The tables are renewed: all society with the Chanaanites is forbid: some precepts concerning the firstborn, the sabbath, and other feasts: after forty days’ fast, Moses returneth to the people with the commandments, and his face appearing horned with rays of light, he covereth it, whensoever he speaketh to the people.
Moyses goeth againe into Mount Sinai, vvith new tables, praying for the people. 10. to whom God promiseth to giue possession of the Land. 12. Prohibiteth al association vvith the Gentiles, for feare of Idolatrie, 18. geueth precepts concerning the first borne, the Sabbath, and other feastes. 28. After fourtie dayes fast, Moyses returneth to the people with the commandements, and his face appearing horned, he couereth it, whensoeuer he speaketh to the people.
1And after this he said: Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the former, and I will write upon them the words, which were in the tables, which thou brokest.E di poi disse (il Signore): Fatti due tavole di pietra simili alle prime, e sopra di esse io scriverò le parole, che erano nelle tavole, che tu spezzasti.AND after this he said: Cut thee two tables of stone like vnto the former, and I wil write vpon them the wordes, which the tables had, which thou hast broken.Ac deinceps: Præcide, ait, tibi duas tabulas lapideas instar priorum, et scribam super eas verba, quæ habuerunt tabulæ quas fregisti. 2Be ready in the morning, that thou mayst forthwith go up into Mount Sinai, and thou shalt stand with me upon the top of the mount.Sarai preparato domattina per tosto salire al monte Sinai: e starai meco sulla vetta del monte.Be readie in the morning, that thou maiest forwith go vp into the mount Sinai, and thou shalt stand with me vpon the toppe of the mount.Esto paratus mane, ut ascendas statim in montem Sinai, stabisque mecum super verticem montis. 3Let no man go up with thee, and let not any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the oxen nor the sheep feed over against it.Nissuno venga con te, né uomo si vegga per tutto il monte: i buoi ancora, e le pecore non pascolino a dirimpetto.Let no man go vp with thee, neither let anie man be sene throughout the whole mount: the oxen also and the sheepe let them not feede ouer against.Nullus ascendat tecum, nec videatur quispiam per totum montem: boves quoque et oves non pascantur e contra. 4Then he cut out two tables of stone, such as had been before; and rising very early he went up into the Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, carrying with him the tables.Segò egli adunque due tavole di pietra, quali eran le prime: e alzatosi la notte salì al monte Sinai, conforme gli avea ordinato il Signore, e portò le tavole.He cut out therfore two tables of stone, such as had bene before: and rising very early he went vp into mount Sinai, as our Lord had commanded him, carying with him the tables.Excidit ergo duas tabulas lapideas, quales antea fuerant: et de nocte consurgens ascendit in montem Sinai, sicut præceperat ei Dominus, portans secum tabulas. 5And when the Lord was come down in a cloud, Moses stood with him, calling upon the name of the Lord.Ed essendo disceso il Signore in una nuvola, Mosè si stette con lui, e quegli intuonò il nome del Signore.And when our Lord was descended in a cloude, Moyses stoode with him, calling vpon the name of our Lord.Cumque descendisset Dominus per nubem, stetit Moyses cum eo, invocans nomen Domini.
6And when he passed before him, he said: O the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, patient and of much compassion, and true,Il quale passando davanti a lui, disse: Dominatore, Signore Dio, misericordioso e clemente, paziente, e di molta misericordia, e verace,Who passing before him, he said: Dominatour Lord God, merciful and clement, patient and of much compassion, and true,Quo transeunte coram eo, ait: Dominator Domine Deus, misericors et clemens, patiens et multæ miserationis, ac verax, 7Who 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.Che mantieni la misericordia a mille generazioni: che togli le iniquità, e le scelleratezze, e i peccati, e nissuno è di per sé innocente davanti a te: che punisci l'iniquità dei padri sopra i figli e i nipoti fino alla terza e quarta generazione.Which keepest mercie vnto thousandes: which takest away iniquitie, and wicked factes, and sinnes, and no man of him selfe is innocent before thee. Which doest render the iniquitie of the fathers to the children, and to the nephewes vnto the third and fourth generation.qui custodis misericordiam in millia; qui aufers iniquitatem, et scelera, atque peccata, nullusque apud te per se innocens est; qui reddis iniquitatem patrum filiis, ac nepotibus in tertiam et quartam progeniem. 8And Moses making haste, bowed down prostrate unto the earth, and adoring,E Mosè tosto s'incurvò profondamente fino a terra, e adorando (Dio)And Moyses making hast, bowed flatte vnto the earth, and adoringFestinusque Moyses, curvatus est pronus in terram, et adorans 9Said: If I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, I beseech thee that thou wilt go with us, (for it is a stiffnecked people) and take away our iniquities and sin, and possess us.Disse: Signore, se io ho trovato grazia nel tuo cospetto, pregoti, che tu venga con noi (perocché questo popolo è di dura cervice), e che tu tolga le nostre iniquità, e i peccati, e prenda possesso di noi.he said: If I haue found grace in thy sight o Lord, I beseech thee that thou wilt goe with vs (for it is a stiffe necked people) and take away our iniquities and sinnes, and possesse vs.ait: Si inveni gratiam in conspectu tuo, Domine, obsecro ut gradiaris nobiscum (populus enim duræ cervicis est) et auferas iniquitates nostras atque peccata, nosque possideas. 10The Lord answered: I will make a covenant in the sight of all, I will do signs such as were never seen upon the earth, nor in any nations; that this people, in the midst of whom thou art, may see the terrible work of the Lord which I will do.Rispose il Signore: Io fermerò l'alleanza al cospetto di tutti: farò prodigi, quali non si son veduti mai sulla terra, né presso alcuna nazione: affinché queste popolo, cui tu conduci, vegga le terribili opere, che io Signore sono per fare.Our Lord answered: I wil make a couenant in the sight of al, I wil do signes that were neuer sene vpon the earth, nor in anie nations: that this people may see, in the middes of whom thou art, the terrible worke of the Lord which I wil doe.Respondit Dominus: Ego inibo pactum videntibus cunctis: signa faciam quæ numquam visa sunt super terram, nec in ullis gentibus, ut cernat populus iste, in cujus es medio, opus Domini terribile quod facturus sum.
11Observe all things which this day I command thee: I myself will drive out before thy face the Amorrhite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite.Osserva tutte quelle cose, che io oggi ti comando; io stesso discaccerò davanti a te l'Amorrheo, e il Chananeo, e l'Hetheo, e anche il Pherezeo, e l'Heveo, e 'l Jebuseo.Obserue al thinges which this day I command thee: I my self wil cast out before thy face the Amorrheite, and Chananeite, and Hetheite, the Pherezeite also, and Heueite, and Iebuseite.Observa cuncta quæ hodie mando tibi: ego ipse ejiciam ante faciem tuam Amorrhæum, et Chananæum, et Hethæum, Pherezæum quoque, et Hevæum, et Jebusæum. 12Beware thou never join in friendship with the inhabitants of that land, which may be thy ruin:Guardati dal contrar giammai amicizia cogli abitatori di quella terra, lo che sarebbe tua rovina:Beware thou neuer ioyne amitie with the inhabitants of that land, which may be thy ruine:Cave ne umquam cum habitatoribus terræ illius jungas amicitias, quæ sint tibi in ruinam: 13But destroy their altars, break their statues and cut down their groves:Ma distruggi i loro altari, spezza le statue, e incendia i boschetti.but destroy their altars, breake their statues, and cut downe their groues:sed aras eorum destrue, confringe statuas, lucosque succide: 14Adore not any strange god. The Lord his name is jealous, he is a jealous God.Non adorare alcun Dio straniero: il Signore ha nome Zelatore: Dio è geloso.adore not a strange God. The Lord his name is Ielouse, God is an emulatour.noli adorare deum alienum. Dominus zelotes nomen ejus; Deus est æmulator. 15Make no covenant with the men of those countries; lest, when they have committed fornication with their gods, and have adored their idols, some one call thee to eat of the things sacrificed.Non far lega cogli uomini di que' paesi, affinché non avvenga, che dopo aver essi fornicato co' loro dii, e aver adorati i loro simulacri, alcun di loro ti chiami a mangiare delle cose immolate.Enter no traffick with the men of those regions: lest, when they haue fornicated with their goddes, and haue adored their idols, some man cal thee to eate of the thinges immolated.Ne ineas pactum cum hominibus illarum regionum: ne, cum fornicati fuerint cum diis suis, et adoraverint simulcra eorum, vocet te quispiam ut comedas de immolatis. 16Neither shalt thou take of their daughters a wife for thy son, lest after they themselves have committed fornication, they make thy sons also to commit fornication with their gods.Né le loro figlie farai sposare a' tuoi figliuoli; perché non avvenga, che dopo aver esse fornicato co' loro dii, a fornicazione inducano anche i tuoi figliuoli.Neither shalt thou take a wife for thy sonnes of their daughters: lest after them selues haue fornicated, they make thy sonnes also to fornicate with their goddes.Nec uxorem de filiabus eorum accipies filiis tuis: ne, postquam ipsæ fuerint fornicatæ, fornicari faciant et filios tuos in deos suos.
17Thou shalt not make to thyself any molten gods.Non ti farai Dei di getto.Molten goddes thou shalt not make to theeDeos conflatiles non facies tibi. 18Thou shalt keep the feast of the unleavened bread. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee in the time of the month of the new corn: for in the month of the spring time thou camest out from Egypt.Osserverai la solennità degli azzimi. Per sette giorni mangerai azzimo, come ti ho comandato, nel mese delle nuove biade; perocché nel mese, che principia la primavera, tu sei uscito dall'Egitto.Thou shalt keepe the solemnitie of the azymes. Seuen dayes shalt thou eate azymes, as I haue commanded thee, in the time of the moneth of new corne: for in the moneth of spring time thou didst goe out of Aegypt.Solemnitatem azymorum custodies. Septem diebus vesceris azymis, sicut præcepi tibi, in tempore mensis novorum: mense enim verni temporis egressus es de Ægypto. 19All of the male kind that openeth the womb, shall be mine. Of all beasts; both of oxen and of sheep, it shall be mine.Tutti i primi parti maschi saranno miei: d'ogni specie d'animali tanto de' buoi, come delle pecore, saranno miei.Al of the male kind, that openeth the matrice, shal be mine. Of al beastes as wel oxen as of sheepe, it shal be mine.Omne quod aperit vulvam generis maculini, meum erit. De cunctis animantibus, tam de bobus, quam de ovibus, meum erit. 20The firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a sheep: but if thou wilt not give a price for it, it shall be slain. The firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem: neither shalt thou appear before me empty.Riscatterai con una pecora il primogenito dell'asino: che se non dai il suo riscatto, sarà ucciso: i primogeniti dei tuoi figliuoli li riscatterai; e non comparirai dinanzi a me colle mani vote.The firstborne of an asse thou shalt redeeme with a sheepe: but if thou wilt not giue a price for it, it shal be slaine. The firstborne of thy sonnes thou shalt redeeme: neither shalt thou appeare emptie in my sight.Primogenitum asini redimes ove: sin autem nec pretium pro eo dederis, occidetur. Primogenitum filiorum tuorum redimes: nec apparebis in conspectu meo vacuus. 21Six days shalt thou work, the seventh day thou shalt cease to plough and to reap.Sei giorni lavorerai: il settimo giorno cesserai dall'arare e dal mietere.Six dayes shalt thou worke, the seuenth day thou shalt cease to eare, and reape.Sex diebus operaberis; die septimo cessabis arare et metere.
