ (John 1:17) surpass it.

  • Exodus 34:33-35 (BSB)
    “When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would remove the veil until he came out. And when he came out, he would tell the Israelites what he had been commanded, and the Israelites would see that the face of Moses was radiant. So Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.”
    Moses veils his face after speaking to Israel and removes the veil when he goes in before the LORD.
  • 2 Corinthians 3:13-16 (BSB)
    “We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed. And even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”
    Paul says Moses' veil kept Israel from gazing at the end of what was fading, and that the veil over Israel's hearts is lifted only in Christ.
  • 2 Corinthians 3:18 (BSB)
    “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
    Believers, with no veil, reflect the Lord's glory and are being transformed into His image.
  • John 1:17 (BSB)
    “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
    Contrasts the law given through Moses with the grace and truth that came through Jesus Christ.

General

What promise does the LORD attach in 34:23-24 to the command that Israel's males appear before Him at the annual feasts?

Answer: No one would covet their land while they were away worshiping

Besides Unleavened Bread, Israel was to celebrate two more annual feasts: Weeks, marked by the first grain of the wheat crop, and Ingathering, as the year came round (34:22). In the earlier list, Weeks goes by the name Harvest (23:14-17), and Deuteronomy names the three pilgrim feasts as Unleavened Bread, Weeks, and Tabernacles, Tabernacles being the same feast as Ingathering (Deuteronomy 16:16). Three annual trips to worship would leave homes and borders without their men, which might seem dangerous. So God promises to expel the nations, enlarge Israel's territory, and see to it that no one will even desire their land while they are gone (34:24). Obedience in worship could be trusted to God's protection (compare Proverbs 16:7).

  • Exodus 34:22-24 (BSB)
    “And you are to celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.”
    Israel's males must appear before God at the annual feasts, and God promises no one will covet their land meanwhile.
  • Exodus 23:14-17 (BSB)
    “Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me. You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed. You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field. Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD.”
    The earlier covenant law listed the same three annual feasts, calling Weeks the Feast of Harvest.
  • Deuteronomy 16:16 (BSB)
    “Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.”
    Names the three pilgrim feasts as Unleavened Bread, Weeks, and Tabernacles.
  • Proverbs 16:7 (BSB)
    “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him.”
    States the principle that God can keep enemies at peace with those whose ways please Him.

Theological

What promise accompanies the command in 34:23-24 that all Israel's males present themselves before the LORD at the annual feasts?

Answer: Their land would not be coveted in their absence

The pilgrim-feast law (34:22-24) restates the calendar of 23:14-17, naming Weeks (there called Harvest) and Ingathering alongside Unleavened Bread; Deuteronomy 16:16 lists the three as Unleavened Bread, Weeks, and Tabernacles, the last being the feast called Ingathering here. The obligation for all males to present themselves before the LORD would leave the land exposed, so God attaches a providential guarantee: He will dispossess the nations, enlarge Israel's borders, and restrain even the desire of others for their land during the feasts. God's sovereignty extends over the very inclinations of Israel's enemies (cf. Proverbs 16:7), so covenant worship could be undertaken in trust.

  • Exodus 34:22-24 (BSB)
    “And you are to celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.”
    Israel's males must appear before God at the annual feasts, and God promises no one will covet their land meanwhile.
  • Exodus 23:14-17 (BSB)
    “Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me. You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed. You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field. Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD.”
    The earlier covenant law listed the same three annual feasts, calling Weeks the Feast of Harvest.
  • Deuteronomy 16:16 (BSB)
    “Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.”
    Names the three pilgrim feasts as Unleavened Bread, Weeks, and Tabernacles.
  • Proverbs 16:7 (BSB)
    “When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even the man’s enemies live at peace with him.”
    States the principle that God can keep enemies at peace with those whose ways please Him.

General

True or False: The commands about the feast called Unleavened Bread and redeeming the firstborn in 34:18-20 appear in Exodus for the first time in this chapter.

Answer: False

This is false. These commands repeat laws God had already given. Unleavened Bread, the seven-day feast kept in Abib, with the warning that no one should come before God empty-handed, was commanded in 23:15. The rule that every firstborn belongs to the LORD, that a firstborn donkey must be redeemed (bought back) with a lamb or else have its neck broken, and that every firstborn son must be redeemed, was given in 13:12-13. That law reminded Israel that the LORD struck down every firstborn in Egypt when Pharaoh refused to let them go (13:15). Repeating these laws after the golden calf shows that God was renewing the covenant on its original terms.

