Steven Hernandez 1

Observing the big picture of the book

The main idea of the book of Exodus is to ask and answer the question, who is
YHWH? Throughout the book we see the repeated usage of the word ody, which means,
to know. God wants Moses to know (ody) who He is Exodus 3:2-4, in Exodus 6:6-7
God wants Israel to know who He is, Exodus 10:12 He also wants future Israelites to
know who He is, and He even desires Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and all of the earth to know
who He is 7:5,17; 8:10, 22; 9:1416; 10:22; 11:7; 14:31,17-18.The answer to this question
is incredibly important but our response to this question is also equally critical. Will we
be like Moses and follow, like Israel and worship at times and fall short at others, or will
we be like Pharaoh and want nothing to do with Him?
1

The author who is believed to be Moses is writing to preserve the national history
of Israel and to retell of the great deliverance from Egypt for future generations. As the
normal procedure events were recorded not long after they had taken place, and because
the book of Exodus is thought to have been written fairly close to the Exodus itself, it is
thought that is was written during the wilderness dwellings. Some believe the book of
Exodus was written by various editors, and complied later after Moses died. This is often
referred to as the JEDP theory, because the different sources thought to have written the
book, the main issue is of the different uses of the names of God as Elohim and YHWH.
By Jewish tradition from Joshua 8:31-35, and even from Jesus in Mark 12:26, John 5:46,
and early Christian teaching, the account seems to be from an eyewitness account of the

1
Donna Petter, during class lecture, Fall 2011 Semester on September, at Gordon Conwell
Theological Seminary, Exegesis of Exodus.
Steven Hernandez 2
events, and even portions of the book shows Moses direct involvement in writing
Exodus 17:14, 24:4, 34:27-28 and to be the author of the book.
2
According to the Old
Testament, Moses was reared in Pharaohs court. It is therefore well within reasonable
limits to suppose that Moses knew how to read and write not only his own native Hebrew
(Canaanite) language, but also Egyptian hieroglyphics.
3

There is two dates that are thought to be set for the Exodus itself, the early date is
sometimes considered the biblical date based on 1 Kings 6:1 that states that it occurred
480 years before the fourth year of Solomons reign. This dates the Exodus at about 1445
B.C. and Judges 11:26 also says Jephthah (1100 B.C.) that Israel occupied their land for
300 years which makes the date around1400 B.C. The later date for Exodus 1290 B.C. is
proposed by liberal scholars and is based on assumptions of Egyptian rulers and
questionable archaeology.
4

The book of Exodus gets its name from the Greek word exodus, the title used in
the Septuagint, which means to exit, or departure.
5
This refers to Gods miraculous
deliverance or rescue of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Which accurately describes
the first thirteen chapters of the book.
6
Although this is true for us English speakers, in

2
Fire Bible: Student Edition (Springfield, MO: Life Publishers International, 2007), 99.
3
Terence C. Mitchell, The Bible in the British Museum: Interpreting the Evidence (London: British
Museum, 1988), 31.
4
Fire Bible, 98-99.
5
Fire Bible, 98.
6
Merrill Chapin Tenny, Zondervan Pictiorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1975), 437.

Steven Hernandez 3
Hebrew it was named And these are the names
7
which in the tradition of the Hebrew
Bible, to name each book with the opening words of each. We also see a great importance
placed on the Covenant made with Israel and the relationship of God and His people.
It also serves as a theological book and has in itself various genres. Exodus is
considered a part of the Law, but it is more historical narrative than law.
8
The songs
sung by Moses and Israel, and Miriam in Exodus 15 could possibly be considered poetic
as well. The geographical setting of is in Egypt and on the way to the Promised Land
with a pit stop on mount Sinai while in the wilderness.
History of ancient Israel and Judah
Center stage for the history of ancient Israel and Judah was a small area of mountainous
terrain, the central Palestinian hill country, lying between the coastal plain and the great
depression of the Jordan valley.
9
The land of Egypt was originally called Mizraim is
only a little larger than the state of New Hampshire, and if you deduct the area covered
by water and trees that could be cultivated and occupied it less that the united area of the
states of Connecticut and Rhode island. The Nile River has always been the most
important feature because of its surpassing fertility. The people were highly religious but
animals were their point of worship, and even the lowest forms of life were
contemplative and contained a considerable amount of knowledge.
10

The cultures of audience were the Israelites and their children who were raised in
the wilderness, and grew up under the harsh slavery of the Egyptians. Their way of living
was in many ways contrasting to that which God desired His people to live and act,
which can a prime reason for Him giving the Decalogue.

