tabernacle = tent; eleven times called tent; Hebrew. 'ohel. Not the tabernacle, for this was not yet made, but a different building altogether, called "the tent of assembly "(see App-40 ). without the camp . In presence of corporate failure God withdraws Himself. Typical of our own day. Those who seek Him must "go forth to Him. "Compare Hebrews 13:13 . read more
THE TEMPORARY TABERNACLE"Now Moses used to take the tent and to pitch it without the camp, afar off from the camp; and he called it The tent of meeting. And it came to pass that every one that sought Jehovah went out unto the tent of meeting, which was without the camp. And it came to pass that when Moses went out unto the Tent, that all the people rose up and stood, every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses until he was gone into the Tent. And it came to pass, when Moses entered into... read more
Exodus 33:7. And Moses took the tabernacle— Hence it appears plainly, as we have had occasion frequently to observe before; that there was a tabernacle among the Israelites, before that which was formed and reared by the immediate order of God. We must not, however, dissemble, that some take this to be only the tent of Moses, which he removed and pitched without the camp. But certainly, if the tent of Moses had been meant, it would have been called, in the Hebrew, HIS tent; whereas, it is... read more
7. Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp—Not the tabernacle, of which a pattern had been given him, for it was not yet erected, but his own tent—conspicuous as that of the leader—in a part of which he heard cases and communed with God about the people's interests; hence called "the tabernacle of the congregation," and the withdrawal of which, in abhorrence from a polluted camp, was regarded as the first step in the total abandonment with which God had threatened them. read more
The tent referred to here cannot be the tabernacle since the Israelites had not yet built it. It must have been a smaller tent used as a meeting place for Moses, the people, and God over which the pillar of cloud stood. This tent served some of the functions of the tabernacle that later replaced it. Moses now moved this tent outside the camp to symbolize the removal of God’s presence from the people’s midst. [Note: See Henry Mowvley, "John 1:14-18 in the light of Exodus 33:7-34:35," The... read more
The Intercession of Moses (continued)6. By the mount Horeb] RV ’from mount Horeb onward’: this implies that they ceased wearing their ornaments. Their humiliation was lasting. Horeb] i.e. Sinai: see on Exodus 3:1.7. Moses took the tabernacle] RV ’Moses used to take the tent,.. and he called it, The tent of meeting’: see on Exodus 25:22. The tent here is most probably not the Tabernacle whose construction is prescribed in Exodus 25-31. The words describe the practice of Moses before its... read more
(7) Moses took the tabernacle.—Rather, Moses took his tent. The Hebrew article, like the Greek, has often the force of the possessive pronoun. The LXX. translate λαβὼν Μωυσῆς τὴν σκηνὴν αὐτοῦ; and so Jarchi, Aben-Ezra, Kurtz, Kalisch, Keil, Cook, &c.And pitched it without the camp.—Heb., and pitched it for himself without the camp. “For himself” means for his own use, that he might resort to it. This was his special object.The Tabernacle of the congregation.—Rather, the tent of meeting.... read more
MOSES ESTABLISHES A TEMPORARY TABERNACLE.(7-11) Moses, having experienced the blessedness of solitary communion with God during the forty days spent on Sinai, felt now, as he had never felt before, the want of a “house of God,” whither he might retire for prayer and meditation, secure of being undisturbed. Months would necessarily elapse before the Tabernacle could be constructed according to the pattern which he had seen in the mount. During this interval he determined to make use of one of... read more
The Presence Shall Enlighten the Way (for the New Year) Exodus 33:13-15 We have here: I. An unenlightened prayer for light. A rash prayer, impatient, unwise, and of the kind which God never answers according to our pleasure. Show me now Thy way. He wanted to have the sealed book opened, unrolled and set before him that book in which God has written things to come. The Lord is too merciful to let us look ahead. It is in mercy that He overthrows our predictions and mocks our guesses. It is... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Exodus 33:1-23
Assurance of God’s presence (33:1-23)Because of his mercy God allowed the people to continue their journey to the land he had promised their ancestors, but because of their sin he could not go with them lest he destroy them. However, he promised to send a heavenly representative to go before them into Canaan. He also required the people to give a clear outward sign of mourning for their past sin and the loss of fellowship with God that resulted from it (33:1-6).God’s refusal to go with Israel... read more