Pgs. 545-561

Ch. 30-34

SECTION XXI.

KI THISSA.

And the Lord spake unto Mosheh, saying, When thou takest the sum of the sons of Israel according to their number, they shall give every man the ransom of their souls before the Lord when thou numberest them; that there may not be among them the calamity of death when thou dost number them. [JERUSALEM. When thou takest the head of the number of the sums of the sons of Israel.] This valuation was shown to Mosheh in the mountain as with a denarius of fire, and thus spake He to him: So shall every one who passeth to the numberment give a half shekel of the coin of the sanctuary: (a half shekel is twenty manin:) the half shekel is to be the separation before the Lord. Every one who passeth to the numbering, from a son of twenty years and upwards, shall give the seperation before the Lord. He who is rich shall not add to, and he who is poor shall diminish from, the half shekel in giving the seperation before the Lord, to atone for your souls. And thou shalt take the silver of the ransom from the sons of Israel, and apply it to the work of the tabernacle of ordinance; that it may be for the sons of Israel for a good memorial before the Lord, as a ransom for your souls.

And the Lord spake to Mosheh, saying, And thou shalt make a laver of brass, and its foundation of brass, for purification; and shalt set it between the tabernacle of ordinance and the altar, and put water therein. And they shall take from it for a cleansing ablution. And Aharon and his sons shall sanctify their hands and their feet with its water; at the time of their entering into the tabernacle of ordinance they shall sanctify with water, that they die not by the fiery flame: and it shall be to them an everlasting statute, to him and to his sons in their generations.

And the Lord spake to Mosheh, saying, And thou also take to thee the first aromatics, choice myrrh, in weight five hundred minas, and sweet cinnamon of half the weight, two hundred and fifty minas, and sweet calamus in weight two hundred and fifty minas and cassia in weight five hundred minas of shekels, in the shekel of the sanctuary, and olive oil a vase full, in weight twelve logas, a loga for each tribe of the twelve tribes. [JERUSALEM. And thou take to thee the chief goodly spices, choice myrrh, in weight five hundred minas of shekels.] And thou shalt make of it a holy anointing oil, perfumed with perfume, the work of the perfumer, of compounded perfumes : a holy anointing oil shall it be. And with it anoint thou the tabernacle of ordinance, and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its vessels, and the candelabrum and its vessels, and the altar of sweet incense, and the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its foundation, and consecrate them, and they shall be most holy. Every one of the priests who approacheth to them shall be sanctified; but of the rest of the tribes, (whoever toucheth them) shall be consumed by the fiery flame from before the Lord. But Aharon and his sons anoint thou, and consecrate them to minister before Me. And speak thou to the sons of Israel, saying, This shall be a holy anointing oil before Me unto your generations. Upon the flesh of man it may not be poured, and the like of it you shall not make to resemble it; unto you it shall be most sacred. The man who compoundeth the like of it, or putteth it upon the unconsecrated who are not of the sons of Aharon, shall be destroyed from his people.

And the Lord said to Mosheh, Take to thee spices, balsam, and onycha, and galbanum, choice spices, and pure frankincense, weight for weight shall it be. [JERUSALEM. Balsam, spikenard‑myrrh, and galbanum.] And confect therewith a fragrant incense, the work of the compounder, a pure and sacred mixture. [JERUSALEM. Commixed.] And beat, and make it small, and of it some shalt thou put before the testimony in the tabernacle of ordinance, where I will appoint My Word to be with thee. Most sacred shall it be to you. And of the sweet incense thou shalt make, the like shall not be made among you; it shall be sacred to you before the Lord: the man who maketh the like of it to smell thereto shall be destroyed from his people.

