Preface: This chapter prepares us for God giving the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel (Exodus 20).

The Bible Summary of Exodus 19 (in 140 characters or less): The Israelites camped near the mountain in Sinai. The LORD spoke to Moses on the mountain and made his covenant with Israel.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Exodus. This will be the most extensive examination of Exodus 19, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 19:

Introduction

         vv.     1–6           God Speaks Directly to Moses

         vv.     7–13         God, through Moses, Tells Israel What to Do in Preparation

         vv.    14–16         The People Are Prepared

         vv.    17–19         The People Come to the Foot of Mount Sinai to Meet God

         vv.    20–25         God Calls Moses to Come up the Mountain to be Given Final Warnings for Israel

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Israel’s Route From Egypt to Sinai (a map)

         Introduction         Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia (a graphic)

         Introduction         Chiasmos of Exodus 19–40 (from Ted)

         Introduction         At Mount Sinai (a graphic)

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Exodus 19 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Exodus 19 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Exodus 19

         Introduction         The Prequel of Exodus 19

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Exodus 19

         Introduction         The Places of Exodus 19

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Exodus 19

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Exodus 19

         Introduction         Outlines of Exodus 19 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Exodus 19 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Exodus 17–20)

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Exodus 19)

         Introduction 

         v. 

         v. 

         v.       2              A Brief Examination of Numbers 33:1–16

         v.       3              Israel camped before Mount Sinai (a graphic)

         v.       5              Conditional Blessing

         v.       5              Exodus 19:5 (a graphic)

         v.       6              Exodus 19:6 (a graphic)

         v.       6              Exodus 19:3–6 (a graphic)

         v.       6              The Uniqueness of Israel

         v.       6              Israel’s Unique Origin

         v.       6              Uniqueness of Israel—Expanded 

         v.       7              Exodus 19:7 (a graphic)

         v.       8              Exodus 19:8 (WEB) (a graphic)

         v.      10              A Mini-Review of Exodus 19:7–9

         v.      10              Exodus 19:10 (ASV) (a graphic)

         v.      12              Gâbal (a Hebrew word graphic)

         v.      13              Exodus 19:13 (NIV) (a graphic)

         v.      14              The People Washing Their Clothes (a graphic)

         v. 

         v. 

         v.      16              The Black Smoke of a Volcano (a photograph)

         v.      16              Moses speaks with God (Gerard Hoet – 1728)

         v.      18              Mt. Sinai charring and burn scars remain (a graphic)

         v.      19              Lightning and Smoke (a photograph)

         v.      21              Exodus 19:20–21 (NKJV) (a graphic)

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         v.      24              The Pre-Levitical Priesthood

         v.      24              Moses Forbids the People to Follow Him (a watercolor James J. Tissot, 1896-1900)

         v.      24              The Pre-Levitical Priesthood

         v. 

         v.      25              Parallels Between Exodus and Acts (a graphic)

         v. 

         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Exodus 19 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Exodus 19

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Exodus 19

         Summary            A Brief Review of Exodus 19

         Summary            The Evolution of ASV ➜ NASB ➜ LSB

         Summary            Chapter 19 Index

         Summary            Shmoop Summary of Exodus 19

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Exodus 19

         Summary 

         Summary 

         Summary 

         Summary 

         Summary 

         Summary 

         Summary 

         Summary 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Exodus 19

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Exodus 19

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Exodus 19

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Exodus 19

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An Introduction to Exodus 19

I ntroduction: Exodus 18 is very closely related to Exodus 19 and 20. In Exodus 18, we find that Israel lacked a carefully structured legal system. The Israelites essentially had one judge—Moses—and he was overworked when it came to judging two million Israelites. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, put together one piece of the puzzle when it came to legal disputes. “You need to set up a number of judges who are organized in such a way that they might execute justice among the people,” was the gist of what Jethro had said. Moses, being convinced of Jethro’s point of view, did what his father-in-law suggested.

Therefore, a system of judges and authorities was set up. Jethro had an idea for how to structure these judges (Exodus 18:21–22); and Moses followed Jethro’s advice. Exodus 18:24–26 So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. Moses chose capable men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. They judged the people all the time. The hard cases they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. (Tree of Life Version)

Because of Moses’ background, Jethro and the people of Israel took it for granted that Moses understood what a fair system of laws would look like. On the one hand, Moses certainly was able to, from his own mind, apply the system of law which he learned in Egypt. This system of law would be modified by his spiritual understanding. But, was there anything written down? If there was, it was likely nothing more than a recording of the decisions which Moses handed down (which was not preserved). Essentially this would be known as case law today. Let me suggest that such records existed, simply because, if Charley Brown and Lucy Van Pelt had a disagreement, then Moses would rule; and both Brown and Van Pelt would be subject to the decision of Moses. Did Moses want to see these two again? That is, what if they came back for another dispute saying, “I understood your ruling to be X” and the other saying, “I understood your ruling to be Y”? Logically, to keep these two out of court, a ruling would be delivered verbally and a record would also be kept of that ruling. So, in a sense, a system of laws was more or less in place, based upon Moses’ rulings (he probably made 20–30 rulings a day). But what Israel really needed was a well-defined system of Law which the people could learn and, ideally speaking, obey.

God was aware of this and note the perfect timing. Jethro called Moses’ attention to his never-ending time spent in court presiding over one case after another, telling him, “You need a better system.” So Moses organized a better system, as suggested by Jethro. Now, here all Israel stands, at the foot of Mount Sinai. They are about to receive the ultimate Law from God, although none of them realize this as of yet.