22Thou shalt keep the feast of weeks with the firstfruits of the corn of thy wheat harvest, and the feast when the time of the year returneth that all things are laid in.Celebrerai la solennità delle (sette) settimane colle primizie della tua messe di frumento, e la (altra) solennità, quando alla fine dell'anno il tutto è ritirato.The solemnitie of weekes thou shalt make to thee, in the first fruites of corne of thy wheate haruest, and the solemnitie, when the time of the yeare returneth that al thinges are laid vp.Solemnitatem hebdomadarum facies tibi in primitiis frugum messis tuæ triticeæ, et solemnitatem, quando redeunte anni tempore cuncta conduntur. 23Three times in the year all thy males shall appear in the sight of the almighty Lord the God of Israel.Tre volte l'anno si presenteranno tutti i tuoi maschi al cospetto del Signore onnipotente Dio d'Israele.Three tymes of the yeare al thy male shal appeare in the sight of the omnipotent Lord God of Israel.Tribus temporibus anni apparebit omne masculinum tuum in conspectu omnipotentis Domini Dei Israël. 24For when I shall have taken away the nations from thy face, and shall have enlarged thy borders, no man shall lie in wait against thy land when thou shalt go up, and appear in the sight of the Lord thy God thrice in a year.Perocché quando io ti avrò tolto davanti quelle nazioni, e avrò dilatati i tuoi contini, nissuno penserà a invadere la tua terra nel tempo che tu anderai a presentarti al cospetto del Signore Dio tuo tre volte l'anno.For when I shal haue taken away the nations from thy face, and shal haue dilated thy borders, no man shal lie in wayte against thy land, when thou doest goe vp, and appeare in the sight of the Lord thy God thrise in a yeare.Cum enim tulero gentes a facie tua, et dilatavero terminos tuos, nullus insidiabitur terræ tuæ, ascendente te, et apparente in conspectu Domini Dei tui ter in anno. 25Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice upon leaven; neither shall there remain in the morning any thing of the victim of the solemnity of the Phase.Non offerirai il sangue della mia vittima col fermentato: e non rimarrà pel mattino parte alcuna di quella vittima solenne della Pasqua.Thou shalt not immolate the bloud of my hoste vpon leauen: neither shal there remaine in the morning of the victime of the solemnitie of the Phase.Non immolabis super fermento sanguinem hostiæ meæ: neque residebit mane de victima solemnitatis Phase.
26The first of the fruits of thy ground thou shalt offer in the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of his dam.Offerirai le primizie della tua terra nella casa del Signore Dio tuo. Non cuocerai il capretto nel latte di sua madre.The first of the fruites of thy ground thou shalt offer in the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not boile a kidde in the milke of his damme.Primitias frugum terræ tuæ offeres in domo Domini Dei tui. Non coques hædum in lacte matris suæ. 27And the Lord said to Moses: Write thee these words, by which I have made a covenant both with thee and with Israel.E il Signore disse a Mosè: Scrivi tu queste cose, mediante le quali ho contratto alleanza teco, e co' figliuoli d'Israele.And our Lord said to Moyses: Write thee these wordes, in which I haue made a couenant both with thee and with Israel.Dixitque Dominus ad Moysen: Scribe tibi verba hæc, quibus et tecum et cum Israël pepigi fœdus. 28And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights: he neither ate bread nor drank water, and he wrote upon the tables the ten words of the covenant.Egli adunque ivi si stette col Signore per quaranta giorni, e quaranta notti: non mangiò pane, e non bevve acqua; e scrisse sulle tavole le dieci parole dell'alleanza.Therfore he was there with our Lord fourtie dayes and fourtie nightes: he did not eate bread, and he dronke no water, and he wrote in the tables the wordes of the couenant, tenneFuit ergo ibi cum Domino quadraginta dies et quadraginta noctes: panem non comedit, et aquam non bibit, et scripsit in tabulis verba fœderis decem. 29And when Moses came down from the Mount Sinai, he held the two tables of the testimony, and he knew not that his face was horned from the conversation of the Lord.E nello scendere che fece Mosè dal monte Sinai, portava le due tavole del testamento; ma non sapea che la sua faccia era tutta splendente dopo che ei si era trattenuto a parlar col Signore.And when Moyses came downe from the mount Sinai, he held the two tables of testimonie, and he knew not that his face was horned by the conuersation of the talke of our Lord.Cumque descenderet Moyses de monte Sinai, tenebat duas tabulas testimonii, et ignorabat quod cornuta esset facies sua ex consortio sermonis Domini. 30And Aaron and the children of Israel seeing the face of Moses horned, were afraid to come near.Ma veggendo Aronne, e i figliuoli d'Israele, come splendente era la faccia di Mosè, non avevano ardire di accostarsegli da vicino.And Aaron and the children of Israel seing the face of Moyses horned, they were afraid to come neere.Videntes autem Aaron et filii Israël cornutam Moysi faciem, timuerunt prope accedere.
31And being called by him, they returned, both Aaron and the rulers of the congregation. And after that he spoke to them,Ed essendo chiamati da lui andarono sì Aronne, e sì i principi della sinagoga. E dopo che egli ebbe parlato con essi,And being called of him, they returned as wel Aaron as the princes of the synagogue. And after that he spake to them,Vocatique ab eo, reversi sunt tam Aaron, quam principes synagogæ. Et postquam locutus est ad eos, 32And all the children of Israel came to him: and he gave them in commandment all that he had heard of the Lord on Mount Sinai.Andarono a lui anche tutti gli altri figliuoli d'Israele, a' quali intimò tutto quello che avea sentito dirsi dal Signore nel monte Sinai.al the children of Israel also came to him: whom he commanded al thinges that he had heard of our Lord in mount Sinai.venerunt ad eum etiam omnes filii Israël: quibus præcepit cuncta quæ audierat a Domino in monte Sinai. 33And having done speaking, he put a veil upon his face.E finito che ebbe di parlare, pose un velo sulla sua faccia:And hauing ended his talke, he put a veile. vpon his face.Impletisque sermonibus, posuit velamen super faciem suam. 34But when he went in to the Lord, and spoke with him, he took it away until he came forth, and then he spoke to the children of Israel all things that had been commanded him.Il quale (velo), quando andava a parlar col Signore, se lo levava, per fino a tanto che uscendo annunziava a' figliuoli d'Israele tutto quello che gli veniva comandato.Which going in to our Lord, and speaking with him, he toke away vntil he went forth, and then he spake to the children of Israel al thinges that had bene commanded him.Quod ingressus ad Dominum, et loquens cum eo, auferebat donec exiret, et tunc loquebatur ad filios Israël omnia quæ sibi fuerant imperata. 35And they saw that the face of Moses when he came out was horned, but he covered his face again, if at any time he spoke to them.Vedevano quelli, come la faccia di Mosè era tutta splendente, quando egli usciva; ma copriva egli la sua faccia ogni volta che parlava con essi.Who saw that the face of Moyses coming forth was horned, but he couered his face againe, if at anie time he spake to them.Qui videbant faciem egredientis Moysi esse cornutam, sed operiebat ille rursus faciem suam, siquando loquebatur ad eos.
34:1
Former. Deuteronomy 10:1, adds, and come up to me into the mount, and I, etc. Here.
34:2
Haydock
Go up. From these expressions we might infer, that God gave the order first on Mount Sinai, and repeated it to Moses in the tabernacle, the night before he commenced his third fast and supplication of 40 days. (Haydock)
Worthington
After the first tables were broken, others were given; so after baptism we may obtain remission of sin by penance. (St. Jerome, ad Dem.) (Worthington)
34:3
Let no, etc. This was to impress all with sentiments of reverence.
34:6
Calmet
He said. Some refer this to Moses; others, more probably, to God, who had promised, by this signal of the name of the Lord, to testify his presence. (Calmet)
Haydock
The angel addresses God in this manner, while Moses lies concealed in the rock, covered with the hand or cloud of God's representative. (Haydock)
Calmet
Of the eleven attributes here claimed by God, three regard his essence, six his mercy, and the last two his justice. (Calmet)
34:7
Keepest. So the Targum of Jerusalem reads. Hebrew and Septuagint have, "keepeth."
No man, etc. All have sinned, Romans 3:23. Hebrew, "who will not clear the guilty," which is followed by the Chaldean and Septuagint. God is a just judge, who will assuredly punish the impenitent. Yet even in justice, he will remember mercy, and will stop at the third and fourth generation, (Calmet) when the influence of the progenitors' example can have but small influence upon their descendants. If, however, they prove guilty, they must expect chastisement, Exodus 20:5.
34:9
Haydock
(For it, etc.) If thou do not support me, I shall not be able to govern. (Haydock)
Menochius
Possess us. Take us for thy peculiar inheritance. (Menochius)
34:10
Calmet
Covenant. The first had been made void by idolatry. (Calmet)
Worthington
Notwithstanding the former threats, (chap. 33:3,) God here promises new benefits. (Worthington)
34:11
Haydock
Observe, O my people, (Menochius) you who shall serve under Josue, when these promises shall be fulfilled. (Haydock)
Calmet
The Septuagint add the Gergesite to the list of people who should be expelled. But Lyran. thinks they are omitted in Hebrew, because they had already retired before the approach of the Hebrews. (Calmet)
34:13
Statues. Septuagint have, "pillars," and subjoin after groves, (unless it be another translation, as Grabe insinuates) "you shall burn with fire the graven things of their gods."
34:14
Jealous. Like a husband, He will watch all your motions.
34:15
Haydock
Covenant. The same word occurs here, as (ver. 12,) in Hebrew and Septuagint. (Haydock)
It relates chiefly to contracts of marriage, which God forbids the faithful to enter into with the Chanaanites, and with other idolatrous nations, lest they should follow their example. Solomon is reprehended for transgressing this law, (3 Kings 11:1,) and such marriages are called abominations. (1 Esdras 9:1.; 10:2, 10.; Josephus)
Tirinus
But if any of those people became converts, the reason of the prohibition ceased. Hence a captive woman might be married, (Deuteronomy 21:11,) and Salmon took Rahab to wife. If Samson and Esther married with heathens, it might be done by God's dispensation, for weighty reasons. (Tirinus)
Calmet
Fornication. On account of the dissolute behaviour of those idolaters, their worship is often condemned under this name, Jeremias 2:and iii.; Ezechiel xvi. (Calmet)
Menochius
Sacrificed, and thus thou be drawn into a participation in his guilt. The other laws are here repeated from Exodus 23. (Menochius)
34:16
Haydock
Son. The Chaldean and Septuagint add, "nor give any of thy daughters to their sons;" or, joining this verse with the 15th, the Septuagint say, "make no covenant....lest they commit fornication after their gods....and call thee and thou eat....and thou take of thier daughters wives for thy sons, and thou wilt give some of thy daughters to their sons, and thy daughters shall go fornicating after their gods." The most imminent dangers attend those women, who have infidel husbands. (Haydock)
Calmet
The intention of Moses, and the custom of the Hebrews, justly reprobated such marriages. (Calmet)
34:18
New corn. Hebrew, Abib; the name of the month Nisan, which corresponds with our March and April.
34:21
Haydock
Reap; when the most urgent necessity might seem to authorize labour. (Haydock)
34:22
Harvest. Pentecost.
Menochius
Laid in, at the feast of tabernacles, in September. (Menochius)
Haydock
The Septuagint have, "the feast of gathering, in the middle of the (sacred) year." The greatest solemnity of the Passover is mentioned, ver. 18. (Haydock)
34:24
Calmet
In wait. Hebrew and Septuagint, "shall desire." (Calmet)
Menochius
God engages to protect their land. (Menochius)
34:25
Calmet
Sacrifice of the paschal lamb, to which the Chaldean properly restrains this verse. (Calmet)
34:26
Dam. Chaldean, "thou shalt not eat flesh with milk." See Exodus 23:19.
34:28
Calmet
Wrote. God wrote on the tables, as he had promised, ver. 1. (Calmet)
Moses recorded all in this book, as he was ordered, ver. 27. St. Cyprian (de Sp. S.) and St. Augustine (q. 186,) infer, however, from this text, that the second tables had not the same honour as the first. The contrary appears from Deuteronomy 10:4, He (God) wrote....as before. Estius, Calmet, and Menochius think the forty days here mentioned, were those which Moses spent with God to obtain the people's pardon, and the law, at the same time. See Exodus 32:35. He continued all that time without meat or sleep, by the power of God, who supports Enoch and Elias in the vigour of health without corporal sustenance. Salien., year of the world 2544, in which year of the world he fixes the death of Job, the great prophet of the Gentiles.
