King James Version
Exodus 24
18 verses with commentary
The Covenant Confirmed
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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>Covenant ratification begins with graded access: Moses, Aaron and sons (Nadab, Abihu), seventy elders—but all worship 'afar off' (מֵרָחֹק, merachok). Only Moses will approach closer (v. 2). The seventy elders represent the nation in...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XXIV.
THE RATIFICATION OF THE COVENANT.
(1) **And he said.**—We should have expected “And God said,” or “And Jehovah said.” The omission of the nominative is probably to be accounted for by the insertion into Exodus at this point of “the Book of the Covenant,” which was originally a distinct document. Exodus 24:1 of Exodus 24 probably followed originally on Exodus 20:21 of Exodus 20. The sequence ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 24
Chapter Outline
Moses is called up into the mountain, The people promise obedience.(1-8)
The glory of the Lord appears.(9-11)
Moses goes up into the mountain.(12-18)
**Verses 1-8**
A solemn covenant was made between God and Israel. Very solemn it was, typifying the covenant of grace between God and believers, through Christ. As soon as God separated to himself a pe...
Read full commentary →And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.</strong><br><br>This verse participates in the climactic covenant ratification ceremony—Israel formally enters covenant relationship with YHWH. The ritual involves blood sprinkling (connecting God and people), meal fellowship (communion in God's presence), and witnessing theopha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 24
Chapter Outline
Moses is called up into the mountain, The people promise obedience.(1-8)
The glory of the Lord appears.(9-11)
Moses goes up into the mountain.(12-18)
**Verses 1-8**
A solemn covenant was made between God and Israel. Very solemn it was, typifying the covenant of grace between God and believers, through Christ. As soon as God separated to himself a pe...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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 spoken will we do.</strong><br><br>Moses reports all God's words (Ten Commandments) and judgments (mishpatim, chs. 21-23). The people respond unanimously: 'All...we will do' (כָּל אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר יְהוָה נַעֲשֶׂה, kol ash...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Moses . . . told the people all the words of the Lord.**—Moses gave them an outline of the legislation which he subsequently committed to writing (Exodus 24:4) and formed into “the Book of the Covenant” (Exodus 24:7). Its general purport and main heads were communicated, but probably not all its details. Otherwise it would scarcely have been necessary to read the contents of the book to them...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-36. If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die--**For the purpose of sanctifying human blood, and representing all injuries affecting life in a serious light, an animal that occasioned death was to be killed or suffer punishment proportioned to the degree of damage it had caused. Punishments are still inflicted on this principle in Persia and other countries of the East; and among a rude p...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 24
Chapter Outline
Moses is called up into the mountain, The people promise obedience.(1-8)
The glory of the Lord appears.(9-11)
Moses goes up into the mountain.(12-18)
**Verses 1-8**
A solemn covenant was made between God and Israel. Very solemn it was, typifying the covenant of grace between God and believers, through Christ. As soon as God separated to himself a pe...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>Moses 'wrote all the words' (וַיִּכְתֹּב, vayikhtov)—creating the first Scripture. Written revelation prevents oral corruption. He builds an altar (for sacrifice) and twelve pillars/standing stones (מ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Moses wrote.**—Comp. Exodus 17:14. The familiarity of Moses with writing is throughout presumed in the Pentateuch. One “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” under the nineteenth dynasty could not well be ignorant of this ordinary Egyptian accomplishment.
**Under the hill.**—Heb., *the mountain. *The Ras Sufsafeh is intended.
**Twelve pillars.**—As the altar symbolised and indicated th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-36. If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die--**For the purpose of sanctifying human blood, and representing all injuries affecting life in a serious light, an animal that occasioned death was to be killed or suffer punishment proportioned to the degree of damage it had caused. Punishments are still inflicted on this principle in Persia and other countries of the East; and among a rude p...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 24
Chapter Outline
Moses is called up into the mountain, The people promise obedience.(1-8)
The glory of the Lord appears.(9-11)
Moses goes up into the mountain.(12-18)
**Verses 1-8**
A solemn covenant was made between God and Israel. Very solemn it was, typifying the covenant of grace between God and believers, through Christ. As soon as God separated to himself a pe...
