Exodus 34
The New Stone Tablets
1The LORD said to Moses, “Chisel two stone tablets like the first. I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.
2Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain.
3No one shall come up with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain. Do not let the flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain.”
4He chiseled two tablets of stone like the first; then Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up to Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two stone tablets.
5The LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the LORD’s name.
6The LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, “The LORD! The LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth,
7keeping loving kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and disobedience and sin; and who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the children’s children, on the third and on the fourth generation.”
8Moses hurried and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped.
9He said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, Lord, please let the Lord go among us, even though this is a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
The Covenant Renewed
10He said, “Behold, I make a covenant: before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been worked in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD; for it is an awesome thing that I do with you.
11Observe that which I command you today. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
12Be careful, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be for a snare among you;
13but you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their Asherah poles;
14for you shall worship no other god; for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
15“Don’t make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, lest they play the prostitute after their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and one call you and you eat of his sacrifice;
16and you take of their daughters to your sons, and their daughters play the prostitute after their gods, and make your sons play the prostitute after their gods.
17“You shall make no cast idols for yourselves.
18“You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib; for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt.
19“All that opens the womb is mine; and all your livestock that is male, the firstborn of cow and sheep.
20You shall redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb. If you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before me empty.
21“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.
22“You shall observe the feast of weeks with the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of harvest at the year’s end.
23Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.
24For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither shall any man desire your land when you go up to appear before the LORD, your God, three times in the year.
25“You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread. The sacrifice of the feast of the Passover shall not be left to the morning.
26“You shall bring the first of the first fruits of your ground to the house of the LORD your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
27The LORD said to Moses, “Write these words; for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
28He was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread, nor drank water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
Moses' Shining Face
29When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mountain, Moses didn’t know that the skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking with him.
30When Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come near him.
31Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses spoke to them.
32Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them all the commandments that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai.
33When Moses was done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.
34But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the veil off, until he came out; and he came out, and spoke to the children of Israel that which he was commanded.
35The children of Israel saw Moses’ face, that the skin of Moses’ face shone; so Moses put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
After Moses broke the first tablets in anger over Israel's golden calf worship, God graciously provides new stone tablets and renews His covenant with the people. God reveals His character as both merciful and just, proclaiming His famous attributes of compassion, patience, and faithfulness while also maintaining His holiness. The chapter concludes with Moses' face shining so brightly from God's presence that he must wear a veil when speaking to the Israelites.
Context
This chapter follows the golden calf crisis of chapters 32-33, showing God's gracious restoration of the broken covenant relationship with Israel.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-4New Stone Tablets PreparedGod commands Moses to chisel new tablets to replace those broken after the golden calf incident.
- 5-9God's Character RevealedThe LORD proclaims His merciful yet just nature, and Moses intercedes for the rebellious people.
- 10-26Covenant Laws RenewedGod establishes covenant terms including warnings against idolatry and commands for worship and festivals.
- 27-28Tablets WrittenMoses spends forty days and nights with God as the covenant words are inscribed on stone.
- 29-35Moses' Radiant FaceMoses' face shines with divine glory, requiring a veil when he speaks to the Israelites.
The New Stone Tablets
34:1–34:9God commands Moses to prepare new stone tablets and reveals His character as merciful and gracious, forgiving sin while maintaining justice. Moses worships and pleads for God to go with His people despite their stubbornness.
person_contrast
Moses, typically portrayed as the stern lawgiver, here becomes a worshipful intercessor who prostrates himself before God's self-revelation of mercy and compassion.
The Covenant Renewed
34:10–34:28God renews His covenant with Israel, commanding them to avoid idolatry and intermarriage with pagan nations while establishing laws for worship, festivals, and the Sabbath. The covenant emphasizes exclusive devotion to the LORD.
theme_rarity
Moses' forty-day fast while receiving the renewed covenant parallels his initial forty days on Sinai, creating a literary doubling that emphasizes Israel's need for divine restoration after the golden calf incident.
Moses' Shining Face
34:29–34:35Moses' face shines with divine glory after receiving the commandments on Mount Sinai, causing the Israelites to fear approaching him until he covers his face with a veil. This demonstrates the transformative power of encountering God's presence.
person_contrast
Moses' radiant face creates the Bible's only instance where divine glory becomes so physically manifest that it requires a veil to mediate between God's presence and human fear.
Exodus 34:1
Deuteronomy 10:3lexicalSo I made an ark of acacia wood, and cut two stone tablets like the first, and went up onto the mountain, having the two…
Deuteronomy 10:1lexicalAt that time the LORD said to me, “Cut two stone tablets like the first, and come up to me onto the mountain, and make a…
Deuteronomy 10:2lexicalI will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke, and you shall put them in the ark.…
Deuteronomy 10:4lexicalHe wrote on the tablets, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spoke to you on the mounta…
Deuteronomy 4:13lexicalHe declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments. He wrote them on two ston…
Exodus 34:3
Jonah 3:7lexicalHe made a proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, “Let neither man…
Genesis 46:32lexicalThese men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, a…
Exodus 34:4
Deuteronomy 10:3lexicalSo I made an ark of acacia wood, and cut two stone tablets like the first, and went up onto the mountain, having the two…
Deuteronomy 10:1lexicalAt that time the LORD said to me, “Cut two stone tablets like the first, and come up to me onto the mountain, and make a…
Exodus 31:18lexicalWhen he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses the two tablets of the covenant, stone tablets, written…
Genesis 28:18lexicalJacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and p…
Exodus 34:6
Psalms 86:15lexicalBut you, Lord, are a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth.
Jonah 4:2lexicalHe prayed to the LORD, and said, “Please, LORD, wasn’t this what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore I…
Psalms 145:8lexicalThe LORD is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness.