34:29
Challoner
Horned. That is, shining, and sending forth rays of light like horns. (Challoner)
Stacchus and Drusius
Septuagint, "encircled with glory." St. Paul (2 Corinthians 3:7,) says, the Hebrews could not look steadfastly at the face of Moses, on account of the glory of his countenance. Hence, he was forced to have a veil, which the apostle observes, was not taken off from the old law till Christ appeared. The Jews and heretics still read the law and the gospel with a veil over their eyes and heart, without understanding them, as they are hidden to those who perish, 2 Corinthians 4:3. The Jews are much enraged at some Christians, who have represented Moses with horns, as if, they say, he were a devil, or his wife an adulteress. (Stacchus and Drusius.)
Haydock
Hebrew, "his skin was radiant" all over his face. These rays commanded respect and awe from the people, who had before said contemptuously, Moses---the man, (chap. 32:1,) as they shewed that God was with him. They had not appeared before, though he had often conversed with the Lord: but now, having seen the glorious vision, they adhered to him during the remainder of his life, particularly when he enforced the obligations of the law to the people. (Haydock)
Calmet
The Arabs make their hair stand up like little horns, when they are about 40 years old. (Patric. 2:4. Navig.) Homer mentions the like custom, and Diomed laughs at Paris calling him the pretty-horned. (Iliad xi.) Many of the ancient heroes and gods are represented with horns, particularly Bacchus, whose history reminds us of many particulars, which belong to Moses. He was born or educated in the confines of Egypt, was exposed on the waters, in a box; had two mothers, and very beautiful. While his army enjoyed the light, the Indians were in darkness. He was preceded by a pillar, had women in his train, dried up rivers with his thyrsus or wand, which had crawled, like a serpent, etc. (Huet. etc.) St. Epiphanius (her. 55,) says the Idumeans adored Moses. Their idol is called Choze by Josephus, (Antiquities 18:11,) which may be derived from Chus, the ancestor of Sephora, as Bacchus and Iacchus may denote "the son Bar, or the god Chus," Jah-Chus, who was adored in Arabia; so that Moses, Choze, and Bacchus, probably mean the same person. Chus peopled that part of Arabia where the Hebrews sojourned, Numbers 12:1. (Calmet)
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Menochius
And having, etc. At first, he spoke uncovered. (Menochius)
Worthington
The Protestants insert the word till in Italics, to insinuate that Moses spoke with a veil on, as St. Paul mentions; (Haydock) and Calmet would translate, "for Moses had ceased to address the people, and had put a veil upon his face," as soon as he perceived that they could not bear the blaze of his countenance. This he did out of modesty, that they might not be afraid of coming to speak freely to him, (Jansenius) though it was also mysterious, as St. Paul remarks. For even until this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart, (2 Corinthians 3:15,) as it is upon that of heretics, who cannot see the church. (St. Augustine in Psalm xxx.) (Worthington)
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Horned.... That is, shining, and sending forth rays of light like horns.
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The first tables being broken, yet others are made: so though the first grace geuen in Baptisme be lost, Yet there remaineth penance, as the second table of saftie after shipwrake S. Hiero. Epis ad Demedriad.
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chief ruler.
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Notwithstanding his former commination chap. 33. v 3 God here promiseth new benefites.
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God by an angel not Moyses. supra v 1. & Deut. 10. v. 2. & 4.
How soeuer the commandments are diuided in both tables, here it is certaine, that there be no more nor fewer then tenne in al.
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So his face appeared to the beholders, by reason of the glistering beames of his countenance shining gloriously, after his conuersation with God fourtie dayes: which signifieth that much more that which abideth (in al eternitie) is in glorie. 2. Cor. 3.
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The same veile (saieth S. Paul) remaneth vpon the hart of the Iewes, that they can not see Christ, til by his special grace they shal be illuminated: 2 Cor 3. The like is vpon the hart of Heretikes that can not see the Church. S. Aug. in Psal. 30. con 2.
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St Melito of Sardis † AD 180 Melito, the Philosopher 9
The finger of the Lord —the Holy Spirit, by whose operation the tables of the law in Exodus are said to have been written;
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St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 10.8
… And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord , the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, both keeping righteousness and shewing mercy unto thousands, taking away iniquities, and transgressions, and sins
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.20.8
… but to those who had the fear of God he said, “The Lord God is merciful and gracious, and long-suffering, and of great commiseration, and true, and keeps justice and mercy for thousands, forgiving unrighteousness, and transgressions, and sins.”
Tertullian † AD 220 On Modesty 2
“But,” say they, “God is ‘good,’ and ‘most good,’ and ‘pitiful-hearted,’ and ‘a pitier,’ and ‘abundant in pitiful-heartedness,’
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.14.6
… Further, if the expression, ‘Who was faithful,’ is a difficulty to them, from the thought that ‘faithful’ is used of Him as of others, as if He exercises faith and so receives the reward of faith, they must proceed at this rate to find fault with Moses for saying, ‘God faithful and true
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St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 10.8
… And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord , the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, both keeping righteousness and shewing mercy unto thousands, taking away iniquities, and transgressions, and sins . Then in what follows, Moses bowed his head and worshipped
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St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 10.8
… Then in what follows, Moses bowed his head and worshipped before the Lord who proclaimed the Father, and said: Go Thou then, O Lord, in the midst of us
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 11.3
… behold Mine Angel shall go before thee in the day when I visit .” And a little while after He says again, “And I will send Mine Angel before thee .” Then, a little after what immediately follows, comes the supplication to God on the part of His servant, running on this wise, “If I have found grace in Thy sight, let my Lord go among us
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 41.19
Moses says: “This people is stiff-necked,”
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Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 17.1
… And though God has no son, ye say concerning this crucified Jesus, that He is the Son of God.” And they bring forward as an argument, that God said:—“ I am God and there is none else beside Me. ” And again he said:—“ Thou shalt not worship another God. ”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 33
… See what wisdom! He seems to honor him, and to set him up as the authority for his own people, and by this very thing he leads away the Gentiles from him!
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St Hippolytus † AD 235 A discourse by the most blessed Hippolytus, bishop and martyr, on the end of the world, and on Antichrist, and on the second coming of our lord Jesus Christ 22
… For this reason also is he to be born of a virgin, as if a spirit, and then to the rest he will be manifested as flesh. For as to a virgin bearing, this we have known only in the case of the all-holy Virgin , who bore the Saviour verily clothed in flesh. For Moses says, “Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy unto the Lord.”
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St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Widows 5
… What is it, then, that you should give your two mites and gain in return the Lord’s Body? Go not, then, empty into the sight of the Lord your God,
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St Barnabas † AD 61 The Epistle of Barnabas 4
… For the Scripture saith, “And Moses was fasting in the mount forty days and forty nights, and received the covenant from the Lord, tables of stone written with the finger of the hand of the Lord;”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 63.16
16. And what is the intention of the Scripture which teaches us that Peter fasted, and that the revelation concerning the baptism of Gentiles was made to him when fasting and praying, except to show that the Saints themselves advance when they fast. Finally, Moses received the Law when he was fasting;
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies on the Statues to the People of Antioch 17.11
… For this was the Temple in which were sacrifices and prayers and services; where was the Holy of Holies, and the Cherubim, the Covenant,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 55.28
28. The Fast of Forty Days has its warrant both in the Old Testament, from the fasting of Moses
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Catechising of the Uninstructed 23
… in the instance of the people of Israel, that from the day on which they first celebrated the passover in a form, slaying and eating the sheep, with whose blood their door-posts were marked for the securing of their safety, —from this day, I repeat, the fiftieth day in succession was completed, and then they received the law written by the finger of God,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Harmony of the Gospels 2.4
… this number, then, is a sign of that laborious period in which, under the discipline of Christ the King, we have to fight against the devil, is also indicated by the fact that both the law and the prophets solemnized a fast of forty days,—that is to say, a humbling of the soul,—in the person of Moses and Elias, who fasted each for a space of forty days.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 111.1
… But this life demandeth from us self-restraint, that although groaning and weighed down with our toil and struggles, and desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, we may refrain from secular pleasures: and this is signified by the number of forty, which was the period of the fasts of Moses, and Elias,
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Tertullian † AD 220 On the Resurrection of the Flesh 55
… This form of change even the Holy Scriptures give us instances of. The hand of Moses is changed, and it becomes like a dead one, bloodless, colourless, and stiff with cold; but on the recovery of heat, and on the restoration of its natural colour, it is again the same flesh and blood. Afterwards the face of the same Moses is changed,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 7
… What then is the history? When, having received the Tables a second time, Moses came down, a certain glory darting from his countenance shone so much that the Jews were not able to approach and talk with him until he put a veil over his face. And thus it is written in Exodus, (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 51.7
… just as also in another place we read the words “from glory to glory,” of which glory the saints have even in this world received an earnest and a small portion. At their head stands Moses, whose face shone exceedingly, and was bright with the brightness of the sun.
Pseudo-Clement The Clementine Homilies 20.6
… And by means of this very converted rod he converted the water of the Nile into blood, which again he reconverted into water. Yea, even man, who is dust, He changed by the inbreathing of His breath into flesh, and changed him back again into dust. And was not Moses,
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St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 39.5
IX. Wherefore we must purify ourselves first, and then approach this converse with the Pure; unless we would have the same experience as Israel,
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 40
… and again, Because Thy judgments are a light upon the earth); although the envious darkness crept in and wrought wickedness. And a Light typical and proportionate to those who were its subjects was the written law, adumbrating the truth and the sacrament of the great Light, for Moses’ face was made glorious by it.
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Duties of the Clergy 2.7
… He comforted them in their labours, consoled them by his prophetic declarations of the future, and encouraged them by his works. And though he often spoke with God, yet he was wont to address men gently and pleasantly. Worthily was he considered to stand above all men. For they could not even look on his face,
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 15
… 15 .) So possible is it even for one in a lower degree to shine. For what, I ask, had this man less than the Apostles? He lacked not miracles, and great was the boldness he exhibited. —“They saw His face,” it is said, “as it had been the face of an angel.” (
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Archelaus † fl. AD 278 The Acts of the Disputation with the Heresiarch Manes 43
… This, therefore, is the word of censure upon the children of Israel, because they read Moses and yet do not understand him, and refuse to turn to the Lord; for it is He that was prophesied of by Moses as about to come. This, then, is the veil which was placed upon the face of Moses,
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 1.30
… Whence the Apostle also says, “We are a sweet savour of Christ.” “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, thou art in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the steep place. Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Of the Work of Monks 39
… And they do not consider what is the difference between that prophetic veil, and this unveiling which is in the Gospel, of which the Apostle saith, “When thou shall go over unto Christ, the veil shall be taken away.” That, namely, which was signified in the veil interposed between the face of Moses and the beholding of the people Israel,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 119.16
… For this is read in another Psalm also, “Above gold and exceeding precious stones.” For topaz is a stone considered very precious. But they not understanding the hidden grace which was in the Old Testament, screened as it were by the veil
Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 The Book of Pastoral Rule 3.39
… As it were to babes in Christ, I have given you milk to drink, and not meat ( 1 Cor. iii. 1, 2 ). Hence Moses, when he comes on from the sanctuary of God , veils his shining face before the people; because in truth He shews not to multitudes the secrets of inmost brightness (
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Archelaus † fl. AD 278 The Acts of the Disputation with the Heresiarch Manes 44
… and here, our Lord Jesus prayed that the Pharisees might be pardoned, when He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” There, the countenance of Moses shone with the glory of the Lord, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look upon his face, on account of the glory of his countenance;
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1. AND AFTERWARDS, — supply God spoke to Moses, and continuing his discourse, finally completed it with the inscription of the second tablets. HEW (in Hebrew dola) THYSELF TWO TABLES OF STONE. — God had given the first tablets, and had inscribed them with the Decalogue; but because the Hebrews had violated and broken them by making a golden calf, hence in punishment of sin God here commands that they themselves prepare these second ones, and offer them to God to be inscribed, and as suppliants beseech that the law be written in them anew by God.
