Second Book of Moses. Exodus. -St. Ephraim the Syrian

In the second book of Moses—Exodus—there is an enumeration of the seventy souls who entered Egypt with Jacob. It tells how Joseph died, and his brethren, and all that generation; how there arose a new king who slew the infants; how Moses was saved in an ark and became the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; how he came to “his brethren, with the thought that by his hand salvation would be given them” (Acts 7:25). It tells how he killed an Egyptian, reproved a Hebrew, and was accused by him; how he fled to the land of Midian and sat down by a well, defended the daughters from harm, entered into the house of Jethro, and took his daughter Zipporah as his wife; how the Pharaoh died, and the sons of Israel groaned under heavy bondage.

It recounts how the Hebrews prayed and were heard; how God appeared to Moses in the bush; how the staff became a serpent, and the hand became leprous and was healed. How Moses goes to Egypt; how the Angel met him at the lodging place (at the mountain of God, Horeb) and sought to kill him; how Moses entered Egypt and was met by Aaron; how Moses performed signs before the elders of the people, and they believed him.

It is told how Moses and Aaron entered before Pharaoh, but he refused to let the Hebrews go, increased their labor, and forbade straw to be given them; how the staff became a serpent, the river was turned to blood, then frogs, pestilence, lice (gnats), dog-flies, festering sores, fire and hail, locusts, darkness, and the slaying of the firstborn. How on the fourteenth day the Hebrews slew and ate the lamb, and how they departed in haste from Egypt, armed and adorned with gold, silver, and clothing taken from the Egyptians.

Then is described the dividing of the sea, the passing of the Hebrews, and the drowning of the Egyptians; how Miriam sang a song of praise at the sea; how the Israelites went three days without water; how the bitter waters of Marah were sweetened with a tree; how manna came down and quails appeared; how at Horeb Moses brought forth water from the rock; how the Amalekites came and fought with the Hebrews; how Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came to him; how the law was given to the Israelites at Mount Sinai; how God descended upon Mount Sinai; how laws and judgments were given there; how Moses ascended the mountain and brought down the tablets, receiving from God the command concerning the making of the tabernacle.

It is told how, when Moses tarried on the mountain, the people fashioned a calf; how Moses returned and then ascended the mountain a second time, received new tablets, and interceded for the sinful people; how he prayed to God that He Himself would go with the sons of Israel, and said: “Show me Thy glory… that I may see Thee with understanding” (Exodus 33:18, 13); how God revealed Himself to Moses and exhorted him to keep the commandments given, and after the worship of the calf, pronounced statutes.

At last, the arrangement of the tabernacle and all its vessels is described, and its erection on the first day of the first month; it is told how, by day, the tabernacle was covered by a cloud, and thus the Israelites were informed when to set out on their journey.

All this Moses sets forth in the book of Exodus.

Chapter 1

“These are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt together with Jacob… seventy… souls” (Exodus 1:1, 5). By this it is shown that the promise given by God to Abraham was indeed fulfilled. For those who came into captivity and Egyptian bondage, numbering seventy souls, after two hundred and twenty-five years which they dwelt there, went forth numbering six hundred thousand who bore arms—without counting those who were twenty years old and younger.

When Joseph died, and the sons of his generation, then a new king arose and gave the order to slay the children of the Hebrews. This the king did not without cause. For Satan, knowing that the four hundred years foretold to Abraham were being fulfilled, sought, by the slaughter of infants, to destroy also the deliverer of the Hebrews. And Pharaoh himself, seeing that the Hebrew people had multiplied, and as though the whole of Egypt was being drained by them, grew envious at their multitude. Especially when their enemies, wishing to convince others that they had knowledge of the future, since the number of years appointed for the Hebrews’ sojourning in Egypt was coming to an end, foretold their imminent deliverance—then Pharaoh gave the order for the infants to be killed, and for their parents to be burdened with vain labors in the building of storehouses, for which there was no real need.

For if the storehouses built by Joseph were sufficient to store up grain for the Egyptians, the Canaanites, and the Amorites for seven years of famine, surely they would have been enough to hold grain for Egypt alone. Yet the more Pharaoh sought to destroy the infants of the Hebrews, the more the number of those born increased. And the more the king strove to oppress the Hebrews, the more he was troubled by the growth of this people. For this reason, the Hebrews became hateful even to the Egyptians themselves.

Since Pharaoh feared that the waters of his river would be polluted by the bodies of the infants cast into it, he summoned the midwives and ordered them to become murderers—that is, by his authority, he compelled them to act contrary to their calling, turning from healers into destroyers. But the midwives did not obey the king, though they gave him their word. Instead of taking the lives of the infants at the king’s command, they were ready even to lay down their own lives to save them. But when they thought they would receive a martyr’s crown for this, God put a wise word in their mouths, and thus they were delivered from death. And “it was well” (Exodus 1:20) with them—that is, their households increased—at the very moment when they supposed that for saving many infants, Pharaoh would utterly destroy them.

When the king was mocked by these women (though he did not know it), he then resolved to defile the waters of the river with infants’ blood, and to feed the fish with their flesh. But even in this he did not succeed, for the number of the Hebrews kept increasing. He filled the river with the bodies of infants, as he wished, but at the same time—against his wish—Egypt itself was filled with Hebrews. Seeing that the river grew foul with infants’ corpses, Pharaoh rejoiced. Yet observing that the Hebrews seemed to gnaw away at all Egypt, he was greatly troubled. The king’s command was not rescinded, but even as it was carried out, his desire was not fulfilled; and on the riverbanks, like a plague of locusts, lay multitudes of infants’ bodies—but to the torment of the king, the streets of Egypt continued to ring with the voices of children.

Chapter 2

At the time when the Hebrews were so greatly oppressed, Moses was born. His mother, seeing how beautiful he was, hid him—risking her own life—as long as it was possible to conceal him. She feared that, for disregarding Pharaoh’s command and hiding the infant, once this was discovered, her whole family would be put to death, and Moses would not survive. See how closely the Egyptians watched the Hebrews: the mother of Moses could no longer keep the child hidden. But notice also how the goodness of God so carefully preserved the Hebrews that they went out from Egypt numbering six hundred thousand.

Moses’s mother placed the infant in an ark, returned home, knelt down, and, weeping bitterly, poured out her complaint against Pharaoh to the God of Abraham, saying: “You blessed our people that they might multiply, and behold, they have become many, as You blessed. But Pharaoh has devised evil, that by destroying the infants, the land might be left without workers, and by destroying those who are born, the seed which You have blessed might perish.”

Moses’s sister Miriam sat on the bank of the river, “to know” (Exod. 2:4) what would happen to the child laid in the ark. She hoped in God and in the beauty of the child, thinking that whoever first saw the ark would take and save the infant from death. The heat of the day compelled Pharaoh’s daughter to go down to the river at an unusual hour and “to wash herself” in it (Exod. 2:5). Although she appeared to go out of her own will because of the heat, yet since she went at an unusual time, this happened not by her will, but by another’s. Thus, her own will, unconsciously, brought her to the river, that she might draw out from it the one who was appointed to avenge the drowning of Hebrew infants in the river by the drowning of the Egyptians in the sea.

Seeing the beauty of the child, Pharaoh’s daughter reasoned with her maids that the Egyptian gods had prepared for her, in the river, a son to end her barrenness. She rejoiced, believing that she would thus be freed from reproach, receive great consolation, and give her father an heir to his throne. Then Miriam approached—not appearing either sorrowful or joyful, so as by her modest appearance to conceal her true intent—and said to Pharaoh’s daughter: “Shall I call you a nurse of the Hebrews” (Exod. 2:7), one with both pure milk and a noble heart, most fitting for your royal station? Miriam hurried home and brought “the mother of the child” (Exod. 2:8) suitably attired, and for great gifts the mother agreed to be the nurse of her own son. She, who would have given her whole house for Moses, so that he might not be cast into the river, now, when Moses was returned to her, did not wish to raise him without reward. At last, she took back her son, but did not part with the ark. The one she carried out of her house in sorrow, she now brought home with joy; the one she bore to the river in darkness, she returned with, bearing him along the streets and bringing him home with lamps. Thus, it was granted the mother to see her own child, whom she had hidden for three months so that no one would see him. So in the river, he saw the light—the one who was thrown there to be deprived of light.

When the time of his weaning was fulfilled, Moses was brought to Pharaoh’s house. He delighted his parents with his beauty but saddened them with his slowness of speech. But Moses himself, by his circumcision and especially by the stories he secretly heard from his mother and sister, knew that he was the son of Jochebed. And as the end of the four hundred years drew near, Moses went out to his brethren to see if deliverance for the Hebrews might be wrought by his hand. Now, the overseer whom Moses killed was more cruel than all of Pharaoh’s overseers. Even though Moses often reproved him, he did not heed correction. So, Moses killed him, burying in the sand the one who oppressed the seed which, by God’s blessing, was to be more numerous than the sand of the sea. In the river’s sand Moses buried him, as a sign before those gatherings whose bodies would later be cast up by the sea upon the sandy shore.

