Bible Strands
Exodus 33:2
And I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses Moses at the moment of departure from Sinai, directing the Israelites toward the promised land while explicitly withholding His direct presence due to their stiff-necked nature.
The words — מַלְאָךְ (mal.'Akh) means an angel or messenger, and גֵֽרַשְׁתִּי (ge.rash.Ti) means I will drive out. These lexical choices specify the delegated agent of guidance and the method of territorial displacement.
The thread — Exodus 32:34 reiterates the angelic escort promise, while Exodus 3:8 originally frames the destination as a land flowing with milk and honey. Joshua 24:11 later records the people crossing the Jordan and confronting the nations inhabiting that territory.
Why it lands — The text requires acknowledging that divine guidance continues through delegated agents when direct presence is suspended. Readers must accept that the promise of land acquisition is tied to the specific mechanism of angelic intervention rather than unmediated divine accompaniment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
Cross-references
- Joshua 24:11 After this, you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I delivered them into your hand.
- Exodus 32:34 Now go, lead the people to the place I described. Behold, My angel shall go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will punish them for their sin.”
- Exodus 3:8 I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- Exodus 23:20 Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
- Exodus 23:27 I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.
- Exodus 3:17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
- Exodus 34:11 Observe what I command you this day. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- Deuteronomy 7:22 The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be enabled to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals would multiply around you.