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2. BE READY IN THE MORNING, THAT THOU MAYEST GO UP FORTHWITH INTO THE MOUNT SINAI. — From this it appears that God said this to Moses on the preceding day at morning time, and that Moses then immediately descended from the mountain to the camp, and there cut and shaped by craftsmen two stone tablets, and commanded the people that no one should approach the mountain; then on the following night he ascended the mountain again, so that in the morning he might present himself to God with the tablets, that God might inscribe the Decalogue upon them with His own hand; which God also did on that very day, which was the fortieth from Moses' ascent into the mountain; whence it follows that on the preceding day, which was the thirty-ninth, Moses descended from Sinai, that he might cut the tablets of the law and bring them to God, as God here commands him. Thus Abulensis.
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3. Let also the oxen and sheep not feed over against it, — over against the mountain. God willed all these things, that He might instil fear and reverence into His hard and rude people.
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5. AND WHEN THE LORD DESCENDED IN A CLOUD, MOSES STOOD WITH HIM. — "Stood," namely Moses shut up in a cave, and covered by the cloud, in which God descended, that He might cover him while He passed by, so that Moses might not see the face, but the back of the Lord, as God had promised to Moses at the end of the preceding chapter.
5 and 6. CALLING UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD. AND WHEN HE PASSED BY HE SAID: LORD, LORD GOD, MERCIFUL, etc. — "Said," who? It is uncertain, whether Moses or the Lord. The Hebrew can be fitted to either: for thus it reads word for word, and the Lord descended in a cloud, and stood with him, and called upon the name of the Lord (which our Interpreter took of Moses: for he translated, Moses stood with him calling upon the name of the Lord), and the Lord passed before his face, and cried out: Lord, Lord, etc. But it is better that these words be fitted to the Lord, so that the Lord Himself cried out, saying: "Lord, Lord God," etc. Whence in the Hebrew and Septuagint the words are in the third person, not in the second, although our Interpreter translated them in the second for the sake of clarity. That the Lord cried out and said these things is evident from the preceding chapter, verse 19, where the Lord said: "I will call upon the name of the Lord," that is, I will cry out the name of the Lord, saying: "Lord, Lord God," etc. The same is evident from Numbers chapter 14, verse 17, where it is said: "As thou hast sworn saying: The Lord is patient, and of great mercy." Where did God say this, if not here? whence also Moses here verse 8, finally after these words of the Lord, falling to the ground, began to pray to the Lord. Thus Abulensis, Oleaster, Vatablus, Cajetan and Lipomanus. Wherefore what our interpreter translated, "when he passed by he said;" understand "said" the Lord, and that from the manner of the Hebrews, who do not always take the subject of the verb as the nearest substantive, but often recall a more remote one, as we shall see in this chapter, verse 28, and elsewhere. The Lord therefore cried out to Moses saying: Lord, Lord, as the Septuagint translates; or as our Interpreter more clearly translated: Lord, Lord God, not as if God were invoking or praying to Himself, but that He might deliver to Moses a formula for invoking Himself; just as Christ did to the Apostles, when He said: "Thus therefore shall you pray: Our Father, who art in heaven," etc. In like manner God did here to Moses, as if to say: Thus shalt thou with thy people invoke Me, thus shalt thou beseech Me: "Lord, Lord God, who keepest mercy unto thousands," etc. Thus Abulensis. Secondly, if thou wishest to take the words of our Interpreter as spoken by Moses, say that God passing before Moses first uttered these words, then Moses following God secondly pronounced them, so that these words of God were repeated by him. Whence I said in the preceding chapter, I will call upon the name of the Lord should be understood thus, as if to say: By calling upon the name of the Lord, I will teach thee to invoke it in the same way; and so our Interpreter wished to signify both, namely both that God uttered these words: and this he expressed sufficiently in the preceding chapter in that verse 19; and then that Moses from God's teaching repeated and recited the same: and this he says in this place. For which reason perhaps the Hebrew is here ambiguous, so that it can be fitted to either, namely both to Moses and to God. A similar case is Matthew chapter 21, verse 41, where the chief priests and elders are said to have said: "He will bring those evil men to an evil end, and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen," when nevertheless in Mark chapter 12, verse 9, and Luke chapter 20, verse 16, the Lord Himself is said to have spoken these words; where Matthew and Mark are to be reconciled thus, that we say these words were first spoken by the elders, as Matthew says, then Christ repeated the same, that He might convict them by His answer, as Mark and Luke say. Thus Lipomanus.
Lord Dominator: Twelve Names of God LORD DOMINATOR. — God gives himself here twelve names, as it were epithets, by which he wishes to be addressed and invoked by us, because, as the Hebrews say, these epithets in God denote an ordering toward men and the salvation of men. The first is, "Lord Dominator," for which in Hebrew is Jehova, or rather Jeheva, which is the name of four letters. The second, "God." The third, "merciful." The fourth, "clement." The fifth, "patient." The sixth, "of great mercy." The seventh, "truthful," namely in promises. The eighth, "who keepest mercy unto thousands." The ninth, "who takest away iniquity." The tenth, "no one before thee is innocent of himself." The eleventh, "who renderest the iniquity of the fathers unto the children." The twelfth, "and unto the grandchildren unto the third and fourth generation," concerning which I shall speak at Deuteronomy v, 9.
Merciful and Clement MERCIFUL AND CLEMENT. — St. Chrysostom praises this mercy of God, in his homily on Psalm L: "Art thou impious?" he says, "Set before thyself the Magi:" for Christ called these infidels to himself by a star. "Art thou a robber? Think of the publican. Art thou impure? Let the harlot present herself to thy mind. Art thou a murderer? Let that thief be before thine eyes. Art thou wicked? Let Paul come to thy remembrance, who was first a blasphemer, afterward an Apostle; first a persecutor, afterward an Evangelist; first a wolf, afterward a shepherd. Hast thou sinned? Repent. Hast thou sinned a thousand times? Repent a thousand times." And St. Bernard, in his sermon On Triple Mercy: "A great sinner," he says, "has need of great mercy; that where sin abounded, grace may also abound. This has three degrees. The first, when God delays to strike, being ready to forgive. The second, when he gives grace to the repentant. The third, when he casts off the yoke of sin from the conscience." The same, on the gospel of the seven loaves, sermons 2 and 3: "The mercies of the Lord," he says, "I will sing forever," especially seven. First, from many sins while still in the world he kept me; I confess and will confess, unless the Lord had helped me, my soul would have fallen into every sin. Second, I sinned, and thou didst dissemble; I did not refrain from crimes, and thou didst refrain from blows; I prolonged my iniquity for a long time, and thou, O Lord, thy mercy. Third, he visited my heart, and changed it so that those things became bitter which were wickedly sweet before. Fourth, he mercifully received me repenting. Fifth, he granted me the virtue of living more correctly, lest I should suffer a relapse, and the last error be worse than the first. Sixth, he created in me a hatred of past evils, a contempt of present goods, and a desire of future things. Seventh, he gave me hope of obtaining eternal life. The first mercy consists in the subtraction of occasion, the virtue given to resist, the health of affection. The second embraces the longsuffering which God exhibited, the election of his predestination which he wished to be fulfilled, and the immense charity with which he loved us. The third, God shook my heart, stirring it up, so that it might perceive the wounds of its sins, and feel the pain of the wounds; he terrified me, leading to the gates of hell, and showing the punishments prepared for the wicked; inspiring me with consolation, he gave me hope of pardon. Fourth, God does not condemn by avenging, does not confound by reproaching, nor does he love less by imputing. Fifth, God guards us against all the snares of the flesh, the world, and Satan. Sixth is set forth. Seventh, no lack of merits, no consideration of my own worthlessness, no estimation of heavenly beatitude, can cast me down from the height of hope in which I am firmly rooted. These and more things St. Bernard scattered throughout the place cited. The same, sermon 52 among the shorter ones: When, he says, we turn to God, we kiss the feet of the Lord. Now there are two feet of the Lord, mercy and truth. And sermon 6 in the Canticles: One, he says, cannot be kissed without the other; because both the remembrance of judgment alone precipitates into the abyss of despair, and the false assent of mercy generates the worst security.
Patient Patient. — In Hebrew it is ארך אפים erech appaim, long, that is, broad, in the nostrils, that is, slow to anger. In Greek makrothymos and longanimus. For those who have narrow nostrils conceive the fumes ascending from the heart and choler more quickly, and expel them more slowly on account of the narrowness of the passages, and therefore are more prone to bile: on the contrary, those who have broad nostrils have ample passages, by which they expel choler and fumes, and by which they admit much cold air by which that heat and bile are tempered: hence these are more placid, more patient and longanimus. Thus Ribera on Nahum, cap. 1, num. 9. Morally learn here that God, supremely powerful, is also supremely patient. For impatience in the powerful is great weakness of spirit; patience, however, is power. Hear Boethius, lib. III, meter 5: Whoever wishes to be powerful, Let him tame those fierce spirits, Nor submit his conquered neck To foul reins of lust. For although the distant Indian land Trembles at your laws, And furthest Thule serves you: Yet to drive away dark cares, And to put to flight wretched complaints, Is not in your power. Diogenes to a youth complaining that he was disturbed by many: "Cease," said he, "and do not show signs of disturbance." The same, when someone said to him: Many revile you: "It is fitting," said he, "that a wise man be struck by the foolish; the tongue that carps at you indicates you are better." Xenophon, as Seneca testifies, to someone reviling him: "You," said he, "have learned to revile; I have learned with conscience as witness to despise reviling." Antisthenes used to say, "virtue suffices for him for happiness, nor does he need anything except Socratic strength." But Socrates had hardened himself to patience in all things.
No One Before You Is Innocent in Himself And no one before you is innocent in himself, that is to say, Therefore all need your, O Lord, mercy, pardon and grace. Num. cap. xiv, 18, Our interpreter translated the same words which are here in Hebrew thus: and leaving no one innocent, that is, you reckon all guilty, liable, and bound to you by some debt, on account of original sin, or mortal, or venial, understand in themselves, or as far as it depends on man: for if God should preserve anyone by his grace (as the Church piously believes of the Blessed Virgin), anyone could be entirely innocent. Thus Abulensis. It could secondly, from the Hebrew, be translated thus: and leaving no one innocent, that is, unpunished. For the Hebrew נקה naka signifies both to be innocent, and to be unpunished: for the latter follows from the former.
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9. I beseech you that, etc., you take away our iniquities. — Moses foresaw that the Jews, stiff-necked, would henceforth often offend God; he therefore asks him to be merciful to them, and not to abandon or reject them entirely on account of future sins; but to hold them firmly, as his inheritance, as the Hebrew has it, and to protect them; hence here Moses teaches the Jews to call upon God by the same name, to invoke him, and frequently to ask pardon of him for sins.
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10. The Lord answered: I will make a covenant in the sight of all, I will work signs that have never been seen. — In Hebrew it is, I strike a covenant before all the people, namely those who see you ascend the mountain for this reason of the covenant, and already know that you are here with me on the mountain for the same reason, and behold the cloud, and perhaps other signs similar to those which were wrought in the former covenant, cap. xxiv, 17, and will behold your face vibrating with horns of light, when you set forth to them the conditions of the covenant, namely these my laws, and the tablets inscribed by my finger. Again, I will make a covenant in the sight of all, namely in the following times continually confirming this covenant by wonderful signs, which I shall henceforth produce for the protection of the people; as was especially shown in the time of Joshua in his wars and portentous victories. Moreover, the covenant of God with the people renewed here was the same as the former covenant, namely that God should be the lord and protector of the people, the people in turn should serve and obey God alone: both of which were signified by the giving and receiving, or acceptance of the law: for God gave the tablets of the law, the people truly received and accepted them. Note: Moses on the fortieth day from his ascent into the mountain, at early dawn saw that vision and the glory of God passing by, but from behind, of which here vers. 6, and in the preceding cap., vers. 19 and 22; then God, covering himself again with a cloud, spoke with Moses, and set forth to him the conditions of the covenant, namely his laws, vers. 11 and seq., and by this very act made a covenant with Moses and the people, and finally gave to Moses the tablets of the Decalogue inscribed by himself, as a symbol and confirmation of the covenant: which being received, Moses on that same fortieth day descended from the mountain to the people with the tablets.
