1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
1 And he said H559 unto Moses, H4872 Come up H5927 unto the LORD, H3068 thou, and Aaron, H175 Nadab, H5070 and Abihu, H30 and seventy H7657 of the elders H2205 of Israel; H3478 and worship H7812 ye afar off. H7350
2 And Moses H4872 alone shall come near H5066 the LORD: H3068 but they shall not come nigh; H5066 neither shall the people H5971 go up H5927 with him.
3 And Moses H4872 came H935 and told H5608 the people H5971 all the words H1697 of the LORD, H3068 and all the judgments: H4941 and all the people H5971 answered H6030 with one H259 voice, H6963 and said, H559 All the words H1697 which the LORD H3068 hath said H1696 will we do. H6213
4 And Moses H4872 wrote H3789 all the words H1697 of the LORD, H3068 and rose up early H7925 in the morning, H1242 and builded H1129 an altar H4196 under H8478 the hill, H2022 and twelve pillars, H4676 according to the twelve H8147 H6240 tribes H7626 of Israel. H3478
5 And he sent H7971 young men H5288 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 which offered H5927 burnt offerings, H5930 and sacrificed H2076 peace H8002 offerings H2077 of oxen H6499 unto the LORD. H3068
6 And Moses H4872 took H3947 half H2677 of the blood, H1818 and put H7760 it in basons; H101 and half H2677 of the blood H1818 he sprinkled H2236 on the altar. H4196
7 And he took H3947 the book H5612 of the covenant, H1285 and read H7121 in the audience H241 of the people: H5971 and they said, H559 All that the LORD H3068 hath said H1696 will we do, H6213 and be obedient. H8085
8 And Moses H4872 took H3947 the blood, H1818 and sprinkled H2236 it on the people, H5971 and said, H559 Behold the blood H1818 of the covenant, H1285 which the LORD H3068 hath made H3772 with you concerning all these words. H1697
9 Then went up H5927 Moses, H4872 and Aaron, H175 Nadab, H5070 and Abihu, H30 and seventy H7657 of the elders H2205 of Israel: H3478
10 And they saw H7200 the God H430 of Israel: H3478 and there was under his feet H7272 as it were a paved H3840 work H4639 of a sapphire stone, H5601 and as it were the body H6106 of heaven H8064 in his clearness. H2892
11 And upon the nobles H678 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 he laid H7971 not his hand: H3027 also they saw H2372 God, H430 and did eat H398 and drink. H8354
12 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto Moses, H4872 Come up H5927 to me into the mount, H2022 and be there: and I will give H5414 thee tables H3871 of stone, H68 and a law, H8451 and commandments H4687 which I have written; H3789 that thou mayest teach H3384 them.
13 And Moses H4872 rose up, H6965 and his minister H8334 Joshua: H3091 and Moses H4872 went up H5927 into the mount H2022 of God. H430
14 And he said H559 unto the elders, H2205 Tarry H3427 ye here H2088 for us, until we come again H7725 unto you: and, behold, Aaron H175 and Hur H2354 are with you: if any H4310 man H1167 have any matters H1697 to do, H1167 let him come H5066 unto them.
15 And Moses H4872 went up H5927 into the mount, H2022 and a cloud H6051 covered H3680 the mount. H2022
16 And the glory H3519 of the LORD H3068 abode H7931 upon mount H2022 Sinai, H5514 and the cloud H6051 covered H3680 it six H8337 days: H3117 and the seventh H7637 day H3117 he called H7121 unto Moses H4872 out of the midst H8432 of the cloud. H6051
17 And the sight H4758 of the glory H3519 of the LORD H3068 was like devouring H398 fire H784 on the top H7218 of the mount H2022 in the eyes H5869 of the children H1121 of Israel. H3478
18 And Moses H4872 went H935 into the midst H8432 of the cloud, H6051 and gat him up H5927 into the mount: H2022 and Moses H4872 was in the mount H2022 forty H705 days H3117 and forty H705 nights. H3915
1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto Jehovah, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off:
2 and Moses alone shall come near unto Jehovah; but they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with him.
