By Kees de Vreugd, translation by Marie-Louise Weissenböck
The Hebrew word Middah (plural Middot) essentially means "measure." Jewish tradition speaks of the 13 Middot of God, which it takes from Exodus 34:6-7. These refer to the "attributes" of God, or more accurately, God's gracious relationships with humanity. In this series, we will examine these 13 relationships with God.
1. The Name of the Eternal
“And the Lord passed before him, and he proclaimed: ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, who shows love to thousands, and forgives iniquity, rebellion and sin, yet leaves the guilty unpunished…’” (Exodus 34:6-7a)
An impressive text from an equally impressive story. Moses wants to see God's glory, but no one can see God and remain alive. Nevertheless, God says that he will let "all his goodness" pass before Moses and then proclaim the name of the Lord. "And he said, 'I will cause all my goodness to pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you: "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion"'" (Exodus 33:19ff). In Exodus 34, this happens.
These beautiful words from Exodus 34:6 and 7a form a recurring high point in the liturgy of the Day of Atonement. In the liturgy, Israel confesses its sin and guilt in a multitude of ways. And each time, it is answered with this divine cry of mercy.
Jewish tradition lists 13 "attributes" of God in these verses (13 Middot). The most important meaning of the Hebrew word translated as "attribute" is "measure." Here, Paul's words come to mind: "That we, together with all the saints, may fully comprehend the breadth and length and depth and height of the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:18). The first "attribute" is the name itself, LORD. This is the holy name formed with the Hebrew letters YHWH, the name that Jews do not pronounce, neither today nor during the time of the Second Temple. Instead, in communal prayers and when reading the Bible, they say "Adonai," Lord. In Greek, it is Kyrios, and that is how we read it in the New Testament.
At the same time, it is also the most intimate name of God, expressing God's unique relationship with Israel: "God said to Moses, 'I am who I am (I will be who I will be)...' or, 'I am there,' as Martin Buber translated (Exodus 3:14). For Israel, this statement of God means, among other things, that just as God heard Israel's cry for help in Egypt, so too will he be close to Israel in future exile, whether in Babylon or Rome. This name is associated with the aspect of God's mercy and grace, while the name Elohim, "God," expresses the aspect of God as judge. We can see this in the creation story. Creation is founded on God's law (Genesis 1: God created), but exists because of God's mercy (Genesis 2: God, the Lord, made).
2. Mercy
In Judaism, the name of God (YHWH) is understood as an expression of God's gracious mercy. However, we also see, if we read Exodus 34:6-7 carefully, that there are two aspects: God's mercy and God's justice. How do these two aspects relate to each other? It is noteworthy that when the Lord passes by Moses, he calls out his own name twice: "Lord, Lord" (Exodus 34:6). Most interpreters believe that this is a double, and therefore intensified, exclamation: "LORD, LORD," just as the angel of the Lord also called out "Abraham, Abraham" (Genesis 22:11). That it is God himself who calls out his name is widely known.
The Talmud has its own interpretation of the double exclamation: In the tractate Rosh Hashanah, it is taught that God is saying: “I am merciful and gracious before man sins, and I am merciful after man sins and repents.” In other words, God is merciful to man before he sins, and he is merciful when man repents.
In the text of Exodus 34:6, our translation follows the double exclamation "Lord, Lord" with the word "God." In Hebrew, it is not Elohim, but El. We are familiar with the expression El Shaddai (often translated as Almighty God) and Eli from "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" ("Eli, Eli, ...", Psalm 22:2; cf. Matthew 27:46). This very psalm verse, the rabbis said, indicates that the word (or name) El is also connected with the aspect of God's mercy. Thus, God's mercy is celebrated in many different ways.
On the same page in the tractate Rosh Hashanah, it says: “Rabbi Judah said: It is a covenant that the thirteen attributes [of God] will not be in vain, for it says: ‘Behold, I make a covenant’ (Exodus 34:10).” This means that Israel, as the covenant people (see also Exodus 34:10), should appeal to the thirteen attributes of God in its prayers. Then these prayers (requests) will certainly not go unanswered.
This article first appeared in our newspaper "Israelaktuell," issue 134. You can order the newspaper free of charge here. We would also be happy to send you several copies for distribution.