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11. Observe all things that I command you this day. — "You," O my people: for God speaks here to Moses, as an intermediary of the people, and sustaining his person.
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14. The Lord's name is zealous, — his is redundant by Hebraism, and in place of his should be substituted the Lord in the genitive, so that you say: "The Lord's name is zealous," that is, as follows: The Lord is zealous, an emulator of the honor due to him, nor does he suffer his people to turn aside to idols as to lovers. Note the Hebraism: to have a name, or to be called, signifies to be, so that it may rightly be called by this name; thus of Christ it is said: "And his name shall be called Emmanuel, wonderful, counsellor, mighty." Likewise: "Make haste to strip the spoils, hasten to seize the prey," Isaiah viii and ix, that is, Christ will be Emmanuel, that is, God with us, he will be a counsellor, he will be mighty, he will quickly strip the spoils, he will hasten to seize the prey. See canon 18.
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15. When they shall have committed fornication with their gods. — "Shall have committed fornication," that is, shall have worshipped gods or idols. Scripture often, especially in the Prophets, calls idolatry fornication, because men, blinded by hope and lust for riches, pleasures and a more licentious life, receding from God, subjected and delivered themselves to idols as to lovers to be corrupted. See chapters II and III of Jeremiah, and chapter xvi of Ezekiel. On the contrary the Apostle, II Corinthians xi, 2, says to the faithful who worship God rightly: "I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." That thou mayest eat of things sacrificed to idols, — and thus you may be enticed to sacrifice; for to eat of things sacrificed to idols is not in itself evil, unless it be done in such a way, for example, in the midst of the sacrifices themselves in the temples, so that one is reckoned by this very thing to consent to the sacrifice itself offered to idols; yet it is evil and unlawful per accidens, namely on account of danger, or an erring conscience, or scandal: which especially held true among the Jews. See what is said concerning things sacrificed to idols at the beginning of chapter viii of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. The remaining laws are here briefly repeated from chapter xxiii, where I have explained them.
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21. On the seventh day thou shalt cease to plough and to reap, — as if to say, Even if it be the time of harvest or ploughing, which is wont to be especially laborious above other times, yet on the sabbath thou shalt cease, nor shalt thou reap or plough on it. This is clear from the Hebrew.
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22. Thou shalt make the solemnity of weeks to thee in the firstfruits of the corn, — as if to say, Thou shalt celebrate the feast of Pentecost after a week of weeks, that is after 7 weeks, namely after 49 days, on the fiftieth day from the Passover, and in it thou shalt offer the firstfruits of loaves to God. And the solemnity when the time of the year returning round, all things are gathered in, — namely the feast of ingathering in the seventh month, in which the ancient and common year began, concerning which see chapter xxiii, 16.
34:24
24. When I shall have enlarged thy borders, — when I shall have given thee the broad borders which I promised thee: which was done immediately in the time of Joshua after the first rest from wars; and thus, as is gathered from this, before this rest the Hebrews were not bound by this precept, to go three times in a year to the tabernacle, and that because the journey was dangerous, and because they themselves were still occupied with wars against the inhabitants. No man shall covet thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God three times in the year, — in Hebrew it is, no man shall covet thy land, so that namely he may invade it in thy absence and lie in wait for it, as if to say, Fear not enemies, when thou obeyest my law, to go up, that is to go to my Sanctuary, as if they would invade thy cities, empty of males and warriors, in thy absence: for I will bridle them and turn them aside, so that they neither covet it nor think of it. Thus Abulensis.
34:25
25. Thou shalt not sacrifice with leaven, — with leaven. See what is said in chapter xxiii, verse 18. Neither shall there remain in the morning of the victim of the solemnity of the Passover. — As if to say, Nothing shall remain of the paschal lamb until the next day, or the next morning; but on the same day on which you shall sacrifice the lamb, you shall eat the whole of it. See what is said in chapter xii, verse 20.
34:27
27. Write thou these words, — these ceremonial precepts already repeated by me, when thou shalt come down from the mountain, write in some book, for perpetual remembrance of my worship and covenant. Thus Moses wrote them here in the book of Exodus. Which. — In Hebrew, according to whose mouth, that is, the tenor and manner, I made a covenant with thee and with thy people, so that namely they may be a people bound to me by this worship and these ceremonies; I in turn may be their God, their protector and provider.
34:28
28. He was therefore with the Lord forty days. — This is the second sojourn and station of Moses on Mount Sinai for 40 days. For the first was of the same number of days, cap. xxiv, vers. ult., in which the things were said and done which are narrated from cap. xxiv, vers. ult. to cap. xxxii, vers. 15. But this second began the day after Moses had descended from the first: for the day after he ascended again into Sinai, and there remained 40 days. This second station of Moses contains the sayings from vers. 31 of cap. xxxii, up to this point: therefore the preceding conversations of God with Moses, which have been narrated up to now, took place in the space of these 40 days, in which Moses remained a second time on the mountain, as is evident from this passage. Note: Moses first ascended the mountain immediately after the law was given at Pentecost, namely the day after (as is gathered from Exodus xxiv, vers. 12), which was the seventh day of the third month: for the law was given on the sixth day of the third month; thence Moses remained with God on the mountain 40 days; soon he descended with the tablets of the law, which he had received from God, and seeing the calf broke them on the 17th day of the fourth month; the day after, namely the 18th day, he ascended again to God in Sinai, as is evident from cap. xxxii, vers. 30 and 31, and there again remained another 40 days, as is evident from cap. xxxiv, vers. 28: when these were completed he received from God the second tablets of the law, and with these horned descended to the people on the 28th day of the fifth month. He ate no bread, and drank no water, — that is, he took no food whatsoever, living by prayer and converse with God alone. For the Hebrews are accustomed to signify all food by two parts, or things necessary and sufficient to relieve hunger and thirst, namely water and bread. Thus Augustine, Quaest. CLXV, and St. Jerome in Isaiah III. Moses therefore fasted twice 40 days, namely once before the first, and a second time before the second writing and receiving of the tablets of the law: concerning which disposition and virtue of fasting, see St. Maximus, hom. 3 On the Fasting of Lent; St. Jerome, lib. II Against Jovinianus; Chrysostom, serm. 1 On Fasting; Cyprian, tract. On Fasting and the Temptations of Christ, and above all St. Basil, serm. 1
On Fasting On Fasting, and from it St. Ambrose, lib. On Elijah and Fasting. Hear a few things from many. "Fasting," says St. Jerome to Demetrias, "is not only a perfect virtue, but also the foundation of other virtues, and sanctification, and chastity and prudence, without which no one shall see God." St. Ambrose, serm. On Lent: "Hunger," he says, "is a friend to virginity, an enemy to lust; but satiety destroys chastity, nourishes allurement." And again: "He," he says, "observes Lent, who by fasting and watching ascends to Easter. For as fasting in the rest of the year is a reward, so in Lent not to fast is a sin. For those are voluntary fastings, these are necessary: those come from choice, these from law: to those we are invited, to these we are compelled." Note the precept of fasting in Lent in the time of St. Ambrose. St. Chrysostom, in cap. vi of Matthew: "Just as," he says, "neither a soldier without arms is anything, nor arms without a soldier: so neither prayer without fasting, nor fasting without prayer." St. Basil: "Fasting," he says, "is a likeness of men with angels." Again Chrysostom: "Fasting is the nourishment of the soul." St. Augustine: "Fasting," he says, "purifies the mind, elevates the senses, subjects the flesh to the spirit, makes the heart contrite and humbled, disperses the clouds of concupiscence, extinguishes the fires of lust, kindles the light of chastity." St. Athanasius, tract. On Virginity: "See," he says, "what fasting does: it heals diseases, dries up discharges, puts demons to flight, expels evil thoughts, makes the mind clearer, the heart purer, and the body healthier." St. Ambrose, On Elijah and Fasting: "Fasting," he says, "is the death of guilt, the destruction of sins, the remedy of salvation, the root of grace, the foundation of chastity: by this step as by a chariot Elijah ascended." Peter of Ravenna, serm. On Fasting: "Fasting," he says, "we know to be the fortress of God, the castle of Christ, the wall of the Holy Spirit, the standard of faith, the sign of chastity, the trophy of holiness." St. Gregory: "Since," he says, "we fell from the joy of paradise through food, as much as we can, let us rise again through abstinence." Examples and rewards of those who fast I have brought together in Gen. ix, 21, and here cap. xxiv, vers. 18. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten. — Namely the ten precepts of the Decalogue on stone tablets he wrote, not Moses, as St. Cyprian wished in tract. On the Spirit, St. Augustine, Quaest. CXVI, but God. For although the discourse immediately preceding was about Moses, yet here it is about God, which although it may seem new to Latins, yet it is not so to Hebrews, who often either understand the subject of the verb, or take up something more remote, especially if it be known, or otherwise mentioned. Thus here from the fact that in vers. 1, the Lord said he would write on these tablets the law, it is made manifest that what is said here, he wrote therefore, should be understood of the Lord, not of Moses. Then that this is so is altogether evident from Deut. x, vers. 1, 2, 3, 4, where this same history is repeated, and it is said that the Lord wrote the law, not Moses.