  • Exodus 34:18-20 (BSB)
    “You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, you are to eat unleavened bread as I commanded you. For in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt. The first offspring of every womb belongs to Me, including all the firstborn males among your livestock, whether cattle or sheep. You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb; but if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before Me empty-handed.”
    The renewed covenant restates the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the redemption of the firstborn.
  • Exodus 23:15 (BSB)
    “You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed.”
    The earlier covenant law gave the same feast command, including not appearing before God empty-handed.
  • Exodus 13:12-13 (BSB)
    “you are to present to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD. You must redeem every firstborn donkey with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. And every firstborn of your sons you must redeem.”
    The original firstborn law gave the same rules for donkeys and sons.
  • Exodus 13:15 (BSB)
    “And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’”
    Explains that firstborn redemption memorializes the LORD striking Egypt's firstborn at the exodus.

Theological

True or False: The commands about the feast called Unleavened Bread and redeeming the firstborn in 34:18-20 appear in Exodus for the first time in this chapter.

Answer: False

This is false. The renewal section restates earlier legislation: the feast called Unleavened Bread in Abib with the prohibition on appearing empty-handed comes from the Book of the Covenant (23:15), and the consecration and redemption of the firstborn of livestock and sons, including the donkey redeemed with a lamb, from 13:12-13, a law grounded in the LORD's slaying of Egypt's firstborn (13:15). The repetition signals that the broken covenant is being reinstated on its original terms rather than replaced.

  • Exodus 34:18-20 (BSB)
    “You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, you are to eat unleavened bread as I commanded you. For in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt. The first offspring of every womb belongs to Me, including all the firstborn males among your livestock, whether cattle or sheep. You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb; but if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before Me empty-handed.”
    The renewed covenant restates the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the redemption of the firstborn.
  • Exodus 23:15 (BSB)
    “You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed.”
    The earlier covenant law gave the same feast command, including not appearing before God empty-handed.
  • Exodus 13:12-13 (BSB)
    “you are to present to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb. All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD. You must redeem every firstborn donkey with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, you are to break its neck. And every firstborn of your sons you must redeem.”
    The original firstborn law gave the same rules for donkeys and sons.
  • Exodus 13:15 (BSB)
    “And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the firstborn male of every womb, but I redeem all the firstborn of my sons.’”
    Explains that firstborn redemption memorializes the LORD striking Egypt's firstborn at the exodus.

General

How does the rest of Scripture help explain the statement in 34:7 that God visits the fathers' sin on later generations?

Answer: Exodus 20:5 ties it to those who hate God, and Deuteronomy 24:16 and Ezekiel 18:20 show each person answers for his own guilt

The end of 34:7 says God visits the iniquity of fathers on the generations after them. The same idea appears in the Ten Commandments, where it is tied to those who hate God (20:5), meaning children who go on in their parents' rebellion. Elsewhere the law forbids Israel's courts to execute children for crimes their fathers committed (Deuteronomy 24:16), and through Ezekiel God declares that a son does not carry his father's guilt; each one is accountable for his own wrongdoing (Ezekiel 18:20). So there is no contradiction: sin and its consequences tend to spread through families that keep turning from God, and God judges that ongoing sin. The contrast is also plain: judgment reaches three or four generations, but God's loyal love reaches a thousand generations (34:7; 20:6). His mercy far outweighs His judgment.

  • Exodus 34:7 (BSB)
    “maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.””
    The proclamation ends by saying the LORD visits the fathers' iniquity on later generations.
  • Exodus 20:5-6 (BSB)
    “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.”
    The fuller form of this statement applies it to those who hate God and contrasts it with love to a thousand generations.
  • Deuteronomy 24:16 (BSB)
    “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.”
    Forbids Israel's courts to execute fathers for their children or children for their fathers; each dies for his own sin.
  • Ezekiel 18:20 (BSB)
    “The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.”
    Explicitly teaches that a son does not bear his father's guilt, so the generational language cannot mean punishing the innocent.

Theological

How does the rest of Scripture clarify the statement in 34:7 that God visits the fathers' sin on later generations?

