Exodus 34:6: Edit history

Context

This verse follows the golden calf incident of Exodus 32. Moses had interceded with God for the people's forgiveness and then asked, "I beseech thee, shew me thy glory" (Exodus 33:18). The LORD answered that he would make his goodness pass before Moses and would proclaim his name (33:19). Moses hewed two new tablets of stone to replace the broken ones and went up Mount Sinai (34:1–4). The LORD descended in the cloud, passed before Moses, and proclaimed these words: "The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth" (Exodus 34:6). The proclamation continues into verse 7 and ends with the statement that the LORD forgives iniquity yet will by no means clear the guilty. Moses then bows down and worships, and the covenant is renewed (34:8–10).

Interpretation

• As the basis for covenant renewal: Many Old Testament commentaries note that this proclamation comes immediately after Israel broke the covenant. They therefore read the passage as locating the ground for the covenant's renewal not in the people's merit but in the character of God.
• In the doctrine of the divine attributes: Traditional doctrinal systems, including Reformed systematic theology, describe grace, mercy, and longsuffering as attributes (God's essential character) belonging to his goodness, and cite this verse as a principal proof text. The phrase rendered "slow to anger" (KJV "longsuffering") is a Hebrew idiom meaning literally "long of nose," signifying that anger does not flare up easily.
• A Christ-centered reading: Some interpreters connect "goodness and truth" (Hebrew hesed and emet) with "grace and truth" in John 1:14. This reading holds that the glory of God that Moses asked to see was revealed in Jesus Christ.
• A recurring confession within the Old Testament: The same formula reappears in Numbers 14:18; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalms 86:15, 103:8, and 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; and elsewhere. Jonah complains that he knew Nineveh would be forgiven precisely because of this character of God.
• In Jewish tradition: The wording of verses 6–7 is divided into the "Thirteen Attributes of Mercy," which are known to be recited in synagogue prayer, especially in the penitential prayers surrounding the Day of Atonement.

Debates and Issues

• Mercy and justice: The declaration of mercy in verse 6 is followed directly in verse 7 by the statement that God visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Interpreters differ on how to read the two statements together. Many commentaries see the contrast between "thousands" and "the third and fourth generation" as emphasizing that mercy is greater than judgment. The relationship to the principle of individual responsibility set forth in Deuteronomy 24:16 and Ezekiel 18 is also discussed.
• Relation to generational curse teaching: Proponents of generational curse theology appeal to verse 7 and to Exodus 20:5 in the Ten Commandments, arguing that curses passed down because of ancestors' sins must be broken. Critics counter, citing the declaration of mercy in verse 6 and Ezekiel 18, that this is an interpretation divorced from its context.
• Translation issues: Translations differ slightly on whether the repeated "LORD" in the Hebrew sentence belongs entirely to the content of the proclamation ("The LORD, The LORD") or whether the second "LORD" should be taken as the subject doing the proclaiming. In addition, hesed is rendered with a term meaning "lovingkindness" in the Korean Revised Version tradition, while other translations render it "love," "steadfast love," and the like.

Related Passages

• Exodus 34:7
• Psalm 103:8
• Joel 2:13
• Jonah 4:2
• John 1:14