Exodus 33:7-11·~1 min

The Tent of Meeting

Moses sets the Tent of Meeting outside the camp, making the distance from God visible. Whenever he goes there, the people stand and watch from their own tent entrances.

N⁷ow 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. ⁸Then, whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would stand at the entrances to their own tents and watch Moses until he entered the tent.

As Moses enters the tent, the cloud descends and the LORD speaks with him. The people worship from afar, and Moses is described as speaking with the LORD face to face, while Joshua remains there.

⁹As Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and remain at the entrance, and the LORD would speak with Moses. ¹⁰When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they would stand up and worship, each one at the entrance to his own tent. ¹¹Thus the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young assistant Joshua son of Nun would not leave the tent.

Section summaryMoses pitches the Tent of Meeting outside the camp, and those who seek the LORD go there. When Moses enters, the cloud descends and the LORD speaks with him openly, while the people watch and worship from a distance.

Role in the chapterThis section places communion with God outside the camp after Israel's sin, yet it also shows that access has not been closed. Moses still stands in unusual nearness to the LORD, which prepares for his intercession in the next movement.