34:29
29. And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he held the two tables, and he knew not that his face was horned from the conversation of the Lord. — Note first, that God, about to give Moses and the Hebrews the tables of the law, and conversing with Moses on this matter in Sinai, as the most radiant sun breathed forth his glory to Moses, that is, the rays of his light so brilliant, that the Hebrews could not look upon the face of Moses as upon another sun, but were compelled to turn their faces away from him. Hence Moses, that he might be able to speak with them, covered his face and his glory with a veil; whence he says: "He knew not that his face was horned." Where note secondly: Our translator well rendered it "horned"; for the word קרן karan properly signifies to be horned, not to radiate, as some fabricate: just as the name קרן keren signifies only a horn, and that in almost all languages. Note thirdly: Horned here is taken metaphorically: for Moses did not have horns on his forehead, as painters depict him; but his face was so bright that it vibrated rays of light, and as it were emitted horns. Whence the Chaldean, rendering not the words but the sense, says: Moses knew not that the splendor of the glory of his countenance had been multiplied; and the Septuagint: "Moses knew not that the appearance of the color, or the skin of his face, had been glorified." St. Paul follows the Septuagint, II Cor. III, 7, who calls these horns "the glory of the face of Moses." From the same Septuagint in the ecclesiastical office of the transfiguration of Christ it is sung: The face of Moses was glorified. Whence you may infer that the ancient edition of Holy Scripture, which the Church used before St. Jerome, was the Septuagint Interpreters. Furthermore, these rays of Moses are called horns, because they so dazzled and blinded the eyes of the Hebrews, that they seemed to be struck and pierced as if with horns. For they were so struck by them, that from fear they would draw back, and repelled as it were by these rays, unable to bear their force, they would flee. And this for this purpose, that they might revere and fear Moses as lawgiver and the law given to him by God, and no longer dare to transgress it. For horns are a symbol, first, of principality and kingdom, according to that Psalm. cxxxi, 17: "There will I bring forth the horn (that is, the strength and kingdom) of David." And concerning the descendants of Joseph, namely the kings about to be born from Ephraim, his son, Moses says Deut. xxxiii, 17: "His horns are the horns of a rhinoceros, with them he shall push the nations." With these horns therefore God adorned Moses as a leader and lawgiver with authority, and as it were with the insignia of principality, Flaming, horned, balancing light with his countenance, And bearing the supreme laws in sacred books. Hence also these horns were not of bone, but of light; because the law, which as God's legislator he was about to give, is light, and that heavenly and divine, Prov. cap. vi, vers. 23. Secondly, the horns of Moses signified that his law would be threatening and terrible, as if Moses horned, with his horns would attack those who violated the law, inflicting upon them the penalty of death. For the old law was one of rigor and terror: just as the new one on the contrary is of grace and love. From the conversation of the Lord. — Hence it is clear that these horns of light, that is, these rays, were breathed forth to Moses from the conversation of God, especially when the glory of God passed before the cleft of the rock, and he cried out: "Lord, Lord," this chapter, vers. 6. For Moses had asked to see the face of the Lord, speaking with him through a cloud; but God answers: "You shall see my back (that is, my back in a body assumed by an angel); but my face (inasmuch as it is too radiant) you cannot see." God therefore, or rather an angel acting in God's stead, placed Moses in a cave, and covered it with a cloud, and thus passed before Moses in a glorious and most bright body assumed by himself; and when he had now passed, he removed the cloud, that Moses might behold the back of the Lord, or rather of the angel (in which the light was more tempered than in the face); then therefore the back of the Lord shining wonderfully, struck Moses beholding it so that it as it were fixed horns of light upon him. For from this it is most evident that the face of Moses shone forth, namely because the first time, when he had spoken with the Lord for so many days and received the first tablets, Exodus chapter 32, verse 15, we read nothing of such rays; similarly neither in this second conversation immediately before that vision of God, when Moses descended from the mountain to bring the tablets to God, verses 3 and 4, which happened on the 39th day of the second encampment in Sinai. It is therefore probable that in that most splendid and most eminent vision already mentioned, Moses contracted them, and they were breathed upon him, namely on the last and 40th day on which he was with God in Sinai, and on which he received from Him the second tablets of the law, and this first, so that God might declare His love toward Moses, and repay love with love. Second, so that He might show the law to be promulgated to the Israelites by this most certain character as divine and flowing from God, and might strike terror, lest they dare to violate it henceforth; the Apostle assigns this reason, II Corinthians chapter 3, verse 7. Third, so that He might secure authority for Moses with the people. Fourth, so that He might show the power and fruit of prayer. How long this splendor of his face lasted, Scripture does not express. Abulensis by the same reasons already mentioned thinks it lasted until the death of Moses, and therefore Moses after the first conversation with the people, thereafter until death veiled his face when he spoke to the people. Thus also Ambrose thinks in Psalm 118, who also pursues an allegorical reason: Moses, he says, that is the old law, always had a veil; Jesus, or Joshua, his successor, had none: for Christ removed every veil of the law, as the Apostle says, II Corinthians. Morally note: God is immense and uncreated light, the source of all light and brightness; hence light is the most noble and heavenly quality by which God, when He appeared, represented His majesty. "Light," says St. Dionysius, On the Divine Names, "is from the good itself, and is the image of goodness. Therefore the good itself is praised by the name of light, as it were an exemplar expressed in some image." Hence those who converse with God, and often speak with Him in prayer, like Moses are breathed upon by the rays of God, and become bright in soul, and then in face and body. Thus Christ was transfigured in prayer, and His face shone as the sun, so that with His rays He illuminated not only Elijah and Moses, but also Peter, James and John. For Peter, exulting in this splendor and joy, and as if drunk, cried out: "Lord, it is good for us to be here, let us make here three tabernacles: one for Thee, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Thus the face of St. Anthony, spending the night in prayer, shone continually, so that from the light and joy of his face alone, among so many thousands of monks, Anthony was recognized: for he seemed to be as it were a certain sun among stars. Thus St. Francis, lifted up in the air by fervent prayer, shone and burned, and so much so that flames and fires seemed to vibrate from him. Thus our holy Father Ignatius was often seen by St. Philip Neri and others with a countenance above human, august and resplendent. Thus the august face of the Blessed Virgin shone forth from constant conversation with God and the incarnate Word, so that she seemed to be some goddess, as St. Dionysius testifies. Moreover these rays of light had the appearance of horns, to signify that through prayer the Saints are illuminated by divine light, not only, but also become horned, that is constant, strong, robust, invincible in enduring all hardships, equally as in undertaking any difficult things. Thus through prayer was strengthened St. Anna, mother of Samuel, of whom it is said I Kings 1, 18: "And her countenance was no longer changed into diversity," that is to say, Thereafter with the same constant countenance she received both the praises of Elkanah and the reproaches of Peninnah; both hard things and sweet; both adverse and prosperous.
34:30
30. And when Aaron and the children of Israel saw the horned face of Moses, they feared to draw near, — because namely they were not able to fix the gaze of their eyes on his face so resplendent, or on this brightness of his face, and because they revered Moses, as if already made divine by these rays: but these rays were hidden from Moses himself, because he himself was absorbed in the vision and conversation of God, nor could he behold his own face except in a mirror, which if he had beheld, he would certainly have seen also these rays of his own face. 31 and 32. And after he had spoken to them (namely Moses to Aaron and the princes of the people), all the children of Israel came to him also, — now confirmed from fear, when they had seen Aaron and the princes conversing with Moses. This opinion is also hinted at by the most illustrious Bellarmine, book II On the Religion of Saints, chapter IV.
34:33
33. And when he had finished speaking, he put a veil upon his face. — From this place it is gathered that Moses promulgated the precepts of God to the people, in the first discourse with face uncovered and shining, on account of the majesty, reverence and testimony of the law; but after that first promulgation, thereafter when he spoke with the people, he veiled his face, so that opportunity for freer discourse might be given: but when he went to the tabernacle, of which cap. xxxiii, vers. 8, about to speak with the Lord, he removed the veil. The Apostle gives the allegorical cause of this veiling, II Corinth. cap. III, vers. 14, 15, 16. For to the Jews the Old Testament is covered with a veil, so that they may not see its internal light of the New Testament and Christ, which it contains and represents: this veil Christ removed for us in the new law, and will remove at the end of the age from the Jews, to be converted to the faith of Christ. Tropologically St. Gregory, part. III Pastor. cap. v: That a preacher, he says, must adapt himself to his hearer; for indeed high things ought to be covered before many hearers, and scarcely opened to few. Vers. 35. The latter part of this phrase can be turned from the Hebrew thus: Then, when he had ceased to speak, he put the veil upon his face, until he should enter the tabernacle to speak with him, namely Jova.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
34:2
v. 2 « Esto paratus mane, ut ascendas statim » — Hebr. mane — « in montem Sinai, stabisque mecum super verticem monlis ». "? potius accipe ut dativum ethicum (LXX uct), non vero vertas mecum vel coram me (Chald.). Yabetur Moysesibi opperiri Deum. Porro hoc cum Deo inde a 33,12 colloquium habebatur in tabernaculo extra castra 33,7 constituto, fortasse mane, quo Moysi sufficiens tempus relinquebatur, ut usque ad sequens mane, nam istud sensu obvio intellectus v. 2 respicit, tabulas illas non ita magnas excideret.
34:3
v. 3 « Nullus ascendat tecum, nec videatur quisquam per totum montem ; boves quoque et oves non pascantur e contra ». In foedere restituendo eadem fere observantur, quae 19,129 sqq. in foedere primum instituendo observata fuerant. | . Iussa exsequitur Moyses
34:4
v. & : « Excidit ergo duas tabulas lapideas , quales antea fuerant, et de nocte consurgens ascendit in. montem Sia, sicut praeceperat ei Dominus, portans. secum tabulas ».
34:5
v. 5 « Cumque descendisset Dominus per nubem, stetit [Moyses] cum eo, tnvocans nomen Domini ». Subiectum verbi stetit recte supplevit Vulg., sc. Moyses; impletur quippe, quod 33,21 indixerat Deus : « stabis supra petram ». Idem subiectum adstruendum est sequentis verbi vocavet : Sc. Moyses se munivit invocato nomine lahve.
34:6
v. 6 « Quo transeunte coram eo, ait » : — subiectum verbi transeunte exprimit Heór., sc. Jahve ; sequentis verbi ait subiectum Vw/g. rursum supplet Moysen. Sed interpretes communiter subiectum retinent Deum. Non apparet ratio mutandi subiecti. Impletur, quod 33,19 edixerat Deus, se « vocaturum innomine Domini ». Ipsissima verba v. 6 sq. repetuntur Num. 1^,17 sq. tamquam a Deo pridem prolata. Tandem, Moysis verba cum v. 9 subiieiantur, probabilius videtur v. 6 sq. non esse Moysis. Igitur primum suam essentiam proclamat Deus tribus vocibus « Dominator Domine NOYORUM SACRORUM INSTITUTIO. Deus » seu Iahve , lahve, El, 3ngeminans nomen, quo peculiaris est Israelis Deus. Dein uno 2» 3ix 2oci» enuntiat eam perfectionem, quae in hae foederis instauratione maxime emicat : « zssericors et clemens ». Altero 2» ài 8vet» eiusdem perdurantiam extolht : « patzens », seu exercetur quoad. minus gratos pro miserationibus antea acceptis. Adiicitur « ac veraz »; sed 1»2N potissimum dicit veracitatem quoad proiungunt etiam LXX. E contra Chald. Syr., 1ungentes multae miseralionis et fidelitatis, alterum £y &ix 2vcty dissolvunt, et a voce zYàN omnem ad minas respectum excludunt, quem tamen v. 1 suggerit. Quomodo se exserit illa misericordia fidelitate temperata? Id declaratur diam. in millia », i.e. in mille generationes (cf. ib.); cum vero ^x: imprimis etiam de custodiendo foedere edicatur, exprimitur custodia misericordiae promZssae. Dein misericordia manifestatur peccati condonatione : « qu£ aufers » — auferens — « iniquitatem et scelera atque peccata »,1. e. omnis generis iniquitatem. Sed. quia illa misericordia omnimoda fidelitate temperatur, ideo a iustitia quoque non deficit : « nullusque apud te per se innocens est ». Hebr. : iustificando tamen non iustificabit, 1. e. non semper et sine ullo discrimine iustificat et condonat, sed etiam severe et perseveranter punit : « qui reddis » — reddens — « iniquitatem. patrum. filiis ac nepotibus in tertiam et quartam progeniem ».
34:8
v. 8 « Festinusque Moyses curvatus est pronus in lerram, et adoadverte Moysi fidem, qui uni divino effato (33,12. 17) constanter insistit (33,13. 16) — « obsecro, ut gradiaris nobiscum » , domine, — Hebr. in medio nostri : hoc unum Moyses potissimum concupiverat (cf. quae diximus ad 33,12), hoc ei iam 33,17 Deus concesserat, hoc ipse nunc, ut solemniter confirmetur, rogat — « populus enim. durae cervicis est ». Quomodo Moyses eam ipsam rationem profert , cur Deus in medio populi habitare debeat, quam Deus 33,3.5 protulerat, cur ipse nollet in medio populi habitare? Populi dura cervix, si solus populus spectaretur, erat Deo ratio populi deserendi; sed si spectaretur Moyses Deo gratiosus et a Deo eius populi dux constitutus, populi durities erat ratio conferendi in Moysen specialis auxilii, intimioris sc. divinae praesentiae — « ef «auferas iniquitates nostras atque peccata , nosque possideas ». Deus foedus instaurans eas Voluminis Foederis, quod cum decalogo pericopen Ex. 20,22-23,33 complectitur, leges repetit, quae sunt de rebus sacris , ne quis has caede priorum sacerdotum abrogatas esse existimet. Cum generali mandatorum commendatione 34,11 cf. 23,13 « omnia, quae dixi vobis, custodite ». 34,11-16, uti 23,24 sq: 31 sqq., prohibet gentilium foedera et matrimonia , quod primum decalogi mandatum in gravissimum discrimen vocent. 34,17 secundum mandatum inculcat (cf. 20,23), 34,18. 22-24 repetit legem 23,14-17 de tribus festis maioribus. Cui, scribae fortasse incuria, interponitur v. 19 sqq. lex de primogenitis (13,2. 12 sq.; et cf. 22,29 sq.) et lex de sabbato toties (etiam 23,12) inculcata. 34,25 sq. verbotenus repetit 23,18 sq.
