The Bible Slam: Exodus Chapter 34

After showing his glorious "back parts" in Chapter 33, God tells Moses to carve out two more tablets and he will rewrite his commands on them, since Moses broke the previous ones.   So Moses does this and spends another 40 days on Mt. Sinai.

While Moses is there, God tells Moses that he's jealous, demands the firstborn male of animals and humans, reiterates the sabbath command, and says that the days of unleavened bread must be kept.

During these 40 days, Moses eats no bread and drinks no water.   When he returns to camp with the ten commandments, his face is radiant and then needs to cover his face with a veil.   But he takes the veil off when he talks with the Lord in his tent.

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Discussion Points.

The King James Version of Exodus Chapter 34 can be found at Skeptics Annotated Bible.   As Chelev notes, this chapter is very contradictory.   For instance:

• 34:7 – Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. – Why would a forgiving, merciful God not clear the guilty and then punish the 3rd and 4th generations for things they never did?
• 34:14 – For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: – What does Jealousy mean?
  

Considering that the bible previously states that the Israelites ate manna for 40 years (see the discussion here), the following are interesting:

34:19 All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.

34:20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.

34:21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

34:22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.

What happened to the firstborn human males?   Were they forced into priesthood?   How were they given to God?   Where did all of this livestock and wheat come from if all the people had to eat was manna?

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