Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Exodus 33:12/רמב"ן על שמות ל״ג:י״ב

אוַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל ה' רְאֵה אַתָּה אֹמֵר אֵלַי הָיָה זֶה בְּהַר סִינַי בַּעֲלוֹתוֹ שָׁם בְּי"ט בְּתַמּוּז, וְלֹא הֻצְרַךְ הַכָּתוּב לוֹמַר וַיַּעַל מֹשֶׁה אֶל ה' וַיֹּאמַר אֵלָיו רְאֵה אַתָּה אֹמֵר אֵלַי, כִּי כָל עֵת הֱיוֹת הַכָּבוֹד שׁוֹכֵן בְּהַר סִינַי בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁשָּׁם הַדִּבּוּר, וְכֵן אָמַר (שמות ל"ב:ל') "וְעַתָּה אֶעֱלֶה אֶל ה'", וְאָמַר (שם לב לא) "וַיָּשָׁב מֹשֶׁה אֶל ה'", שֶׁשָּׁב אֶל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר עָמַד שָׁם אֶת פְּנֵי ה':

1AND MOSES SAID UNTO THE ETERNAL: ‘SEE, THOU SAYEST UNTO ME: BRING UP THIS PEOPLE.’ This happened on Mount Sinai, when Moses went up there on the nineteenth of Tammuz. It was not necessary though for Scripture to say, “and Moses went up to G-d, and he said to him, ‘See, Thou sayest unto me, etc.,’” for it is known that as long as the Glory dwelled upon Mount Sinai, all communications [to Moses] took place there. Similarly Moses said, and now I will go up unto the Eternal,⁴⁷⁰ and it is also said, And Moses returned unto the Eternal,⁴⁷¹, Verse 31. meaning that he returned to the place where he had stood before the Eternal.⁴⁷²

בוְאַתָּה לֹא הוֹדַעְתַּנִי אֵת אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁלַח עִמִּי שֶׁאָמַרְתָּ לִי "הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי שֹׁלֵחַ מַלְאָךְ" (שמות כ"ג:כ'), וְאֵין זוֹ הוֹדָעָה, שֶׁאֵין אֲנִי חָפֵץ בּוֹ, לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ"י (רש"י על שמות ל"ג:י"ב). וְאֵינֶנּוּ נָכוֹן בִּלְשׁוֹן הַכָּתוּב, וְעוֹד, כִּי לָמָּה יֹאמַר עַתָּה כֵּן, וּבְעֵת שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר לוֹ הַדִּבּוּר הַהוּא שָׁתַק מִמֶּנּוּ, וְכִי יְבַקֵּשׁ עַתָּה לְהַרְוִיחַ בַּעֲבוּר מַעֲשֵׂה הָעֵגֶל. אֲבָל הָעִנְיָן, כִּי הקב"ה אָמַר בְּכָאן לְמֹשֶׁה (שמות ל"ג:ב') וְשָׁלַחְתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ מַלְאָךְ, וּמֹשֶׁה אָמַר לוֹ לֹא הוֹדַעְתַּנִי מִי הוּא הַמַּלְאָךְ שֶׁתִּשְׁלַח עִמִּי, אִם הוּא מַלְאָךְ הָרִאשׁוֹן שֶׁשִּׁמְךָ בְּקִרְבּוֹ: וְזֶה טַעַם וְאַתָּה אָמַרְתָּ יְדַעְתִּיךָ בְשֵׁם שֶׁיְּדַעְתָּנִי וְרוֹמַמְתַּנִי בְּשִׁמְךָ, וְכֵן כָּתַב ר"א (אבן עזרא על שמות ל"ג:כ"א). וְעַל דַּעְתּוֹ הַמַּלְאָךְ אֲשֶׁר יִבְחֲרוּ בּוֹ הוּא מִיכָאֵל. הֵבִין בְּטוּב שִׂכְלוֹ בַּפְּסוּקִים כִּי הַמַּלְאָךְ הָרִאשׁוֹן רָצוּי לְמֹשֶׁה וּלְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֲבָל לֹא יוּכַל לָדַעַת הָאֱמֶת כִּי לֹא שָׁמַע וְלֹא יִנָּבֵא:

2AND THOU HAST NOT LET ME KNOW WHOM THOU WILT SEND WITH ME. “And that which You said to me, Behold, I send an angel before thee,⁴⁷³ — that is not ‘letting me know,’ for I am not satisfied with it.” This is Rashi’s language. But it is not correct to fit this thought into the language of the verse. Besides, why should Moses have said this only now [that he was not satisfied with the angel], and when the matter was communicated to him he remained quiet? Did Moses think to gain because of the incident of the calf? Instead, the purport thereof is as follows: The Holy One, blessed be He, had told Moses here, and I will send an angel before thee,⁴⁷⁴ and Moses told Him, Thou has not let me know who is that angel whom Thou wilt send with me, and whether it is that first angel in whom is Thy Name.⁴⁷⁵, 23:21. This is the sense of the expression, Yet Thou hast said: I know thee by Name, meaning that You have known me and exalted me by [the knowledge of] Your Name. And so also did Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explain the verse here. In his opinion⁴⁷⁶ the angel he [i.e., Moses] wanted was Michael. With his good sense [Ibn Ezra] understood the verses to imply that the first angel was pleasing to Moses and to Israel. He could not, however, know the truth, since he neither heard it [from others] nor did he prophesy it [on his own].⁴⁷⁷