7
Raymond B. Dillard and Tremper Longman, Introduction to Old Testament (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1994), 57.
8
Holman Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, Tennessee: Holman Bible Publishers, 2010), 98.
9
Tenny, 30.
10
Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, Bible Atlas; A Manual of Biblical Geography and History (Chicago:
Rand, McNally & Company, 1843-1930), 26.
Steven Hernandez 4
The passage of my selection is Exodus 34:5-7 which is sandwiched between the
infamous Golden Calf incident and the re-giving of the Law and renewal of the
Covenant. God wants to destroy the people and Moses reminds God of His covenant,
because God refused to go with His people. God re-proclaims that He will perform
wonders, and He will drive out the people occupying the land he promised them flowing
with milk and honey. It seems to be a bridge from the punishment poured out on the
idolaters in Exodus 32, then Moses yet again intercession for Gods people, connecting
to the fulfillment of Gods promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. How could God fulfill
His promise if He kills the people and keeps only Moses alive? The transition of the
story from the wrath to the grace and mercy that God had on the Israelites once more
showed Gods intense anger is great but His love is still greater. The chapter proceeding
after is of the renewal of the covenant vows and them starting over. The book continues
on with the building of the tabernacle and the hearts of the remaining Israelites
willingness to offering their gold, silver, bronze, yarn, wood, oils, spices, and skills for
the this undertaking Ex 35:5-35.
Moses is asking God to show him His glory; he seems to doubt himself like in
chapter 3:11. Only this time he has good reason to doubt because unlike in exodus
3:12, in chapter 33:3 God says that He will not go with them to take the land, and it
will be an angel to drive out the occupiers. Moses seems to demand assurance and to
know that God will be with him. It seems that by God showing Moses His goodness
or glory it is showing Moses that he does indeed have favor with God and He will be
with him.
Observe the Hebrew
Steven Hernandez 5

MT:
: c:: ; c: :: ::: ::: Ex. 34:5
:: c: cc j : c ; :c: :: :6
:: : ;c ;: ;: c ::c : :: cc c :: :7
:c::: c::: c:: ::: c:::

Initial translation:
34:5 And YHWH went down in a cloud and stood with him there, and He called the
name YHWH. :6 And YHWH passed from one side to the other before his face and he
called YHWH, YHWH compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and great loving
kindness and truth. :7 keeping loving kindness to thousands and lifting the offense and
rebellion and sin, and does not cleanse the guilty, punishing the sin of father upon sons
over sons sons over third generation and over to the forth generation.
11


The MT makes sense as is and does not have any emendations but while examining
the Septuagint there are a few minor things that differ.
LXX-B:
Ex. 34:5 And the Lord descended in a cloud, and stood near him there, and called by the
name of the Lord. Ex. 34:6 And the Lord passed by before his face, and proclaimed, The
Lord God
a
, pitiful and merciful, longsuffering and very compassionate, and true
b
, Ex.
34:7 and keeping justice and mercy for thousands, taking away iniquity, and
unrighteousness, and sins; and he will not clear the guilty; bringing the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children, and to the childrens children, to the third and fourth
generation.
a
Ku/rio oJ qeo\- the Greek substitutes the work Ku/rio for qeo\. In the Hebrew we
see that it is the same word used twice, and in both Hebrew and Greek they can mean
either Lord or God. It seems because of the repetition that the Septuagint writers decided
to change the second Ku/rio. Either way is not a big issue that affects the reading or
intent of the passage.

