Exodus 32:33
And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
Original Language Analysis
יְהוָ֖ה
And the LORD
H3068
יְהוָ֖ה
And the LORD
Strong's:
H3068
Word #:
2 of 10
(the) self-existent or eternal; jeho-vah, jewish national name of god
מִ֚י
H4310
מִ֚י
Strong's:
H4310
Word #:
5 of 10
who? (occasionally, by a peculiar idiom, of things); also (indefinitely) whoever; often used in oblique construction with prefix or suffix
אֲשֶׁ֣ר
Whosoever
H834
אֲשֶׁ֣ר
Whosoever
Strong's:
H834
Word #:
6 of 10
who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc
חָֽטָא
hath sinned
H2398
חָֽטָא
hath sinned
Strong's:
H2398
Word #:
7 of 10
properly, to miss; hence (figuratively and generally) to sin; by inference, to forfeit, lack, expiate, repent, (causatively) lead astray, condemn
Cross References
Ezekiel 18:4Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.Psalms 69:28Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.Deuteronomy 29:20The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.Psalms 9:5Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.Leviticus 23:30And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.Revelation 20:12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.Revelation 13:8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.Philippians 4:3And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
Historical Context
This individual accountability theme runs throughout Scripture, climaxing in Revelation 20:15 where individuals are judged by what's written in the books. Yet corporate representation is also biblical (Rom 5:12-19), reconciled in Christ who represents His people.
Questions for Reflection
- How does individual moral responsibility affect your understanding of salvation?
- How is corporate representation (in Adam/Christ) reconciled with individual accountability?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
God's response מִי אֲשֶׁר חָטָא־לִי אֶמְחֶנּוּ מִסִּפְרִי (mi asher chata-li emchenu missifri, Whoever has sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book) establishes individual moral responsibility—no one can be saved by another's righteousness or damned for another's sin. This principle (repeated in Ezek 18) seems to reject Moses' substitution, yet ultimately Christ's voluntary sacrifice as the God-man makes possible what Moses couldn't accomplish. The phrase חָטָא־לִי (chata-li, sinned against Me) emphasizes sin's personal affront to God, not merely broken rules.