Read full commentary →And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.</strong><br><br>'Young men' (הַנְּעָרִים, hane'arim) offer sacrifices—likely firstborn sons, since the Aaronic priesthood hasn't been instituted yet. 'Burnt offerings' (עֹלֹת, olot) ascend wholly to God, representing total consecration. 'Peace offerings' (זְ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Young men . . . which offered burnt offerings.**—It is to be noted that, even subsequently to the appointment of the Levitical priesthood, the acts of slaughtering the victims and arranging the flesh upon the altar were regarded as appropriately per formed by any Israelite (Leviticus 1:5-6; Leviticus 1:11-12, &c). The sprinkling of the blood and the lighting of the fire were the special sacr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-36. If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die--**For the purpose of sanctifying human blood, and representing all injuries affecting life in a serious light, an animal that occasioned death was to be killed or suffer punishment proportioned to the degree of damage it had caused. Punishments are still inflicted on this principle in Persia and other countries of the East; and among a rude p...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 24
Chapter Outline
Moses is called up into the mountain, The people promise obedience.(1-8)
The glory of the Lord appears.(9-11)
Moses goes up into the mountain.(12-18)
**Verses 1-8**
A solemn covenant was made between God and Israel. Very solemn it was, typifying the covenant of grace between God and believers, through Christ. As soon as God separated to himself a pe...
Read full commentary →And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.</strong><br><br>Blood divides into halves—one for altar (God's side), one for people (v. 8). This symbolizes covenant binds both parties. 'Sprinkled on altar' (וַיִּזְרֹק עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, vayizroq al-hamizbeach) means blood touches God's throne. Blood is life (Leviticus 17:11); sprinkl...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Put it in basons.**—Reserving it for the purpose stated in Exodus 24:8.
**Half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.**—This was the most essential part of every sacrifice—the act by which the victim, the representative of the offerer, was made over and delivered up to God. Usually all the blood was thus devoted; here there was need of some for another purpose.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-36. If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die--**For the purpose of sanctifying human blood, and representing all injuries affecting life in a serious light, an animal that occasioned death was to be killed or suffer punishment proportioned to the degree of damage it had caused. Punishments are still inflicted on this principle in Persia and other countries of the East; and among a rude p...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 24
Chapter Outline
Moses is called up into the mountain, The people promise obedience.(1-8)
The glory of the Lord appears.(9-11)
Moses goes up into the mountain.(12-18)
**Verses 1-8**
A solemn covenant was made between God and Israel. Very solemn it was, typifying the covenant of grace between God and believers, through Christ. As soon as God separated to himself a pe...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath spoken will we do, and be obedient.</strong><br><br>'Book of the covenant' (סֵפֶר הַבְּרִית, sefer haberit)—the written law Moses penned (v. 4), probably Exodus 20:22-23:33. Reading in their hearing makes them legally accountable—they heard, understood, agreed. Their response...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **The book of the covenant**—*i.e., *the book which he had written overnight, the collection of laws and promises which we have in Exodus 20:22 to Exodus 23:33.
**In the audience of the people.**—Heb., *in the ears of the people.*
**And they said.**—Having heard the *ipsissima verba *spoken by God to Moses, they repeated their previous acceptance (see Exodus 24:3), adding a general promise of ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-36. If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die--**For the purpose of sanctifying human blood, and representing all injuries affecting life in a serious light, an animal that occasioned death was to be killed or suffer punishment proportioned to the degree of damage it had caused. Punishments are still inflicted on this principle in Persia and other countries of the East; and among a rude p...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 24
Chapter Outline
Moses is called up into the mountain, The people promise obedience.(1-8)
The glory of the Lord appears.(9-11)
Moses goes up into the mountain.(12-18)
**Verses 1-8**
A solemn covenant was made between God and Israel. Very solemn it was, typifying the covenant of grace between God and believers, through Christ. As soon as God separated to himself a pe...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>Moses sprinkles the second half of blood 'on the people' (עַל־הָעָם, al-ha'am)—same blood touching altar and people unites both in covenant. 'Behold the blood of the covenant' (הִנֵּה דַם־הַבְּרִית, hinneh dam-ha...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it . . . —**Half of the blood had been sprinkled upon the altar, which symbolised Jehovah; the other half was now sprinkled upon the people, or rather upon their representatives—the elders and others who stood nearest to Moses. Thus the two parties to the covenant, sprinkled with the blood of the same sacrifices, were brought into sacramental union. Ri...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-36. If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die--**For the purpose of sanctifying human blood, and representing all injuries affecting life in a serious light, an animal that occasioned death was to be killed or suffer punishment proportioned to the degree of damage it had caused. Punishments are still inflicted on this principle in Persia and other countries of the East; and among a rude p...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 24
Chapter Outline
Moses is called up into the mountain, The people promise obedience.(1-8)
The glory of the Lord appears.(9-11)
Moses goes up into the mountain.(12-18)
**Verses 1-8**
A solemn covenant was made between God and Israel. Very solemn it was, typifying the covenant of grace between God and believers, through Christ. As soon as God separated to himself a pe...
