פן אכלך, as if the Torah had written auchalcha, i.e. “I will consume you.” G’d has been described elsewhere as “consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4,24)

עדיו, a type of jewelry; they had removed it as a sign of mourning for their demotion, as the Torah writes when stating ויתאבלו, “they practiced mourning.” ולא שתו איש עדיו עליו, seeing G’d had told them in verse five to remove such jewelry. [Some people had not seen fit to do this voluntarily. Ed.]

יקח, meaning לקח, he had taken.

הרחק, he treated the people as if they were outcasts seeing that G’d was not willing to communicate with Moses while he was within the camp of the Israelites.

ראה אתה אומר אלי העל, as we know from 32,34 לך נחה את העם,

ואתה לא הודעתני, but You have not informed me about Your going with us, seeing You only spoke about sending an angel. I do not want this, but I want You, personally, to go with us.

הודיעני נא את דרכך, You Yourself ought to inform me of the way we should travel, by showing me the way we can follow You.

פני ילכו, I, Myself, will go, as you have requested. Compare Samuel II 17,11 where we encounter the identical expression ופניך הולכים בקרב, “You G’d personally will be along during the battle.”

והניחותי לך, My presence will remain with you until I have brought you to settlement after you have conquered the land of Canaan and you have rest from all your enemies. Moses had confirmed this promise in Deuteronomy 3,20 as well as in Deuteronomy 25,19, the wording being unmistakable והיה בהניח ה' לכם מכל אויביך מסביב, “it will be when the Lord will give you rest from all your enemies surrounding you, etc.” Anyone who translates the words והניחותי לך as G’d telling Moses that He will put his mind at rest by agreeing to his request is in error. If that could be the meaning, we would have to ask why only in this instance did G’d use such language when on the many other occasions G’d agreed to a request by Moses He never added the words: “so as to put your mind at rest?”

אם אין פניך הולכים, this is not a harping on a request already made and granted, but it is an introductory remark to an additional request by Moses. במה וודע...ופלינו אני ועמך?; Moses asks that he personally will be perceived as enjoying G’d’s special regard, by being distinguished in some visible manner. He argues that if he were to be thus recognisable as G’d’s intimate, this would reflect also on the people he is leading and would show the nations of the world the uniqueness of Israel and its relationship to its G’d.

במה וודע...ופלינו אני ועמך?; Moses asks that he personally will be perceived as enjoying G’d’s special regard, by being distinguished in some visible manner. He argues that if he were to be thus recognisable as G’d’s intimate, this would reflect also on the people he is leading and would show the nations of the world the uniqueness of Israel and its relationship to its G’d.

גם את הדבר הזה אשר דברת, your request to distinguish you in a visible manner I will also comply with, something in addition to the fact that I, personally, will accompany you on your journeys. The result of G’d granting Moses’ request was that his face radiated light when he descended from the Mountain the third time, as we know from 34,10. I will explain this in still greater detail there.

הראני נא את כבודך, at first glance we must surely wonder how Moses could have had the audacity to demand to see G’d and to ask for such as a means to derive personal satisfaction from it. It is totally incompatible with the attitude Moses displayed at the burning bush when the very thought of seeing something Divine filled him with fear and he was afraid to look. (Exodus 3,6). There can be no question but that what motivated Moses to formulate the above request was only that G’d would fulfil his two wishes, 1) to distinguish him individually, and 2) to personally travel with the people. To this effect he added הראני נא את כבודך, referring to previous occasions when a covenant had been concluded between G’d and Avraham, and as a sign of this Avraham had witnessed the entire procedure of the covenant between the pieces in Genesis 15,18. Moses, as Avraham before him, asked for some sign that the covenant would endure. We read about this occurring in 34,6 and 10 where Moses has a special personal revelation which includes G’d revealing to him 13 of His attributes, each of which is of relevance when inducing forgiveness and repentance. In verse 10 in that chapter G’d promises to make this special relationship manifest by hitherto unheard of miracles. The distinction G’d provided for Moses personally was such that the people did not dare approach him as the light radiating from his forehead blinded them (34,30)

וחנותי את אשר אחון, there I will explain to you My attributes.

וראית את אחורי, after I shall have passed before you during the concluding of the covenant you will be enabled to see this aspect of Me. Jeremiah 34,18 describes the formality of walking between the two halves of the calf which had been cut in half as such a solemn undertaking to honour the covenant concerning releasing former Jewish slaves that he adds the warning that people not honouring the covenant would pay with their lives and not even be given burial. We have therefore several instances where the word ויעבר, passing between the two halves symbolising the two parties to a covenant, is of the essence.