11
William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament
(Netherlands: Eermans Publishing Co., 1988).
Steven Hernandez 6

b
alhqino\ is used as an adjective and not a noun as the Hebrew holds the word truth.
This too is not a huge change in the reading or intent but should be noted.
Latin Vulgate:
And when the Lord was come down in a cloud, Moses
a
stood with him, calling
b
upon the
name of the Lord. :6 And when he passed before him, he said: O the Lord, the Lord God,
merciful and gracious, patient and of much compassion, and true, Who keepest mercy
unto thousands: who takest away iniquity, and wickedness, and sin, and no man of
himself is innocent before thee. Who renderest the iniquity of the fathers to the children,
and to the grandchildren unto the third and fourth generation.
12


a
Here we see that in the Latin Vulgate Jerome chose to make Moses the subject of the
verbs, that is that Moses stood with God and also
b
calling upon the name of the Lord.
It is also not clear to me according to this translation who is doing the action of saying
these momentous statements about Gods mercy. After looking at Exodus 33:19 God says
that He will cause His goodness to pass and proclaim the name YHWH before Moses.
Here again I am in agreement with the MT and the LXX rendering, that God should be
the subject of the verbs.
13


Targum:
And the Lord revealed
a
Himself in the cloud of the glory of His Shekinah
b
, and Mosheh
stood with Him there; and Mosheh called
c
on the (Name of the Word of the Lord)
b
. And
the Lord made His Shekinah
b
to pass by before his face, and proclaimed, The Lord, the
Lord God
d
, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and nigh in mercies, abounding to
exercise compassion and truth; keeping mercy and bounty for thousands of generations,
absolving and remitting guilt, passing by rebellions, and covering sins; pardoning them
(who convert unto the law
)b
, but holding not guiltless (in the great day of judgment those

12
The Latin Vulgate Old Testament Bible. http://vulgate.org/ot/exodus_34.htm (accessed November 7,
2011).
13
Driver and Hyatt favor the construction of RVmg (and he(Moses) stood with him there, and called
upon). In support of the first alternative Cassuto points out that stood represents the same verb as stand
in 33:21 and present yourself in v. 2 of this chapter, but in a different conjunction. As in the case of the
original Decalogue (20:2), and in keeping with common Near Eastern treat practice, the renewed covenant
(cf.v. 10.) is prefaced by a self-proclamation of the overlord. F. F. Bruce, One -Volume Illustrated Edition
Zondervan Bible Commentary (Grad Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 104.
Steven Hernandez 7
who will not convert)
b
; visiting the sins of fathers upon rebellious children upon the third
and upon the fourth generation.
14


a
I personally appreciated the addition of the word revealed from the Targum. It seemed
to me to bring out an emphasis of God coming down and disclosing Himself as in Exodus
6:3, something that was not yet seen or revealed.
b
Some versions of the Targum have a tendency to paraphrase as seen in the additions of
words and phrases.
15


c
Here again we see the author uses Moses as the subject of the verb and it is Moses
standing and calling on the name of YHWH.
d
Here we see the author add both the LORD and God, this does not seem to help with
the issue of a better reading of the LXX and MT.
Conflicts
I did find that the Targum and the Latin Vulgate have Moses as the one standing
with YHWH, and also calling upon the name of the Lord, and I am not certain but it
seems as if Moses is the subject of all of the verbs in this passage as if Moses is
proclaiming that God is merciful, compassionate and patient. This does seem to agree
with Exodus 32:11-13 where Moses seeks the favor of God and pleads according to
Gods promises. It is Moses who reminds God of His covenant with the patriarchs. In
Numbers 14:13-19 Moses pleads again with God to remember what He declared and

14
The Newsletter For Targumic and Cognate Studies. http://targum.info/pj/pjex30-34.htm
(accessed November 7, 2011).
15
Ellis R. Brotzman, Old Testament Criticism: A Practical Introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 1994), 70.
Steven Hernandez 8
actually repeats the exact words from Exodus 34:6 and 20:5-6. After reading
Numbers it shows that Moses said that God in fact declared this about Himself.
The Masoretic Text has not emendations and stands as it is. The difference between
the MT and LXX makes no difference in the reading since YHWH and the LORD are
both references to God.
Technical Commentaries
In the present context the actual theophany is portrayed as a fulfillment of
Moses request in the previous chapter to see Gods glory (33.17ff). The repetition of
the key words pass by and proclaim the name establishes the authors intention.
16

