Exodus 33 Study Notes

33:14 The phrase I will give you rest may be short for “rest from your enemies.” It probably refers to security for the Israelites in their new land (Dt 3:20; 12:9-10; 25:19; Jos 1:13,15; 21:44; 22:4; 23:1; 2Sm 7:1,11). This continues the presentation of the Lord as the one who gave his people rest, both from danger and from labor (Ex 16:21-30; 20:8-11; 23:10-12), by his presence and provision (Mt 11:28-29; 28:20; Heb 13:5).

33:15-16 Moses knew that the Israelites’ entering and possessing the land of Canaan would not by itself set them apart from other nations. All the nations had land (Dt 2:5,9,19-22), but they did not have the covenant relationship with the Lord that he had initiated with the Israelites (Ex 3:9-10; 4:22-23; 19:4-6). Only if the Lord went with them would the Israelites have a distinct identity as his special people. The word for distinguished or “make a distinction” is the relatively rare word the Lord had used earlier when he spoke about the identity of his people (8:22; 9:4; 11:7; cp. Ps 4:3).

33:17 The agreement—I will do this very thing you have asked—was a display of the Lord’s favor, or grace, already extended to Moses, who was interceding for the Israelites on that basis rather than on the basis of their merits (vv. 12-13,16; cp. Dt 7:7; 9:4-6).

33:18-19 With these words regarding his grace and compassion, the Lord tied the continued existence of Israel and of any individual within the nation to God’s capacity for and right to show favor even to those who deserved disfavor. Moses himself had provoked the Lord’s anger and had been in danger of dying, though not for the same reason (4:14,24-26; cp. 32:10-11); but Moses had also been shown the Lord’s favor (33:12-13,17). The Lord’s words about grace and compassion would have been encouraging in view of his earlier words, “On the day I settle accounts, I will hold them accountable for their sin” (32:34).

33:20-23 Scripture often speaks of the potential danger of an encounter with God (3:6; 24:9-11; Gn 28:12-17; 32:30; Nm 17:12-13; Jdg 6:22-24; 13:22; 2Sm 6:6-7; 1Kg 19:11-13; Ps 76:7; 103:3; Is 2:10; 6:1-7; cp. Jn 1:18; 14:8-9; 1Tm 6:16). If a person survived the contact, it was because of the Lord’s restraint, often in the form of a specific provision. The description of the Lord’s provision for Moses presents Moses as so small and the Lord as so great that protecting Moses would be like the action of a man who could cover a little opening with his hand while walking past it. Of the Hebrew words for hand, the one used here refers to the palm of the hand (Ex 3:20; 5:21).

The contrast between seeing God’s face and his back is figurative for full and partial revelation. “Face” is used as a way of referring to a person himself (vv. 14-15; Dt 4:37, “presence” = “face”; 2Sm 17:11, “personally” = “your face”), since the face displayed the attitudes of a person (Ps 102:2; Pr 16:15; 21:29).