Biblical Parallels Index – Shemot 34/0
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Biblical Parallels Index – Shemot 34
Divine Attributes of Mercy and Justice While we generally refer to the divine attributes (Shemot 34:6-7) as attributes of mercy, they in fact reflect both mercy and judgment. Makbilot Bamikra points out the many times that versions of the 13 Attributes are listed in Tanakh. Sometimes these lists are partial, focusing more on mercy or on justice. Commentators seek to understand the reasons for the different formulations. For example, see Ramban on Bemidbar 14:17-20, who seeks to understand why Moshe includes only some of the attributes in his prayer after the sin of the spies.
Articles
- See Can There Be Compassion Without Justice?, by R. Jonathan Sacks, for a theory about the relationship between mercy and judgment in the 13 Attributes.
- In Ki Tisa: Chet HaEgel and the 13 Midot of Rachamim, R. Menachem Leibtag suggests that the characteristics of Hashem’s judgment, described in Shemot 20:4-6, are transformed into qualities of mercy in Shemot 34:6-7, in the wake of the sin of the calf.
- See also The First Tablets and the Second Tablets: The Differences Between Mishpatim and Ki Tisa, by R. Yoel Bin-Nun, for a theory about why the words on the second tablets do not reflect this change.