3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the ordinances: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which Jehovah hath spoken will we do.
4 And Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the mount, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen unto Jehovah.
6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that Jehovah hath spoken will we do, and be obedient.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which Jehovah hath made with you concerning all these words.
9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel.
10 And they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were the very heaven for clearness.
11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: and they beheld God, and did eat and drink.
12 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them.
13 And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: whosoever hath a cause, let him come near unto them.
15 And Moses went up into the mount, and the cloud covered the mount.
16 And the glory of Jehovah abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 And the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
1 And unto Moses He said, `Come up unto Jehovah, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and ye have bowed yourselves afar off;'
2 and Moses hath drawn nigh by himself unto Jehovah; and they draw not nigh, and the people go not up with him.
3 And Moses cometh in, and recounteth to the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the judgments, and all the people answer -- one voice, and say, `All the words which Jehovah hath spoken we do.'
4 And Moses writeth all the words of Jehovah, and riseth early in the morning, and buildeth an altar under the hill, and twelve standing pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel;
5 and he sendeth the youths of the sons of Israel, and they cause burnt-offerings to ascend, and sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings to Jehovah -- calves.
6 And Moses taketh half of the blood, and putteth in basins, and half of the blood hath he sprinkled on the altar;
7 and he taketh the Book of the Covenant, and proclaimeth in the ears of the people, and they say, `All that which Jehovah hath spoken we do, and obey.'
8 And Moses taketh the blood, and sprinkleth on the people, and saith, `Lo, the blood of the covenant which Jehovah hath made with you, concerning all these things.'
9 And Moses goeth up, Aaron also, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,
10 and they see the God of Israel, and under His feet `is' as the white work of the sapphire, and as the substance of the heavens for purity;
11 and unto those of the sons of Israel who are near He hath not put forth His hand, and they see God, and eat and drink.
12 And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Come up unto Me to the mount, and be there, and I give to thee the tables of stone, and the law, and the command, which I have written to direct them.'
13 And Moses riseth -- Joshua his minister also -- and Moses goeth up unto the mount of God;
14 and unto the elders he hath said, `Abide ye for us in this `place', until that we turn back unto you, and lo, Aaron and Hur `are' with you -- he who hath matters doth come nigh unto them.'
15 And Moses goeth up unto the mount, and the cloud covereth the mount;
16 and the honour of Jehovah doth tabernacle on mount Sinai, and the cloud covereth it six days, and He calleth unto Moses on the seventh day from the midst of the cloud.
17 And the appearance of the honour of Jehovah `is' as a consuming fire on the top of the mount, before the eyes of the sons of Israel;
18 and Moses goeth into the midst of the cloud, and goeth up unto the mount, and Moses is on the mount forty days and forty nights.
1 And he said to Moses, Go up to Jehovah, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship afar off.
2 And let Moses alone come near Jehovah; but they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with him.
3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the judgments; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words that Jehovah has said will we do!
4 And Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent the youths of the children of Israel, and they offered up burnt-offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offering of bullocks to Jehovah.
6 And Moses took half the blood, and put [it] in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read [it] in the ears of the people; and they said, All that Jehovah has said will we do, and obey!
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled [it] on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant that Jehovah has made with you concerning all these words.
9 And Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up;
10 and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were work of transparent sapphire, and as it were the form of heaven for clearness.
11 And on the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: they saw God, and ate and drank.
12 And Jehovah said to Moses, Come up to me into the mountain, and be there; and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law, and the commandment that I have written, for their instruction.
13 And Moses rose up, and Joshua his attendant; and Moses went up to the mountain of God.
14 And he said to the elders, Wait here for us, until we return to you; and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matter, let him come before them.
