Shemot 32:34

34 Therefore now go, lead HaAm unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee; hinei, Malachi shall go before thee; nevertheless in the yom when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.

Shemot 32:34 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 32:34

Therefore now go, lead the people [unto the] place of
which I have spoken unto thee
That is, to the land of Canaan, which he had promised to their fathers and to them, and had directed Moses to bring them to:

behold, mine angel shall go before thee:
and not I, as Jarchi interprets it; not the Angel of the covenant, and of his presence, as in ( Exodus 23:20 ) but a created angel, which, though a favour, was a lessening of the mercy before promised and granted; and which gave the people a great deal of concern, though Moses by his supplications got the former blessing restored, ( Exodus 33:2 Exodus 33:4 Exodus 33:14 Exodus 33:17 ) :

nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon
them;
that is, when he should visit them in a way of correction for other sins, he would visit them in like manner for this sin, the worship of the golden calf; and so Jarchi well explains it,

``when I visit upon them their iniquities, I will visit upon them a little of this iniquity, with the rest of iniquities; and there is no punishment (adds he) comes upon Israel, in which there is not something of the punishment of the sin of the calf;''

and the Jews have a saying F20, that

``there is not a generation in which there is not an ounce of the sin of the calf.''


FOOTNOTES:

F20 T. Hieros. Taanith, fol. 68. 3.

Shemot 32:34 In-Context

32 Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their chattat but if not, blot me, now, out of Thy Sefer which Thou hast written.
33 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My Sefer.
34 Therefore now go, lead HaAm unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee; hinei, Malachi shall go before thee; nevertheless in the yom when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.
35 And Hashem plagued HaAm, because they made the Egel, which Aharon made.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.