“And coming out the next day, he saw two men… fighting” (Exod. 2:13). As a royal son, he had authority both to punish and to put to death, yet he did not use this authority, but only offered a just rebuke to the wrongdoer. The offender, instead of accepting correction, publicly denounced the royal son for murder and said, “Who made you prince… over us?” (Exod. 2:14). How is it, you man, bold to the point of shamelessness, that you say to the king’s son, “Who made you prince… over us?” He is a prince even over the overseers who rule over you—how then is he not a prince over you?

Still, Moses was afraid when he unexpectedly learned that his deed was known. But it was not the Hebrew whom Moses had saved who accused him of murder. If the reproach had been unjust, then Moses did not kill the Egyptian for his sake. The Hebrew delivered from the Egyptian was wronged, like the daughters at the well were wronged. Moses, by slaying the Egyptian, sought to bring relief to the Hebrews who were oppressed by the Egyptian. But the one who had been saved revealed it to another Hebrew out of friendship, while this other, out of malice, accused Moses. And so the matter became known even to Pharaoh, and the generals and princes were given a pretext to complain against Moses, who had rebuked them for cruelly mistreating the Hebrews. Pharaoh was so enraged that he was ready to stain his hands with the blood of his adopted son and put to death the heir to his throne. Moses, fearing to grieve his true parents if his adoptive parents delivered him to torment, fled to the land of Midian.

“And he sat by a well” (Exod. 2:15). Seeing that the lazy shepherds shamelessly drove away the water drawn by the girls, he, in his righteousness, rescued them from violence and, in pity, watered their sheep. When their father asked the daughters why they had returned so quickly, they told him of Moses’s righteous and compassionate act at the well. The father sent for him, that he might come and eat bread in his house and thus be rewarded for the kindness he had shown his daughters at the well. As Moses wondered where to go and where to dwell, when the priest sent for him, he understood that the One who had saved him from death in the river by Pharaoh’s daughter, and had rescued him from the king’s hands by his flight from Pharaoh’s sight, had now put it into the priest’s heart to bring him into his house and make him the bridegroom of his daughter. Thus God delivered Moses from the magicians and brought him to the priest. Moses had no fear of the priest, as he had none of the magicians; if he gained no benefit from the latter, neither did he suffer harm. Aaron and Miriam grieved for the one whom they once boasted in and took pride. But Jethro, seeing Moses’s beauty and faithfulness—especially on account of the God who was with him—urged Moses to take Zipporah as his wife, to free Zipporah and her sisters from shepherd’s labors, just as Jacob had freed Laban’s daughters from similar work. Moses took Zipporah, and she bore him two sons. He circumcised the first, but Zipporah did not allow him to circumcise the second, trusting in her father and brothers. Although she agreed to be Moses’s wife, she did not wish to be of the same faith. As a priest’s daughter, raised on sacrificial meats, she was accustomed to honoring many gods. She did not permit him to circumcise both sons, nor did she deny both circumcisions: conceding one son to receive the circumcision of Abraham, she withheld the other, so that in him the uncircumcision of her father’s house might continue. But when it came to naming the sons, Moses did not seek to please either their mother or her father. He gave the first a name in memory of his sojourning for God’s sake, and the other in memory of his deliverance from Pharaoh.

After forty years, which Moses spent in the land of Midian, the Pharaoh who had afflicted the Hebrews died, and they had some respite from their hard bondage. They remembered God’s covenant with Abraham and that the time had now come—even that thirty years had already passed beyond it—and they began to pray, and they were heard. “And God looked upon the sons of Israel” (Exod. 2:25), and God knew their afflictions and how to heal them.

Chapter 3

“Moses was shepherding the sheep” on Mount Horeb, and he saw an Angel “in a flame of fire from the bush” (Exod. 3:1–2). When he drew nearer to look at the bush, which burned with fire but was not consumed, he saw that it was not the Angel, whom he had first seen, calling to him, but God—Who at first had been in the form of an Angel. God appeared to Moses in a terrifying vision and said: “Do not come near here, as if you were approaching a common place. For the place… is holy, like the place where Jacob slept. That place was holy because there was a ladder there, upon which Angels descended and ascended for Jacob’s protection. But this place is holy because God is here in the flame of the burning bush. Take off your shoes (Exod. 3:5), and go to tread down the Egyptians, for thirty years have now passed since the time was ripe for the gathering of Egypt’s vintage.”

And when Moses saw the vision, which was unbearable for his eyes, he “turned away his face, for he was afraid to look upon God” (Exod. 3:6), even though earlier he had looked upon the Angel. The bush—from which it would be unsuitable to fashion images of dead gods—was judged worthy for the mystery of the Living God to be revealed in it. And to you, Moses, is given this sign: as you have seen God dwelling in fire, so you too must serve God, Who dwells in fire, with fire.

“And the Lord said to him…: Surely I have seen the affliction of My people… in Egypt for eighty years. And I have come down to deliver them by your hand and to bring them into the land of Canaan,” which I promised to their fathers (Exod. 3:7–8; Gen. 17:7–8). “And Moses said to God: Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh?” (Exod. 3:11). When I bore the royal name, I did not find favor with Pharaoh. Now, humbled to a shepherd’s life, who will allow me to enter Pharaoh’s presence? And even if I enter, what will he see in me that is so great, that he would believe my words?

“And the Lord said to him: Gather the elders, ‘whose cry… has come up to Me’” (Exod. 3:9), “and say to them: I have remembered them, and I will bring them into the land of Canaan” (Exod. 3:15–17). And if you fear that they will not listen to you, I tell you: they will heed your voice. Go with the elders to Pharaoh… and say: “Let us go on a journey of three days… that we may sacrifice to the Lord” (Exod. 3:18).

Yet since Pharaoh will not agree to this, he and his army will go on a three-day journey themselves, and become the prey of the beasts and birds that will nest upon their bodies, cast by the waves upon the seashore. As I have told you concerning the sons of your people—that they will listen to you—so I tell you about Pharaoh, that he will not listen to you. But not because he trusts in the strength of his own hand or in the defense of his idols, but out of pride, for which “I will strike the Egyptians with all the wonders… which I will work among them; and after that, he will let you go” (Exod. 3:20). And for greater assurance that you shall go out from Egypt, “I will give grace to this people” (Exod. 3:21), and they will despoil the Egyptians, and in this way will the promise I made to Abraham be fulfilled. And for the Hebrews, after they have taken and carried off all the treasures of Egypt, it will be impossible even to look upon the Egyptians.

Chapter 4

But Moses, knowing the hard-heartedness of his own people, asked for signs by which he might convince them: “They will not listen to my voice, but will say… God has not appeared to you” (Exod. 4:1). And God said to Moses, who was asking for signs: In order that they may believe that I have sent you, “cast your staff upon the ground.” “And Moses cast it down, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it…” (Exod. 4:3). By this sign, which God gave him to convince the people, He also convinces Moses himself: As you are afraid of Pharaoh, so you were now afraid of the serpent, but your strength will overcome Pharaoh’s might with plagues, just as you overcame yourself and seized the serpent that became a staff again—you, who had feared the staff turned into a serpent. And again, God said to him: “Put your hand into your bosom.” Moses put it in, “and his hand became leprous” (Exod. 4:6), and when he put it in again, it was restored. God commands him to convince the people first with the sign of the serpent, and then with the sign of the hand, leprous and then cleansed. Pharaoh and his army are no more steadfast than a serpent, and it is no harder for Me to change them, like your hand, into whatever I wish. “And if they will not believe you with these two signs” (Exod. 4:9), which you will perform before them and the sons of your people, pour river water onto the dry land—and it will become blood.

When God gave Moses the signs he had asked for, then he pleaded with the Lord to loose his tied tongue and said: “I am not eloquent… a man neither before nor since You began to speak to me—my slowness of speech remains” (Exod. 4:10). The Lord said to him: That very thing in which you are diminished will make you great. For you, as for a silent God, will have a prophet to speak for you. “And I will be with your mouth” (Exod. 4:12)—not to untie your tongue and make your speech plain, but that great deeds might follow after what you say with stammering lips.

After this, Moses returned to the land of Midian and said to his father-in-law, “I will go… and see… my brethren, who are in Egypt” (Exod. 4:18). Although it was grievous to be parted from Moses, yet he was not detained—by the will of God, which had been revealed from above. But since Moses feared that the Egyptian nobles, against whom he had risen for the oppression of his people, would stir up the new Pharaoh’s anger against him, as they had with the former one, God said to him: “For all the men are dead who sought your life” (Exod. 4:19). “Moses took his wife… and sons” (Exod. 4:20), took also his staff, and went to Egypt.

As he left Midian, God again commanded him to say to Pharaoh: “Let My firstborn son go, that he may serve Me.” Otherwise, for My firstborn son whom you hold back—though you cannot truly detain him—“I will slay your firstborn son” (Exod. 4:23), which I am able to do. Thus, in words, God threatens Pharaoh with this plague before all the others: “I will slay your firstborn son”—which was greater than all the plagues. In act, however, He shows the smallest of the signs—the sign of the serpent.

“It came to pass by the way at the inn, the Lord met him and sought to kill him” (Exod. 4:24)—because of his neglect of circumcision, for one of his sons born in the land of Midian he had left uncircumcised. From the day God had spoken to Moses at Horeb, he had not seen his wife. Zipporah, meanwhile, was troubled, thinking that by not fully trusting the truth of her husband’s words she had made herself guilty. And Moses also found himself at fault, because he had not circumcised his son. As they were preoccupied with such thoughts, the Angel appeared to them both. He declared that he had come demanding circumcision, lest Moses, when he came to the Hebrews, should be mocked for having neglected circumcision when he was in no danger, whereas they did not neglect it even in their great sorrow over their sons’ deaths.