15 And Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
16 And the glory of Jehovah abode on mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 And the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and ascended the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
1 He said to Moses, "Come up to Yahweh, you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship from a distance.
2 Moses alone shall come near to Yahweh, but they shall not come near, neither shall the people go up with him."
3 Moses came and told the people all the words of Yahweh, and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, "All the words which Yahweh has spoken will we do."
4 Moses wrote all the words of Yahweh, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mountain, and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 He sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen to Yahweh.
6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 He took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, "All that Yahweh has spoken will we do, and be obedient."
8 Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, "Look, this is the blood of the covenant, which Yahweh has made with you concerning all these words."
9 Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up.
10 They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was like a paved work of sapphire{or, lapis lazuli} stone, like the skies for clearness.
11 He didn't lay his hand on the nobles of the children of Israel. They saw God, and ate and drank.
12 Yahweh said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and stay here, and I will give you the tables of stone with the law and the commands that I have written, that you may teach them."
13 Moses rose up with Joshua, his servant, and Moses went up onto God's Mountain.
14 He said to the elders, "Wait here for us, until we come again to you. Behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever is involved in a dispute can go to them."
15 Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
16 The glory of Yahweh settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. The seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17 The appearance of the glory of Yahweh was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and went up on the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
1 And he said to Moses, Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, and Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the chiefs of Israel; and give me worship from a distance.
2 And Moses only may come near to the Lord; but the others are not to come near, and the people may not come up with them.
3 Then Moses came and put before the people all the words of the Lord and his laws: and all the people, answering with one voice, said, Whatever the Lord has said we will do.
4 Then Moses put down in writing all the words of the Lord, and he got up early in the morning and made an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent some of the young men of the children of Israel to make burned offerings and peace-offerings of oxen to the Lord.
6 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins; draining out half of the blood over the altar.
7 And he took the book of the agreement, reading it in the hearing of the people: and they said, Everything which the Lord has said we will do, and we will keep his laws.
8 Then Moses took the blood and let it come on the people, and said, This blood is the sign of the agreement which the Lord has made with you in these words.
9 Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the chiefs of Israel went up:
10 And they saw the God of Israel; and under his feet there was, as it seemed, a jewelled floor, clear as the heavens.
11 And he put not his hand on the chiefs of the children of Israel: they saw God, and took food and drink.
12 And the Lord said to Moses, Come up to me on the mountain, and take your place there: and I will give you the stones on which I have put in writing the law and the orders, so that you may give the people knowledge of them.
13 Then Moses and Joshua his servant got up; and Moses went up into the mountain of God.
14 And he said to the chiefs, Keep your places here till we come back to you: Aaron and Hur are with you; if anyone has any cause let him go to them.
15 And Moses went up into the mountain, and it was covered by the cloud.
16 And the glory of the Lord was resting on Mount Sinai, and the cloud was over it for six days; and on the seventh day he said Moses' name out of the cloud.
17 And the glory of the Lord was like a flame on the top of the mountain before the eyes of the children of Israel.
18 And Moses went up the mountain, into the cloud, and was there for forty days and forty nights.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 24
Commentary on Exodus 24 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
These two verses form part of the address of God in Ex 20:22-23:33; for אמר משׁה ואל (“ but to Moses He said ”) cannot be the commencement of a fresh address, which would necessarily require מ אל ויּאמר (cf. Exodus 24:12; Exodus 19:21; Exodus 20:22). The turn given to the expression מ ואל presupposes that God had already spoken to others, or that what had been said before related not to Moses himself, but to other persons. But this cannot be affirmed of the decalogue, which applied to Moses quite as much as to the entire nation (a sufficient refutation of Knobel's assertion, that these verses are a continuation of Exodus 19:20-25, and are linked on to the decalogue), but only of the address concerning the mishpatim , or “rights,” which commences with Exodus 20:22, and, according to Exodus 20:22 and Exodus 21:1, was intended for the nation, and addressed to it, even though it was through the medium of Moses. What God said to the people as establishing its rights, is here followed by what He said to Moses himself, namely, that he was to go up to Jehovah, along with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders. At the same time, it is of course implied that Moses, who had ascended the mountain with Aaron alone (Exodus 20:21), was first of all to go down again and repeat to the people the “ rights ” which God had communicated to him, and only when this had been done, to ascend again with the persons named. According to Exodus 24:3 and Exodus 24:12 (? 9), this is what Moses really did. But Moses alone was to go near to Jehovah: the others were to worship afar off, and the people were not to come up at all.
