Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 20:20
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
20. to prove you ] to put you to the proof (Exo 16:4; cf. on Exo 17:2), to the whether (Deu 8:2), as you have just said ( v. 19), you will really obey Him, and in order to inspire you with the dread of offending Him.
and that his fear, &c.] That the fear which His presence creates may be ever before your eyes.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 20. And Moses said – Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces] The maxim contained in this verse is, Fear not, that he may fear – do not fear with such a fear as brings consternation into the soul, and produces nothing but terror and confusion; but fear with that fear which reverence and filial affection inspire, that ye sin not – that, through the love and reverence ye feel to your Maker and Sovereign, ye may abstain from every appearance of evil, lest you should forfeit that love which is to you better than life. He who fears in the first sense can neither love nor obey; he who fears not in the latter sense is sure to fall under the first temptation that may occur. Blessed is the man who thus feareth always.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
To prove you, or try, or search you, whether you are innocent, and such as delight in my presence; or conscious of your guilt, and therefore afraid of my appearance; whether you have such a righteousness as can abide the trial of a severe Judge; or whether you are such as have cause to fear my wrath, and to flee to my grace and mercy; which of you are sincere and upright, and which are hypocrites and ungodly persons; or, to try whether this terrible appearance will produce in you that reverence, fear, and obedience which I call for; or, to give you a law, by which you will be proved whether you do indeed love and fear me, as you pretend you do, or whether you do not.
Gods fear is properly in mens hearts; but here the sense seems to be this, That this fear, i.e. his dreadful manifestation of his majesty and justice, (the act being here put for the object,) may be now and ever before your eyes, and in your memories, as an effectual preservative from sin.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18-21. all the people saw thethunderings and the lightningsThey were eye and ear witnessesof the awful emblems of the Deity’s descent. But they perceived notthe Deity Himself.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Moses said unto the people,…. By representatives and messengers, the heads of the tribes and elders:
fear not; be not afraid of God with a slavish fear; be not afraid of the thunders and lightnings, as if they were like one of the plagues of Egypt, which terrified Pharaoh and his people; be not afraid of being consumed by them, they will do you no hurt; be not afraid of dying by the hand of God, at his presence, and through the voice of his words spoken to you; be of good courage, for the design of God is not to destroy you, but to instruct you, and do you good:
for God is come to prove you; whether, being now freed by him from Egyptian bondage, they would take and own him for their King, and be subject to his laws and government; whether they would abide by what they had said, all that the Lord hath spoken will we do, Ex 19:8, whether they thought they had purity and righteousness enough to answer to the divine law, and whether they imagined they had strength enough to fulfil it, and whether they needed a mediator between God and them or not: some Jewish writers q give a different sense of this clause, as if the coming of God to them in this grand and majestic manner was to exalt them, and make them great and honourable among the nations of the world; taking the word used to be derived from a root, which signifies to lift up, as a banner or ensign is lifted up on high: but the former sense is best;
and that his fear may be before your faces; not a slavish fear of death, of wrath, and damnation, before dehorted from; but a reverence of the divine Majesty, an awe of his greatness and glory, a serious regard to his commands, delivered in so grand a manner, and a carefulness to offend him by disobeying them:
that ye sin not: by breaking the law, and transgressing the precepts of it, which they might be deterred from, as it might be reasonably thought, when they reflected with what solemnity, and in what an awful manner it was delivered to them.
q Jarchi in loc. Medrash apud Kimchi in Sepher Shorash. rad. & Ben Melech in loc.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
To direct the sinner’s holy awe in the presence of the holy God, which was expressed in these words of the people, into the proper course of healthy and enduring penitence, Moses first of all took away the false fear of death by the encouraging answer, “Fear not,” and then immediately added, “for God is come to prove you.” referred to the testing of the state of the heart in relation to God, as it is explained in the exegetical clause which follows: “ that His fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. ” By this terrible display of His glory, God desired to inspire them with the true fear of Himself, that they might not sin through distrust, disobedience, or resistance to His guidance and commands.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(20) Moses said unto the people, Fear not.God approved the peoples proposal, and directed that they should withdraw to their tents (Deu. 5:28-30). Moses then drew near to Him, and entered into the thick darkness where God was (Exo. 20:21). It is worthy of notice that the same manifestation which repelled the people attracted Moses.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20. Fear not That is, as the context shows, be not terrified so as to think God is angry with you and is about to visit you with death . The purpose of this theophany, and of the words out of the fire, is to prove you, to test your loyalty and readiness to obey; and, furthermore, that his fear may be before your faces. A profound reverence for Jehovah, constantly maintained in the heart, is the mightiest safeguard against sinning . “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom . ” Psa 111:10; Pro 1:7; Pro 9:10.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 20:20. For God is come to prove you See ch. Exo 16:4 and Deu 8:16.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Deu 8:2
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 20:20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
Ver. 20. Fear not. ] And yet fear. Fear not this glorious appearance so much: but let it bring your cogitations to his future fearful appearance.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
to prove: i.e. for the purpose of proving.
that = in order that.
sin. Hebrew. chat’a. See App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
fear
(See Scofield “Psa 19:9”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Fear not: 1Sa 12:20, Isa 41:10
prove: Exo 15:25, Exo 15:26, Gen 22:1, Gen 22:12, Deu 8:2, Deu 13:3
his fear: Gen 20:11, Deu 6:2, Deu 10:12, Jos 24:14, Neh 5:15, Job 28:28, Pro 1:7, Pro 3:7, Isa 8:13
Reciprocal: Lev 25:17 – fear Deu 4:10 – fear me Jos 4:24 – ye might 1Ki 8:40 – fear thee 2Ch 6:31 – fear thee Luk 19:21 – I feared Act 7:38 – in the church Rev 1:17 – Fear not
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 20:20. Fear not That is, Think not that this thunder and fire are designed to consume you. God is come to prove you To try how they would like dealing with God immediately, without a mediator, and so to convince them how admirably well God had chosen for them in putting Moses into that office. Ever since Adam fled, upon hearing Gods voice in the garden, sinful man has not been able to bear either to speak to God, or hear from him immediately.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
20:20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to {o} prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
(o) Whether you will obey his precepts as you promised in Exo 19:8.