The Angel appeared to Moses in anger, showing him whom he should fear more—God, who established circumcision, or a wife’s resistance that withheld him from it. Zipporah, seeing that Moses was threatened with death for her neglect of circumcision (about which she had argued with Moses even the night before), and terrified by the vision of the Angel, “took a stone and circumcised her son” (Exod. 4:25). And leaving him there, bathed in his own blood, she embraced the Angel’s feet and said, “A bridegroom of blood art thou to me” (Exod. 4:25). “Do not bring grief on the day of the marriage of circumcision, for great was Abraham’s joy on the day he circumcised Isaac. A bridegroom of blood art thou to me”—bring no grief either on my account, who circumcised my son with my own hands, or for Moses, or for the Giver of the commandment of circumcision, which now is fulfilled.”

When the Angel departed from them, Moses had occasion to say to Zipporah: If you were so filled with fear in a single hour, when the Angel appeared, how much more ought I to be reverent and keep my soul in holiness before God, Who continually reveals Himself to me, works signs by my hand, has sent me with this staff, and appointed me to deliver six hundred thousand people? Having said this, Moses sent Zipporah back to her father—first, for the sake of the circumcised son, lest his illness be worsened on the journey, and second, because it was not fitting for Zipporah and his sons to come to Egypt when all Israel was about to depart from it.

Meanwhile, the Lord appeared to Aaron and sent him “to meet Moses” (Exod. 4:27), that, by the real fulfillment of what had been spoken to him, he might have faith in the fulfillment of what was still to come.

Chapter 5

Moses and Aaron gathered the elders and performed before them the signs as they had been commanded. The people believed Moses, just as the Lord had told him, and together they went to Pharaoh and said to him: “Thus says the Lord… Let My people go, that they may keep a feast for Me in the wilderness” (Exod. 5:1). Pharaoh—whether on account of the assembly of the elders or having heard of the signs performed before them by Moses and Aaron—spoke to them without severity: “Why, Moses and Aaron, do you turn my people away from their work?” (Exod. 5:4). But when they continued to entreat him to let the Hebrews go, the king was kindled with anger, and instead of asking for a sign, he demanded: “Who is the Lord, that I should listen to His voice?” (Exod. 5:2).

Because he said, “Who is this Lord?”—not perceiving Him in any form—it became necessary for the Lord to be made manifest to him in signs. And without doubt, by this coarse question, “Who is the Lord?”, Pharaoh brought upon himself the plagues that were to follow. For his hardness of heart, it was not enough to say this, but he added to his words the command to stop giving the Hebrews straw, so that their labor would be increased, and they would have no rest nor time to think about leaving (for straw was given to the Hebrews to make bricks). “And the people scattered… to gather stubble for straw” (Exod. 5:12). The Hebrews could hardly find any straw, for it was the month of Nisan, the season of blossoms, not Tammuz or Av, the season of straw. For this reason, the scribes of the Hebrew people were mercilessly “beaten… by Pharaoh’s overseers… and they cried out to Pharaoh…” (Exod. 5:14–15), who said to them: “You are idle; that is why you ask to go and sacrifice to God” (Exod. 5:17).

“The scribes of the sons of Israel saw… that they were in evil case” (Exod. 5:19), and in the presence of Moses they complained to the Lord about Moses and those with him. And Moses said to the Lord: “Since I spoke to Pharaoh… in Your name” (Exod. 5:23), not only has the deliverance of the people from their troubles not come to pass, as he had hoped, but from this moment their afflictions had only multiplied.

Chapter 6

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Chapter 7

And the Lord said to Moses: If Pharaoh asks for a sign, cast… your staff before him… and it shall become a serpent. “So Pharaoh summoned… the magicians, and they also did… the same with their enchantments” (Exod. 7:8–9, 11)—that is, they produced something similar. But if it is said that they did this with their enchantments, it does not mean anything extraordinary was done, for they only used their usual art as they always did. And if they thought they had bested Moses by producing something like what he had done, they fell into an inexcusable error. “And the staff of Moses swallowed up their staffs” (Exod. 7:12). Those who imagined themselves able to alter the nature of things could not even save their own staffs from Moses’s staff. The staff swallowed up their staffs so that death would not swallow up the firstborn of Egypt. The swallowed staffs were a warning to the Egyptians: if they did not repent, their firstborn would be destroyed. Therefore, this was told to them beforehand, that they might repent and avoid disaster. And for this reason, this plague—which was the gravest—was appointed to be last, so that if they were instructed by the earlier plagues, they might be spared the destruction of the firstborn, which was harsher than all the other punishments.

“And the Lord said to Moses: The heart of Pharaoh has been hardened.” God did not say, I have hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but He says: “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, and he refuses to let the people go.” And the Lord also said to Moses: Go to him, “and stand by the riverbank” (Exod. 7:14–15). Pharaoh went down to the river either intending to offer sacrifice to the river in the morning or, as was his custom, to walk there each day for refreshment. More likely, the king of Egypt, trusting in the magicians, was offering sacrifice to the Egyptian river. Moses came out and spoke to Pharaoh on God’s behalf, demanding that he let the Hebrews go. But Pharaoh refused, and Moses “struck the water of the river” (Exod. 7:20). And the waters, which the former Pharaoh had defiled with the blood of drowned infants, were turned into blood. “And the fish, which before had fed on the bodies of the infants, died” (Exod. 7:21). And this plague was sent only as a warning—that fish might die instead of the firstborn. But since the destruction of the fish did not persuade the Egyptians, the slaughter of the firstborn would.

“And the magicians also did… the same with their enchantments” (Exod. 7:22). The magicians were not restrained by Moses. Had they done anything contrary to Moses, he would have stopped them immediately (just as he stopped them and put them to flight when they were covered with boils). But since they acted together with him and against their own, he did not hinder them from striking Egypt along with him. Thus a heart that is cunning and set against God is also unfaithful to itself. The magicians struck those who struck them and their own people. But they did just what Moses did: they struck themselves and the Egyptians. Therefore, Moses did not restrain them. Though they tried to heal Egypt’s plagues, they only made them worse. And by this the magicians were taught that they were not able to change the nature of things, even though it seemed to them that they could. For the changing of water into blood was torment and hardship for the Egyptians. But to turn blood back into water—which would have been displeasing to Moses and pleasing to the magicians—they did not do, for they could not. They did only what their art was accustomed to do.

And after this, again, Scripture does not say: The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but rather: “his heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.” Then “Pharaoh returned and went into his house and did not take this to heart” (Exod. 7:22–23).

Chapter 8

When Pharaoh was still not persuaded even by this, then again “Aaron stretched out his hand” (Exod. 8:6). In the staff is seen the image of the Cross: by it all the plagues were begun, when it swallowed the serpents—a sign of the future destruction of all idols; and by it they were ended, when the sea was parted and the Egyptians drowned, prefiguring the destruction of the Canaanites. “And frogs came out and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did likewise with their enchantments” (Exod. 8:6–7). If the magicians had loved Egypt, they would not have added their imaginary frogs to the real frogs of Moses. Therefore, they neither healed Egypt, for they could not destroy Moses’s frogs, nor did they harm it, for instead of real frogs they showed only their phantoms. They neither afflicted nor healed, but produced only illusions. One species perished—the fish—another species appeared—the frogs, so that those who were not brought to their senses by the death of the fish would be afflicted by living frogs. “The frogs died… and they gathered them in heaps, heaps,” so that the Egyptians would not suppose the frogs were only a phantom. But when “there was relief, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them” (Exod. 8:13–15).

“Aaron again struck the dust of the earth with his staff, and there were gnats on men and animals… throughout all the land. The magicians also tried with their enchantments—not to increase the gnats, as they had with the previous plague, but to remove them—but they could not” (Exod. 8:17–18). Therefore, when their skill was humiliated and its vanity revealed, they confessed: “This is the finger of God.” But neither Moses nor his own magicians, who said, “This is the finger of God,” persuaded Pharaoh. For this reason it is not written that God hardened his heart, but: “his heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said” (Exod. 8:19).

Because, after the turning of the water to blood, the frogs, and the gnats, the land of Goshen—where the sons of Israel lived—suffered as much as the land of Egypt, when God sent a new plague—the swarms of flies—He made a division between the lands: upon Egypt He sent the flies, but not upon the land of Goshen. Pharaoh said to Moses and Aaron: “Go, without fear and as you wish, offer sacrifice to your God in our land” (Exod. 8:25). But Moses replied to him: We offer to God bulls and sheep in sacrifice, and you worship them as gods. If we sacrifice, before the eyes of the Egyptians, those animals which are your gods, then “they will stone us.” Instead, “we will go a journey of three days and offer sacrifice to the Lord” (Exod. 8:26–27), as we have been commanded.

“And Pharaoh said: I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only do not go far away. Pray also for me” (Exod. 8:28). But as soon as the plague ceased and there were no more flies, Pharaoh broke his word and did not let the people go.

Chapter 9

After this, God sent death upon the livestock, but He made a distinction between the cattle of the Hebrews and the cattle of the Egyptians. When even this did not convince Pharaoh to let the people go, then Moses, before Pharaoh’s eyes, “took ashes from the furnace… and scattered them… and there were festering boils… on man and on beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses” (Exod. 9:10–11), because they could not produce the likeness of boils upon the bodies of the Hebrews, nor was there any place left on their own bodies where they could make a show of such boils.

Then God said: “I will send all My plagues upon the house and people of Pharaoh” (Exod. 9:14). And He adds: “For this reason have I raised you up… to show in you My power” (Exod. 9:16–18)—that is, it was for this reason that I did not strike you down with the earlier plagues, so that I might display My strength in the plagues I will bring upon your land. “Behold, I will cause to rain… tomorrow a very great hail. Therefore, now make haste to gather your cattle, the ones remaining to you after the plague, lest the hail strike them” (Exod. 9:18–19).

It is clear that God does not wish to smite Egypt. This is evident both in that He foretells in advance with what He will punish, so that the Egyptians might repent and He need not punish them, and in that He commands them to make haste and gather the livestock. But if they had gathered their cattle, as they were told, then why would the hail come? The hail must come, so that the miracle would be seen when the hail struck the cattle of those who did not believe. And the cattle must be gathered, so that the fate of those who repented might be made manifest. Thus, “hail and fire” (Exod. 9:24) fell together, and the hail did not quench the fire, and the fire did not consume the hail. On the contrary, the fire was kindled by the hail as by kindling wood, and the hail was heated by the fire as iron in a furnace, but it did not burn the trees. The strength of trees a hundred years old was broken by the hail, but the fire in the hail did not touch the gardens, the vineyards, or even the hedges.

“And Pharaoh said to Moses: I have sinned this time” (Exod. 9:27). But had Pharaoh not sinned before this, when he hardened his heart? Truly, he had sinned before, but not as he sinned this time. He had been warned, being told to gather the cattle, but he did not obey. And for this reason the punishment that struck him was heavier than those before, because his senselessness increased. “And Moses went out, and as he lifted up his hands, the thunder ceased… and the rain did not fall on the earth” (Exod. 9:33)—either disappearing in the air or ascending into the clouds. For it was just as easy for it to fall from the clouds as to return to them. Yet even after this, Pharaoh and his servants hardened their hearts and did not let the people go.

Chapter 10

And the Lord said to Moses, saying: “Go in to Pharaoh,” and do not fear his pride. “For I have hardened his heart” (Exod. 10:1) in the endurance of the plagues. I have delivered him into your hands, that you might discover his repentance—not because his falsehood is unknown to Me (for I told you beforehand that Pharaoh would not listen to you), but so that the signs might be accomplished upon him, about which you will tell your descendants in generations to come.

And Moses said to Pharaoh: “If… you will not let My people go, behold, I will bring… locusts… and they shall eat all that remains… left after the hail” (Exod. 10:4–5). “And Pharaoh’s servants said to him” (Exod. 10:7): How long shall we suffer, holding back this people? Let them go, and let them sacrifice to the Lord their God, that we ourselves also may not be struck down, just as our fields and herds have been destroyed. Do you not yet know that all Egypt has become a desert?

And Pharaoh said to Moses: Go (Exod. 10:8), but if you take all your possessions with you, I fear that some of the kings may do you harm. – If you truly wished to protect the people from harm, you would not harm them yourself in your own land. If you kept them out of love, you would not have oppressed them with such cruel bondage, forbidding even to give them straw. Truly, a people with whom God Himself is present, working all these wonders, need not fear battle with man.

Moses brought the locusts, and they devoured the grass and all that remained after the hail. And Pharaoh said: “I have sinned against the Lord… and against you; forgive now my sin, I pray you, only this once” (Exod. 10:16–17). If Pharaoh had been hardened, he would not have said this, for a hardened heart is foreign to repentance. But if one who is afflicted begs, and one who is delivered resists, it means that he is free. Both responses show that he is master over himself.

At Moses’s word, the locusts vanished as soon as Pharaoh began to repent. But as he wavered in his purpose, Moses brought darkness upon all Egypt, lasting three days and three nights. Yet for the Hebrews “there was light” (Exod. 10:23), so that they might have rest from their labors and gather all their possessions, preparing for their departure. And Pharaoh said to Moses: “Go with your wives and children, and serve the Lord” (Exod. 10:24); only leave your possessions behind as a guarantee that you will return. Moses replied: Our flocks are not numerous enough for the great sacrifices that we must offer to our God. Therefore you must give us some of your livestock for sacrifice to our God (Exod. 10:25), if you have any left; “for we do not know” (Exod. 10:26) what we will offer to God until God Himself chooses what pleases Him from among our herds.

“But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not wish to let the people go” (Exod. 10:27). If God hardens a heart, then in that heart, which God hardens, no changes can take place. But if Pharaoh, while suffering punishment, says: I will let them go, and when the plague is lifted, he keeps them and will not let the Hebrews go, it means that the hardness of his heart came not from God, but from his own disposition: during affliction, he is ready to keep the commandment, but as soon as relief comes, he tramples the law underfoot.

Chapter 11

And God said: “Let every man ask of his neighbor… vessels of silver and of gold” (Exod. 11:2), for at midnight the firstborn of the Egyptians shall die, and the firstborn of their cattle. “And there shall be a great cry… throughout all the land of Egypt” (Exod. 11:6), like unto the cry that was heard in the houses of the Hebrews when their infants were cast into the river. “And Moses said: Thus saith the Lord: At midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die… And thy servants shall come… and bow down to Me, saying: Depart, thou and all the people that follow thee—and after that I will go out” (Exod. 11:4–5, 8). Since the punishment was like unto that which Pharaoh had inflicted upon the Hebrew people, and it was not the first to be sent, therefore God raised up Pharaoh for opposition.

Chapter 12

“This month… shall be for you the first of the months of the year; on the tenth day of this month let each one take a lamb for his household… and it shall be kept until the fourteenth day… and they shall kill it… toward evening… and they shall smear its blood on both doorposts and on the lintels of the houses, in which they shall eat it” (Exod. 12:2–3, 6–7). The lamb is a type of our Lord, Who on the tenth day of the month Nisan entered the Virgin’s womb. Since from the tenth day of the seventh month, when Zachariah received the announcement about the birth of John, to the tenth day of the first month, when the Angel announced to Mary, six months had passed, therefore the Angel said to Mary: “this is the sixth month with her who was called barren” (Luke 1:36). Thus, on the tenth day the lamb was set apart, and on this day the Lord was conceived. And on the fourteenth day the lamb was slain as a type of the Lord crucified on the Cross. And the unleavened bread, which was to be eaten with bitter herbs, prefigures the new Mystery of the Lord, received in bitterness and sorrow by its partakers. “Your loins shall be girded, and your sandals on your feet.” This signifies the new assembly of disciples, ready to go and preach the Gospel. “Staffs in your hands.” These are the crosses on the shoulders of the apostles. “And you shall eat it standing” (Exod. 12:11), because it is not fitting to receive the Living Body while sitting. “Any stranger… shall not eat of it” (Exod. 12:45), for the unbaptized may not partake of the Body. “And you shall not break a bone of it” (Exod. 12:10). For although the hands and feet of our Lord were pierced with nails, and His side was pierced with a spear, yet not a bone of Him was broken.

At midnight all the firstborn in the land of Egypt died, and in every house there was weeping for its firstborn, the first-fruit of each family. As the river was filled with the firstborn of the Hebrews, so the graves of the Egyptians were filled with the firstborn of Egypt. And Pharaoh called for Moses and those with him and said to them: “Go, take all that you have, and bless me also” (Exod. 12:31–32). Moses had spoken of Pharaoh’s servants as the ones who would beg for their departure, but in reality, more happened than he had said, for instead of the servants, Pharaoh himself begged them to go. And the Egyptians urged them to leave—not because they repented, but out of fear that they would perish as their firstborn had perished.

“And the sons of Israel arose from Rameses (Raamses)… six hundred thousand men, and they encamped… at Succoth. The sojourning of the sons of Israel, which they dwelt in the land of Egypt… was four hundred and thirty years” (Exod. 12:37, 40). This number of years is not to be counted from Jacob’s entry into Egypt, but from the day when God made the covenant with Abraham. The Hebrew people took with them the treasures of Egypt, and Moses—the bones of Joseph, and they left Egypt armed. From this time, God overshadowed them by day with a cloud and by night with a pillar of fire.

Chapter 13

This chapter has no commentary

Chapter 14

“And the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was changed… and they said: What is this that we have done?” (Exod. 14:5). After all the plagues that struck us, we allowed the Hebrews to depart, when they took away our treasures and garments. It would be better for us to die than to surrender the kingdom of Egypt to the mockery of the Hebrews. Therefore they armed themselves and went out, hoping to slay the Hebrew people with the sword and recover both them and their treasures. And Pharaoh went out with his army against the Hebrews, but they “went out with a high hand” (Exod. 14:8), with silver, with gold, with garments, with flocks, in the strength of might, as God had promised Abraham (Gen. 15:14). The sons of Israel, seeing the Egyptians, were afraid (Exod. 14:10). But were there really so many Egyptians that six hundred thousand Hebrews would fear them? The hands of the Hebrews were weakened because their wives, children, and flocks were with them. For who would protect their wives? Who would guard their flocks? Then Moses said to them: Even here, as in Egypt, “the Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Exod. 14:14).