The ceremony described in Exodus 24:3-11 is called “the covenant which Jehovah made with Israel” (Exodus 24:8). It was opened by Moses, who recited to the people “ all the words of Jehovah ” (i.e., not the decalogue, for the people had heard this directly from the mouth of God Himself, but the words in Exodus 20:22-26), and “ all the rights ” (ch. 21-23); whereupon the people answered unanimously ( אחד קול ), “ All the words which Jehovah hath spoken will we do .” This constituted the preparation for the conclusion of the covenant. It was necessary that the people should not only know what the Lord imposed upon them in the covenant about to be made with them, and what He promised them, but that they should also declare their willingness to perform what was imposed upon them. The covenant itself was commenced by Moses writing all the words of Jehovah in “ the book of the covenant ” (Exodus 24:4 and Exodus 24:7), for the purpose of preserving them in an official record. The next day, early in the morning, he built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and erected twelve boundary-stones or pillars for the twelve tribes, most likely round about the altar and at some distance from it, so as to prepare the soil upon which Jehovah was about to enter into union with the twelve tribes. As the altar indicated the presence of Jehovah, being the place where the Lord would come to His people to bless them (Exodus 20:24), so the twelve pillars, or boundary-stones, did not serve as mere memorials of the conclusion of the covenant, but were to indicate the place of the twelve tribes, and represent their presence also.
After the foundation and soil had been thus prepared in the place of sacrifice, for the fellowship which Jehovah was about to establish with His people; Moses sent young men of the children of Israel to prepare the sacrifices, and directed them to offer burnt-offering and sacrifice slain-offerings, viz., שׁלמים , “ peace-offerings (see at Leviticus 3:1) for Jehovah, ” for which purpose פּרים , bullocks, or young oxen, were used. The young men were not first-born sons, who had officiated as priests previous to the institution of the Levitical priesthood, according to the natural right of primogeniture, as Onkelos supposes; nor were they the sons of Aaron, as Augustine maintains: they simply acted as servants of Moses; and the priestly duty of sprinkling the blood was performed by him as the mediator of the covenant. It is merely as young men, therefore, i.e., as strong and active, that they are introduced in this place, and not as representatives of the nation, “by whom the sacrifice was presented, and whose attitude resembled that of a youth just ready to enter upon his course” ( Kurtz , O. C. iii. 143). For, as Oehler says, “this was not a sacrifice presented by the nation on its own account. The primary object was to establish that fellowship, by virtue of which it could draw near to Jehovah in sacrifice. Moreover, according to Exodus 24:1 and Exodus 24:9, the nation possessed its proper representatives in the seventy elders” ( Herzog's Cyclopaedia). But even though these sacrifices were not offered by the representatives of the nation, and for this very reason Moses selected young men from among the people to act as servants at this ceremony, they had so far a substitutionary position, that in their persons the nation was received into fellowship with God by means of the sprinkling of the blood, which was performed in a peculiar manner, to suit the unique design of this sacrificial ceremony.