Psalms 103:8lexicalThe LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.
Joel 2:13lexicalTear your heart and not your garments, and turn to the LORD, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, a…
Exodus 34:7
Numbers 14:18lexical‘The LORD is slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, forgiving iniquity and disobedience; and he will by no mean…
Deuteronomy 5:9lexicalYou shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniqui…
Exodus 20:5lexicalyou shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniqui…
Micah 7:18lexicalWho is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn’t…
Psalms 32:5lexicalI acknowledged my sin to you. I didn’t hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD, and you f…
Exodus 34:9
Jeremiah 50:20lexicalIn those days, and in that time,” says the LORD, “the iniquity of Israel will be sought for, and there will be none, als…
Exodus 33:5lexicalThe LORD had said to Moses, “Tell the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go up among you f…
Exodus 33:3lexicalGo to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I cons…
Jeremiah 31:34lexicalThey will no longer each teach his neighbor, and every man teach his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD;’ for they will all…
Jeremiah 36:3lexicalIt may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I intend to do to them, that they may each return from hi…
Exodus 34:10
Isaiah 54:16lexical“Behold, I have created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame, and forges a weapon for his work; and I have creat…
Psalms 139:14lexicalI will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very we…
Exodus 34:11
Exodus 33:2lexicalI will send an angel before you; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, th…
Joshua 11:3lexicalto the Canaanite on the east and on the west, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite in the hill country,…
Deuteronomy 7:1lexicalWhen the LORD your God brings you into the land where you go to possess it, and casts out many nations before you—the Hi…
Exodus 3:8lexicalI have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and l…
Joshua 24:11lexical“‘You went over the Jordan, and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the…
Exodus 34:13
Deuteronomy 7:5lexicalBut you shall deal with them like this: you shall break down their altars, dash their pillars in pieces, cut down their…
Deuteronomy 12:3lexicalYou shall break down their altars, dash their pillars in pieces, and burn their Asherah poles with fire. You shall cut d…
2 Chronicles 31:1lexicalNow when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and broke the pillars in pie…
2 Kings 18:4lexicalHe removed the high places, broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that…
2 Kings 23:14lexicalHe broke in pieces the pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and filled their places with men’s bones.
Exodus 34:14
Exodus 20:5lexicalyou shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniqui…
Deuteronomy 5:9lexicalYou shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniqui…
Exodus 34:15
Leviticus 17:7lexicalThey shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a s…
Deuteronomy 31:16lexicalThe LORD said to Moses, “Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers. This people will rise up and play the prostitute aft…
2 Kings 17:35lexicalwith whom the LORD had made a covenant and commanded them, saying, “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to…
Deuteronomy 4:23lexicalBe careful, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make yourselves a carved imag…
Exodus 34:18
Exodus 23:15lexicalYou shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the t…
2 Chronicles 8:13lexicaleven as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses on the Sabbaths, on the new moons…
Leviticus 23:6lexicalOn the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to the LORD. Seven days you shall eat unleavened…
Numbers 28:17lexicalOn the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days.
Ezekiel 45:21lexical“‘“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavene…
Exodus 34:19
Isaiah 66:3lexicalHe who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog’s neck; he who offers an o…
Exodus 13:2lexical“Sanctify to me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal. It i…
Numbers 8:16lexicalFor they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of all who open the womb, even the firstborn…
Numbers 3:12lexical“Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn who open the womb among…
Exodus 13:15lexicalWhen Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn…
Exodus 34:20
Exodus 13:13lexicalEvery firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck;…
Exodus 13:15lexicalWhen Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn…
Numbers 18:15lexicalEverything that opens the womb, of all flesh which they offer to the LORD, both of man and animal, shall be yours. Never…
Isaiah 66:3lexicalHe who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog’s neck; he who offers an o…
Exodus 34:21
Exodus 31:17lexicalIt is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the s…
Exodus 23:12lexical“Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and…
1 Samuel 8:12lexicalHe will appoint them to him for captains of thousands and captains of fifties; and he will assign some to plow his groun…
Genesis 45:6lexicalFor these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are yet five years, in which there will be no plowing and…
Deuteronomy 15:12lexicalIf your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you…
Exodus 34:22
Exodus 23:16lexicalAnd the feast of harvest, the first fruits of your labors, which you sow in the field; and the feast of ingathering, at…
Numbers 28:26lexical“‘Also in the day of the first fruits, when you offer a new meal offering to the LORD in your feast of weeks, you shall…
Exodus 34:23
Exodus 23:17lexicalThree times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD.
Deuteronomy 16:16lexicalThree times in a year all of your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which he chooses: in the feas…
Exodus 34:25
Exodus 23:18lexical“You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread. The fat of my feast shall not remain all night until…
Leviticus 9:18lexicalHe also killed the bull and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings, which was for the people. Aaron’s sons delivered…
2 Kings 16:15lexicalKing Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, “On the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, the evening meal off…
Exodus 34:26
Exodus 23:19lexicalYou shall bring the first of the first fruits of your ground into the house of the LORD your God. “You shall not boil a…
Deuteronomy 14:21lexicalYou shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the foreigner living among you who is within your…
Exodus 34:28
Deuteronomy 9:9lexicalWhen I had gone up onto the mountain to receive the stone tablets, even the tablets of the covenant which the LORD made…
Deuteronomy 9:11lexicalIt came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights that the LORD gave me the two stone tablets, even the tablets…
Deuteronomy 4:13lexicalHe declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments. He wrote them on two ston…
Deuteronomy 9:18lexicalI fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water, because…
Deuteronomy 10:4lexicalHe wrote on the tablets, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spoke to you on the mounta…
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