Childs agrees to believe that the author (which I believe to be Moses) was showing a
parallel from chapter 33 to show whom indeed was doing the actions of the verbs.
The variations seem to be only minor and would not otherwise affect the reading
of my passage. As stated the subject of the verb seems to be God and He Himself is
proclaiming His character. Throughout the book of Exodus we have seen God say
that He did not reveal His name to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob resembling His
character of redeemer, but He has indeed made it known to the Israelites, Egyptians,
Pharaoh, and the entire world through the plagues and the Exodus. God showed in
action and now proclaims it verbally.
Annotated Translation

16
Brevard S. Childs, The Book of Exodus (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Westminster Press,
1974), 612.
Steven Hernandez 9
34:5 And YHWH went down in a cloud (to reveal Himself) and took His position
with him there, and He proclaimed the name YHWH. :6 And YHWH passed before
his face and he proclaimed YHWH, YHWH a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and truth. :7 keeping loving kindness
to thousands and taking away guilt and rebellion and sin, yet by no means will leave
the guilty unpunished, but punishing the sin of father upon sons to the sons sons,
over to the third and forth generation.
17

A central idea of the passage could be that God is showing His compassion to His
people and mercy but not abandoning His holiness and righteousness.
Comparison
English Standard Version:
Ex. 34:5 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the
name of the LORD. Ex. 34:6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, The
LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and (abounding in
steadfast love)
a
and faithfulness, Ex. 34:7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will (by no means)
b
clear the guilty, visiting
c

the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the childrens children, to the third and the
fourth generation.
18

New International Version:
34:5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed
his name, the LORD. Ex. 34:6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, The
LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, (abounding in
love and faithfulness)
a
, Ex. 34:7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving
wickedness, rebellion and sin. (Yet he does not leave)
b
the guilty unpunished; he
punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth
generation.
19

New American Standard Bible:
Exodus 34:5 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood there with him (as he called
upon the name of the LORD.)
a

6
Then the LORD passed by in front of him and
proclaimed, The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger,
and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;
7
who (keeps lovingkindness)
a
for thousands,
who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; (yet He will by no means)b leave the

17
Francis Brown and others, The New Browns-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon (Peabody,
MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1961).
18
a, b, and c did not have any significant difference from my translation. I still prefer the word to punish
rather than visit for ;:.
19
Here we do not see any significant changes.
Steven Hernandez 10
guilty unpunished, visiting
c
the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the
grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.
20


a
I dont agree with this translation making Moses the subject of the verb call, that Moses
was the one who called on the Lord. It seems ambiguous.

Grammatical Features
I believe that it is significant of YHWH coming down as in 3:8; He is the one to
deliver and again coming down to meet with Moses whom has received favor from God.
He will not just send an angel but He will deliver the people and will lead His people into
the Promise Land. I do find it strange that God called His own name, but as stated earlier,
He should be the one to proclaim His name since Moses does not know who God is fully.
Only God is know to appear in clouds as Exodus 13:21,14:24, and He does so again in
verse 5.
Syntax
Our passage starts off with a vaw converted to signal the importance of what
follows. We have several verbs with the vaw converted, these imperfect forms carry the
mainline information, and moves the narrative forward.
21

34:6 Adjectives with the genitive mainly express limitation slow to anger equals being
patient
22


20
I agree here as well no significant changes.
21
Donna Petter Handout for Exegesis of Exodus, Fall 2011.
22
Paul Jouon, A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew (Pontifical Biblical Institute Press, 2006), 438.
Steven Hernandez 11
The absolute superlative or elative is expressed by the adjective followed by :
the repetition of an adjective serves the same purpose. A phrase like great in kindness is
equivalent to very kind.
23

V 5 and stood is hithpael ::: which is a causative, reflexive.
24
The language
came and stood represents a standard way of describing what otherwise is not easily
comprehended by humans, that is, that God manifested himself specially and personally
in Moses presence. Thereby Moses could perceive that a real personal being had come to
him not just a concept or a feeling, or an ominous impression.
25

V6 : This preposition seems to be locative, beside is a good translation for this
context.
26
While Arnold defines it as spatial/ locative, which also indicates a location, the
location or space in which God was from Moses.
27
God passed beside Moses.It can even
be deleted depending on how you take the word :: can be passed by and would not
need beside.