Read full commentary →Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel;</strong><br><br>After covenant ratification, the representatives ascend—Moses, Aaron, his two oldest sons, and seventy elders (74 total). This fulfills verse 1's command. They climb to see God (v. 10), an unprecedented privilege. The number seventy reappears throughout Scripture: seventy nations (Genesis ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Then went up.**—According to the ordinary ideas of the time, the ratification of the covenant was now complete, and nothing more was needed. It pleased God, however, to terminate the whole transaction by a closing scene of extraordinary grandeur, beauty, and spiritual significance. A sacrifice implied a sacrificial meal (Exodus 18:12). Moses understood that God, by summoning Aaron, Nadab, Ab...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-36. If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die--**For the purpose of sanctifying human blood, and representing all injuries affecting life in a serious light, an animal that occasioned death was to be killed or suffer punishment proportioned to the degree of damage it had caused. Punishments are still inflicted on this principle in Persia and other countries of the East; and among a rude p...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-11**
The elders saw the God of Israel; they had some glimpse of his glory, though whatever they saw, it was something of which no image or picture could be made, yet enough to satisfy them that God was with them of a truth. Nothing is described but what was under his feet. The sapphires are the pavement under his feet; let us put all the wealth of this world under our feet, and not ...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>The staggering statement: 'they SAW the God of Israel' (וַיִּרְאוּ אֵת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, vayir'u et Elohei Yisrael). God is spirit (John 4:24), invisible (1 Timothy 6:16), yet they saw some manifestation—likely the A...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **They saw the God of Israel.**—Probably, in human form, as Isaiah saw Him (Isaiah 6:1-5), and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:26), and even Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3:25). It is not of this appearance that Moses says: “Ye saw no similitude” (Deuteronomy 4:12). The appearance which they saw had “feet.”
**A paved work of a sapphire stone.**—Heb., *a work of the clearness of sapphire. *The “sapphire” (*sappir...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-36. If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die--**For the purpose of sanctifying human blood, and representing all injuries affecting life in a serious light, an animal that occasioned death was to be killed or suffer punishment proportioned to the degree of damage it had caused. Punishments are still inflicted on this principle in Persia and other countries of the East; and among a rude p...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-11**
The elders saw the God of Israel; they had some glimpse of his glory, though whatever they saw, it was something of which no image or picture could be made, yet enough to satisfy them that God was with them of a truth. Nothing is described but what was under his feet. The sapphires are the pavement under his feet; let us put all the wealth of this world under our feet, and not ...
Read full commentary →And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.</strong><br><br>'He laid not His hand' (לֹא שָׁלַח יָדוֹ, lo shalach yado)—God didn't strike them dead despite seeing Him. This is mercy emphasized—normally seeing God kills (Exodus 33:20, Judges 13:22). 'They saw God, and did eat and drink' (וַיֶּחֱזוּ אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאכְלוּ ו...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **The nobles.**—The word used is an unusual one, but seems to designate the “elders” of Exodus 24:1; Exodus 24:9. It implies nobility of birth.
