The conversation begins with Moshe speaking to G-d, and saying, “You say to me, bring up this people, yet You have not made known to me whom You will send with me. And you have said, I know you by name, and you have found favor in My eyes,” 33:12, Alter translation, 2004, p. 504. The phrase in the first half of 33:12, “yet You have not made known to me whom You will send with me” was Moshe referring to G-d's statement in 33:1-3, that after the sin of the golden calf, G-d agreed to send a malakh to accompany the people to the land of Israel, but G-d and/ or the glory of G-d would not accompany the malakh and the people. This statement by G-d is the background to the conversation in 33:12-19.
What was the point of the first half of 33:12, “You say to me, bring up this people, yet You have not made known to me whom You will send with me” or why did Moshe start the conversation by stating that G-d had not made known to him whom G-d would send? My guess is that Moshe was pointing out that since G-d had not told him who was to be the malakh who would accompany the people, this indicated that the decision recorded in 33:1-3 to send a malakh “without G-d” was not final. Accordingly, Moshe could then make an effort to rescind the decision since Moshe wanted G-d’s glory to accompany the people in their travels in the desert, as he stated in the end of the conversation in 34:9.
In the second half of 33:12, Moshe recalled that G-d told him, G-d’s name, which is recorded in 3:14 and 6:3, and that G-d had stated that Moshe had found favor in G-d’s eyes. This last statement is never recorded prior to this conversation, but was a reasonable assumption by Moshe since G-d had chosen Moshe to be His messenger and Moshe had gone up to Mount Sinai to speak to G-d.
33:13 then records that Moshe continued to speak and said, “And now, if, pray, I have found favor in Your eyes (the end of 33:12), let me know, pray, your ways, that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your eyes. And see, for this nation is Your people,” Alter translation, 2004, p. 504.
In 33:13, Moshe began by stating that if his assumption in 33:12, that he had found favor in G-d’s eyes, was correct, then he asked to know G-d’s ways since knowledge of G-d’s ways would lead him to know G-d, and knowing G-d could cause G-d to look favorably on him and/ or the people. It is interesting that Moshe did not just think that G-d would look favorably on a person based on a person following the laws, but rather Moshe thought that for G-d to look favorably on a person, something extra was needed and that was to “know” G-d in some way. Thus, the Rambam (Moreh 1:54) quotes this verse to argue that the crucial aspect of religion is knowledge of G-d and not praying and fasting. Also, Moshe seems to have been asking for some knowledge of G-d that he did not learn when he was on Mount Sinai for forty days.
One question concerning 33:13 is what are G-d’s ways? I have found six different suggestions to what Moshe meant by the phrase G-d’s ways.
One explanation is from Talmud (Berakhot 7a) is that Moshe was asking about the theodicy question. This is such a basic question in religion that maybe knowing the answer to this question would lead people to have a better knowledge of G-d.
Rashi (on 33:13) varies the approach in the Talmud and suggests that Moshe’s request to know G-d’s ways was that Moshe was asking what is the reward of a person who finds favor in G-d? This request is less significant of a question than the theodicy question, and it is unclear why Moshe would want to know about the rewards for the righteous, unless Rashi understood that Moshe was asking about the rewards in the next life. Maybe Rashi thought that Moshe thought that if a person knew the rewards for fulfilling the mitzvot, then more people would follow the Torah.
Rashbam (on 33:13) suggests that Moshe was asking G-d to show him the (best?) way to get to the land of Israel. This approach continues Moshe’s statement in 33:12 that G-d had not told him who was to accompany him, and now, according to the Rashbam, Moshe was saying whoever would accompany the people, still Moshe wanted G-d to tell him the way to the land of Israel. Or, maybe Moshe was asking G-d to accompany the people and not a malakh. This request was partially fulfilled in the second half of 33:14. This approach makes Moshe’s request to know G-d’s ways limited to the circumstances of the people living in the desert, and it is unclear how it relates to the remainder of 33:13.