34:10
v. 10 « Hespondit Domnus : Ego inibo » — Hebr. ineo — « pactum videntibus cunctis ». Hebr. Sam. LXX Chald. : coram omni populo /!05; sed pronomen possessivum cum Vu/g. ignorat Syr. Ceterum 2» 525323: potest trahi vel ad praecedentia, quod habet apud Vulg. et LXX interpunctio, vel melius ad. sequentia (Awg.): coram universo populo signa faciam. LXX cct fortasse est altera vocis 1'2Yy versio, accipienda ut dativus commodi. « Signa faciam , quae nunquam visa sunt super terram nec in ullis gentibus, ut cernat. populus iste, àn citus es medio, opus Domini terribile, quod. facturus sum » tecum : Deus quippe potissimum Moysis gratia foedus init (cf. quae diximus ad v. 9), et tamquam eius adiutor populum ducit et portenta operatur. Ubi Vulg. *N3 visa. sunt, ibi reliqui *N223. creata. sunt, à verbo operationem stricte divinam exprimente. His complectitur Deus potissima opera, quae ex foedere ipse praestaturus est; supponunt ea Deum in medio populi sui habitantem. Quae vicissim populo praestanda sint, brevi formula exprimit v. 11 : « Oóserva » tibi « cuncta », — vocem ignorant Hebr. Sam. Chald. Syr. — « quae hodie mando tibi » ; ac dein rursus, quid Deus pro populo facturus, et ad quem potissimum effectum illa portenta sit patraturus, enuntiat: « Ego tpse enciam ante . faciem tuam Amorrhaeum et Chananaeum et Hethaeum, Pherezaeum quoque et Hevaeum et Iebusaeum ». Haec occasio monendi populi electi, ut a contaminatione idololatriae earum gentium sibi caveat, atque inculeandorum mandatorum antea datorum, quae Dei cultum respiciunt v. 19-26. Non repetuntur mandata in parentes et proximum servanda; neque repetitur mandatum non assumendi nominis divini in vanum; sed inculeantur tria supremi momenti mandata, non adorandi deos alienos v. 19-16, non faciendi deos conflatiles v. 17, observandorum festorum et sabbatorum v. 18-26. Igitur, qui eiecturum se illas gentes seu, quod idem est, Hebraeis lllas eiecturis potentem opem se laturum promisit Deus, Hebraeos ab earum commercio severe interdicit, ostenditqueintimum inter eiusmodi commercium et idololatriam nexum. Expressiones fere eaedem sunt, quae 20,3. 5; 23,24. 39 sq. habebantur; novum additur v. 16 illud de: vitandis coniugiis. Uti v. 11 verbis 19 v2, ita v. 12 incipit verbis w2v5 "D. v. 12 « Cave » tibi, « ne unquam cum habitatoribus terrae illius aungas amicitias », — Hebr. 7 ferias foedus — « quae sint tibi in ruinam ». Ceterum ubi Vulg. quae, ibi Hebr. habet ne; omnia illa foedera proscribuntur, non ea tantum, quae sint in laqueum (23,33). Et in fine sententiae additur /n medio tui : eiusmodi quippe scandalum non uni alterive tantum nocet, sed in medio populi serpit. v. 13 et 1^ incipiunt a partieula ^», quae est adversativa, non causalis. v. 13 cide » (cf. ad Deut. 16,21).
34:14
v. 14 « Noli.adorare deum alienum » : quia « Dominus zelotes nomen eius, Deus est aemulator »,à. e. zeloies. Cf. 20,5. Comminatur ultionem divinam (Cai.).
34:15
v. 15 « Ne neas pactum », seu ferias foedus (cf. v. 19), « cum hominibus illarum regionum »; explicaturque distinctius, quomodo eiusmodi foedus evadat laqueus idololatriae : « ne, cum fornicati fuerint cum diis suis » , idololatria quippe seripturis est fornicatio, cultum uni Deo debitum deferens aliis, « e/ adoraverint simulacra eorum, vocet te quispiam , ut comedas de immolatis ». Licet idolothyti esus per se non sit peccatum (1 Cor. 8), tamen facile fit peccati occasio, maxime cum fit amicitiae gratia: quare Deus Hebraeos ab idolothytorum esu interdixit (Bonfr.). Imprimis vetantur Hebraei interesse Chananaeorum epulis sacris. Af non solum idolothytorum, sed etiam coniugiorum pericula habent illa cum ethnicis foedera.
34:16
v. 16 « Nec.uxorem de filiabus eorum acctpies filiis tuis, ne, postquam ipsae fuerint fornicatae » post deos suos, « fornicari faciant et filios tuos in deos suos ». Cf. 3 Reg. 11,2. Verba respiciunt tempus, quando Hebraei viciricia arma illaturi sunt Palaestinae : tum fieri utique poterat, ut vir aliquis mulieris Chananaeae, imprimis captivae forma captus illam sibi adiungeret uxorem; at vix timendum erat, ut Hebraeus filiam suam (LXX) Chananaeo uxorem concederet. |
34:17
v. 11 « Deos conflatiles non facies tibi ». Hoc mandatum compendio citatur : inculcaverant illud vividissime eventus cap. 32 sq. narrati. . €um praecepto v. 21 de sabbato observando connectuntur alia cultum spectantia, quae verbis fere iisdem repetuntur, quibus prioribus capitibus enuntiabantur.
34:18
v. 18 « Solemnitatem azymorum custodies. Septem diebus vesceris azimis, sicut praecepi libi , in tempore mensis novorum; mense enim verni temporis egressus es de Aegypto ». Pro novorum et verni temporis scribe Ab?5. Ceterum cf. 23,15.
34:19
v. 19 « Omne , quod aperit vulvam generis masculini , meum erit. De cunclis animantibus , tam de bobus quam de ovibus, meum erit ».
34:20
v. 20 « Primogenitum asini redimes ove; sin autem nec pretium pro eo dederis , occidetur. Primogenitum filiorum tuorum redimes. Nec apparebis in conspectu meo vacuus ». Cf. 13,12 sq.; 233,15.
34:21
v. 91 « Sez diebus operaberis, die séptimo cessabis arare et metere ». Efferuntur ii labores, pro quibus.agricolae facilius exemptionem a lege praesumunt. Severius igitur, quam antea, haee lex enuntiatur. Sequuntur festa Pentecostes et, Tabernaculorum
34:22
v. 92 : « Solemnitatem hebdomadarwum facies tibi in. pramitiis frugum messis tuae triticeae ; et solemnitatem, quando redeunte anni tempore cuncta conduntur ». Hebr. : et solemnitatem messis fructuum zn exitu anni. Cf. 23,16. Inculcatur porro trinus singulis annis ad sanctuarium accessus
34:23
v. 23 : « Tribus temporibus annt apparebit. omne masculinum. tuum n conspectu [omnipotentis] Domini Dei Israel ». Cf. 23,17. Sed adiiciuntur verba, quae post 23,17 non legebantur:
34:24
v. 24 « Cum enim tulero gentes a. facie tua, et dilatavero terminos tuos » (23,31; Deut. 19,8), fecero illos latos teque potentem, « nullus insidiabitur terrae tuae , ascendente te et apparente in. conspectu Domini Dei tui ter in anno ». Verba referuntur ad tempus oceupatae terrae sanetae. Quoad Dai monet Dilim., eodem postmodum verbo noy exprimi consuevisse ascensum Hierosolymam. Omnino ita et aptissime quidem, sanctuarium quippe, ubicumque sit, facile concipitur ut locus editior, ad quem fiat ascensus. Non est ergo necesse, ob eam vocem versum supponere post exstructum templum essé scriptum. Sugsgerit illa omnino agi de unico sanctuario, non de altaribus variis per regionem locis exstructis : idque rursum confirmat. vox « omne masculinum » v. 23 (Hoonacker p. 5). Quodsi enim per totam regionem sparsa haberentur altaria, si cuique ante fores proprias exstruendi altaris fae esset, reapse non perspicitur cur « ascendendi » obligatio ad Solos mares restringeretur. — Hebr. : auferam enim gentes (Sam. multas) a. facie tua, et dilatabo terminos tuos, meque quisquam insidiabitur terrae tuae, ascendente etc. Ita clarius etiam patet, quod secus per epikeian esset inferendum, tempore belli non fuisse mares obligatos ad fines relinquendos indefensos. Dices, haberi saltem divinam promissionem posterioribus temporibus haud expletam, earum peregrinationum annua tempora semper fore pacata: verum adverte, hane uti alias pacis promissionem intelligi oportere conditionatam , si sc. Hebraei Iahve mandatis fideliter adhaererent. v. 95 repetit legem 23,18 editam, et h. l. quidem quoad solum Phase : « Non immolabis super fermento sanguinem hostiae meae , neque residebit mane de victima solemnitatis Phase ».
34:26
v. 26 repetit 93,19 : « Primitias frugwum terrae tuae offeres in domo Domini Dei tui. Non coques hoedum in lacte matris suae ».
34:27
v. 91 « Dixitque Dominus ad. Moysen : Scribe tibi verba haec » v. 10-26 (Tost.), « quibus », seu secundum quae (Gen. 43,1), « et tecum et cum, Israel pepigi foedus ».
34:28
v. 98 « Fuit ergo ibi cum Domino quadraginta dies et quadraginta noctes; panem non comedit et aguam non bibit, et scripsit » Moyses (Aug. ; cf. quae diximus ad v. 1) « ?n tabu9,9. 11), quibus primum sanciebatur foedus. Cf. quae dicebamus p.
34:29
320. v. 29 « Cumque descenderet Moyses de monte Sinai, tenebat duas tabulas testimonii, et ignorabat quod cornuta esset facies sua ex consortio sermonis Domini ». YN» vi etymi utique sonat cornutus (Vulg. Aq.), re vera h. l. significat rad?ans, uti vocem intelligunt LXX Targ. et imprimis 5. Paulus 2 Cor. 3,13; fortasse tropi ratio ea est, quod radii cornuum instar promicent. Id autem Ps. Jon. Moysi ait « accidisse de splendore gloriae schekinae Iahve, quo tempore loquebatur cum eo »; « ex ingenti illa luce, quae erat in corpore illo lucido, quod a Moyse visum erat, 1n Moysis facie splendor quidam adhaeserat, ut vel hincsatis appareat, cur secunda hae vice potius splendidis cornibus irradians cerneretur, quam priore vice, quando etiam cum Deo in monte fuerat » (Bonfr.). Hi radii argumentum erant veritatis eorum, quae Moyses sibi in monte accidisse narraturus erat.
34:30
v. 30 « Videntes autem Aaron et. filii Israel cornutam Moysi faciem , timuerunt prope accedere » ,
34:31
v. 34 « vocatique ab eo reversi sunt tam Aaron quam principes synagogae », propius accesserunt, « e£, postquam locutus est ad eos »,
34:32
v. 89 « venerunt ad eum etiam omnes filii Israel, quibus praecepit cuncta, quae audierat a. Domino in monte Sinai ». Hebr. nonnihil aliter iungit : e£ /ocutus est Moyses ad. eos; et postea , post Aaron et principes, accessere omnes filit Israel , quibus praecepit etc.
34:33
v. 33 « Impletisque sermonibus posuit velamen super faciem suam ».
34:34
v. 34 « Quod ingressus ad Dominum et loquens cum eo », — Hebr. ad loquendum. cum eo : non affirmatur, quoties Moyses ad Dominum inegrederetur, sed quoties consulendi Domini causa ingrederetur, discooperuisse faciem — « auferebat donec exiret, et tunc loquebatur ad filios Israel omnia , quae sibi fuerant imperata ».