“And the Lord said to Moses: Why do you cry to Me?” Even without your asking, I am ready to do this for your people. Strike the “sea and divide it… with your staff,” which is the image of the Cross. “And behold, I will harden Pharaoh’s heart”—that is, I will not restrain the daring of the Egyptians—because, when they see the new wonder, the sea divided, they will not recognize their guilt. “And I will be glorified, destroying Pharaoh and all his… host. And the Egyptians shall know,” before they perish, “that I am the Lord” (Exod. 14:15–18). This they themselves confessed, saying: “Let us flee from before the face of the sons of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians” (Exod. 14:25).

“And the Angel… took the pillar of cloud from before the face of the sons of Israel and placed it between the host of the Hebrews and the Egyptians” (Exod. 14:19–20). And when the cloud, which by day overshadowed the Hebrews, was placed by night between the two camps, it brought darkness upon the Egyptians, like that which had been upon them for three days and three nights. But for the Hebrews there was light from the pillar of fire that illuminated them. So it was, to strike fear into the Egyptians and to encourage the Hebrews. Had the Egyptians considered this darkness, they would not have dared to enter the sea. Over the sea, which could have been divided in a moment’s time to bring the Egyptians to repentance, “all night” a strong, burning wind worked, “and made the sea dry land… And the Egyptians pursued… after” (Exod. 14:21, 23) the Hebrews, not fearing the darkness that was between them and the Hebrews, nor the parted sea, but in the night, along the dry sea-bed, they pursued with an armed hand the people led by the pillar of fire.

“And it came to pass, in the morning watch, the Lord manifested Himself to the Egyptians… and troubled them, and bound the wheels of their chariots” (Exod. 14:24–25), so that they would either stop pursuing the people or be unable to escape from the sea. But they did not fear the Lord, Who revealed Himself to them; they paid no attention to the fact that their wheels were bound, but struggled all the more to drag their chariots with difficulty. Since, when the sea was divided, it is written that Moses lifted up his hand over the sea, and when it was to return to its place, it is written that Moses lowered his hand over the sea, it is likely that from the parting of the sea until the entire people had crossed, Moses’ hand was stretched out, as it was later during the battle with the Amalekites. “And the Lord shook the Egyptians… and not one of them remained” (Exod. 14:27–28). And the Hebrews saw the bodies of the dead Egyptians on the seashore, just as the Egyptians had previously seen the bodies of the Hebrew children on the riverbank. And because of what happened both in Egypt and in the sea, “the people believed… in God and in Moses His servant” (Exod. 14:31).

“And Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord” (Exod. 14:32), that is, Moses sang, and the whole people repeated after him.

Chapter 15

“Sing unto the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously” (Exod. 15:1)—to the Lord, Who punished the horses and riders by casting them into the sea. “He is mighty” and glorious: mighty in the destruction of the Egyptians, and glorious in the deliverance of the Hebrews. “God is the Lord—that is, the Existing One—He has become our Savior” (Exod. 15:2), not the calves, barely cast in metal. Thus, “This is my God, and I will glorify Him, the God of my father Abraham, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is mighty and a man of war,” for He fought for us against the Egyptians, while we remained at rest. “He cast into the sea… Pharaoh’s chariots and his powerful host,” in which Pharaoh had taken pride. And his chosen champions, whom he set against us, sank “in the Red Sea” (Exod. 15:2–4). “They went down into the depths and under the weight of their own bodies sank like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power”—that is, it had such strength as to crush Your enemies, the Egyptians. “You sent forth Your wrath, and it consumed them like stubble in Egypt and in the sea. At the breath of Your mouth the waters were piled up,” that is, by the wind You sent, the waters were heaped up to divide. Or, at the command of Your lips, they were instructed to cease their flow, until the six hundred thousand sons of Israel had crossed. “The deeps congealed in the heart of the sea” (Exod. 15:5–8), so as to drown the Egyptians.

And to show for what reason the Egyptians were drowned, it is written: “The enemy said… I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my soul shall consume them,” and so forth. “You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them.” And with them, all their proud plans collapsed. “Who is like unto You among those so called gods, O Lord? Who is like You, glorious in holiness?”—that is, in Your holy dwelling. “Fearful to the Egyptians and praised among the Hebrews. You work wonders in the sea and in the land of Egypt” (Exod. 15:9–11).

“You led… in a cloud and in a pillar by Your mercy this people, whom You redeemed from Egypt.” “The nations heard”—that is, the Amorites heard of the river turned to blood, and they trembled. The inhabitants of Philistia were terrified, having heard of the death of the Egyptian firstborn. “The rulers of Edom and the princes of Moab were dismayed, trembling seized them” at the parting of the sea. “All the inhabitants of Canaan were scattered… fear shall fall upon them”—that is, the people of Canaan will be struck with terror when they hear of the drowning of Pharaoh and his host in the sea. Fear shall fall upon these nations, and they will not dare to make war “until these people pass over, whom You have redeemed… and You will plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance,” that is, in the land of the Canaanites. In Jerusalem, “You have prepared a dwelling place for Yourself, O Lord,” a sanctuary. Establish it, O Lord, with Your hands, that it may be made firm according to Your will. The Lord will reign over us forever, and not foreign nations. “Pharaoh’s chariots and his horsemen entered the sea” to pursue us, but the waters returned and covered them (Exod. 15:13–19).

“Then Miriam the prophetess took up…” (Exod. 15:20). When did she prophesy? Or does Scripture call her a prophetess as it calls the wife of Isaiah, though she did not prophesy, but was merely a righteous woman? Thus, on that day the people were divided into two choirs to sing a fitting song to Him Who divided the sea that day and drowned their pursuers. Moses led the choir of men, and Miriam led the choir of women, singing: “Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously” (Exod. 15:21), for without toil He destroyed the enemies and, remaining at rest, brought upon them all the plagues.

After crossing the sea, God willed to test the Hebrews by lack of water, and they murmured at the waters of Marah. Then God showed Moses a tree, which he cast into the water, and the water became sweet. This tree is an image of the Cross of the Lord, which was destined to sweeten the bitterness of the nations. When the nature of the waters was changed, God established laws, that just as the power of the tree altered the nature of the water, so the law might bend and persuade the freedom of man.

Chapter 16

After the trial at Marah, the Hebrews came to Elim, and from Elim to the wilderness of Sinai. The people murmured, desiring meat. Then God gave them bread from heaven and commanded them to gather only “as much as is sufficient for the day” (Exod. 16:4), and not to be anxious for the morrow. But since some, out of greed, gathered much, while others, out of sloth, gathered little (Exod. 16:17), the vessel that served as a measure corrected itself: it supplied what was lacking and did away with the excess (Exod. 16:18). Just as the labor of gathering manna was laid upon the Hebrews so that idleness might not harm them, so also the Sabbath was given for the sake of servants and hired men, as well as for oxen and all cattle. Yet some did not observe the Sabbath rest, but went out to gather manna on the Sabbath and found none. And as it is said that manna in appearance resembled “coriander seed” (Exod. 16:31), but in taste was like honeycombs, this shows that manna was suited to every taste. They filled a jar with manna for its preservation throughout generations. The manna which the Hebrews kept until the next day bred worms, but the manna in the jar remained undamaged through many generations. “They ate manna forty years, until they came …to the borders of the land of promise” (Exod. 16:35).

Chapter 17

When they came to Rephidim and there was no water, the Hebrews did not only murmur as before, but were ready even to use violence. “And Moses cried to the Lord in his prayer: What shall I do? …yet a little while and these people will stone me” (Exod. 17:4); I shall not escape their hands if I do not give them the water which they demand of me. Moses, before the eyes of the elders of the people, brings forth water from Horeb. And because they had said, “Is …the Lord among us,” when we have not water to quench our thirst, therefore, the waters gushing forth before the eyes of the elders showed that the Lord truly was among them. The Hebrews forgot the former wonders and put God to the test, demanding new signs. Although they constantly had miracles before their eyes—the cloud, the pillar, the manna, the quails—yet since these miracles continued a long time, the Hebrews ceased to regard them as miracles. Therefore, they sought to tempt God with new wonders: “if the Lord is among them, or not” (Exod. 17:7).