2829


23
Jouon, 491.
24
Arnold Bill, A Guide to Biblical Hebrew (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 47.
25
Doug K. Stuart, The New American Commentary: Exodus Vol. 2 (B&H Publishing Group,
2006), 714.
26
Ronald J. Williams, Williams Hebrew Syntax (Toronto Buffalo London: University of Toronto
Press, 2007), 112.
27
Bill, 120.
28
Repeating of his name for emphasis but also could have had some of the overtones associate
with the pattern called repletion of such that Yahweh was in effect o saying to Moses I am your dearest
friend, Yahweh or something of that sort. But this cannot be proved since here Yahweh was stating his
own name. In all other possible contexts of the repetition of endearment phenomenon, the repetition occurs
with direct address, so someone is calling the name of another twice- and not his own name. Assurance to
Israel that God sincerely cares for them since they just angered Him and he was compassionate. Gracious
Steven Hernandez 12
Specification genitive -the reverse of the attributive genitive, the specification genitive is
characterized by a quality or attribute of an adjectival construct. V 6 long of nostrils [as
source of anger] or patient with regard to anger.
30


: found more than sixty times in the Old Testament, denoting kindness or
graciousness in action as a gift, God is the subject the majority of the time who offers
grace, that presupposes the lack or need in the human recipients.
31
This is significant
because here we see that is what Moses is asking for, on behalf of himself for the sake of
the people. He desires the grace of God to cause Him to lead them to the Promise Land.
Moses request to see the glory of God is not a request for God to do what He has never
done before Moses has negotiated for Gods presence to accompany them (actually, to
precede them). Moses requests that he might see the presence/glory of God taking hid
place in the lead.
32


The second word in the hendiadys, ::, conventionally translated truth, means
fidelity or faithfulness in this context. It has a semantic equivalent in Akkadian kittu
(pl. kinatu, steadiness, reliability, truth, loyalty), which is used in treaty
language. Keeping the faith with Yahweh in its exhortations to choose Yahweh, to
fear Yahweh, to cling to Yahweh, to walk n his ways and to form no alliance with the
Canaanites and their gods.
33
Humans fickle and unreliable in their relationship to God as

does things for people that do not deserve and goes beyond what might be expected, favor they are not
worthy of. Stuart, 715.
29
The repetition of the same word in the same sense is called Geminatio, which means a doubling,
duplication, a re-doubling. Also called iteratio iteration, conduplicatio, conduplication. Emphasizing a word
and calling attention to it, in writing one might out the word in larger letters, or underlining it two or three
times. In speaking marked with increased emphasis or vehemence. Ten occurrences of this figure with
names, seven are used from God to man of these, four are in the Old Testament and only three are in the
New Testament, and the other three are in other circumstances. When thus used the figure calls special
attention to the occasion or to the person, and to some solemn moment of importance in the action, or
significance of the words. E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech used in the Bible: Explained and Illustrated
(London: Baker Publishing Group, 2003), 191. In verse 6 Here, if we were to translate the figure
idiomatically, it means that he proclaimed the wonderful name, Jehovah!
29
Ibid, 190.
30
Bill, 11.
31
T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, Dictionary of Old Testament Pentateuch (Downers
Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2003), 372.
32
John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP background
commentary: Old Testament Genesis-Deuteronomy (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2000), 136.
33
Alexander , 283.
Steven Hernandez 13
seen in 33, he is not of this sort but faithful to his promises and can be counted on. Truth
what he says is correct and reliable, may be trusted even to the extent of life and death
issues, or indeed eternal death issues. (God said He would deliver them, the doubt He did.
Protect and rescue them, the think He brings them to die in the wilderness. He supplied
manna and water.)
34