A fourth approach, which I believe is the most popular approach to 33:13, is from the Bekhor Shor (on 33:12, Hizkuni on 33:12 quoting the Bekhor Shor, also Rambam, Moreh I:54) who explains that G-d’s ways is the thirteen middot, attributes of G-d recorded in 34:6,7. With this understanding, Moshe’s request was fulfilled in 34:6,7, and the idea would be that by knowing these attributes a person would have a better knowledge of G-d. Furthermore, the Ran (derashot 4) suggests that Moshe wanted to know G-d’s ways (the 13 middot) in order that Moshe would be able to pray more effectively for the people if they sinned, and then if G-d’s glory would accompany the people, and the people sinned, the Glory would not necessarily kill all the people. Accordingly, with this approach, the ability to pray more effectively would then allow G-d’s glory to be within the malakh who would accompany the people
A fifth suggestion is from the Ibn Ezra (in his introduction to the Decalogue on 20:1) that knowing G-d’s way is to understand astronomy or maybe all of science. The idea here is that by knowing science, then this would lead to a knowledge of G-d.
Seforno (on 33:13) offers a sixth suggestions that it is not the knowledge of science which leads to a knowledge of G-d but a knowledge of philosophical question concerning G-d. For example, Soforno suggests that Moshe was asking G-d to explain how G-d can know the future and yet there still be free will.
With regard to the first, second, fifth and sixth suggestions, it is not recorded that G-d answered Moshe’s request. According to these suggestions, one would have to say that the conversation moved on to other issues.
My guess is that the phrase G-d’s ways refer to how G-d decides to forgive or to punish people, which varies suggestions one and four, and is referred to in the second half of 33:19. Maybe the reason why Moshe was asking this question at this time was because previously in 32:32 Moshe had asked G-d to forgive the people for the sin of the golden calf and G-d had rejected his plea, 32:33,34. Thus, in 33:13, Moshe was asking G-d’s ways to know how and when G-d will forgive the people or punish people. Also, similar to the Ran’s idea with regard to Moshe’s request to learn the 13 middot, Moshe thought that if he had this knowledge of when G-d would forgive or punish the people, then this would lead G-d to returning the glory of G-d to be with the people. Note, this suggestion differs from suggestion four since one does not have to assume that Moshe had known before his question that there existed some specific attributes of G-d as the fourth approach seems to imply.
A second question concerning 33:13 is that in the second half of 33:13, Moshe requested to find favor in G-d (Your eyes), but this request seems superfluous after Moshe had already stated in the end of 33:12 that he knew that G-d had found favor with him. Maybe Moshe was asking that if G-d taught Moshe G-d’s ways, then Moshe would be able to find more favor in G-d’s eyes? Maybe in 33:13, Moshe was asking to find ways to find favor in G-d in the future. Maybe, the answer is that in the second half of 33:13, Moshe was trying to learn about G-d’s way to enable other people to find favor in G-d’s eyes, and this is why in the end of the verse Moshe recalls that the Jewish people are G-d’s people. Also, in 33:16, Moshe refers to the people wanting to be able to ascertain that they had found favor in G-d’s eyes.
If in 33:13, Moshe was requesting that G-d look favorably on the people, then maybe the request was to have the covenant renewed based on the idea that the sin of the golden calf led to the breaking of the covenant. I am not sure if the sin of the golden calf led to the breaking of the covenant, and even if it did, already by 32:14, it seems that G-d had agreed to re-new the covenant.
Other possibilities, independent of whether the covenant had been renewed or not, are that maybe the request by Moshe for G-d to look favorably on the people was an attempt to renew or improve the relationship between G-d and the Jewish people after the sin of the golden calf or to compensate for G-d not being with the people on their way to the land of Israel? Or, maybe Moshe thought that if G-d would look favorably upon him or the people, then G-d would return G-d's glory to be within the malakh who was to lead the people in the desert. Or, maybe Moshe thought that if G-d looked favorably upon him or the people, then G-d would help him or the people in their march to the land of Israel? With this last possibility, the goal was to replace in some way the loss of G-d’s glory who would not be within the malakh that was to lead the people.