XXXI. And the Lord Spake with Mosheh, saying, Look, Mosheh, I have called by name the good Bezalel:[1] bar Uri bar Hur, of the tribe of Jehudah, and have fulfilled him with the Spirit of holiness from before the Lord, in wisdom and in intelligence, in knowledge, and in all workmanship; to think in their thoughts so as to work (perfectly) in gold, and in silver, and in brass; and in the cutting of jewels for their insetting, and in the carving of woods, to make all manner of work. [JERUSALEM. See, Mosheh, behold, I have anointed and called by a good name Bezalel.] And, behold, I have appointed with him Ahaliab bar Achisamah, of the tribe of Dan; and in the heart of every one wise hearted I have added the Spirit of wisdom, that they may perform all whatever I have commanded thee. The tabernacle of ordinance, and the ark of the testimony and the mercy seat which is over it; and all the vessels of the tabernacle; and the table, and all its vessels; and the altar of sweet incense, and the altar of burnt offering, and all its vessels; and the laver, and its foot; and the vestments for ministration, the holy vestments of Aharon the priest, and the vestments of his sons for ministry; and the oil of anointing; and the sweet incense for the sanctuary; even all whatever I have commanded thee, they shall make.

And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying, Also, speak thou with the sons of Israel, saying, Ye shall keep the day of My Sabbaths indeed; for it is a sign between My Word and you, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy to you; whosoever profaneth it, dying he shall die; whoso doeth work therein, that man shall be destroyed from his people. Six days ye shall do work; but the seventh day is Sabbath, the holy Sabbath before the Lord. Whoso doeth work upon the Sabbath, dying he shall die, by the casting of stones. The sons of Israel shall therefore keep the Sabbath, to perform the delightful exercises of the Sabbath; (it is) for your generations an everlasting statute; between My Word and the sons of Israel it is a sign for ever. For in six days the Lord created and perfected the heavens and the earth; and in the seventh day He rested and refreshed.

And He gave to Mosheh, when He had finished to speak with him in Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of sapphire‑stone from the throne of glory, weighing forty sein, inscribed by the finger of the Lord.

XXXII. But the people saw that Mosheh delayed to come down from the mount, and the people gathered together unto Aharon, when they saw that the time he had appointed to them had passed; and Satana had come, and caused them to err, and perverted their hearts with pride. And they said to him, Arise, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Mosheh the man who brought us up from the land of Mizraim, he may have been consumed in the mountain by the fire which flameth from before the Lord, (and) we know not what hath befallen him in his end. And Aharon said to them, Deliver the golden rings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me. And their wives denied themselves to give their ornaments to their husbands; and all the people at once delivered up the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aharon. And he took them from their hands, and bound them in a wrapper, and wrought it with a tool, having made a molten calf; and he said, These, Israel, are thy gods, which brought thee forth from the land of Mizraim. For Aharon had seen Hur slain before him, and was afraid; and he builded an altar before him, and Aharon cried with doleful voice, and said, Let there be a feast before the Lord to‑morrow, of the sacrifice of the slain of these adversaries who have denied their Lord, and have changed the glory of the Shekinah of the Lord for this calf. [JERUSALEM. And Aharon saw Hur slain before him, and was afraid; and he builded an altar before him, and Aharon cried and said, A feast.] And on the day following, they arose, and sacrificed burnt-offerings; and the people sat around to eat and to drink, and rose up to disport themselves with strange service. [JERUSALEM. And they rose up to disport themselves with strange service.]

And the Lord said to Mosheh, Descend from the greatness of thine honour; for I have not given thee greatness except on account of Israel. But now thy people, whom thou didst bring up from the land of Mizraim, have corrupted their works; quickly have they declined from the way which I taught them in Sinai, (that) ye shall not make yourselves image, or figure, or any similitude; for now have they made to them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and sacrificed to it, and proclaimed before it, These are thy gods, Israel, which brought thee up from the land of Mizraim. And the Lord said to Mosheh, The pride of this people is manifest before Me, and, behold, it is a people of hard nack. And now, cease from thy prayer, and cry not for them before Me; for I will let My anger burn like strong fire against them, and consume them, and I will make thee a great people.                                    