V7 keeping :: qal participle masculine singular is used substantively, showing a
continuous characteristic action.
35
This means that Gods loving kindness will continue
and not fail, even as the Israelites or even Moses may doubt after the slaughter of the
3,000.
V7 ;: is a Piel infinite absolute, leave unpunished as I understood it to emphasize the
verb of the same root. When we combine infinite absolute and a finite verb, it affirms that
the action is very certain to occur. Some call it the Intensifying infinite.
36
YHWH will
by no means leave the guilty unpunished (Nah 1:3).
37
The nuance of by no means
should be added in my translation to help bring out the intensifying aspect. God then
issued a corrective against the natural human tendency to accept grace on the assumption
that because an infinite God can produce an infinite amount of grace, sin has no
significant consequence. Rom 6:12 and or yet but which is not a string adversative
word. Making sure the guilty get what they deserve.
3839


34
Stuart, 716.
35
Williams, 88.
36
Williams, 85.
37
Bill, 75.
38
Stuart, 717.
39
The iniquity of the fathers when the iniquity wrought by the children is the same in character,
it will be punished in the same way.
39
Bullinger. 497.
Steven Hernandez 14
V7 meaning not, when this word is used with an imperfect as is in verse 7 it brings the
absolute or permanent prohibition understanding.
40

In verse six God passed by Moses and Moses was only able to see His back EX 33:23.
41

The imagery surrounding Gods forgiveness is characterized by magnitude and
lavishness. It is abounding, not half hearted.
42
Again, God can be described as being
rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead
through our trespasses
43

Structure and Narrative Art

: 5 Ia. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him
Ib. and proclaimed his name, the LORD.
: 6 Ia. And he passed in front of Moses,
Ib. proclaiming, The LORD, the LORD,
Ic. the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding
in love and faithfulness,
Ic. :7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness,
rebellion and sin.
Id. contrast- Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished;
Id. details- he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the
fathers to the third and fourth generation.

40
Gary D. Practico, Basics of Biblical Hebrew (Grand Rapids, Michagan: Zondervan, 2001), 170 .
41
In Exodus 33:23 we have an unclear understanding of why God only would show His back as
an image of removal, being cast behind can also have a positive connotation when it signifies Gods
forgiveness of sin the image here is not just of something placed being someone where it could be seen
by turing around instead placed where it can never be seen. Leland Ryken Dictionary of Biblical Imagery
(Inter-varsity Press, 1998), 69. Ryken believes this to be a deeper understanding of Ex 33:23 although God
explains that no one can see His face and live.
42
Ryken, 303.
43
Ryken, 548.
Steven Hernandez 15

Ia. These show the initial verbs that God is performing before He speaks of His character.
He comes down, and He passes, while Moses is stationary.
Ib. These two are linking the act of God proclaiming, His name.
Ic. We find a very lengthy list of characteristics about God, seven to be exact. We find
not just what God does in the act of delivering His people but how He deals with them in
love. This is the pivotal point of this passage, Gods character and unfailing love towards
His people Israel. The God who now makes Himself known through His name as the
God of mercy and judgment makes good His claim by forgiving His sinful people.
44

many list in the ancient world focus on power but this one focuses on benevolent
graciousness of God. Num 14:18, Neh 9:17, Ps 86:15, 103:8, 145:8, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4; 2,
Nah 1:3. Gods reliability is stressed, but the failure to obey commands is clear by
magnification of punishment on future generations. Punishment on 3
rd
gen and 4
th
express
that a covenant violation equals guilt on the entire family.
454647

Id. Here we find the contrast of His love. He is love but also holy and righteous. He will
certainly not let the guilty go unpunished, and he deals with them as He sees fit.
Old Testament Literature
In numbers 14:18 we have a direct quote, God again wants to destroy His people
because of their doubt and mockery thinking that God brought them to die in the desert.
Moses responds the same was as in our passage and appeals to what He said before, the
loving kindness of Gods character. In Jonah 4:2 we see that he knew of Gods
graciousness and that He was merciful and this is the reason that he fled. He knew that

44
Childs, 612.
45
Walton, 137.
46
Many list in the ancient world focus on power while this one focused on benevolent
graciousness of God. Gods reliability is stressed; failure to obey His commands is clear by magnification
of punishment on future generations. When Moses requested to see gods gory in 33:18-23 it was not a
request for something that was never done before but that His presence would come with them and not only
come with them but to proceed them. Moses request was to see Gods presence and glory to lead them.
Ibid., 137.
47
His slowness to anger was attested from the moment of Israels complaint at the sea (14:11-12)
and his reliable and unchanging love were the reason Moses was able to plead are the terrible cancellation
made by the peoples disobedience with the calf. John I. Durham World Biblical Commentary Vol. 3
Exodus (Colombia: Thomas Nelson, 1987), 454.