The blood was divided into two parts. One half was swung by Moses upon the altar ( זרק to swing, shake, or pour out of the vessel, in distinction from הזּה to sprinkle) the other half he put into basins, and after he had read the book of the covenant to the people, and they had promised to do and follow all the words of Jehovah, he sprinkled it upon the people with these words: “ Behold the blood of the covenant, which Jehovah has made with you over all these words .” As several animals were slaughtered, and all of them young oxen, there must have been a considerable quantity of blood obtained, so that the one half would fill several basins, and many persons might be sprinkled with it as it was being swung about. The division of the blood had reference to the two parties to the covenant, who were to be brought by the covenant into a living unity; but it had no connection whatever with the heathen customs adduced by Bähr and Knobel , in which the parties to a treaty mixed their own blood together. For this was not a mixture of different kinds of blood, but it was a division of one blood, and that sacrificial blood, in which animal life was offered instead of human life, making expiation as a pure life for sinful man, and by virtue of this expiation restoring the fellowship between God and man which had been destroyed by sin. But the sacrificial blood itself only acquired this signification through the sprinkling or swinging upon the altar, by virtue of which the human soul was received, in the soul of the animal sacrificed for man, into the fellowship of the divine grace manifested upon the altar, in order that, through the power of this sin-forgiving and sin-destroying grace, it might be sanctified to a new and holy life. In this way the sacrificial blood acquired the signification of a vital principle endued with the power of divine grace; and this was communicated to the people by means of the sprinkling of the blood. As the only reason for dividing the sacrificial blood into two parts was, that the blood sprinkled upon the altar could not be taken off again and sprinkled upon the people; the two halves of the blood are to be regarded as one blood, which was first of all sprinkled upon the altar, and then upon the people. In the blood sprinkled upon the altar, the natural life of the people was given up to God, as a life that had passed through death, to be pervaded by His grace; and then through the sprinkling upon the people it was restored to them again, as a life renewed by the grace of God. In this way the blood not only became a bond of union between Jehovah and His people, but as the blood of the covenant, it became a vital power, holy and divine, uniting Israel and its God; and the sprinkling of the people with this blood was an actual renewal of life, a transposition of Israel into the kingdom of God, in which it was filled with the powers of God's spirit of grace, and sanctified into a kingdom of priests, a holy nation of Jehovah (Exodus 19:6). And this covenant was made “upon all the words” which Jehovah had spoken, and the people had promised to observe. Consequently it had for its foundation the divine law and right, as the rule of life for Israel.
Through their consecration with the blood of the covenant, the Israelites were qualified to ascend the mountain, and there behold the God of Israel and celebrate the covenant meal; of course, not the whole of the people, for that would have been impracticable on physical grounds, but the nation in the persons of its representatives, viz., the seventy elders, with Aaron and his two eldest sons. The fact that the latter were summoned along with the elders had reference to their future election to the priesthood, the bearers of which were to occupy the position of mediators between Jehovah and the nation, an office for which this was a preparation. The reason for choosing seventy out of the whole body of elders (Exodus 24:3) is to be found in the historical and symbolical significance of this number. “ They saw the God of Israel .” This title is very appropriately given to Jehovah here, because He, the God of the fathers, had become in truth the God of Israel through the covenant just made. We must not go beyond the limits drawn in Exodus 33:20-23 in our conceptions of what constituted the sight ( חזה Exodus 24:11) of God; at the same time we must regard it as a vision of God in some form of manifestation which rendered the divine nature discernible to the human eye. Nothing is said as to the form in which God manifested Himself. This silence, however, is not intended “to indicate the imperfection of their sight of God,” as Baumgarten affirms, nor is it to be explained, as Hoffmann supposes, on the ground that “what they saw differed from what the people had constantly before their eyes simply in this respect, that after they had entered the darkness, which enveloped the mountain that burned as it were with fire at its summit, the fiery sign separated from the cloud, and assumed a shape, beneath which it was bright and clear, as an image of untroubled bliss.” The words are evidently intended to affirm something more than, that they saw the fiery form in which God manifested Himself to the people, and that whilst the fire was ordinarily enveloped in a cloud, they saw it upon the mountain without the cloud. For, since Moses saw the form ( תּמוּנה ) of Jehovah (Numbers 12:8), we may fairly conclude, notwithstanding the fact that, according to Exodus 24:2, the representatives of the nation were not to draw near to Jehovah, and without any danger of contradicting Deuteronomy 4:12 and Deuteronomy 4:15, that they also saw a form of God. Only this form is not described, in order that no encouragement might be given to the inclination of the people to make likenesses of Jehovah. Thus we find that Isaiah gives no description of the form in which he saw the Lord sitting upon a high and lofty throne (Isaiah 6:1). Ezekiel is the first to describe the form of Jehovah which he saw in the vision, “as the appearance of a man” (Ezekiel 1:26; compare Daniel 7:9 and Daniel 7:13). “ And there was under His feet as it were work of clear sapphire ( לבנת , from לבנה whiteness, clearness, not from לבנה a brick),
(Note: This is the derivation adopted by the English translators in their rendering “ paved work.” - Tr.)
