Exodus 34:1-5

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 34:1-4

The treaty that was on foot between God and Israel being broken off abruptly, by their worshipping the golden calf, when peace was made all must be begun anew, not where they left off, but from the beginning. Thus backsliders must repent, and do their first works, Rev. 2:5. I. Moses must prepare for the renewing of the tables, Exod. 34:1. Before, God himself provided the tables, and wrote on them; now, Moses must hew out the tables, and God would only write upon them. Thus, in the first... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 34:5-9

No sooner had Moses got to the top of the mount than God gave him the meeting (Exod. 34:5): The Lord descended, by some sensible token of his presence, and manifestation of his glory. His descending bespeaks his condescension; he humbles himself to take cognizance of those that humble themselves to walk with him. Ps. 113:6; Lord, what is man, that he should be thus visited? He descended in the cloud, probably that pillar of cloud which had hitherto gone before Israel, and had the day before... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 34:1

And the Lord said unto Moses ,.... Out of the cloudy pillar, at the door of the tabernacle, where he had been conversing with him in the most friendly manner, as related in the preceding chapter: hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first ; of the same form, and of the same dimensions, and it may be of the same sort of stone, which perhaps was marble, there being great plenty of that kind on Mount Sinai. Now Moses being ordered to hew these tables, whereas the former were the work... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 34:2

And be ready in the morning ,.... This was, according to the Jewish chronology F5 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 6. p. 19. , on the twenty eighth day of the month Ab or July: and come up in the morning unto Mount Sinai ; the same mount where he had been before: and present thyself there to me on the top of the mount ; where the pillar of cloud removed and stood, and near it Moses was to stand and wait to hear what would be said unto him, and to see what would be made to pass before him. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 34:3

And no man shall come up with thee ,.... Before, Aaron and his two sons, and the seventy elders of Israel, went up with Moses, though they did not go so near the Lord as he did; but now having sinned in the matter of the golden calf, though a reconciliation was made, they were not allowed to go with him, nor even Joshua his servant, though he had no concern in the sin; Moses must be alone, that the ministration of the law might be by him only, and in order to receive a peculiar favour in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 34:4

And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first ,.... Which may be an emblem of the ministry of men, which God makes use of in hewing of his people, and bringing them to a sense of their sins, the breach of his law, and repentance for them, Hosea 6:5 , and Moses rose up early in the morning : which, according to the Jews F7 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 6. p. 19. , was the twenty ninth of Ab or July, which showed his ready and cheerful obedience to the divine will, and the quick... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 34:5

And the Lord descended in the cloud ,.... The same with the cloudy pillar, which was now gone up from the door of the tabernacle, and was on high in the air over the mount, and on which the Lord now descended in it, as he had before, Exodus 19:9 , and stood with him there ; not Moses stood with the Lord, as the Vulgate Latin version; but the Lord, or the cloud in which the Lord was, stood near to Moses: and proclaimed the name of the Lord : Jehovah declared with a loud voice out of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 34:1

Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first - In Exodus 32:16 ; we are told that the two first tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God; but here Moses is commanded to provide tables of his own workmanship, and God promises to write on them the words which were on the first. That God wrote the first tables himself, see proved by different passages of Scripture at the end of Exodus 32 ( Exodus 32:35 ; (note)). But here, in Exodus 34:27 , it seems as if... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 34:1

Verse 1 1.And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone Although the renewal of the broken covenant was ratified by this pledge or visible symbol, still, lest His readiness to pardon should produce indifference, God would have some trace of their punishment remain, like a scar that continues after the wound is healed. In the first tables there had been no intervention of man’s workmanship; for God had delivered them to Moses engraven by His own secret power. A part of this great... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 34:3

Verse 3 3.And no man shall come up with thee Again men as well as beasts are prohibited from access to the mount, as had been the case at the first promulgation of the Law, in order that the people might obediently receive the Law as if come down from heaven. Why God admitted no witness, is a question the answer to which must remain with God Himself. The miracle indeed would have been illustrious if the writing had appeared in a moment on the empty tables; but God would leave some room for... read more

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