Steven Hernandez 16
God would forgive even the worst sinners such as those of Nineveh; God forgives those
who repent and lavishes His great love on even those who are not His people, they two
can become His people.
In the Psalms 86:15 we see how David appeals to Gods love and compassion as
Moses did. He cries out to God and pours out his heart; he too knows Gods compassions
and seeks His favor. In Psalm 103:7-18 David is proclaiming Gods goodness and tells of
how great He is. He speaks of Moses and how He revealed His character to Moses and
His deeds to the people of Israel. This is an incredible commentary on the depths of what
our passage is really saying. It goes into the relational aspect of Gods unfailing love! I
wondered how could God take away guilt and rebellion while simultaneously punishing
the wicked when we are all sinners in His sight? David explains how, God knows we are
weak and dust and we who fear Him, and obey His commandments or at least attempt to
with a pure heart. He will not stay mad at us forever and in this we can have confidence.
Culture Environment
The Hittites developed the treaty for which other cultures used, opened with
credentials of signatories to treaty and issued, new and official history of the relationship
between the covenant partners, terms in careful language, list of witnesses to the treaty,
litany of curses for treaty violations and blessings for treaty compliance, and finically
provisions to record and promulgate the treaty. These are very similar to the ones found
Steven Hernandez 17
in the bible, between Jacob and Laban Gen 31:44-54, Covenant code Ex 21-23, holiness
code Lev 17-26, and deuteronomic code Deu 12-26.
48

Many stories of parents abandoning children in order to save their lives come
from the ancient world. Greek legend Paris son of king Priam of Troy brings the city to
ruin. Sargon rise in Mesopotamian king that was placed in a reed basket in a river to
escape and was drawn out and Aqqi raised him.
49
This helps me to see how much more
possible the account of Moses was, as far as those who dont believe it was possible or
historically possible.
New Testament Literature
In Romans 9 Paul recalls Israels history and speaks of Gods faithfulness and not
failing to fulfill His promise with Israel. He says that not all who are born in Israel are
truly Gods people, or descendents of Abraham. This ties into the question I had earlier
about Gods justice and punishing some and acquitting others while we are all sinners.
Those who fear God and try to obey His commands are those who have His loving-
kindness lavished on us, we are circumcised in our hearts, but this does not mean that we
have received His love or grace because of our merit. In John 1:14-18 John writes about
the unfailing love and faithfulness of Jesus, and how He revealed Gods glory. His
abundance gave them the gracious blessings after another, and how the Law was given
thorough Moses but Gods unfailing love was through Jesus. This is a direct correlation
about the embodiment and manifestation to the greatest degree of Gods unfailing love in

48
Victor Matthews, Old Testament Parallels: Laws and stories from the Ancient Near East
(Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2006), 92.
49
Bruce, 170.
Steven Hernandez 18
Jesus. Not only was God revealed to more than one person as in the case of Moses but
also now He has been revealed to all and His compassion can be seen in the fullness of
the cross where God came down again and delivered us from our bondage of sin. we now
are able to know God in a personal way which was not the case during the Old
Testament.
Contextualize The Passage
We can rest assured that the love of God is not undependable as ours, merely a
moment of passion seeking its own pleasure. Instead it is longsuffering, and allows us to
be human but not if we take His kindness as weakness. God certainly sets the record
straight which the understanding of punishing the entire family or third generation to
forth generations. His character is love and mercy, this is who He is, it is not occasionally
what He does when He feels like it. Knowing this we can humbly approach the throne of
grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time
of need Hebrews 4:16. We can also know that would God is a God of action who is
seeking us for relationship. He did not rescue us just to watch us drown in a ocean of
lifes problems and circumstances. Not only should we expect God to love us this way
but Jesus commanded us to love others as God loved us. imitation of the hesed of God is
considered the central theme of Jewish ethics (Breslauer).
50

