Exodus 34:10-28

Covenant Obligations

10 And the Lord responded: "Look, I am making a covenant. I will perform wonders in the presence of all your people^[a] that have never been done^[b] in all the earth or in any nation. All the people you live among will see the Lord's work, for what I am doing with you is awe-inspiring.

11 Observe what I command you today. I am going to drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites,^[c] and Jebusites.

12 Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land that you are going to enter; otherwise, they will become a snare among you.

13 Instead, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, and chop down their Asherah poles.

14 You are to never bow down to another god because the Lord, being jealous by nature, is a jealous God.

15 "Do not make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land, or else when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, they will invite you, and you will eat of their sacrifice.

16 Then you will take some of their daughters [as brides] for your sons. Their daughters will prostitute themselves with their gods and cause your sons to prostitute themselves with their gods.

17 "Do not make cast images of gods for yourselves.

18 "Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread. You are to eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib as I commanded you. For you came out of Egypt in the month of Abib.

19 "The firstborn male from every womb belongs to Me, including all your male^{[d] [e]} livestock, the firstborn of cattle or sheep.

20 You must redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a sheep, but if you do not redeem [it], break its neck. You must redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one is to appear before Me empty-handed.

21 "You are to labor six days but you must rest on the seventh day; you must even rest during plowing and harvesting times.

22 "Observe the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering^[f] at the turn of the [agricultural] year.

23 Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God , the God of Israel.

24 For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory. No one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.

25 "Do not present^[g] the blood for My sacrifice with anything leavened. The sacrifice of the Passover Festival must not remain until morning.

26 "Bring the best firstfruits of your land to the house of the Lord your God. "You must not boil a young goat in its mother's milk."

27 The Lord also said to Moses, "Write down these words, for I have made a covenant with you and with Israel based on these words."

28 Moses was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. He wrote down on the tablets the words of the covenant-the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 34:10-28 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 34

In this chapter Moses has orders to hew two tables of stone, that God might write on them the ten commands, and bring them up with him to the mount, Ex 34:1-4 where the Lord proclaimed his name, and caused his glory and his goodness to pass before him, Ex 34:5-7 when Moses took this favourable opportunity that offered to pray for the people, that God would forgive their sin, and go along with them, Ex 34:8,9 upon which he made a covenant with them, which on his part was to do wonders for them, and drive out the inhabitants of Canaan before them; and on their part, that they should have no confederacy and communion with these nations, and shun their idolatry, and everything that might lead unto it, Ex 34:10-17 and he repeated several laws before given, and urged the observance of them, which Moses was to acquaint the people with, Ex 34:18-27 and after a stay of forty days and forty nights on the mount, he came down with the two tables of the law; and the skin of his face shone so bright, that the people of Israel were afraid to come nigh him, and therefore he put a vail over his face while he conversed with them, Ex 34:28-35.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit in all nations
• [b]. Lit created
• [c]. DSS, Sam, LXX include Girgashites
• [d]. LXX, Theod, Vg, Tg read males
• [e]. Hb obscure
• [f]. The Festival of Ingathering is called Festival of Booths elsewhere in the OT; Lv 23:34-36
• [g]. Lit slaughter