After this, “came …Amalek” to make war against the Hebrews. Joshua led the battle against the Amalekites, while Moses went up the mountain, and “the rod of God was in his hand” (Exod. 17:8–9). Moses held this rod in his hands only when he worked signs and wonders, that you might perceive the mystery of the Cross, by whose power Moses accomplished all miracles. With Moses went up Aaron and Hur, who, as they say, was the husband of Moses’ sister. “And …when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel prevailed,” and struck down the adversary nations that came in great numbers to make war on the Hebrews. “But when he let down his hands” (Exod. 17:11), the adversaries prevailed and struck those who constantly murmured against God and Moses. By the raising of his hands and the rod at his breast, Moses clearly depicted the sign of the Cross. Joshua labored on the battlefield, while Moses prayed upon the mountain. When the people saw Moses lowering his hands, then fear would fall upon them and they would flee from before their enemies. But when Moses lifted up his hands, then the people were strengthened and advanced upon their foes. “And the Lord said …to Moses: Write this for a memorial in a book and commit it …to Joshua, for I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek” (Exod. 17:14). Write, so that all nations may know and be afraid, and not dare to enter into battle with you, and that the Amalekites might repent and thus turn away from themselves the dread sentence of judgment. “And Moses built an altar …and called its name: The Lord has proved” (Exod. 17:15), meaning that God, by Amalek, the most warlike nation, showed to all peoples, less strong than he, that if they entered battle with the Hebrews, they would be struck down like the Amalekites. Although these nations plainly saw that in God’s hands are both their salvation and their ruin, yet they did not ask for the right hand of the Hebrews as a token of peace. Therefore God says to the Israelites: Give your right hand to the cities before you enter into battle with them. “Behold, the hand …of the Lord …is upon the throne” (Exod. 17:16), that is, the hand of the Lord is upon the throne of judgment, which God raised up for Moses, and the Lord has war with Amalek “from generation to generation,” as long as Amalek remains a despiser of God.

Chapter 18

“And Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, came… And Moses went out to meet him and—as was the custom—bowed himself before him,” just as he had bowed to him when he was a sojourner in his house, though now it was by his hand that all these wonders had been accomplished. “And he told… his father-in-law all the wonders which God had wrought” by his hand, desiring to instruct him thereby. And whoever, during the forty years spent with Moses, had not been taught by his words, was now instructed by his account of the wonders, and says: “Now I know that the Lord is great, having done these things for you above all gods,” for the others cannot do such things for their worshippers (Exod. 18:5, 7–8, 11).

Jethro spoke thus, recalling the schemes devised by the Egyptians against the Hebrews: when they slew the infants to reduce their number, or when they denied the Hebrews straw to provoke them against Moses, or when they plotted to destroy them in the wilderness and to take from them, along with their own, even what was not theirs. “And Jethro brought… sacrifices to God” (Exod. 18:12), that is, either he truly offered them through Moses, or else simply set apart what was designated for sacrifice, so that it might be offered to God in the place which God should choose. At Jethro’s counsel, Moses appointed rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, that they might judge the people and lighten Moses’ labors. After this, Jethro “departed into his own land” (Exod. 18:27).

Chapter 19

“In the third month”—that is, after forty-five days from the exodus out of Egypt—“Moses went up the mountain to God.” And God said to him: “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians”—that is, you saw the plagues with which I struck them on land and sea—“and I bore you as upon eagles’ wings,” when I led you by the cloud. “And I brought you to Myself” at this mountain. “And now, if… you will hearken to My voice… you shall be” more beloved to Me than all other nations, for you alone have I chosen out of all the peoples. “You shall be to Me a kingdom and priests, and a holy nation” (Exod. 19:1, 3, 4–6). From among you shall be kings, from among you shall be priests, and all of you shall be holy—that is, pure from all the defilements of the heathen nations.

Chapter 20

On the mountain, God gives the commandments and says: “For I am the Lord… visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of those that hate Me” (Exod. 20:5). God, in His long-suffering, bears with an evil man, and with his son, and with his grandson. But if they do not repent, He brings punishment upon the head of the fourth, as soon as he proves himself in his wickedness to be like his fathers. “And showing mercy unto thousands of generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Exod. 20:6). As even now He has done for you and your people for the sake of your fathers Abraham and Isaac. But all the commandments given to the Hebrews are summed up in this one law: What is hateful to yourself, do not do to another. “Thou shalt not kill,” lest another kill you. “Thou shalt not commit adultery” with thy neighbor’s wife, lest the same be requited to thee in thy own wife. “Thou shalt not steal” what is not thine, lest another steal what is thine. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor,” lest another bear false witness against thee. “Thou shalt not covet… anything that is thy neighbor’s” (Exod. 20:13–17), lest another covet all that is in thy house. See how beautifully our Lord has said, “On these two commandments… hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:40)—that is, the natural law, set forth in the Pentateuch of Moses and in the Prophets. Yet to these commandments other laws were added as various circumstances arose.

“An altar of earth shalt thou make” (Exod. 20:24). “Thou shalt not lay iron upon the stones, lest they be defiled” (Exod. 20:25). This is in accord with what was said: “You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. Ye shall not make before Me gods… of gold” (Exod. 20:22–23), or of any kind. “Thou shalt not go up by steps to My altar” (Exod. 20:26). Generally, He forbids the use of hewn stones, so that, in shaping the stones for the steps of the altar, they might not make the altar itself into a god for themselves.

“An altar of earth shalt thou make… but if thou make an altar of stones… thou shalt not… lay tool upon it, lest it be defiled” (Exod. 20:24–25). By this He teaches that a sacrifice of a humble spirit and of praise must be brought to God, offered freely, not by compulsion. For it is pleasing to God that every man, of his own will, should build a temple and altar to God from his own self. It is not pleasing to God when we approach good works under compulsion, like stones that are shaped and prepared for building with hammer and axe. By commanding that the altar be made of earth, He means our flesh, which is of the earth, and which ought to be offered to God as a sacrifice after it has first been cleansed by pious labors.

Chapter 21

On this day, God established judicial laws concerning a man’s duties toward his neighbor. “If a man sells his daughter to be a maidservant, and she does not please the eyes of her master, and he does not take her as his wife—as he had promised when he desired to purchase her—he shall not sell her to a foreign people” (Exod. 21:7–8), for he has deceived her after taking her. “And if a man smites another and he dies, he shall surely be put to death.” Yet if he did not act with malice aforethought, “but God delivered him into his hand” (Exod. 21:12–13)—that is, the day of his death had come, and the killer had no intention to kill, but the will of God was fulfilled upon the deceased—then for such a slayer a place of refuge is to be appointed. For the one who died not by the killer’s intent did not die without the will of God. God delivered the slain into the hand of the killer, that he might not overstep the bounds set by God’s will, but finish his life as a mortal man. “And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child” (Exod. 21:22), but death does not result—that is, the child has not yet been fully formed, and its members have not come to proper shape—then the offender must pay a fine. But if the child was fully formed and perished—“then he shall give life for life” (Exod. 21:25).

Chapter 22

This chapter has no commentary

Chapter 23

“Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread.” By this is meant either what was said: “Let no leaven be found among you at the sacrifice of the lamb” (Exod. 12:18–19), or else it is a prohibition against mixing sacrifices—against pouring the blood of the later sacrifice upon the earlier one, which has already been slain and placed upon the altar.

“Neither shall the fat of My feast remain until morning” (Exod. 23:18). Rather, on that very day let fire consume it upon the altar. This concern for the fat teaches also a concern for offering the better sacrifice.

“And behold, I send My Angel before thee… obey him… for My name is in him” (Exod. 23:20–22). Since the Angel accomplished the work of God, the Name of God was placed upon him.

Chapter 24

“And… Moses… built an altar… and sent young men of the sons of Israel” (Exod. 24:4), that is, the sons of Aaron, to prepare bullocks for the whole-burnt offering. For as yet they had not been anointed for the priestly ministry. And when Moses “read the book of the covenant—before them—and they said: All that the Lord has spoken we will do;” then “he sprinkled the people with the blood, and said: Behold, the blood of the covenant into which you have entered… saying: All… that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will hearken” (Exod. 24:7–8, 3). By this blood of the covenant was prefigured the mystery of the Gospel, which by the death of Christ is granted to all peoples. “And Moses went up, and Aaron, and his two sons… and seventy of the elders… and they saw God, and under His feet as it were a work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the appearance of the heavens in purity” (Exod. 24:9–10). The bricks reminded the Hebrews of their bondage in Egypt; the sapphire reminded them of the dividing of the sea; the clear color of the sky recalled what had been said to them—not to take upon themselves the lustful look of a harlot. “And He laid not His hand upon the elders,” for they were called to vision, not to prophecy, though prophecy was afterwards entrusted to them. “And I will give thee the tables of stone.” He gave them the tables, written with the finger of God, that they might honor God’s commandments, if only for the reason that they were written by God. “And… Moses and Joshua… went up into the mount… And the Lord called Moses on the seventh day out of the midst of the cloud” (Exod. 24:11–12, 13, 16). And all the house of Israel beheld the glory of the Lord.

Chapter 25

In these days, God gave Moses commandment concerning the making of the tabernacle—out of what and how it should be made, and what vessels were to be in the sanctuary. He gave commandment concerning the holy oil, the incense, and the priestly sacrifices. And when God says to Moses: “Thou shalt make… according to all that I show thee… the pattern of the tabernacle” (Exod. 25:9), He beforehand already calls the tabernacle a figure and a temporary dwelling, to make clear that it would pass away and give place to the Church of Christ, which, as more perfect, will abide forever. And so that the Hebrews would reverence the tabernacle as the pattern of the heavenly tabernacle, He says: There I will appear to thee “and will speak with thee from above the mercy seat” (Exod. 25:22). From above, from between the two cherubim, the voice of God came forth to the priest who entered there once in the year.

Chapter 26

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Chapter 27

“And let them take for you oil of olives… for the lighting of the lamps.” This signifies the doctrine of the Crucified; for any other oil, not “of olives,” signifies foreign teachings. And that “Aaron and his sons” burned the lamps outside the veil “from evening until morning” (Exod. 27:20–21)—this depicts the Israelite priests, offering sacrifices outside the Church of Christ, as well as the prophets who lived before the appearance of the Sun of Righteousness; for when the morning dawned with the coming of our Lord, then the service of the lamps came to an end and ceased.

