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Exodus 32:9

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Exodus 32:9 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And Jehovah said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And Jehovah said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
Exodus 32:9 — American Standard Version

Context — Exodus 32

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
6And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7And Jehovah spake unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, that thou broughtest up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:
8they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed unto it, and said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
9And Jehovah said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
10now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
11And Moses besought Jehovah his God, and said, Jehovah, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, that thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
12Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, saying, For evil did he bring them forth, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
← Exodus 32:8Exodus 32:10 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, etc.] He had observed their ways and works, their carriage and behaviour; he had seen them before this time; he knew from all eternity what they would be, that their neck would be as an iron sinew, and their brow brass; but now he saw that in fact which he before saw as future, and they proved to be the people he knew they would be; besides, this is said to give Moses the true character of them, which might be depended upon, since it was founded upon divine knowledge and observation: and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people; obstinate and self-willed, resolute in their own ways, and will not be reclaimed, inflexible and not subjected to…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The faithfulness of Moses in the office that had been entrusted to him was now to be put to the test. It was to be made manifest whether he loved his own glory better than he loved the brethren who were under his charge; whether he would prefer that he should himself become the founder of a “great nation,” or that the Lord’s promise should be fulfilled in the whole people of Israel. This may have been especially needful for Moses, in consequence of his natural disposition. See Numbers 12:3; and compare Exodus 3:11. With this trial of Moses repeated in a very similar manner Numbers 14:11-23, may be compared the trial of Abraham Genesis 22:0 and of our Saviour Matthew 4:8-10. Exodus 32:8 These…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“It is a stiff - necked people - Unapt to come under the yoke of the divine law, averse to all good, and prone to evil, obstinate to the methods of cure. Exodus 32:10”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“32:9-10 God was apparently prepared to disown his people, since they had broken their covenant with him.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“I have seen: Deu 9:13; Jer 13:27; Hos 6:10 a stiffnecked: Exo 33:3, Exo 33:5, Exo 34:9; Deu 9:6, Deu 9:13, Deu 10:16, Deu 31:27; Ch2 30:8; Neh 9:17; Psa 78:8; Pro 29:1; Isa 48:4; Zac 7:11, Zac 7:12; Act 7:51 Exodus 32:10”
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Related study paths

Read Exodus 32 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification