Exodus 33:7

Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it at a distance outside the camp. He called it the Tent of Meeting, and anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator describes Moses relocating a tent outside the Israelite camp after the people removed their ornaments from Mount Horeb. This establishes a fixed location where the community could directly seek divine guidance.

The words — The Hebrew הַרְחֵק (har.Chek) means "at a distance," and מִ/ח֣וּץ (mi./Chutz) translates to "from the outside." These terms literally define the tent's physical placement separate from the settled population.

The thread — The pattern of seeking God apart from the camp recurs in Isaiah 55:6 and Proverbs 15:29, which contrast divine nearness with the righteous and distance from the wicked. The location also aligns with the Tent of Meeting's designated function in Exodus 29:42.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to recognize that approaching God involves intentional separation and direct inquiry. It establishes a structural pattern where divine encounter is accessed through deliberate movement away from the communal center.

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

וּמֹשֶׁה֩u./mo.Shehand/ Moses יִקַּ֨חyi.Kachhe took אֶת־'et-<obj.>הָאֹ֜הֶלha./'O.helthe/ tent וְנָֽטָה־ve./na.tah-and/ he pitchedל֣וֹ׀l/o<to> <the>/ itמִח֣וּץmi./Chutzfrom/ [the] outside לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֗הla./ma.cha.Nehof the/ camp הַרְחֵק֙har.Chekat a distance מִן־min-from הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔הha./ma.cha.Nehthe/ camp וְקָ֥רָאve./Ka.ra'and/ he calledל֖וֹl/o<to> <the>/ itאֹ֣הֶל'O.hel[the] tent of מוֹעֵ֑דmo.'Edmeeting וְהָיָה֙ve./ha.Yahand/ it was כָּל־kol-any מְבַקֵּ֣שׁme.va.Kesh[one who] sought יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahweh יֵצֵא֙ye.Tze'he went out אֶל־'el-to אֹ֣הֶל'O.hel[the] tent of מוֹעֵ֔דmo.'Edmeeting אֲשֶׁ֖ר'a.Sherwhich מִח֥וּץmi./Chutz[was] from/ [the] outside לַֽמַּחֲנֶֽה׃La./ma.cha.Nehof the/ camp

King James Version

And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.

Cross-references

Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
Proverbs 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.
Exodus 29:42 For the generations to come, this burnt offering shall be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you.
Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.
Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
2 Samuel 21:1 During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years, and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
Psalms 27:8 My heart said, “Seek His face.” Your face, O LORD, I will seek.
Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
Psalms 10:1 Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble?
Psalms 35:22 O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent. O Lord, be not far from me.

People named

Moses