Pensée juive sur L’Exode 33:8

In the same manner the Hebrew hibbit signifies “he viewed with the eye; comp. “Look (tabbit) not behind thee” (Gen. 19:17); “But his wife looked (va-tabbet) back from him” (Gen. 19:26); “And if one look (ve-nibbat) unto the land” (Isa. 5:30); and figuratively, “to view and observe” with the intellect, “to contemplate” a thing till it be understood. In this sense the verb is used in passages like the following: “He hath not beheld (hibbit) iniquity in Jacob” (Num. 23:21); for “iniquity” cannot be seen with the eye. The words, “And they looked (ve-hibbitu) after Moses” (Exod. 33:8)—in addition to the literal understanding of the phrase—were explained by our Sages in a figurative sense. According to them, these words mean that the Israelites examined and criticised the actions and sayings of Moses. Compare also “Contemplate (habbet), I pray thee, the heaven” (Gen. 15:5); for this took place in a prophetic vision. This verb, when applied to God, is employed in this figurative sense; e.g., “to look (me-habbit) upon God” (Exod. 3:6) “And the similitude of the Lord shall he behold” (yabbit) (Num. 12:8); And thou canst not look (habbet) on iniquity” (Hab. 1:13).