Exo 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Exo 32:12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
Exo 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
Exo 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. (KJV)
The implication here is that God can do evil and that He repented of it, or so it seems. But what must be kept in mind is that we are reading an English translation of Hebrew words. The Hebrew word for "evil" is "ra'". Strong's Hebrew Lexicon says this word can mean bad, evil, distress, calamity, or injury. While "ra'" can denote evil or badness, it doesn't necessarily imply an evil act done with malice. It can simply mean something harmful, unpleasant, or undesirable. The context is what defines it as evil, negative, or undesirable. God cannot be evil because it would contradict other verses in the Bible about His character, including 1 John 1:5 (NIV), which states, "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." I would note there are other translations of Exodus 32:13 that remove the evil connotations:
NJKV "So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people."
NLT So the LORD changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.
ESV And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
