Exodus 33


There’s a bit in the bible, in Exodus, where Moses tells God, let me get a look at you, because otherwise how the hell do all these people know I’m not just making it up? And God says ok, because I like you, Moses, and I even remember your name. So they make a date.

Here’s the King James version:

17 And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.

18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

21 And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:

22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:

23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

Can’t see the face, because that would be lethal, but can see the butt.

Comments

  1. John Morales says

    Verse 11 from the same source: “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.”

    (Consistency ain’t the Babble’s strong suit)

  2. besomyka says

    So god basically pranked Moses by doing a drive-by mooning?

    Makes as much sense as the rest of it.

  3. Latverian Diplomat says

    Wait, how does an omnipresent deity have body parts like a face, hand and butt? And how does he pass by someone?

    All that omni- stuff must be the unbiblical invention of theologians. The text is clear: God is a big, glowy, cranky old man who lives on a mountain.

  4. says

    All that omni- stuff must be the unbiblical invention of Greek theologians philosophers. The text is clear: God Yahweh, one of the Hebrew gods is a big, glowy, cranky old man who lives on a mountain.

    Hope that clarifies.

  5. Subtract Hominem, a product of Nauseam says

    The account remains suspiciously silent on whether or not there was any farting in Moses’s general direction.

  6. khms says

    All that omni- stuff must be the unbiblical invention of theologians. The text is clear: God is a big, glowy, cranky old man who lives on a mountain.

    For that matter, if he makes a point of

    I know thee by name

    , obviously he doesn’t know everyones name, so not omniscient.

  7. says

    According to R. E. Friedman chapter 33 is all E, but 34 is J and in a footnote to verse 34 he says

    The divine revelation to Moses is foretold here in E, but it takes place in J (in the next chapter). RJE {the redactor} may have merged the J and E accounts in 33:12-23 in such way that it is now difficult, perhaps impossible, to distinguish them.

    So that would explain the inconsistency.

    There’s actually a another inconsistency in verse 11.

    Here in E Joshua is pictured as being inside the Tent of Meeting. But this is a contradiction of P, where it is forbidden for anyone who is not a priest to ever be in the Tent, the penalty for which is to be put to death(Num 1:51; 3:10,38; 18:5,7).

  8. Dan says

    There a famous nineteenth century cartoon of Moses seeing God’s “back parts” that was one of those citied in th prosecution of The Freethinker for blasphemy.

    Dan

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