Ramban, on Exod 20:19
“Saying to Moses: Speak thou to us, and we will hear: let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die.”
YE YOURSELVES HAVE SEEN THAT I HAVE TALKED WITH YOU FROM HEAVEN. He commanded that Moses tell them: “Since you yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven and that I am Master in heaven and upon the earth, do not combine gods of silver or gods of gold with Me, for you have no need of another aid with Me.” The purport of the verse is: Ye shall not make with Me gods of silver, and ye shall not make unto you gods of gold. In my opinion, the explanation of the verse is as follows: “Do not make gods of silver or gods of gold to be to you for gods with Him; and ye shall not make them altogether.” Thus He warned against believing in them, and again warned against merely making them, similar to the verse, Neither shall ye rear you up a graven image, or a pillar., i.e., to believe in them — and then He warned against the mere making of them. By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], the meaning of the word iti (with Me) is like the Expression al panai (before My face), and I have already alluded to its explanation. Rashi wrote: “That I have talked with you from heaven. But another verse states, And the Eternal came down upon Sinai!, 19:20. There comes a third verse to harmonize them: Out of heaven He made thee to hear His Voice, that He might instruct thee; and upon earth He made thee to see His great fire. His Glory was in heaven, and His might was [manifest] upon the earth.” Thus Rashi’s language. But it is not precise. The harmonizing of the verses is indeed a Midrash of the Sages, and it is true that G-d was in heaven, and His Glory was upon Mount Sinai, for G-d was in the fire, and it is written, Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai, and spokest with them from heaven. All the verses in their various expressions are thus clear to all who know [the mystic teachings of the Cabala]. I have already explained it all above., 19:20. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that he who has a discerning heart will understand the meaning thereof in the section of Ki Thisa. The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious.
Hebrew and Aramaic words are the commentator’s citations of the sacred text; the English translation that follows each is the translator’s.
Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.