And Mosheh was shaken with fear, and began to pray before the Lord his God; and he said,wherefore should Thy wrath, O Lord, prevail against Thy people whom Thou didst bring up from the land of Mizraim, with great power and with a mighty hand. Why should the Mizraee who are remaining say, It was for evil that He led them out, to kill them among the mountains of Tabor and Hermon, and Sirion and Sinai, and to destroy them from the face of the earth? Turn from Thy strong anger, and let there be relenting before Thee over the evil that Thou hast threatened to do unto Thy people. Remember Abraham, and Izhak, and Israel, Thy servants, to whom Thou didst swear in Thy Word and didst say to them, I will multiply your children as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have told you will I give to your sons, and they shall inherit for ever. And there was relenting before the Lord over the evil which He had thought to do unto His people. And Mosheh turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hands, inscribed on their two sides, here and there were they inscribed. And the tables were the work of the Lord, and the writing was the Lord's writing, inscribed and manifested upon the tables.

And Jehoshua heard the voice of the people exulting with joy before the calf. [JERUSALEM. Doing evil.] And he said to Mosheh, There is the voice of battle in the camp. But he said, It is not the voice of the strong, who are victorious in battle, nor the voice of the weak, who are overcome by their adversaries in the fight; but the voice of them who serve with strange service, and who make merriment before it, that I hear. [JERUSALEM. The voice of them who praise in strange service.] And it was when Mosheh came near the camp, and saw the calf, and the instruments of music in the hands of the wicked, who were dancing and bowing before it, and Satana among them dancing and leaping before the people, the wrath of Mosheh was suddenly kindled, and he cast the tables from his hands, and brake them at the foot of the mountain;- the holy writing that was on them, however, flew, and was carried away into the air of the heavens;‑ and he cried, and said, Woe upon the people who heard at Sinai from the mouth of the Holy One, Thou shalt not make to thyself an image, or figure, or any likeness,- and yet, at the end of forty days, make a useless molten calf! And he took the calf which they had made, and burned it in fire, and bruised it into powder, and cast (it) upon the face of the water of the stream, and made the sons of Israel drink; and whoever had given thereto any trinket of gold, the sign of it came forth upon his nostrils. And Mosheh said unto Aharon, What did this people to thee, that thou hast brought upon them a great sin? And Aharon said, Let not my lord's anger be strong: thou knowest the people, that they are the children of the Just; but evil concupiscence hath made them to err: and they said to me, Make us gods that may go before us; for this Mosheh, the man who brought us up from the land of Mizraim, is consumed in the mountain, by the flaming fire from before the Lord, and we know not what hath been done to him in his end. And I said to them, Whoever hath gold, let him deliver and give it to me; and I cast it into the fire, and Satana entered into it, and there came out of it the similitude of this calf! And Mosheh saw that the people were naked; for they had been stripped by the hand of Aharon of the holy crown which was upon their head, inscribed and beautified with the great and glorious Name; and that their evil report would go forth among the nations of the earth, and they would get to them an evil name unto their generations. [JERUSALEM. And Mosheh saw the people that they were uncovered; for they had been stripped of the golden crown which was upon their head, whereon the Name had been engraven and set forth, at Mount Horeb.] And Mosheh stood in the sanhedrin gate of the camp, and said, Who feareth the Lord, let him come to me. And there gathered to him all the sons of Levi. And he said to them, Thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, Whosoever hath sacrificed to the idols of the Gentiles, let him be slain with the sword. And now, go, pass through from the gate of the sanhedrin to the gate of the house of judgment, in the camp, and with prayer before the Lord that He will forgive you this sin, take vengeance upon the wicked workers of strange worship and slay, even a man his brother, and a man his companion, and a man his neighbour. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Mosheh; and of the people who had the mark in their nostrils there fell that day by the slaughter of the sword about the number of three thousand men.

And Mosheh said, Offer your oblation for the shedding of the blood that is upon your hands, and make atonement for yourselves before the Lord, because you have smitten a man his son or his brother, and that you may bring a blessing upon you this day. And it came to pass on the day following, that Mosheh said to the people, You have sinned a great sin; but now I will go up and will pray before the Lord, if haply I may obtain forgiveness of your sin. And Mosheh returned, and prayed before the Lord, and said, I supplicate of Thee, Thou Lord of all the world, before whom the darkness is as the light! Now have this people sinned a great sin, and have made to them gods of gold; but now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin, forgive; but if not, blot me, I pray, from the book of the just, in the midst of which Thou hast written my name. And the Lord said to Mosheh, It is not right that I should blot out thy name; but whosoever sinneth before Me, him will I blot from My book. But now, go lead the people to the place of which I have told thee; behold, My angel shall proceed before thee; but in the day of My visitation I will visit upon them their sin. And the Word of the Lord plagued the people, because they had bowed themselves to the calf that Aharon had made.