The saying, “One lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the second lamb shalt thou offer in the evening” (Exod. 29:39), points to the Lamb of God, slain for us. Moreover, the lamb offered in the morning signifies the righteous, and the lamb offered in the evening signifies penitent sinners, for whom Christ also died.

And again, God spoke to Moses concerning the composition of the anointing oil: “And you shall take to yourself the finest spices: of choice myrrh, and of cinnamon…, of cassia… and of oil of olives” (Exod. 30:23–24). These four kinds of spices signify the four elements from which was formed the body of God the Word.

Chapter 28

“The ephod—of gold, made of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and woven linen” (Exod. 28:5–6)—represents Emmanuel. The two shoulder pieces of the ephod signify either the people of God and the nations of the Gentiles, or the apostles and the prophets, or the heavenly and earthly hosts. The two emerald stones, on which were written the names of the sons of Israel and which were placed on the ephod, signify the two covenants (Exod. 28:6–7, 9). The linen tunic signifies the robe of righteousness. “The belt… the work of a cunning embroiderer” (Exod. 28:39), means the girdle of righteousness and the girdle of truth, by which the soul is restrained from earthly thoughts. “And they attached the cord” (Exod. 28:37). This cord signifies love. “And make… a crown… of gold” (Exod. 25:11). The crown, a sign of victory, signifies the victory of Christ; and it is said of it: “make… of pure gold” (Exod. 28:13), because Christ’s victory is perfect and decisive.

“You shall make the breastplate of judgment… foursquare… doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth; and set in it settings of stones in four rows.” The first row: “sardius, topaz, and emerald… and the second row: carbuncle, sapphire, and diamond; and the third row: ligure, agate, and amethyst; and the fourth row: chrysolite, beryl, and jasper” (Exod. 28:15–20). The four rows of stones signify the four ranks of orders in spiritual Israel, and by the color of the stones is indicated the kind, dignity, and ministry of these orders. These stones were sewn upon the breastplate of judgment and placed on the chest of the high priest, to show that as these symbols were near the breast of the high priest, so too all the thoughts of every rational being are near to the knowledge of Emmanuel. And the fact that the high priest wore the breastplate of judgment on his chest mystically signifies that Emmanuel is the Judge of the living and the dead. On the edges of the rows were pomegranates, and between the pomegranates were golden bells. The pomegranates signify the Gentile nations, and the bells—the apostles and teachers of the Church, who proclaim and edify. Furthermore, in the pomegranates we see that the Gentile nations are supported by the Son, and in the bells we learn that the voice of the Evangelists and preachers, who proclaim the Church of Emmanuel, is the purest of all pure voices.

The repetition of the account concerning all the furnishings of the tabernacle—the making of the ark, the table, the lampstand, and everything else—implies that when Emmanuel comes in His glory and sits upon the throne of His Kingdom, then the deeds of every person will be revealed, and to each, according to his works with which he comes to Judgment, shall be assigned his place in the spiritual tabernacle. Those who bring works of mercy, like gold, will enter into the innermost tabernacle; those who bring fasting and prayer, like silver, will follow after the former; and thus everyone, according to his life, will receive a place befitting him.

Chapter 29

“And thou shalt take… one young bullock from among the cattle… and unleavened loaves, and… unleavened cakes, …mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil; and thou shalt put them in a basket… and thou shalt take all the fat that is upon the inward parts, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys” (Exod. 29:1–3, 13). The offering of a bullock, a ram, and a lamb signifies three degrees in the perfection of the saints and the preparation (confirmation) of the conscience. The first degree belongs to those who have attained the highest stature; the second, the middle degree, to those who are below the first; and the third, the lowest degree, to beginners. The physical size of the sacrificial animals represents the measure of spiritual strength: the bullock, being the greatest animal, represents the greatest strength; the lamb, being the least, the lesser strength. The unleavened cakes signify a pure and guileless life; the wafers anointed with oil and baked on the griddle represent the joy and sweetness of the life of the saints. The unleavened bread signifies a blameless life. The kidneys are an image of the discernment of thoughts, for in the body the kidneys serve to separate the fluids. The fat upon the kidneys signifies the operations of the soul and the movements of thoughts. The fat of the liver is mentioned because the liver is considered the seat of desire; therefore, the fat of the liver and of the inward parts is to be offered to God as the very source of all desire.

“With the blood of the lamb, sprinkle the tip of the right ear… of Aaron and… of his sons, and the fingers of their right hands… and the great toe of their right feet” (Exod. 29:20). The blood of the lamb with which the ears are sprinkled signifies the holiness of the perfect; the sprinkling of the hands signifies the order of the righteous, and the sprinkling of the feet—the order of penitents. Some interpret the ears as representing heavenly beings, the hands as earthly beings, and the feet as mortal bodies. Others say the ears signify obedience and submission, the hands—the doing of good deeds, and the feet—the pursuit of good. Notice that there are three altars: one, which we now have; the second, heavenly, which awaits us; and the third, the Judgment Seat, for the punishment of sinners. The tenth part of fine wheat flour mixed with oil (Exod. 29:40) signifies the flesh of Emmanuel, in Whom there are no dregs of the spirit, for He is not subject to sin. “One lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer in the evening” (Exod. 29:39). Both lambs signify our Savior. In the lamb sacrificed in the morning is portrayed Christ’s sacrifice for the saints, and in the lamb sacrificed in the evening—for sinners. “And for a drink offering, the fourth part… of a hin… for one ram” (Exod. 29:40). Here are indicated the four elements in the flesh of Emmanuel, from which the holy drink offering is poured out, sanctifying those who are sprinkled.

Chapter 30

“Thou shalt make a laver of brass” (Exod. 30:18). This laver, set up for washing between the tabernacle and the altar, represents the spiritual font, in which the soul, being cleansed from sins, is prepared to enter into the inner sanctuary. “And thou shalt take for thyself the finest spices: five hundred shekels of choice myrrh… and of cinnamon… and of sweet calamus… and of cassia… and of oil of olives” (Exod. 30:23–24). This is an image of the Incarnation of Emmanuel, whose flesh is formed from the four elements, as well as an image that all is contained in Emmanuel. Here are also revealed five contemplations: the Creator, rational beings, beings endowed with sense, beings subject to the senses, and, finally, the time of all creation. “Such an anointing oil as this ye shall not make for yourselves,” for Emmanuel is unique. “Take for yourself spices: stacte, onycha, and galbanum… and pure frankincense” (Exod. 30:32, 34). By this too is signified Emmanuel, Who calls all the saints “to savor the fragrance of His ointment” (Song 1:3), renews them in Himself, and, having made them conformed to Himself, brings them into union with Himself.

Chapter 31

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Chapter 32

“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, they pressed Aaron, saying: Make us gods that shall go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has become of him” (Exod. 32:1). Was it not before your eyes that Moses went up the mountain, and did he not enter the cloud in your sight? Go up the mountain yourselves; if you do not find either Moses or Joshua, then do as you wish. If you still have manna, quails, the pillar, and the cloud with you, how is it that you say Moses is not with you, when everything accomplished by his hand remains among you? Aaron argued with the people, but saw that they intended to stone him, as they had stoned Hur, to whom, when Moses ascended the mountain, he had entrusted the elders of the people to “administer judgment” until his return (Exod. 24:14). For after this Hur is not mentioned again; thus it is said that during the revolt against Aaron, at the making of the molten calf, Hur was killed, because he forbade the Hebrews to forsake God. Therefore Aaron, to avoid death himself and to keep the Hebrews from being punished for murdering him and, instead of making one calf, making themselves many gods and turning back to Egypt—even if not entering Egypt itself—craftily instructed them to bring the earrings of their wives, hoping that either the women, out of fondness for their earrings or for love of God, would refuse their husbands and thus prevent the making of the molten calf. Yet it is written: “And all the people took off the golden earrings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron” (Exod. 32:3). Just as dear as the earrings had been to them when they took them from the Egyptian women, so dear did the calf become to them, so that for its making they parted even with their earrings. The craftsmen took the gold, made a mold, and cast a calf, and all said: “Behold your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (Exod. 32:4). Thus the Hebrews rejected God, Who had performed all the wonders for them on sea and land, and ascribed to the calf they loved what it had never done. And it is said that Aaron, out of fear, built an altar for the calf, making it plausible that Hur was killed when the people forced them to perform service before the calf. But Aaron, to gain time until Moses would return from the mountain, said: “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” And on the next morning, they offered sacrifices to the calf. Those same people who had eaten manna, drunk water which Moses brought forth from the rock, and walked under the cloud now “rose up to play” before the calf.