**He laid not his hand**—i.e., He in nowise hurt or injured them. The belief was general that a man could not see God and live (Genesis 32:30; Exodus 32:20; Judges 6:22-23, &c.). In one sense it was true—“No man hath seen the Father.” But the Son coul...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-36. If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die--**For the purpose of sanctifying human blood, and representing all injuries affecting life in a serious light, an animal that occasioned death was to be killed or suffer punishment proportioned to the degree of damage it had caused. Punishments are still inflicted on this principle in Persia and other countries of the East; and among a rude p...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-11**
The elders saw the God of Israel; they had some glimpse of his glory, though whatever they saw, it was something of which no image or picture could be made, yet enough to satisfy them that God was with them of a truth. Nothing is described but what was under his feet. The sapphires are the pavement under his feet; let us put all the wealth of this world under our feet, and not ...
Read full commentary →Moses on the Mountain
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.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>God summons Moses higher and longer—'be there' (וֶהְיֵה־שָׁם, veheyeh-sham) suggests extended stay. God will give stone tablets (לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן, luchot ha'even)—permanent, imperishable r...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
THE SECOND ASCENT OF MOSES INTO MOUNT SINAI.
(12-18) The great work still remained to be done. A series of laws had been laid down for the nation and accepted with unanimity (Exodus 24:3; Exodus 24:7). But “*quid prosunt leges sine moribus*?” It was necessary for the sustentation of the religious life of the people that a sacred polity should be instituted, a form of worship set up, and regulation...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-18**
A cloud covered the mount six days; a token of God's special presence there. Moses was sure that he who called him up would protect him. Even those glorious attributes of God which are most terrible to the wicked, the saints with humble reverence rejoice in. And through faith in the atoning Sacrifice, we hope for greater honour than Moses ever enjoyed on earth. Now we see thro...
Read full commentary →And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.</strong><br><br>Moses takes Joshua (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, Yehoshua, 'YHWH saves')—his assistant and eventual successor. Joshua climbs partway but doesn't enter the cloud (v. 15-18 shows Moses alone in glory). This begins Joshua's preparation for leadership—he observes Moses' intimacy with God. Joshua later meets the...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua.**—The close connection of Joshua with Moses is here, for the first time, indicated. His employment as a general against Amalek (Exodus 17:9-13) might have simply marked his military capacity; but from this point in the history it becomes apparent that he was Moses’ most trusted friend and assistant in all matters where there was need of confidential r...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 22 Ex 22:1-31. Laws concerning Theft.
**1-4. If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep--**The law respects the theft of cattle which constituted the chief part of their property. The penalty for the theft of a sheep which was slain or sold, was fourfold; for an ox fivefold, because of its greater utility in labor; but, should the stolen animal have been recovered alive, a double compensation...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-18**
A cloud covered the mount six days; a token of God's special presence there. Moses was sure that he who called him up would protect him. Even those glorious attributes of God which are most terrible to the wicked, the saints with humble reverence rejoice in. And through faith in the atoning Sacrifice, we hope for greater honour than Moses ever enjoyed on earth. Now we see thro...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>Moses delegates authority—Aaron and Hur (possibly Miriam's husband) will judge disputes during his absence. 'If any man have matters' (מִי־בַעַל דְּבָרִים, mi-ba'al devarim) means 'whoever has ca...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **He said unto the elders.**—Moses understood that his stay in the mount was about to be a prolonged one (see Exodus 24:12). He therefore prudently determined to make arrangements for the government and direction of the people during his absence. Aaron his brother, and Hur, the father of Bezaleel, perhaps his brother- in-law, seemed to him the fittest persons to exercise authority over the pe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 22 Ex 22:1-31. Laws concerning Theft.
**1-4. If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep--**The law respects the theft of cattle which constituted the chief part of their property. The penalty for the theft of a sheep which was slain or sold, was fourfold; for an ox fivefold, because of its greater utility in labor; but, should the stolen animal have been recovered alive, a double compensation...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-18**
A cloud covered the mount six days; a token of God's special presence there. Moses was sure that he who called him up would protect him. Even those glorious attributes of God which are most terrible to the wicked, the saints with humble reverence rejoice in. And through faith in the atoning Sacrifice, we hope for greater honour than Moses ever enjoyed on earth. Now we see thro...