G-d responded to Moshe, and said, “My face will go and I will grant you rest,” 33:14 (variation of Alter, 2004, p. 504 translation). What does the term G-d’s face mean? In 33:18, Moshe asked to see G-d’s glory and G-d said that no person can see His face, 33:20. It seems that G-d’s face is referring to G-d’s glory and this is Rabbenu Saadiah Gaon’s (on 33:14) explanation of the term. With this idea, we understand that in 33:12,13, Moshe was asking, in an indirect manner, for G-d’s glory to go with the people.
Is this statement “My face (or glory) will go” a positive or negative response? I believe that many people understand it in a positive manner. The Ran (see middle of derashot haRan 4) explains that G-d’s response was partially positive that G-d was saying that He would not go with the people in the desert but He would join them in the land of Israel. I think from Moshe’s statement in the beginning of 33:15, “If your face does not go,” we see that G-d’s statement in 33:14 was not a positive response since G-d was not agreeing to allow His glory to be within the people. Furthermore, from Moshe’s request in 34:9, that G-d should “walk” with the people, we see that G-d had not agreed to accompany the people.
The second half (the last two words) of 33:14 records “I (G-d) will grant you rest, va-ha-neechoti.” What do these words mean? One approach is that this phrase can be understood as “I (G-d) will lighten your burden” (JPS translation, in Sarna, 1991, p. 213). Tigay (2004, p. 188) varies this and writes that the phrase means “I (G-d) will deliver you to safety.”
What then is the meaning of 33:14? My guess is that G-d was saying that G-d’s glory would go in the front of the people to help guide the people to the land of Israel which would ease Moshe’s concern in 33:12,13 that G-d was only sending a malakh and not G-d’s glory to help take the people to the land of Israel. This answer would be addressing Moshe’s request to know G-d’s ways according to the Rashbam’s understanding of the phrase, but according to the other opinions in 33:13, in 33:14, G-d was not addressing Moshe’s request to know G-d’s ways, but responded to Moshe’s underlying concern of the need for assistance to bring the people to the land of Israel.
33:15,16 record Moshe’s response to G-d statement in 33:14. The verses state, “And he (Moshe) said to G-d: If your face does not go, do not take us up from here. And how then, will it be known that I have found favor in Your eyes, I and your people. Will it not be by Your going with us, that I and Your people may be distinguished from every other people that is on the face of the earth?” variation of Alter translation, 2004, pp. 504,505.
In this response, Moshe does not seem to be referring to his request from 33:13 to know G-d’s ways, but instead Moshe is responding to G-d’s statement in 33:14 that G-d’s glory would be present, albeit in front of the people. In 33:15,16, Moshe was not happy with G-d’s offer. Moshe wanted the glory of G-d to return and be with the malakh and the people, and not in front and separate from the people.
Why did Moshe want G-d's glory to accompany the people if the glory of G-d was so dangerous and could wipe out the people, as recorded in 33:3,5? The answer is from 33:16 where Moshe gave two reasons for desiring the glory of G-d. One reason is that the glory of G-d would enable the people to know that G-d had found favor with them. Presumably this would occur by the people seeing the glory of G-d and the glory of G-d not destroying them, as for example in 40:34. Two, its appearance would make the people distinct from all other people. Apparently, Moshe though that these reasons were worth the risk that G-d’s glory could destroy the people.
33:17 records G-d’s response that “G-d said to Moshe, this thing too, which you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in My eyes, and I have known you by name,” variation of Alter translation, 2004, p. 505. What did G-d agree to? Also, this agreement is referred to as being a second agreement, the word too, what was G-d’s first agreement? My guess is that G-d's previous agreement to Moshe's request was for G-d not to kill all the people for the sin of the golden calf, 32:14. What is the second agreement here?
