Exodus 33:2

2 I will send an angel ahead of you. I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

Exodus 33:2 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 33:2

And I will send an angel before thee
Not the angel before promised, ( Exodus 23:20 ) the Angel of his presence, the eternal Word and Son of God, but a created angel; and so Aben Ezra observes, he does not say the Angel that was known, that his name was in him; though even this was to be looked upon as a favour, and showed that he had not utterly cast them off:

and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite,
the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite;
who were now the inhabitants of the land, and these he promises drive out, to make way for their possession of it; and that "by his hand", as the Targum of Jonathan interprets it, by the hand of the angel. Only six nations are mentioned, though there were seven; the Girgashite is omitted, but added in the Septuagint version.

Exodus 33:2 In-Context

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses. He said, "Leave this place. You and the people you brought up out of Egypt must leave it. Go up to the land I promised with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I said to them, 'I will give it to your children after you.'

2 I will send an angel ahead of you. I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

3 "Go up to the land that has plenty of milk and honey. But I will not go with you. You are stubborn. I might destroy you on the way."

4 When the people heard those painful words, they became sad and began to sob. No one put on any jewelry.

5 The LORD had said to Moses, "Tell the people of Israel, 'You are stubborn. If I went with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your jewelry. Then I will decide what to do with you.' "