Exodus 33:15
in Exodus 33“If Your Presence does not go with us,” Moses replied, “do not lead us up from here.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
KJV
And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
⋯
This verse in Exodus 33
Commentary
3 notes on this verseIf thy presence go not - אם אין פניך הלכים im ein paneycha holechim, if thy faces do not go - if we have not manifestations of thy peculiar providence and grace, carry us not up hence. Without supernatural assistance, and a most particular providence, he knew that it would be impossible either to govern such a people, or support them in the desert; and therefore he wishes to be well assured on this head, that he may lead them up with confidence, and be able to give them the most explicit assurances of support and protection.
This site's exposition
If thy presence go not with me
on Exodus 33:15-16
Moses turns down the land on the terms offered and asks to be left where he stands rather than to go up with less. His reason at verse 16 is that the presence is the one mark that separates Israel from all the people that are upon the face of the earth, since a nation with a law and a land and no God in the middle of it looks like the rest. This is his fourth intervention in three chapters, after 32:11-14, 32:31-32 and the plea of verses 12 and 13, and at 34:9 he will make the stiff neck itself his reason for asking God to come along.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2811: “Moving” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
THIS is a prayer which has been used hundreds of times and which is found quite in place on many different occasions. Moses was in the wilderness when he uttered it. He was about to lead the people into Canaan, the land that flowed with milk and honey, yet he felt that he would rather continue to endure the inconveniences of the tent and of the wilderness, with the Presence of his God, than enjoy the rest and the fatness of the land of promise without Him.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
In the opinion of all commentators this means, “I myself will go.” And they brought a parallel expression to this from the verse, ‘upanecha’ (and thine own person) shalt go to battle. 478 II Samuel:11.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֑יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| אֵ֤ין | ʾein | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| פָּנֶ֙יךָ֙ | paneikha | presence your | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הֹלְכִ֔ים | holekhim | [is] going | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אַֽל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תַּעֲלֵ֖נוּ | taalenu | you bring up us | H5927 → | 890 times |
| מִזֶּֽה׃ | mizeh | from here | H2088 → | 1180 times |
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֑יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
אֵ֤יןnot
ʾeinH369 →789 times
פָּנֶ֙יךָ֙presence your
paneikhaH6440 →2123 times
הֹלְכִ֔ים[is] going
holekhimH1980 →1546 times
אַֽל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תַּעֲלֵ֖נוּyou bring up us
taalenuH5927 →890 times
מִזֶּֽה׃from here
mizehH2088 →1180 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 4:6Many ask, “Who can show us the good?” Shine the light of Your face upon us, O LORD.
it leads to
- Psalms 80:19
Restore us, O LORD God of Hosts; cause Your face to shine upon us, that we may be saved.
- Numbers 6:26
may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’
- Psalms 80:19
Through
Exodus 34:9“O Lord,” he said, “if I have indeed found favor in Your sight, my Lord, please go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our iniquity and sin, and take us as…
it leads to
- Psalms 33:12
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His inheritance!
- Deuteronomy 32:9
But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance.
- Psalms 94:14
For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage.
- Jeremiah 10:16
The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.
- Exodus 33:13–17
Now if indeed I have found favor in Your sight, please let me know Your ways, that I may know You and find favor in Your sight. Remember that this nation is Your people.”
- Psalms 33:12
Through
Exodus 33:3Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise, I might destroy you on the way.”
it leads to
- Exodus 32:9–10
The LORD also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people.
- Exodus 32:9–10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2811: “Moving” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.