34:35
v. 35 « Qui videbant faciem [egredientis| Moysi esse cornutam » , radiantem, « sed. operiebat ille rursus faciem suam, si quando loquebatur ad, eos ». Sed reli- « Quando Moyses egrediebatur de tabernaeulo ante Dominum, non ponebat velamen in facie ». — Verba invicem excipientia Ny, "273, *N" obvio sensu id edicunt, Moysis faciem, et dum egrederetur et dum populum alloqueretur, fuisse radiantem. v. 35 *nNN ob singularem numerum et analogiam v. 34 videtur referendum ad Deum, ergo : et reponebat Moyses velum, usquedum ingrederetur (LXX elo£X0n, quod verbum de ingressu sanctuarii adhibetur) ad loquendum cum. eo. Unde patet, Vulg. ultimum incisum parum accurate vertisse. Quae suggerit, in omni praeter primum populi alloquio habuisse Moysen faciem velatam. Textus hebraeus rem in medio relinquit : si adstruas, Moysen egredientem habuisse faciem discoopertam, servasse discoopertam dum populum nomine Dei alloqueretur, dein operuisse usquedum rursum ad Deum ingrederetur, satisfacis textui hebraeo. Secundum haec Moyses, quando pro Deo legatione fungebatur, faciem discooperiebat; in vita communi et profana operiebat. Ratio operiendae faciei non tam erat, quod fulgorem Hebraei sustinere non possent (Theodoret.), sed « ut colloquii liberioris daretur copia » (Lap.), « ut quibuslibet liberioris sermonis facultas daretur » (Men.), et imprimis quod non esset conveniens neque decens, Israelitas constanter illos radios intueri (Tost.). — Neque huie expositioni obest S. Paulus 2 Cor. 3,13 rem obiter altingens : « Moyses ponebat velamen super faciem suam, ut non intenderent filii Israel in finem eius, quod evacuatur». Apostolus non edicit, quando aut quamdiu Moyses faciem velaverit; idipsum vult dicere, quod Ex. 34,35 habet, et nihil amplius. C. Mandati de sanctuario aliisque procurandis exsecutio Ex. 35 — Lev. 10. Redit oratio ad sanctuarii res, a quibus narrata Ex. 32. vituli aurei superstitione deflexerat. Et primum quidem Ex. 35-39 conficitur sanctuarium eum sua suppellectili non eodem plane atque Ex. 25-27 et 30 ordine; de qua re p. 257 sq. dicebamus. Dein Ex. 40 sanctuarium erigitur et supellex in suo loco collocatur. Lev. 8 sq. peragitur, raturque Lev. 10 insigne miraculum, quo dignitas Aaronis confirmabatur. Verum inter erecti sanctuarii et consecrationis sacerdotum narrationem inseritur res utramque proxime attingens, Lev. 1-7 leges de sacrificiis.
34:6
The 5th b. has as its subject "the merciful" (οἱ ἐλεήμονες). Ἐλεήμων is said, in the New Testament, only of Jesus in Hebr. 2:17; the Septuagint renders with this word the double divine attribute ḥannûn and raḥûm (Vulg. misericors et miserator) of Ex. 34:6; Ps. 110:4, etc. He who, like God, forgives wrongs received, who imitates Jesus "compassionating" (Hebr. 2:17; Col. 3:12) the wretched by sharing and alleviating their physical and …
34:11
… It is always included by the Bible in the enumeration of the pre-Israelite peoples (Gen. 15:21; Ex. 3:8; 13:5; 23:23; 32:2; 34:11; Deut. 7:1; 20:17; Josh. 3:10; 5:1; 9:1; 11:3; 12:8; 24:11; etc.), sometimes as the chief nucleus of the ethnic group alongside the Hittites (Num. 13:30), so that it also represents …
… corruption (cf. Gen. 28:6-9; Jud. 3:5 f.; I Kings 11:1 f.; Mal. 2:11 f.; Esd. 9:1 ff.; Neh. 10:30; 13:23-25). In a particular way the prohibition applied to the various Canaanite populations of Palestine or of the neighboring regions (cf. Ex. 34:11-16; Deut. 7:1-4). But in the most ancient times such a law appears less rigorous (cf. Gen. 34:14; 41:45; Ex. 2:21; Jud. 3:6; 14:3, 10; Ruth 1:4). Even Moses had a Midianite …
34:12
TESTAMENT IN SACRED SCRIPTURE. - The term testamentum in the Vulgate often translates the Hebrew berith, by which is indicated both a pact between private individuals and an alliance between nations or ethnic groups (Gen. 21:22 ff.; Ex. 23:32; 34:12, 15; Deut. 7:2; Josh. 9:9 ff.; Judg. 2:2 etc.). …
34:13
… The ancient versions not rarely put 'Ašerāh in place of A. The image of 'Ašerāh was a wooden pillar, which the Canaanites placed beside the altars of Baal (Ex. 34:13; Deut. 7:5; Judg. 6:25, etc.). …
… The m. was often an idolatrous stele, alongside the 'āferāh and the altar, in Canaanite sanctuaries or sacred high places (Ex. 32, 24; 34, 13; Deut. 7, 5; 12, 3; Jer. 43, 13; in Ez. 26, 11 "protecting columns," like those at the entrance of the temple of Melkart at Tyre).
34:15
… (70, 4). He stands beside the divine cause, not a minister and servant (according to the ideas of oriental despotism), not a viceroy (because God still reigns), but an Individual who is set over the exercise of divine justice and who, with reference to Ex. 34, 15 (cf. Is. 63, 8; Mal. 3, 1), represents God very closely.
… No wonder, then, that Sacred Scripture uses very strong terms against this sin: it calls it "fornication," "prostitution" (cf. Ex. 34:15; Lev. 17:7; Deut. 31:16, etc.).
Already Ex. 34:15 forbade eating the flesh immolated to idols, so as not to incur the "impurity" (zānāh) of idolatry (cf. Apoc. 2:14, 20); a supposed relationship was established between the idol and …
34:16
In the Old Testament there is the clearest distinction between the people of God (ὁ λαός) and "the nations" (τὰ ἐθνή), with the prohibition of marriage relations and treaties of friendship (Ex. 34:16; Esd. 9-10; Is. 7:17; 30; 31; Jer. 2:15; Ez. 16:28, etc.) and with exclusion from worship and from the Temple, because of the grave danger of idolatrous influence.
34:18
'ABIB (Septuagint: μὴν τῶν νεῶν; Vulgate: mensis novorum frugum). - First month of the ancient Hebrew calendar (Ex. 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; Deut. 16:1), called 'abib, "ear of grain" (Ex. 9:31; Lev. 2:14; Ex. 3:15: "Tell Abib"): it coincided with the beginning of spring. …
Unleavened (Greek: ἀζημός, from privative α and ζῆν, «without leaven»; Hebrew: maṣṣāḥ, pl. maṣṣōth)
… remembrance of this, the law of eating unleavened bread during the seven days of the solemnity was joined to the commemorative feast of the miraculous exodus (v. PASQUA) (Ex. 12, 15). Passover was called the "feast of unleavened bread" (Ex. 23, 15; 34, 18; Lk. 22, 1) or the "days of unleavened bread" (Mt. 26, 17; Lk. 22, 7; Acts 12, 3; 20, 6). Already at the first Passover celebrated in the land of Palestine (Jos. 5, 11) the …
34:19
… prohibitions against slaughtering sick animals or animals destined for pagan worship, the precept of Lev. 22, 28 and of Ex. 23, 19; 34, 26; Deut. 14, 21 and Deut. 22, 6. d) Bēkhōrōth "first-born", in 9 chapters: it concerns the precepts of Ex. 13, 2.12 f.; 34, 19 f.; Lev. 27, 26 f.; Num. 8, 16 f.; 18, 15 f. and Deut. 15, 19 f. e) 'Arākhīn "valuations": concerning vows (Lev. 25, 25 f.; 17, 2-20) and the persons who make the vows. f) Tēmūrāth "exchange", …
34:20
Exodus contemplates the possibility of the redemption of the firstborn of a donkey, by means of the sacrifice of a lamb (Ex. 13:12 ff.; 34:20). Leviticus (27:27) prescribes the redemption of every unclean animal according to the priest's assessment; the price is assigned to the sanctuary. …
34:21
… work on that day, binding even foreigners and indirectly even beasts; and this because God had created the world in six days and had rested on the seventh (Gen. 2:3; Ex. 20:8-11). Specifically, on the sabbath it was forbidden to plough and reap (Ex. 34:21); nor was fire to be kindled in the houses; whoever "shall work therein shall be put to death" (ibid. 35:2-3). Moses indeed condemned to death a man found gathering wood on a sabbath …
34:22
weeks" (hagh ṣābhu'ōth: Ex. 34, 22; Deut. 16, 10; II Par. 8, 13) or "feast of firstfruits" (Ex. 23, 16) because loaves made from the flour of the newly harvested wheat were offered (Lev. 23, 17). The "free" offering …
34:24
This is the non-exclusive but prevalent sense in the Bible of ἐθνικός (as a noun): Mt. 5:47; 6:7; 13:17; as a plural it is synonymous with τὰ ἐθνή, which in the Septuagint translates the Hebrew haggājim (Ex. 34:24; Lev. 18:24, etc.; Is. 9:1), cf. Mt. 4:15; 6:32 and passim; in opposition to the Jews: Rom. 3:39; 9:24, etc.; Lk. 2:32; Acts 26:17, 23.
GOJIM. - Hebrew term: the "nations," the "peoples" (Gen. 10:5, 20; 17:4; etc.), often used in a pejorative sense, in that "the nations" are enemies of Israel, which is usually called 'am "people." The g. are often stigmatized by the Bible as idolaters and immoral (Ex. 34:24; Lev. 18:24; etc.; v. ETNICO).
34:25
… The messianic Kingdom is the kingdom of full peace (Is. 9:6-7; 11:6-9; 24:10; Ex. 34:25). Christ inaugurated peace and is "our peace" (Eph. 2:14-15; Col. 1:20 εἰρηνοποιήσας), he brought to the world the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15). Prerogative of these meek soldiers …
… The banquet was not to be prolonged beyond midnight, in observance of the law that in the morning nothing of the paschal victim was to remain (Ex. 34:25).
The paschal lamb was a true sacrifice: it is called zébhah (Septuagint θωία; Ex. 12, 27; 23, 18; 34, 25) or qorbân (Num. 9, 7, 13) with the verb hiqrib, technical terms for expressing sacrifices. …
Unleavened (Greek: ἀζημός, from privative α and ζῆν, «without leaven»; Hebrew: maṣṣāḥ, pl. maṣṣōth)
… Since nothing leavened could be offered on the altar (Ex. 23, 18; 34, 25), only cakes without leaven were offered in the sacrifices, which sometimes constituted a special unbloody sacrifice (Lev. 2, 4, 11; 6, 16 ff.) (minhāh), except for the "firstfruits," …
34:26
… Palestinian Gēmārā'. m) Bikhārīm ("first-fruits": Ex. 23:19; 34:26; Deut. 18:4; 26:1 and following). …
34:27
… writes under the influence of God who fills him with the Holy Spirit (Hos. 9, 7; Mic. 3, 8; Ezek. 2, 2; 3, 12; 8, 13; 11, 5, 24; Zech. 7, 12; II Sam. 23, 2; Eccl. 39, 8; 48, 27; II Esdr. 14, 21, 25, 40-44); who orders him to speak or to write (Ex. 17, 14; 34, 27; Deut. 31, 19; Is. 8, 1; 30, 8; Hab. 2, 2; Dan. 8, 26; 12, 4; Ezek. 24, 2; in a special way Jer. 36) and to set forth only what God wills (Deut. 18, 15-22; Jer. 23, 16; 20, 7-9, 15, …
… to Moses of some part: after the victory over the Amalekites Moses received from God the order to "write this in a book for a memorial" (Ex. 17:14); later he "wrote" (ibid. 24:4) the laws of the "code of the Covenant" and the "terms of the Covenant" (ibid. 34:27), "recorded" the stages of the advance into Transjordan (Num. 33:2), "wrote" and "delivered to the Levites" a "law," which in the context seems to be the whole of Deuteronomy (Deut. …
34:28
DECALOGUE. - The ten commandments (δέκα λόγοι "the ten words", Ex. 34:28), given by God to Moses on Sinai, as obligations of the covenant (Ex. 19:5 ff.) ratified between God himself and the people of Israel, which had become
34:29
… Hebrew, consulted them many times; he esteemed the "Three" greatly, but gave special trust to Aquila, whom he considered "verborum diligentissimum explicatorem." From Aquila he took, for example, the overly literal expression of Moses' "horned" face (Ex. 34, 29).
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.