One possibility could be that G-d agreed to Moshe’s request in 33:15,16, to have G-d’s glory be within the people, but from Moshe's request in 34:9 for G-d to accompany the people, we see that G-d had not agreed to Moshe's request for the glory of G-d to return, as otherwise Moshe would not have had to ask another time. Furthermore, if G-d had agreed to have G-d’s glory within the people, why would Moshe need to ask to see G-d glory in 33:18?
A second possibility to what was G-d’s agreement, following the Bekhor Shor, Hizkuni and Ralbag (all on 33:17), is that in 33:17, G-d was acceding to Moshe’s request in 33:13, to show Moshe His ways, and these commentators follow the approach that G-d’s ways are the attributes of G-d.
Rashbam suggests that in 33:17, G-d was agreeing to Moshe’s request in 33:16 to make the people distinguished. This approach connects G-d’s response to Moshe’s most recent request in 33:16 and not to a request from four verses beforehand (33:13). This agreement, according to this approach, is referred to again in 34:10, and was fulfilled when Moshe’s face radiated, 34:29,30. With this idea, in 33:17 G-d agreed to Moshe’s request to make the people special but changed how they were to be distinguished. Moshe intended for the glory of G-d be with the people to signal that the people were distinguished, while G-d was going to do a special miracle with Moshe. Yet, as Moshe’s face was changed due to Moshe’s partial ability to see G-d’s glory in 34:6, then the people also got to see G-d’s glory in a very, very indirect way.
33:18 records that Moshe then asked to see G-d's glory. Maybe once G-d had not agreed to Moshe’s request for G-d’s glory to be within the people, then Moshe was asking at least to let him see G-d’s glory. This might have been a personal appeal since in the end of 33:17, G-d had acknowledged that G-d had found favor in Moshe and that Moshe had a special status since he knew G-d’s name (mentioned in 33:12, the beginning of the conversation). The Rashbam (on 33:18) adds that this request for a personal vision of G-d’s glory also relates to the renewal or re-affirmation of the covenant after the sin of the golden calf. Maybe that just like by the first covenant, Moshe had experienced an unbelievable revelation from G-d (Shemot 24:10,11), so then Moshe thought that a new revelation would signify the renewal of the covenant.
The beginning of 33:19 records that G-d partially agreed to Moshe's request to see G-d's glory, and the end of 33:19 records that “I (G-d) will grant favor to those I grant favor to, and I will have compassion to those I have compassion to.” The second half of 33:19 is not in response to Moshe’s request in 33:18, but to Moshe’s request in 33:13 for G-d to tell him G-d’s ways. In the end of 33:19, G-d is stating that G-d alone will determine who he is to be granted favor and compassion, and G-d would elaborate on this idea in 34:6,7. This reading of the second half of 33:19 means that G-d rejected Moshe’s request to teach him G-d’s ways.
To summarize, it appears that there are two issues being discussed in 33:12-19, whether G-d’s glory would accompany the people in the desert and whether G-d would share with Moshe, G-d’s ways, which I understand to be how to know when G-d will punish or forgive people who sinned. These issues are interrelated since Moshe thought that knowing G-d’s ways would lead to G-d’s glory being with the people. As of 33:19, G-d had not agreed to send the glory of G-d with the people, and G-d told Moshe that there was no set formula for when G-d would forgive sinners. In this conversation, G-d only agreed to do something which would show that the people were special, and this would be to make Moshe’s face radiate, and to partially show His glory to Moshe.
Bibliography:
Alter, Robert, 2004, The five books of Moses: A translation and commentary, New York: W. W. Norton and Company.
Sarna, Nahum (1923-2005), 1991, The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus, Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society.
Tigay, Jeffrey H., 2004, Introduction and annotations to Exodus, in The Jewish Study Bible, edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 102-202.