and as the material ( עצם body, substance) of heaven in brilliancy, ” - to indicate that the God of Israel was enthroned above the heaven in super-terrestrial glory and undisturbed blessedness. And God was willing that His people should share in this blessedness, for “ He laid not His hand upon the nobles of Israel, ” i.e., did not attack them. “ They saw God, and did eat and drink, ” i.e., they celebrated thus near to Him the sacrificial meal of the peace-offerings, which had been sacrificed at the conclusion of the covenant, and received in this covenant meal a foretaste of the precious and glorious gifts with which God would endow and refresh His redeemed people in His kingdom. As the promise in Exodus 19:5-6, with which God opened the way for the covenant at Sinai, set clearly before the nation that had been rescued from Egypt the ultimate goal of its divine calling; so this termination of the ceremony was intended to give to the nation, in the persons of its representatives, a tangible pledge of the glory of the goal that was set before it. The sight of the God of Israel was a foretaste of the blessedness of the sight of God in eternity, and the covenant meal upon the mountain before the face of God was a type of the marriage supper of the Lamb, to which the Lord will call, and at which He will present His perfected Church in the day of the full revelation of His glory (Revelation 19:7-9).
Exodus 24:12-18 prepare the way for the subsequent revelation recorded in ch. 25-31, which Moses received concerning the erection of the sanctuary. At the conclusion of the covenant meal, the representatives of the nation left the mountain along with Moses. This is not expressly stated, indeed; since it followed as a matter of course that they returned to the camp, when the festival for which God had called them up was concluded. A command was then issued again to Moses to ascend the mountain, and remain there ( והיה־שׁם ), for He was about to give him the tables of stone, with ( ו as in Genesis 3:24) the law and commandments, which He had written for their instruction (cf. Exodus 31:18).
Exodus 24:13-14
When Moses was preparing to ascend the mountain with his servant Joshua (vid., Joshua 17:9), he ordered the elders to remain in the camp ( בּזה i.e., where they were) till their return, and appointed Aaron and Hur (vid., Exodus 17:10) as administrators of justice in case of any disputes occurring among the people. דּברים מי־בעל whoever has matters, matters of dispute (on this meaning of בּעל see Genesis 37:19).
Exodus 24:15-17
When he ascended the mountain, upon which the glory of Jehovah dwelt, it was covered for six days with the cloud, and the glory itself appeared to the Israelites in the camp below like devouring fire (cf. Exodus 19:16); and on the seventh day He called Moses into the cloud. Whether Joshua followed him we are not told; but it is evident from Exodus 32:17 that he was with him on the mountain, though, judging from Exodus 24:2 and Exodus 33:11, he would not go into the immediate presence of God.
Exodus 24:18
“ And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights, ” including the six days of waiting, - the whole time without eating and drinking (Deuteronomy 9:9). The number forty was certainly significant, since it was not only repeated on the occasion of his second protracted stay upon Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 9:18), but occurred again in the forty days of Elijah's journey to Horeb the mount of God in the strength of the food received from the angel (1 Kings 19:8), and in the fasting of Jesus at the time of His temptation (Matthew 4:2; Luke 4:2), and even appears to have been significant in the forty years of Israel's wandering in the desert (Deuteronomy 8:2). In all these cases the number refers to a period of temptation, of the trial of faith, as well as to a period of the strengthening of faith through the miraculous support bestowed by God.