⦁ Exodus 34:6-7 NKJV
6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing (the guilty), visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth (generation).”
⦁ Exodus 34:6-7 more literal per BDB
6 And passes the LORD upon his face and he proclaims, “The LORD, the LORD God אל, compassionate and gracious, long of frustration, and great of kindness and truth, 7 keeping kindness to thousands, lifting iniquity and transgression and sin, and acquitting not he acquits, remembering iniquity of fathers upon sons and upon sons of sons upon threes and upon fours.”
⦁ Exodus 34:6-7
6 וַיַּעֲבֹ֨ר יְהוָ֥ה ׀ עַל־פָּנָיו֮ וַיִּקְרָא֒ יְהוָ֣ה יְהוָ֔ה אֵ֥ל רַח֖וּם וְחַנּ֑וּן אֶ֥רֶךְ אַפַּ֖יִם וְרַב־חֶ֥סֶד וֶאֱמֶֽת׃
7 נֹצֵ֥ר חֶ֨סֶד֙ לָאֲלָפִ֔ים נֹשֵׂ֥א עָוֹ֛ן וָפֶ֖שַׁע וְחַטָּאָ֑ה וְנַקֵּה֙ לֹ֣א יְנַקֶּ֔ה פֹּקֵ֣ד ׀ עֲוֹ֣ן אָבֹ֗ות עַל־בָּנִים֙ וְעַל־בְּנֵ֣י בָנִ֔ים עַל־שִׁלֵּשִׁ֖ים וְעַל־רִבֵּעִֽים׃
- Exodus 33:22-23
- 22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
Exodus 34:6-7 are known in Judaism as the thirteen attributes of God, or sometimes as the thirteen attributes of mercy. You will have to look at Jewish sources to understand where they come up with the count of thirteen.
Other references to all or part of the attributes include Exodus 20:5-6; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9-10; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Micah 7:18; Nahum 1:3; Psalms 86:15, 103:8, 145:8; Nehemiah 9:17. Prophetic parabolic references are in Jeremiah 31:29-30 and Ezekiel 18:2-9.
- Also, see John 9 – the man born blind – read context – see especially these verses:
⦁ John 9:2-3
2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
- Paul also helps with an explanation in Romans 3:19-20 –
⦁ Romans 3:19-20
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
- ((Please remember to substitute mentally the word “teaching” where our translations have Paul saying “law.”))
We are going to explore some cognate permutation meanings in the thirteen attributes verses, hopefully to help you better understand exactly how the LORD describes himself, in addition to the other references already given here.
- There is a passage below from Paul (2 Corinthians 12:7-9) referring to “three times.” Recall this cognate permutation group as you read.
- And “fours” is just below.
The cycles are the “consequences.” Refer back to Post 14. Synthetic Grasp of Life. Actions beget reactions. They are part of the same process, linked together without an intervention by the Creator. Here are some cognate permutations groups to help understand the attributes passage:
- The next two cognate permutation groups are centered on two Hebrew words meaning “lesser” or “least.” Lord willing, we will do much more sharing in the future centered around these two words, that are one of the core themes of Scripture and of the teachings of Yeshua/Jesus. A summary is –
⦁ Matthew 23:12
12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
After those two “lesser” words is יצר. In Genesis 8:21, יצר is the “imagination” of mankind. But recognize it also in the family with Egypt מצרים, underlying meaning pressure from all sides. And symbolically Egypt is as the pressures of the world (which, of course, brings to mind the Parable of the Sower, but that will be for another time).
⦁ Genesis 8:21-22
21 And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination (h3336. יֵצֶר êyṣer) of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
22 “While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”
- Please see that h3336. יֵצֶר êyṣer is included in צעיר cognate permutations. In this particular case, the highlights for יצר and צעיר are identical. The meanings, advance/retard and engage/hold back for the cognate permutation groups are very similar.
Just one more thought I want to share for today. Just as Yeshua/Jesus shared with Nicodemus in John 3 (read context) about rebirth, and just as the LORD’s having told האדם the man/Adam in Genesis 2:17 that eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would lead “in the day” of his eating to his “sure death,” birth and death in Scripture do not necessarily mean the birth or death of the flesh/the body. Remember from previous LogAndSpeck discussions, we are body, soul, and spirit. Birth and death may refer not just to body, but also of soul or spirit. And we must think of those divisions of the soul: like mind and will and emotions. Birth and death might refer to mental illness or loss of our will or a change in our emotions. These must be kept in mind as we think of Scriptural references to demons and powers and principalities. When there is a physical death, then often in the loved ones comes grief, another type of death, which (as in Post. 14) are intertwined. Of course, the idea of rebirth or resurrection brings the more complete picture. While the earth remains, these cycles remain. Please see that the word for death מות and the word for womb בטן, whence birth, are in the same cognate permutations group –
מות death בטן womb cognate permutations (demonstrate/withhold; express/restrain). It is along this spectrum/continuum, that we live life on this earth and we learn… physically, spiritually, and in our soul.
And it is only in the character or “attributes” of God, the LORD, that this potential for a rebirth exists. The design of creation, with consequences resulting from actions, is over-ridden by the compassion of the LORD. And it is only in this way, when we are distraught about some aspect of our life, that we must see the bigger picture of exactly who the LORD is, as seen in the attributes. As Paul says, regarding his “thorn in the flesh,”
⦁ 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 (NKJV – The Thorn in the Flesh)
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Hopefully we will revisit greater and lesser, exaltation and humility, in the future, which is one of the most prevalent messages in Scripture (both Hebrew and Greek “Testaments.”)
Ⓒ Copyright Philip E. Gates; LogAndSpeck.com August 2025