He was not only with Moses but He is with us, seeing us through. His love is in
abundance and He gives it to us, it is foolish to think that it can run out. But Gods love
and mercy last 250 times longer (a thousand generations) than his anger (four

50
Alexander, 228.
Steven Hernandez 19
generations) He knows how to cherish a grudge, but is more inclined to reward than to
punish.
51

He will not remain angry forever, He does not punish us for all our sins, or deal
with us as we deserve, His unfailing love is towards those who fear Him, it is as high as
the heavens is above the earth. Our sins are as far as the east is from the west, He knows
how weak we are and that we are dust. The love of the Lord remains forever with those
who fear Him, His salvation extends to the childrens children or those who are faithful to
His covenant and obey His commands.
52
















51
William H. C. Propp, The Anchor Bible Exodus 19-40 (Yale University Press, 2007), 611.
52
Paraphrased from the New Living Translation Psalm 103:7-18.
Steven Hernandez 20
Bibliography

Alexander, T. Desmond and David W. Baker, Dictionary of Old Testament Pentateuch.
Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2003.
Bill, Arnold, A Guide to Biblical Hebrew. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
Brotzman, Ellis R., Old Testament Criticism: A Practical Introduction. Grand Rapids:
Baker Academic, 1994.
Brown Francis, S. R. Driver, D.D Litt. D. and Charles A. Briggs, The New Browns-
Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson
Publishers, 1961.
Bruce, F. F., One -Volume Illustrated Edition Zondervan Bible Commentary. Grad
Rapids: Zondervan, 2008.
Bullinger, E. W., Figures of Speech used in the Bible: Explained and Illustrated. London:
Baker Publishing Group, 2003.
Chapin Merrill Tenny, Zondervan Pictiorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1975.

Childs, Brevard S., The Book of Exodus. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Westminster
Press, 1974.
Dillard, Raymond B. and Tremper Longman, Introduction to Old Testament. Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.
Durham, John I. World Biblical Commentary Vol. 3 Exodus. Colombia: Thomas Nelson,
1987.
Fire Bible: Student Edition. Springfield, MO: Life Publishers International, 2007.
Holladay, William L., A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament.
Netherlands: Eermans Publishing Co., 1988.
Holman Christian Standard Bible. Nashville, Tennessee: Holman Bible Publishers, 2010.
Hurlbut, Jesse Lyman, Bible Atlas; A Manual of Biblical Geography and History.
Chicago: Rand, McNally & Company, 1843-1930.
Jouon, Paul, A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew. Pontifical Biblical Institute Press, 2006.
Matthews, Victor, Old Testament Parallels: Laws and stories from the Ancient Near
East. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2006.
Mitchell, Terence C., The Bible in the British Museum: Interpreting the Evidence.
London: British Museum, 1988.
Steven Hernandez 21
Petter, Donna, during class lecture, Fall 2011 Semester on September, at Gordon Conwell
Theological Seminary, Exegesis of Exodus.
Petter, Donna, Handout for Exegesis of Exodus, Fall 2011.
Practico, Gary D., Basics of Biblical Hebrew. Grand Rapids, Michagan: Zondervan,
2001.
Propp, William H. C., The Anchor Bible Exodus 19-40. Yale University Press, 2007.
Ryken Leland, Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Inter-varsity Press, 1998.
Stuart, Doug K., The New American Commentary: Exodus Vol. 2. B&H Publishing
Group, 2006.
The Latin Vulgate Old Testament Bible. http://vulgate.org/ot/exodus_34.htm November
7, 2011.
The Newsletter For Targumic and Cognate Studies. http://targum.info/pj/pjex30-34.htm
November 7, 2011.
Walton, John H., Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Background
Commentary: Old Testament Genesis-Deuteronomy. Downers Grove, IL:
Intervarsity Press, 2000.
Williams, Ronald J., Williams Hebrew Syntax. Toronto Buffalo London: University of
Toronto Press, 2007.