Exodus 33:2
in Exodus 33And I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
KJV
And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
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This verse in Exodus 33
Commentary
6 notes on this verseI will send an angel - In Exo 23:20, God promises to send an angel to conduct them into the good land, in whom the name of God should be; that is, in whom God should dwell. See Clarke’s note on Exo 23:20 (note). Here he promises that an angel shall be their conductor; but as there is nothing particularly specified of him, it has been thought that an ordinary angel is intended, and not that Angel of the Covenant promised before. And this sentiment seems to be confirmed by the following verse.
This site's exposition
Depart, and go up hence
on Exodus 33:1-2
The march resumes and the land is still promised, since the oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is repeated in full after the calf. What God holds back is himself, and an angel is offered in his place, the same offer made at 23:20 and repeated at 32:34. The promise of Genesis 15 stands after chapter 32, and what is now in question is the company on the road.
This site's exposition
I will send an angel before you
The six nations were named at the bush in 3:8, where the LORD promised to bring the people up to this land. Adam Clarke reads this as an ordinary angel, distinct from the angel of 23:20 in whom the LORD's name dwelt. In verse 3 the LORD will not go with them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And I will send an angel before thee,....
Justice said, "Cut them off, and consume them." Mercy said, " How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? " Hos. xi. Well, says God, put off thy ornaments, that I may know what to do with thee; that is, "Put thyself into the posture of a penitent, that the dispute may be determined in thy favour, and mercy may rejoice against judgment,"
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
See Exo 3:8. For I will not go up in the midst of thee - The covenant on which the original promise Exo 23:20-23 was based had been broken by the people. Yahweh now therefore declared that though His Angel should go before Moses, He would withhold His own favoring presence. The nation should be put on a level with other nations, to lose its character as the people in special covenant with Yahweh (see the note at Exo 33:16). Thus were the people forcibly warned that His presence could prove a blessing to them only on condition of their keeping their part of the covenant Exo 33:3. If they failed in this, His presence would be to them “a consuming fire” (Deu 4:24; compare Exo 32:10).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
DEPART, GO UP HENCE. Scripture reads go up because one who goes towards the left side. That is, goes north.
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
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשָׁלַחְתִּ֥י | veshalachti | and I will send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| לְפָנֶ֖יךָ | lefaneikha | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מַלְאָ֑ךְ | malakh | an angel | H4397 → | 213 times |
| וְגֵֽרַשְׁתִּ֗י | vegerashti | and I will drive out | H1644 → | 46 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ | hakenaani | the Canaanite[s] | H3669 → | 73 times |
| הָֽאֱמֹרִ֔י | haemori | the Amorite[s] | H567 → | 87 times |
| וְהַֽחִתִּי֙ | vehachiti | and the Hittite[s] | H2850 → | 48 times |
| וְהַפְּרִזִּ֔י | vehapperizi | and the Perizzite[s] | H6522 → | 23 times |
| הַחִוִּ֖י | hachivi | the Hivite[s] | H2340 → | 25 times |
| וְהַיְבוּסִֽי׃ | vehayvusi | and the Jebusite[s] | H2983 → | 41 times |
וְשָׁלַחְתִּ֥יand I will send
veshalachtiH7971 →845 times
לְפָנֶ֖יךָ<to> before you
lefaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
מַלְאָ֑ךְan angel
malakhH4397 →213 times
וְגֵֽרַשְׁתִּ֗יand I will drive out
vegerashtiH1644 →46 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙the Canaanite[s]
hakenaaniH3669 →73 times
הָֽאֱמֹרִ֔יthe Amorite[s]
haemoriH567 →87 times
וְהַֽחִתִּי֙and the Hittite[s]
vehachitiH2850 →48 times
וְהַפְּרִזִּ֔יand the Perizzite[s]
vehapperiziH6522 →23 times
הַחִוִּ֖יthe Hivite[s]
hachiviH2340 →25 times
וְהַיְבוּסִֽי׃and the Jebusite[s]
vehayvusiH2983 →41 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
Exodus 23:20Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
it leads to
- Exodus 33:14
And the LORD answered, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
- Psalms 91:11
For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
- Exodus 32:34
Now go, lead the people to the place I described. Behold, My angel shall go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will punish them for their sin.”
- Exodus 14:19
And the angel of God, who had gone before the camp of Israel, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from before them and stood behind them,
- Isaiah 63:9
In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days…
- Exodus 33:14
Through
Exodus 3:8I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and…
it leads to
- Exodus 3:17
And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 50:24
Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac,…
- Genesis 15:18–21
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Exodus 3:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.