XXXIII. And the Lord spake with Mosheh, Go, remove thee hence, lest My anger grow hot against the people, and I consume them. Therefore proceed thou, and the people whom thou didst bring up out of the land of Mizraim, (to that land) which I have covenanted unto Abraham, to Izhak, and to Jakob, saying, Unto thy sons will I give it. And I will appoint before thee an angel, and by his hand will cast out the Kenaanaee, Amoraee, Hittaee, and Pherizaee, Hivaee, and Jebusaee; to the land producing milk and honey. For the Shekinah of My Glory cannot go up among you, nor My Majesty dwell in the habitation of their camp, because thou art a hard‑necked people, lest I destroy you in the way.

And the people heard this evil word, and mourned; and no man put on his accustomed ornaments,[2] which had been given them at Mount Sinai, and on which was inscribed and set forth the great and holy Name. And the Lord said to Mosheh, Speak to the sons of Israel, Ye are a hard‑necked people: were the glory of My Shekinah to go up with you, in one little hour I should destroy you. And now put thy accustomed ornaments from thee, that it may be manifest before Me what I may do to thee. And the sons of Israel were deprived of their usual adornments, on which was written and set forth the great Name; and which had been given them, a gift from Mount Horeb. And Mosheh took and hid them in his tabernacle of instruction. But the tabernacle he took away from thence, and spread it without the camp, and removed it from the camp of the people to the distance of two thousand cubits; and it was called the Tabernacle of the House of Instruction: and it was that when any one turned by repentance with a true heart before the Lord, he went forth to the Tabernacle of the House of Instruction that was without the camp, to confess and pray for the pardon of his sins; and praying he was forgiven. And it was when Mosheh passed forth from the camp to go to the tabernacle that all the wicked people arose, and stood, every man at the door of his tent, and looked with the evil eye after Mosheh, when he entered the tabernacle. And it came to pass when Mosheh had gone into the tabernacle, the column of the glorious Cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle; and the Word of the Lord spake with Mosheh. And all the people beheld the column of the Cloud standing at the door of the tabernacle, and the whole people at once rose up and worshipped towards the tabernacle, standing every man at the door of his tent.

And the Lord spake with Mosheh word for word,- the voice of the word was heard, but the Majesty of the Presence was not seen,- in the way that a man converseth with his companion: and after the speaking voice had ascended, he returned to the camp, and delivered the word to the congregation of Israel. But his minister, Jehoshua bar Nun, a young man, removed not from the tabernacle. [JERUSALEM. But his minister, Jehoshua bar Nun, a young man, passed not from within the tabernacle.]

