The Journey and the Divine Presence

1 And the Lord said to Moses, Go, go down from here, you and the people you have brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, To your descendants I will give it. 2 And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, 3 to a land producing milk and honey: for I will not remove My Shekinah from you,⁠a because you are a stiff-necked people, or I would destroy you on the way. 4 And the people heard these evil words, and mourned, and no one put on his usual ornaments. 5 And the Lord said to Moses, Say to the children of Israel, You are a stiff-necked people; if I removed My Shekinah from among you for one hour, I would destroy you. And now take off your ornaments, and it will be revealed before Me what I shall do with you. 6 And the children of Israel removed their usual ornaments on their return from Mount Horeb. 7 And Moses took a tent and pitched it for himself outside the camp, at a distance from the camp, and called it the Tent of the House of Study: and everyone who sought instruction from the Lord's presence went out to the Tent of the House of Study outside the camp.⁠b 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose up and stood, each man at the door of his tent, and watched Moses until he had gone into the tent. 9 And when Moses had gone into the tent, the pillar of the Cloud came down and stood at the door of the tent, and He spoke with Moses. 10 And all the people saw the pillar of the Cloud standing at the door of the tent, and all the people rose up and worshiped, each man at the door of his tent. 11 And the Lord spoke with Moses word to word, as a man speaks with his companion. And he returned to the camp; but his assistant, Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the tent.

Moses Seeks Assurance

12 And Moses said before the Lord, See, You have said to me, Bring this people up; but You have not let me know whom You will send with me; yet You have said, I have chosen you by name, and you have found mercy before Me. 13 And now, if I have found mercy before You, please show me Your good way, so that I may know Your kindness and find mercy before You, and make it known before You that this nation is Your people. 14 And He said, My Shekinah shall go, and I will give you rest. 15 And he said before Him, If Your Shekinah does not go among us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I and Your people have found mercy before You, unless Your Shekinah goes up with us, to set us apart, distinguishing me and Your people from every people on the face of the earth? 17 And the Lord said to Moses, This thing that you have spoken I will also do, because you have found mercy before Me, and I have chosen you by name. 18 And he said, Please show me Your Glory! 19 And He said, I will make all My Goodness pass before your face, and I will proclaim the Name of the Lord before you, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and have mercy on whom I will have mercy. 20 And He said, You cannot see the Face of My Shekinah; for no one can see Me and live.⁠c 21 And the Lord said, Look, there is a place prepared before Me, and you shall stand on the rock, 22 and when My Glory passes by, I will put you in a cave in the rock, and My Memra shall shield you until I have passed by; 23 and I will remove the guidance of My Glory, and you shall see what is behind Me, but what is before Me shall not be seen.