Read full commentary →And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.</strong><br><br>Moses ascends alone into the cloud—the cloud of God's presence (עָנָן, anan) that both reveals and conceals. The cloud 'covered' (וַיְכַס, vayekhas) the mountain—enveloping it in glory. Inside the cloud, Moses meets God face to face (33:11). The cloud imagery runs throughout the Pentateuch: pillar of cloud lea...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **A cloud covered the mount.**—Heb., *the cloud*—*i.e., *the cloud which had accompanied them from Succoth (Exodus 13:21-22).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 22 Ex 22:1-31. Laws concerning Theft.
**1-4. If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep--**The law respects the theft of cattle which constituted the chief part of their property. The penalty for the theft of a sheep which was slain or sold, was fourfold; for an ox fivefold, because of its greater utility in labor; but, should the stolen animal have been recovered alive, a double compensation...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-18**
A cloud covered the mount six days; a token of God's special presence there. Moses was sure that he who called him up would protect him. Even those glorious attributes of God which are most terrible to the wicked, the saints with humble reverence rejoice in. And through faith in the atoning Sacrifice, we hope for greater honour than Moses ever enjoyed on earth. Now we see thro...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>'Glory of the LORD' (כְּבוֹד יְהוָה, kevod YHWH) is God's weighty presence, His manifest excellence. The glory 'abode' (וַיִּשְׁכֹּן, vayishkon) uses the verb root for 'dwelling' (shakhan), later forming 'Shekinah'—God'...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **The seventh day he called unto Moses **out **of the midst of the cloud.**—Moses, it is evident, would not enter the cloud without a positive summons. It pleased God to put off the summons for six days. Moses doubtless employed the time in such prayer and meditation as rendered him fit for near contact with Deity.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 22 Ex 22:1-31. Laws concerning Theft.
**1-4. If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep--**The law respects the theft of cattle which constituted the chief part of their property. The penalty for the theft of a sheep which was slain or sold, was fourfold; for an ox fivefold, because of its greater utility in labor; but, should the stolen animal have been recovered alive, a double compensation...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-18**
A cloud covered the mount six days; a token of God's special presence there. Moses was sure that he who called him up would protect him. Even those glorious attributes of God which are most terrible to the wicked, the saints with humble reverence rejoice in. And through faith in the atoning Sacrifice, we hope for greater honour than Moses ever enjoyed on earth. Now we see thro...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>From below, God's glory looks like 'devouring fire' (אֵשׁ אֹכֶלֶת, esh okhelet)—consuming, terrifying. 'On the top' (בְּרֹאשׁ, berosh) the mountain, visible to all below. The people see what Moses enters—fire that would consume them kills him not. Th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **The sight of the glory of the Lord.**—To the Israelites in the plain below, the appearance on the top of the Ras Sufsafeh was “like devouring fire.” A light like that of a conflagration rested on the top of the Ras Sufsafeh all the time that Moses was away.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-18**
A cloud covered the mount six days; a token of God's special presence there. Moses was sure that he who called him up would protect him. Even those glorious attributes of God which are most terrible to the wicked, the saints with humble reverence rejoice in. And through faith in the atoning Sacrifice, we hope for greater honour than Moses ever enjoyed on earth. Now we see thro...
Read full commentary →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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>Moses enters 'the midst of the cloud' (בְּתוֹךְ הֶעָנָן, betokh he'anan)—into the fire the people saw. He survives forty days and nights without food or water (Deuteronomy 9:9)—supernaturally sustained. Forty is the number of testing: rain for f...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.**—During the whole **of **this time he took no food (Deuteronomy 9:9). Comp. The fast of Elijah (1Kings 19:8), and that of our blessed Lord (Matthew 3:2). Modern imitations are in all probability impostures.
**Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. If fire break out, and catch in thorns--**This refers to the common practice in the East of setting fire to the dry grass before the fall of the autumnal rains, which prevents the ravages of vermin, and is considered a good preparation of the ground for the next crop. The very parched state of the herbage and the long droughts of summer, make the kindling of a fire an operation often dangerou...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 12-18**
A cloud covered the mount six days; a token of God's special presence there. Moses was sure that he who called him up would protect him. Even those glorious attributes of God which are most terrible to the wicked, the saints with humble reverence rejoice in. And through faith in the atoning Sacrifice, we hope for greater honour than Moses ever enjoyed on earth. Now we see thro...
Read full commentary →