And Mosheh said before the Lord, Lo, what hast Thou said to me, Take this people up? but Thou hast not made me to know whom Thou wilt send with me. By Thy Word Thou hast said, I have ordained thee with a goodly name, and thou hast found favour before Me. But now I pray, if I have found mercy before Thee, make me to know the way of Thy goodness, to understand Thy mercy when in Thy dealing with just men it falleth to them as it (falleth) to the guilty, and to the guilty as to the just; but, on the contrary how it (indeed) befalleth the just according to their righteousness and the guilty according to their guilt: that I may find mercy before Thee, and it be made manifest by Thee that this people is Thy people. And He said, Await, until the face of My displeasure shall have gone away, and afterward I will give thee rest. And he said to Him, If Thy wrath go not from us, suffer us not to go up from hence under the frown of Thy displeasure. In what will it be known that I have found mercy before Thee but in the converse of Thy Shekinah with us, that distinguishing signs may be wrought for us, in the withholdment of the Spirit of prophecy from the nations, and by Thy speaking by the Holy Spirit to me and to Thy people, that we may be distinguished from all the peoples upon the face of the earth? And the Lord said to Mosheh, This thing also which thou hast spoken of, will I do; for thou hast found mercy before Me, and I have ordained thee with a goodly name. And he said, Show now unto me Thy glory: but He said, Behold, I will make all the measure of My good­ness pass before thee, and I will give utterance in the good name of the Word of the Lord before thee; and I will have compassion upon whom I see it right to have compassion, and will be merciful to whom I see it right to have mercy. [JERUSALEM. And He said, Behold, I will make all the measure of My goodness to pass before thee, and I will give utterance in the Name of the Lord before thee, and I will have compassion upon whom I see it right to have compassion, and will be merciful upon whom I see it right to have mercy.] And He said, Thou canst not see the visage of My face; for no man can see Me and abide alive. And the Lord said, Behold, a place is prepared before Me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock. And it shall be that when the glory of My Shekinah passeth before thee, I will put thee in a cavern of the rock, and will overshadow thee with My Word until the time that I have passed by. [JERUSALEM. And I will overshadow with My hand.] And I will make the host of angels who stand and minister before Me to pass by, and thou shalt see the handborder of the tephilla of My glorious Shekinah; but the face of the glory of My Shekinah thou canst not be able to see. [JERUSALEM. And I will cause the hosts of angels who stand and minister before Me to pass by, and will make known the oracle; for the glory of My Shekinah thou art not able to behold.

XXXIV. And the Lord said to Mosheh, Hew thee two tables of stone, as the former, and write upon the tables the words that were upon the former tables which thou didst break; and be ready in the morn; and at morning ascend thou Mount Sinai and stand there before Me on the summit of the mountain. No man shall ascend with thee, nor any man be seen on all the mountain, nor sheep, nor oxen grazing on the side of the mount. And he hewed two tables of stone like the former: and Mosheh arose in the morning and ascended Mount Sinai, as the Lord had instructed him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.

And the Lord revealed Himself in the cloud of the glory of His Shekinah, and Mosheh stood with Him there; and Mosheh called on the Name of the Word of the Lord. And the Lord made His Shekinah to pass by before his face, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long‑suffering, and nigh in mercies, abounding to exercise compassion and truth; keeping mercy and bounty for thousands of generations, absolving and remitting guilt, passing by rebellions, and covering sins; pardoning them who convert unto the law, but holding not guiltless in the great day of judg­ment those who will not convert; visiting the sins of fathers upon rebellious children upon the third and upon the fourth generation. And Mosheh made haste and bowed himself upon the earth and worshipped. [JERUSALEM. And the glory of the Shekinah of the Lord passed by before him; and Mosheh prayed, and said, Lord, Lord God, merciful and gracious, slow to be angry but nigh to be merciful, and abounding to exercise kindness and truth; keeping goodness for thousands of generations; absolving and remitting sin and transgressions, but not to acquit the guilty in the great day of judgment; and remembering the sins of wicked fathers upon rebellious children upon the third and upon the fourth generation. And Mosheh hastened and prostrated himself upon the earth, and gave thanks and glorified.]

And he said, If now I have found mercy before the Lord let the Shekinah of the Glory of the Lord go among us; for it is a people of hard neck; but pardon Thou our guilt and our sin, and give us the inheritance of the land which Thou didst covenant unto our fathers, and change us not to become an alien people. And He said, Behold, I make covenant that I will not change this people to become an alien people; nevertheless from thee shall proceed a multitude of the righteous; and with all thy people will I do wondrous things in the time when they go into captivity by the rivers of Bavel: for I will bring them up from thence, and make them dwell from within the river Sambation; and like wonders shall not be created among all the inhabitants of the earth, nor among any nation. And all the people among whom thou wilt dwell shall see in that day the work of the Lord; for terrible is the thing that I will do with thee.                                                                 

Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out from before thee the Amoraee, and Kenaanaee, and Hittaee, and Pherizaee, and Hivaee, and Jebusaee. Take heed to thee, lest thou strike covenants with the inhabitants of that land into which thou art to enter; that it may not be a stumbling‑block unto thee. But thou shalt rather destroy their high places, and break their statues, and cut down their groves; for it is not lawful for thee to worship other gods; for the Lord is zealous and avengeful; His Name is God, the Zealous and the Avenger. Lest thou strike covenant with the dwellers in the land, and they draw thee astray after their idols, and they sacrifice to their idols, and invite thee, and thou eat of the sacrifices of their idols and thou take of their daughters for thy sons, and when their daughters wander after their idols they make thy sons also go astray after their idols. [JERUSALEM. And they cause to err.] Molten gods you shall not make to you.

You shall observe the feast of the unleavened. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened (cakes), as I have commanded thee, in the time of the month Abiba; for in the month of Abiba you came out free from Mizraim. Whatever openeth the womb is Mine; and of all cattle thou art to consecrate the males, of oxen, and of sheep. But the firstling of an ass thou mayest redeem with a lamb; but if thou redeem him not, thou shalt cut him off with the blade. And each firstborn of thy sons thou must redeem; and they shall not appear before Me empty [JERUSALEM. All firstlings opening the womb thou shalt sanctify unto My Name; all the firstborn of your males, the first that breaketh. through the womb, of oxen and of sheep. 20. My people of the house of Israel, it shall not be allowed you to see the Lord your God empty of any precept.]

Six days shalt thou work, and in the seventh day have rest; in ploughing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. [JERUSALEM. In ploughing.] The feast of weeks also shalt thou make to thee in the time of the firsts of the wheat harvest; and the feast of ingathering at the conclusion of the ear. Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before the Master of the world, the Lord God of Israel. For I will drive out the nations from before thee, and enlarge thy borders; and no man shall covet thy land at the time of thy going up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year.

You shall not sacrifice the victim of My passover before you have done away with leaven; nor suffer the fat of the paschal sacrifice to remain about the altar till the morning. [JERUSALEM. You shall not sacrifice with leaven the blood of the paschal victim, nor suffer the flesh which you sacrifice on the night of the feast of the first of Pascha to remain from the evening till the morning.] The best of the firstfruits of your land ye shall bring to the sanctuary of the Lord your God. You are not allowed to boil or to eat flesh and milk mixed together, lest My displeasure be kindled against you, and the fruit of your trees, with the grapes in their branches and their leaves, be laid waste together [JERUSALEM. The first (best) of the firstfruits of your produce ye shall bring to the sanctuary of the Lord your God. My people of the house of Israel, ye shall not be allowed to boil or to eat flesh and milk mixed together.]

And the Lord said to Mosheh, Write thou these words; for upon the expression of these words have I stricken My covenant with thee and with the people of Israel. And he was there before the Lord forty days and forty nights; he ate no bread nor did he drink water; and he wrote upon the other tables the words of the covenant, the Ten Words which had been written upon the former tables.

And it was at the time when Mosheh came down from the mountain of Sinai, with the two tables of the testimony in the hand of Mosheh, in his descending from the mount, that Mosheh knew not that the visage (form) of his face shone with the splendour which had come upon him from the brightness of the glory of the Lord's Shekinah in the time of His speaking with him. [JERUSALEM. That the beams of his face did shine.] And Aharon and all the sons of Israel saw Mosheh, and, behold, the glory of the form of his face shined, and they were afraid to come near to him. And Mosheh called to them and Aharon, and all the princes who had been appointed chiefs in the congregation returned, and Mosheh conversed with them. And afterward drew nigh all the sons of Israel, and he taught them all that the Lord had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. And when Mosheh had finished to speak with them, he put over the form of his face a veil. [JERUSALEM. A cloth.] And when Mosheh went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he removed the veil from his countenance until he came forth; and he came forth and spake to the sons of Israel what had been commanded. And the sons of Israel saw the countenance of Mosheh, that the glory of the form of Mosheh's face was shining. And Mosheh replaced the veil upon his face until the time of his going in to speak with Him.


[1] Or, "I have called by a good name Bezalel."

[2] Or, "appointed arms."