Keluaran 13:21

13:21 Now the Lord was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, ¹  so that they could ²  travel day or night. ³ 

Keluaran 29:45-46

29:45 I will reside ⁴  among the Israelites, and I will be their God, 29:46 and they will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out from the land of Egypt, so that I may reside among them. I am the Lord their God.

Keluaran 33:14-16

33:14 And the Lord ⁵  said, “My presence ⁶  will go with you, ⁷  and I will give you rest.” ⁸ 

33:15 And Moses ⁹  said to him, “If your presence does not go ¹⁰  with us, ¹¹  do not take us up from here. ¹²  33:16 For how will it be known then that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not by your going with us, so that we will be distinguished, I and your people, from all the people who are on the face of the earth?” ¹³ 

Keluaran 34:9

34:9 and said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord ¹⁴  go among us, for we ¹⁵  are a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

[13:21]  ¹ sn God chose to guide the people with a pillar of cloud in the day and one of fire at night, or, as a pillar of cloud and fire, since they represented his presence. God had already appeared to Moses in the fire of the bush, and so here again is revelation with fire. Whatever the exact nature of these things, they formed direct, visible revelations from God, who was guiding the people in a clear and unambiguous way. Both clouds and fire would again and again represent the presence of God in his power and majesty, guiding and protecting his people, by judging their enemies.

[13:21]  ² tn The infinitive construct here indicates the result of these manifestations – “so that they went” or “could go.”

[13:21]  ³ tn These are adverbial accusatives of time.

[29:45]  ⁴ tn The verb has the root שָׁכַן (shakan), from which came the word for the dwelling place, or sanctuary, itself (מִשְׁכָּן, mishkan). It is also used for the description of “the Shekinah glory.” God is affirming that he will reside in the midst of his people.

[33:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:14]  ⁶ sn Heb “my face.” This represents the presence of Yahweh going with the people (see 2 Sam 17:11 for an illustration). The “presence” probably refers to the angel of the presence or some similar manifestation of God’s leading and caring for his people.

[33:14]  ⁷ tn The phrase “with you” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[33:14]  ⁸ sn The expression certainly refers to the peace of mind and security of knowing that God was with them. But the expression came to mean “settle them in the land of promise” and give them rest and peace from their enemies. U. Cassuto (Exodus, 434) observes how in 32:10 God had told Moses, “Leave me alone” (“give me rest”), but now he promises to give them rest. The parallelism underscores the great transition through intercession.

[33:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:15]  ¹⁰ tn The construction uses the active participle to stress the continual going of the presence: if there is not your face going.

[33:15]  ¹¹ tn “with us” has been supplied.

[33:15]  ¹² tn Heb “from this.”

[33:16]  ¹³ sn See W. Brueggemann, “The Crisis and Promise of Presence in Israel,” HBT 1 (1979): 47-86; and N. M. Waldman, “God’s Ways – A Comparative Note,” JQR 70 (1979): 67-70.

[34:9]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” two times here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[34:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “it is.” Hebrew uses the third person masculine singular pronoun here in agreement with the noun “people.”