Exodus 33:2

Hebrew Bible

1 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up from here, you and the people whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 2 I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you on the way.”

LXX Exodus 33:2

Septuagint

1 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go, ascend from here, you and your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, into the land that I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your seed I will give it.’ 2 And I will send along my angel before you, and he will cast out the Amorrite and Chettite and Pherezite and Gergesite and Heuite and Iebousite. 3 And he will lead you into a land flowing with milk and honey. For I shall never go up together with you because you are a stiff-necked people, lest I exterminate you in the way.”

 Notes and References

"... Our targumist translates the biblical phrase literally. The Septuagint changes the text to read: 'My angel ... he will drive out,' thereby avoiding portraying God anthropomorphically. Saadiah resolves the problem by seeming to suggest that the tzir'ah, 'disturbance' or 'insects,' mentioned in 23:28, would drive out the nations ..."

Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner Onkelos on the Torah, Exodus: Understanding the Bible Text (p. 229) Gefen, 2006

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