Exodus24
New King James Version
1Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar.
2And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.”
3So 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 has said we will do.”
4And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord.
6And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.”
8And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”
9Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,
10and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.
11But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank.
12Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”
13So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God.
14And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.”
15Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.
16Now the glory of the Lord rested 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.
17The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Exodus 24.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: 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).
vv1-8
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 peculiar people, he governed them by a written word, as he has done ever since. God's covenants and commands are so just in themselves, and so much for our good, that the more we think of them, and the more plainly and fully they are set before us, the more reason we may see to comply with them. The blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on the altar, on the book, and on the people. Neither their persons, their moral obedience, nor religious services, would meet with acceptance from a holy God, except through the shedding and sprinkling’ of blood. Also the blessings granted unto them were all of mercy; and the Lord would deal with them in kindness. Thus the sinner, by faith in the blood of Christ, renders willing and acceptable obedience. (Ex 24:9-11)
vv9-11
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 in our hearts. Thus the believer sees in the face of Jesus Christ, far clearer discoveries of the glorious justice and holiness of God, than ever he saw under terrifying convictions; and through the Saviour, holds communion with a holy God.
vv12-18
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 through a glass darkly, but when he shall appear, then face to face. This vision of God will continue with equal, if not increasing brightness of joy; not for a few days only, but through eternity.
Key Words
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
מֹשֶׁה: Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver
עָלָה: to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount); used in a great variety of senses, primary and secondary, literal and figurative
אַהֲרוֹן: Aharon, the brother of Moses
נָדָב: Nadab, the name of four Israelites
אֲבִיהוּא: Abihu, a son of Aaron
שִׁבְעִים: seventy
זָקֵן: old
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
שָׁחָה: to depress, i.e. prostrate (especially reflexive, in homage to royalty or God)
Cross References
Exodus 24Explicit NT fulfillment detailing Moses reading the book and sprinkling all the people with blood.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Jesus directly echoes Moses' words, establishing the New Covenant in His blood.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Ezekiel's vision of the divine throne mirrors the sapphire pavement under God's feet.
Supported by JFB
Moses' firsthand account of fasting forty days and nights on the mount to receive the stone tables.
Supported by JFB
Clarifies the identity of the 'young men' acting as the preliminary priests.
Supported by JFB
Theological parallel of believers being chosen for obedience and the sprinkling of Christ's blood.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Identifies the tables of stone as written with the finger of God.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Cites the description of God's consuming fire on the mount to describe His holy nature.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Genealogical identification of Nadab and Abihu as Aaron's oldest sons.
Supported by JFB
The appointment of seventy elders, echoing the seventy who ascended here.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Deuteronomy stresses that Israel saw no physical form, explaining the symbolic nature of this vision.
Supported by JFB
Elijah's forty-day fast at Horeb/Sinai, mirroring Moses' miraculous duration.
Supported by JFB
Jesus' forty-day fast in the wilderness, typified by Moses on the mount.
Supported by JFB
The people's initial unanimous vow of obedience prior to the formal covenant ratification.
Supported by JFB
Establishes Hur's prominence alongside Aaron in supporting Moses during battle.
Supported by Matthew Poole