When Moses asked God, "Show me your glory'' (Ex 33:18), God did not agree to do that. God did say, however, that he would proclaim his name before Moses (v 19). That proclamation is described in Ex 34:5-7.
God had told Moses to cut two new tables of stone to replace the broken ones, and then to ascend Mt Sinai once again. The broken covenant was going to be reinstated (Ex 34:1-4). And so Moses went up the mountain alone to receive further revelation from God.
God's proclamation to Moses is one of the most important passages in the Bible. It is a statement of the qualities of God's merciful nature. In Jewish tradition those qualities are divided into thirteen characteristics. In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on September 4, 2021, Rob Wilson listed them for the congregation.
After reeceiving this revelation, Moses asked again for forgiveness for the children of Israel (vv 8-9). God completely forgave Israel, and the covenant was renewed (vv 10-28). In God's announcement of the renewal of the covenant, a sample of the covenant provisions are repeated. Some have counted "10 commandments" in this list. The list does not seem to be random. It focuses on things that the Israelites could do to avoid repeating the sin of the golden calf.
Along with not making any more "molten gods" (v 17), the Israelites were to keep the annual pilgrim feasts, which wouild help keep the nation in close connection with God.
According to Jewish tradition, Moses returned to the Israelite camp with a new set of tablets on the Day of Atonement. The text of Exodus does not indicate this, but such timing woiuld have been fitting. The great sin had been forgiven, and Israel started over again with a clean slate.
When Moses returned to the camp, his face shone from his time in the presence of God (v 29). A word with the same consonants as the Hebrew word for "shone", <i>qaran</i>, means "having horns" (Ps 69:31). "Horns of light" radiated from Moses' face, so to speak.
The similarity led to an alternate tradition that Moses had horns on his head at that point. This tradition is reflected in a famous statue of Moses by Michelangelo.
Some believe that the there is a message in the Hebrew word used here--a message that the Israelites should listen to the "horned" Moses rather than make a statue of a horned bovine creature.
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