Answer: Exodus 20:5 ties it to those who hate God, and Deuteronomy 24:16 and Ezekiel 18:20 show each person answers for his own guilt

The visitation clause of 34:7 has a fuller form in the Decalogue, which restricts it to those who hate God (20:5): the descendants in view share and continue their fathers' enmity toward God. Deuteronomy 24:16 bars Israel's courts from executing children for crimes their fathers committed, and in Ezekiel 18:20 God declares that He does not charge the son with the father's iniquity; together they rule out punishing the personally innocent for ancestral guilt. The clause therefore describes God's just dealing with sin as it is propagated and persisted in across generations of a household, not the imputation of guilt to the innocent. The asymmetry is also deliberate: judgment to three or four generations against hesed extending across a thousand generations (34:7; 20:6), so that mercy decisively outweighs wrath in God's self-revelation.

  • Exodus 34:7 (BSB)
    “maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.””
    The proclamation ends by saying the LORD visits the fathers' iniquity on later generations.
  • Exodus 20:5-6 (BSB)
    “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.”
    The fuller form of this statement applies it to those who hate God and contrasts it with love to a thousand generations.
  • Deuteronomy 24:16 (BSB)
    “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.”
    Forbids Israel's courts to execute fathers for their children or children for their fathers; each dies for his own sin.
  • Ezekiel 18:20 (BSB)
    “The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.”
    Explicitly teaches that a son does not bear his father's guilt, so the generational language cannot mean punishing the innocent.

General

According to 34:1, who would write on the new tablets the contents of the first ones?

Answer: The LORD Himself

In 34:1 the LORD says that He Himself will inscribe the new tablets with what was on the first pair. Later, in 34:27, the LORD also tells Moses to write down the words He has just spoken (the covenant laws of 34:10-26), because the covenant with Moses and Israel is made on the basis of those words. Verse 28 then says that He wrote the covenant words, the Ten Commandments, on the tablets, but the verse does not make clear whether He refers to the LORD or to Moses. Deuteronomy 10:4 settles it: the LORD wrote the Ten Commandments on the second tablets, just as He had written the first (32:15-16). So Moses recorded the covenant words of 34:10-26, while the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets were written by God, as promised in 34:1.

  • Exodus 34:1 (BSB)
    “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.”
    The LORD promises that He will write on the new tablets the words of the first ones.
  • Exodus 34:27-28 (BSB)
    “The LORD also said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” So Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.”
    Moses is told to write down these words; then a writer referred to only as He inscribes the Ten Commandments on the tablets.
  • Deuteronomy 10:4 (BSB)
    “And the LORD wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Commandments that He had spoken to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly. The LORD gave them to me,”
    States explicitly that the LORD wrote the Ten Commandments on the second tablets, as on the first.
  • Exodus 32:15-16 (BSB)
    “Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.”
    Shows that the first tablets were God's own work and writing, the pattern the second set follows.

Theological

According to 34:1, who would inscribe the second tablets with what the first contained?

Answer: The LORD Himself

34:1 is explicit that the LORD Himself will inscribe the new tablets with what the first had carried. Two further statements are distinct: in 34:27 Moses is commanded to record the words just spoken, that is, the stipulations of 34:10-26 on which the covenant is renewed; and 34:28 says that He wrote the covenant words, the Ten Commandments, on the tablets, where the pronoun could grammatically refer either to Moses or to the LORD. Deuteronomy 10:4 identifies the writer of the second tablets as the LORD, who inscribed the same content as before, matching the divine authorship of the first tablets (32:15-16). Moses records the renewal stipulations; God Himself inscribes the Decalogue, as He promised in 34:1.

  • Exodus 34:1 (BSB)
    “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.”
    The LORD promises that He will write on the new tablets the words of the first ones.
  • Exodus 34:27-28 (BSB)
    “The LORD also said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” So Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.”
    Moses is told to write down these words; then a writer referred to only as He inscribes the Ten Commandments on the tablets.
  • Deuteronomy 10:4 (BSB)
    “And the LORD wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Commandments that He had spoken to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly. The LORD gave them to me,”
    States explicitly that the LORD wrote the Ten Commandments on the second tablets, as on the first.
  • Exodus 32:15-16 (BSB)
    “Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.”
    Shows that the first tablets were God's own work and writing, the pattern the second set follows.