the whole occurrence as a mental operation, and consider that what Moses sought, what was withheld from him, and what he attained, were things perceived by the intellect without the use of the senses (as we have explained above): or you may assume that in addition there was a certain ocular perception of a material object, the sight of which would assist intellectual perception. The latter is the view of Onkelos, unless he assumes that in this instance the ocular perception was likewise a prophetic vision, as was the case with" a smoking furnace and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces" (Gen. xv. 17), mentioned in the history of Abraham. You may also assume that in addition there was a perception of sound, and that there was a voice which passed before him, and was undoubtedly something material. You may choose either of these opinions, for our sole intention and purpose is to guard you against the belief that the phrase" and the Lord passed," is analogous to" pass before the people" (Exod. xvii. 5), for God, being incorporeal, cannot be said to move, and consequently the verb" to pass" cannot with propriety be applied to Him in its primary signification.
CHAPTER XXII
IN Hebrew, the verb bo signifies" to come" as applied to a living being, i.e., its arrival at a certain place, or approach to a certain person, as" Thy brother came (ba) with subtilty" (Gen. xxvii. 35). It next denotes (with regard to a living being)" to enter" a certain place, e.g.," And when Joseph came (va-yabo) into the house" (Gen. Aiii. 26):" When ye come (ta-bou) into the land" (Exod. Xii. 25). The term was also employed metaphorically in the sense of to come" applied to a certain event, that is, to something incorporeal, as When thy sayings come to pass (yabo)" (judg. xiii. 17):" Of that which will come (yabou) over thee" (Isa. xlvii. 13). Nay, it is even applied to privatives, e.g.," Yet evil came (va-yabo)" (job iii. 26):" And darkness came (va-yabo)" Now, since the word has been applied to incorporeal things, it has also been used in reference to God-to the fulfilment of His word, or to the manifestation of His Presence (the Shechinah). In this figurative sense it is said," Lo, 1 come (ba) unto thee in a thick cloud" (Exod. xix. 9):" For the Lord the God of Israel cometh (ba) through it" (Ezek. XliV. 2). In these and all similar passages, the coming of the Shechinah is meant, but the words," And the Lord my God shall come (u-ba)" (Zech. xiv. 5) are identical with" His word will come," that is to say, the promises which He made through the Prophets will be fulfilled; therefore Scripture adds" all the holy ones that are with thee," that is to say," The word of the Lord my God will be performed, which has been spoken by all the holy ones who are with thee, who address the Israelites."
CHAPTER XXIII
Yaza (" he came out" ) is the opposite of ba (" he came in" ). The term yaza is applied to the motion of a body from a place in which it had previously rested, to another place (whether the body be a living being or not), e.g.," And when they were gone out (yazeu) if the city" (Gen. xliv. 4):" If fire break out (teze)" (Exod. xxii. .5). It was then figuratively employed to denote