“And the Lord spoke to Moses”—that is, the God of truth spoke to the god of the people—“your people have acted lawlessly, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt… they have made themselves a calf… and have said: this is your god… who brought you out of Egypt” (Exod. 32:5–9). God revealed this to Moses to stir him to prayer. Therefore, instead of saying: Restrain Me, that I do not destroy them, He says: “Leave Me, that… I may consume them” (Exod. 32:10). For had God truly wished to destroy the people, He would not have revealed their sin to one ready to intercede for them. Thus, by revealing this to Moses, God shows that He is not set on destroying the people. So, God first determined Himself to forgive the Hebrews, and then prompted Moses to pray for them. But so that forgiveness would not be granted cheaply, nor become a cause of further harm, God declared to Moses His intent to destroy the people, so that when Moses interceded and the sin was pardoned, the pardon itself would be more precious in the eyes of the Hebrews, and their intercessor would be honored among them. When by his prayer and remembrance of their fathers, Moses appeased God on the mountain, he, together with Joshua, “returned and came down from the mountain, and the two tablets… were in his hand… And Joshua said: there is a noise of war in the camp” (Exod. 32:15, 17). Had Joshua been in the camp until then, he would not have said this, since he would have known about the molten calf. Nor would he have spoken thus had he been with Moses, since he would have heard God say to Moses: “your people have acted lawlessly.” Therefore Joshua was neither with Moses nor with the people, but remained between Moses and the people—spending seven days with his teacher, and after the Lord called Moses, remaining alone without his master.

“And as Moses drew near to the camp, he saw the calf and the dances… and broke the tablets he had brought down from the mountain, at the foot of the mountain” (Exod. 32:19). For what use were the commandments to a people who had exchanged the Lawgiver for a calf? Since Moses did not know who had made the calf, “he burned the calf… ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water and made the children of Israel drink it” (Exod. 32:20); and those guilty of making the molten calf swelled from the dust of that calf. For although the entire people gave their earrings, there were some who did so out of fear, just as Aaron made the altar out of fear. Therefore, the dust of the calf caused swelling only in those who devised this evil and incited others to demand its accomplishment.

“Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said: Whoever is on the Lord’s side, let him come to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves to him. And he said to them: Thus says the Lord God of Israel: let every man put his sword by his side” (Exod. 32:26–27). God did not say this to Moses, though He had uttered even greater threats before being appeased by Moses. For after being entreated by Moses, it is written: “And the Lord repented of the evil which He said He would do unto His people” (Exod. 32:14). On the mountain, Moses is an intercessor; in the camp, an avenger—before judgment, a mediator, in the camp a zealot, for in punishing he fulfills the command of God. “Go to and fro from gate to gate through the camp, and slay every man his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor”—that is, slay all who bear the mark of the calf, whether relative or neighbor, brother, son, or father. “And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men” (Exod. 32:27–28).

“And Moses returned to the Lord God and said:” Truly “this people have sinned a great sin… Yet now, forgive their sin… and if not, blot me out of Your book which You have written” (Exod. 32:31–32). It is better for me to lose future life than to witness the destruction of my people. Moses, asking for death on behalf of the people, thus prefigured the death of the Son of God, taken upon Himself for all peoples. “Behold, My Angel shall go before you—that is, My Angel shall go instead of Me—and in the day of My visitation, I will visit their sins upon them by his hand” (Exod. 32:34). In this He both encourages and warns and instills fear in the people. “Behold, I send My Angel before you—beware of him—for My name… is in him” (Exod. 23:20–21). Because he accomplishes the work of God, the Name of God is upon him.

Chapter 33

“And Moses said” to the Lord: “Show me Thy glory, that I may know Thee. By what Thou doest for me now, assure me also of what Thou wilt do for me in the future.” “And the Lord said…: I will make all My goodness pass before thee”—that is, My glory, as much as thy eyes are able to behold. “And I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion”—that is, not upon all the people, nor upon the whole assembly. “Thou canst not see My face,” for no man who has seen My face can remain in this life. “But when My glory passes by, I will put thee in a cleft of the rock.” The cleft of the rock is the assembly of the sons of the Church, to whom the spiritual law is given. “And I will take away My hand, and… thou shalt see My back parts” (Exod. 33:18–23). By this is allegorically foretold that the Church will be given the ordination of the priesthood. “And… thou shalt see My back parts.” Here is spoken of the incarnation of Emmanuel and foretold the vision of Him Who, in His divine nature, is invisible.

Chapter 34

And Moses said to the Lord: “Keeping… mercy to thousands of generations” (Exod. 34:7). For to our generation God has done what He promised for many ages to our fathers. “Make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land” (Exod. 34:12), lest they entice you with their false worship and beguile your daughters and your sons. See to it that your people do not cleave to those nations whose destruction you ask from Me. Take care that your people do not enter into marriages with them. “Every male that openeth the womb… shall be called holy” (Exod. 34:19). This refers to the baptized and those who keep the seal of Baptism, and gives us to understand that they are forever holy to the Lord. “Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” (Exod. 34:26). This means: if someone from paganism (or from another delusion) comes to the knowledge of the truth, do not reproach him for his former customs, his errors, or the practices of his fathers. Such a one is called a kid, as coming from the land of sinners, the land of the left hand, and his mother is called his former faith and former name. In another sense: “A kid shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day thou shalt give it to Me” (Exod. 22:30).

After this, Moses came down from the mountain, “and knew not that the skin of his face shone” (Exod. 34:29). Moses had no need to know of his own glorification, but it was needful that the people should know and see it. Moses went up the mountain as an eighty-year-old, and came down as a youth; he went up as the son of Adam, and came down as the primal Adam—not as the Adam who was deceived by the serpent into eating the fruit, but as the Adam he was before the serpent deceived him. “Moses put a veil upon his face” (Exod. 34:35) when he spoke to the people what was commanded to him; and those to whom he spoke had to lower their eyes to the ground, for they could not look upon his glory. By this, even Moses understood that if the sons of his people could not gaze upon his face because of its glory, much less could he gaze upon the glory of the divine majesty.

Chapter 35

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Chapter 36

All the mysteries of the tabernacle, in their spiritual meaning, proclaim to us the Creator and His creatures. The ten linen curtains are the first contemplation of rational beings (Exod. 36:8); the eleven curtains of goats’ hair (Exod. 36:14) are the second contemplation of rational beings; the covering of rams’ skins dyed red (Exod. 36:15) is the third contemplation. And these three contemplations are contemplations of rational and incorporeal beings. The top covering of blue skins (Exod. 36:19) is the fourth contemplation—of rational beings clothed with flesh. The highest contemplation, that is, the contemplation of the Creator, is represented by the ark set in the Holy of Holies directly opposite the door. Twenty pillars and forty sockets stood on the south side—sixty in all—and the same number of pillars and sockets on the north side, representing commanders, princes, and rulers (Exod. 36:23–25). Of such a number the wise Solomon also speaks in the Song of Songs, saying: “Behold, Solomon’s bed, threescore mighty men are about it” (Song 3:7). The three veils in the tabernacle—“of blue and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen” (Exod. 36:37): one stretched before the Holy of Holies, another at the entrance of the tabernacle, and a third at the gate of the court—prefigure Emmanuel. For it is through Him that those initiated into the mysteries ascend to the contemplation of Divinity; the intermediate ascend to the vision of God’s majesty; and finally, those who are outside approach the enclosure of the spiritual sheepfold, according to the word of our Lord, that He is the door (John 10:7): the inner door for the perfect, the middle door for the righteous, and the outer door for the penitent.

Chapter 37

“And Bezaleel made… the ark… of incorruptible wood” (Exod. 36:1, 25:10). This is the mystery of the Flesh of Emmanuel, which is not subject to corruption and was not defiled by sin. The gold that covered the ark “within and without” (Exod. 37:2) signifies the divine nature of the Word, which was ineffably united with all the parts of the soul and body, for our humanity has been anointed by His Divinity. It is also written: “He made a border of gold for the ark round about… and cast for it four rings” (Exod. 37:2–3). In this we may see a figure of Eden and its four rivers, or the power of sensation and the apprehension of all that can be understood; the sides of the ark point to the visible world and to the world of the intellect.

“The mercy seat above the ark of pure gold” (Exod. 37:6) signifies Emmanuel; the cherubim above the mercy seat are the prophets and apostles. In the table we see five contemplations: the Creator and rational creatures. The two borders on the table point to the world above and the world below. The space between the two borders represents Emmanuel, through Whom the heavenly and earthly have communion with each other. The showbread on the table represents the mystery of the sacrifice of the sons of the Church.

The golden lampstand depicts and reveals to us the mystery of the Cross; the six branches of the lampstand signify the authority of the Crucified, extending into all six directions. In the pomegranates on the lampstand we mystically recognize the prophets and apostles; in the flowers, the angelic powers; in the seven lamps, the seven lights of the Gospel; in addition, “the seven… eyes… of the Lord… which look upon all the earth” (Zech. 4:10).

Chapter 38

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Chapter 39

This chapter has no commentary

Chapter 40

At the time when the tabernacle was constructed, the cloud that overshadowed the Hebrews descended upon the tabernacle and into the tabernacle itself, “and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle, so that Moses was not able to enter into the tabernacle… because the cloud overshadowed it” (Exod. 40:34–35)—that is, the cloud so filled the tabernacle that there was no air left inside for breathing. “But if the cloud was not taken up, they did not set out… until the day when the cloud was taken up”; that is, when the cloud arose over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel prepared to journey, and the cloud served as their guide; but when the cloud stopped, everyone set up his tent under its shadow. “For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was upon it by night, before all the sons of Israel throughout all their journeys” (Exod. 40:37–38). The pillar of fire, which stood above the tabernacle, illuminated even the interior of the tabernacle at night.

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