Discovery BoxExodus 4:15 
Context4:15 “So you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And as for me, I will be with your mouth 1 and with his mouth, 2 and I will teach you both 3 what you must do. 4
Exodus 25:22
Context25:22 I will meet with you there, 5 and 6 from above the atonement lid, from between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will command you for the Israelites.
Exodus 28:3
Context28:3 You 7 are to speak to all who are specially skilled, 8 whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, 9 so that they may make 10 Aaron’s garments to set him apart 11 to minister as my priest.
Exodus 29:42
Context29:42 “This will be a regular 12 burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet 13 with you to speak to you there.
Exodus 33:11
Context33:11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, 14 the way a person speaks 15 to a friend. Then Moses 16 would return to the camp, but his servant, Joshua son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the tent. 17
Exodus 34:34-35
Context34:34 But when Moses went in 18 before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil until he came out. 19 Then he would come out and tell the Israelites what he had been commanded. 20 34:35 When the Israelites would see 21 the face of Moses, that 22 the skin of Moses’ face shone, Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with the Lord. 23
1 tn Or “I will help you speak.” The independent pronoun puts emphasis (“as for me”) on the subject (“I”).
2 tn Or “and will help him speak.”
3 tn The word “both” is supplied to convey that this object (“you”) and the subject of the next verb (“you must do”) are plural in the Hebrew text, referring to Moses and Aaron. In 4:16 “you” returns to being singular in reference to Moses.
4 tn The imperfect tense carries the obligatory nuance here as well. The relative pronoun with this verb forms a noun clause functioning as the direct object of “I will teach.”
5 sn Here then is the main point of the ark of the covenant, and the main point of all worship – meeting with God through atonement. The text makes it clear that here God would meet with Moses (“you” is singular) and then he would speak to the people – he is the mediator of the covenant. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 272) makes the point that the verb here is not the word that means “to meet by chance” (as in Exod 3:18), but “to meet” by appointment for a purpose (וְנוֹעַדְתִּי, vÿno’adti). The parallel in the NT is Jesus Christ and his work. The theology is that the Law condemns people as guilty of sin, but the sacrifice of Christ makes atonement. So he is the “place of propitiation (Rom 3:25) who gains communion with the Father for sinners. A major point that could be made from this section is this: At the center of worship must be the atoning work of Christ – a perpetual reminder of God’s righteous standard (the testimony in the ark) and God’s gracious provision (the atonement lid).
6 tn The verb is placed here in the text: “and I will speak”; it has been moved in this translation to be closer to the direct object clause.
7 tn Heb “And you, you will speak to.”
8 tn Heb “wise of heart.” The word for “wise” (חַכְמֵי, khakhme, the plural construct form) is from the word group that is usually translated “wisdom, wise, be wise,” but it has as its basic meaning “skill” or “skillful.” This is the way it is used in 31:3, 6 and 35:10 etc. God gave these people “wisdom” so that they would know how to make these things. The “heart” for the Hebrews is the locus of understanding, the mind and the will. To be “wise of heart” or “wise in heart” means that they had the understanding to do skillful work, they were talented artisans and artists.
9 sn There is no necessity to take this as a reference to the Holy Spirit who produces wisdom in these people, although that is not totally impossible. A number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT) do not even translate the word “spirit.” It probably refers to their attitude and ability. U. Cassuto has “to all the artisans skilled in the making of stately robes, in the heart [i.e., mind] of each of whom I have implanted sagacity in his craft so that he may do his craft successfully” (Exodus, 371).
10 tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; after the instruction to speak to the wise, this verb, equal to an imperfect, will have the force of purpose.
11 tn Or “to sanctify him” (ASV) or “to consecrate him” (KJV, NASB, NRSV). It is the garments that will set Aaron apart, or sanctify him, not the workers. The expression could be taken to mean “for his consecration” (NIV) since the investiture is part of his being set apart for service.
12 tn The translation has “regular” instead of “continually,” because they will be preparing this twice a day.
13 tn The relative clause identifies the place in front of the Tent as the place that Yahweh would meet Moses. The main verb of the clause is אִוָּעֵד (’ivva’ed), a Niphal imperfect of the verb יָעַד (ya’ad), the verb that is cognate to the name “tent of meeting” – hence the name. This clause leads into the next four verses.
14 tn “Face to face” is circumstantial to the action of the verb, explaining how they spoke (see GKC 489-90 §156.c). The point of this note of friendly relationship with Moses is that Moses was “at home” in this tent speaking with God. Moses would derive courage from this when he interceded for the people (B. Jacob, Exodus, 966).
15 tn The verb in this clause is a progressive imperfect.
16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 sn Moses did not live in the tent. But Joshua remained there most of the time to guard the tent, it seems, lest any of the people approach it out of curiosity.
18 tn The construction uses a infinitive construct for the temporal clause; it is prefixed with the temporal preposition: “and in the going in of Moses.”
19 tn The temporal clause begins with the temporal preposition “until,” followed by an infinitive construct with the suffixed subjective genitive.
20 tn The form is the Pual imperfect, but since the context demands a past tense here, in fact a past perfect tense, this is probably an old preterite form without a vav consecutive.
21 tn Now the perfect tense with vav consecutive is subordinated to the next clause, “Moses returned the veil….”
22 tn Verbs of seeing often take two accusatives. Here, the second is the noun clause explaining what it was about the face that they saw.
23 tn Heb “with him”; the referent (the