Israel will be prepared to receive the Law of God in Exodus 19; and Israel will begin to receive that Law in Exodus 20 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Israel’s Route From Egypt to Sinai (a map); from the Daily Star (in the UK); accessed October 31, 2023.

One reason to accept this map, at least in part: where you see the word Aqaba is the location of Midian. Jethro would have come to Moses when he was close to where Moses was camped.

One reason to reject this map: crossing the water at that point on the Gulf of Aqaba is a long distance from Egypt. That place was probably somewhere near the Gulf of Suez or at another river in that region which has since dried up. Recall that, when Moses and the people double-backed at some point, Pharaoh knew about it, meaning that he had eyes on the people of Israel after they left.

Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia (a graphic); from the Daily Star (in the UK); accessed October 31, 2023. I don’t know if this is an artist’s depiction of what he believe this mountain to look like or whether this was designed based on reasonably contemporary photographs of this region.

Based upon my reading, we only are guessing as to where this mountain range is located (although, generally speaking, the map above could be reasonably accurate as to the location of Mount Sinai).

Even though this region is many times called a desert region or a wilderness, that does not mean that it was this dry back then. In that era, the word wilderness simply referred to a place which was mostly unoccupied. Man had not increased in numbers large enough to actually live in this place (as they do today). By the descriptions which we have read so far in Exodus, the region that the Hebrew people are traveling through has lakes, rivers and oases. Everything that we read in Exodus and Numbers indicates that the land was better watered in that age than it is now.

Israel at Mount Sinai

At Mount Sinai (a graphic); from YouTube; accessed October 31, 2023. There are better photos on this YouTube video, except that they are all incorrectly marked Exodus 18:1–25.

Exodus 19 is a preparatory chapter. The Israelites are about to receive the Law and chapter 19 prepares them for this.

In today's Christian community, one of the things which is almost ignored entirely is preparation. For example, some pastors might be prepared in a seminary for four years, which is barely enough time to get your feet wet (unless you have a good spiritual background prior to) and a few others of the clergy are prepared in the same way. Some just get saved and go out and start preaching the next day, which is wholly ridiculous. Such people do not even know the gospel message yet; let alone anything that involves serious theology. Unfortunately, some even start churches this way. Preparation is for all Christians—there is no distinction between clergy and non-clergy when it comes to God's plan—is spiritual growth. Out from spiritual growth comes a productive spiritual life, and then eternal rewards.

Spiritual training should begin for children in infancy and be continued throughout their lives at home. Those who are saved later in life need to be daily prepared with God's Word. We are bombarded every day, for 16–18 hours a day, with human viewpoint and Satanic propaganda. We see it on TV, in advertising of all sorts, in the movies, we hear it on the radio, we hear it from every person that we come in contact with. For example, based upon what we see on television, virtually every group of friends has close homosexual friends (or homosexual couples); and these people act exactly like heterosexuals except for liking the same gender (and if you are thinking, they don’t?, then you have believed the lie).

When someone becomes a Christian, it is Satan's strategy to neutralize that person and we are neutralized in our thinking. So we need that little hour a day of God's viewpoint taught by a pastor-teacher, from the Bible, verse by verse, line upon line, precept by precept. Every day, we need to hear the Bible exegeted with references back to the culture and history of that time period, with a view to the original languages and the idioms of the day. The end result is, that we may apprehend fully what God's Word says. Every day, we need to hear about certain doctrines, concepts and words explored categorically. Most believers ought to keep their conversion a secret for the first five years of their salvation so that they can grow and become prepared for God's purpose in our lives (depending upon when you are saved and educated, it takes a long time to reprogram a new believer).

If you do not follow God's plan for your life which is apprehended in one way and one way only—through His Word—then you will spend the rest of your life miserable due to self-induced misery and because you place yourself under discipline direct from God.

Secondly, it is in this chapter that we have the purpose of nation Israel stated, although many commentators miss this entirely. In case you never knew what it was, or you think that you know, but you are not certain, then stay tuned—that will be covered also.

There is a portion of this chapter which I found to be confusing. God sets a boundary about Mount Sinai, warning the people not to cross over that boundary onto Mount Sinai. However, He seems to allow for an exception in v. 13. [God is speaking] “When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain." (ESV) However, I do not recall a point at which God will summon the people up the mountain. If that is the case, why provide a circumstance where they might go up Mount Sinai? I must admit to being baffled by this short phrase. We will discuss this in greater detail when we come to it.

One cannot separate this chapter from the chapter which is to come. God will actually speak directly to the people in the next chapter. Hearing God’s voice will be very difficult for the sons of Israel. They will find it to be very disturbing.

Timeline for Exodus 19

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God Speaks Directly to Moses

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                                   Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Exodus.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        In the moon the third to go up sons of Israel out from a land of Egypt in the day the that they had come out of a desert-wilderness of Sinai. And they pull up stakes from Rephidim and so they come to a desert-wilderness of Sinai. And so they camp in the desert-wilderness and so encamps there Israel in sight of the mountain.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  In the third month[Sivan] of the outgoing of the sons of Israel from the land of Mizraim, on that day came they to the desert of Sinai. And they journeyed from Rephidim, and came to the desert of Sinai, and dwelt there by the side of the mountain. Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   In the third month of the Exodus of the sons of Israel from the land of Mizraim, on that day, the first of the month, came they to the desert; for they had journeyed from Rephidim, and had come to the desert of Sinai and Israel encamped there in the desert, of one heart, nigh to the mountain.

Revised Douay-Rheims         In the third month of the departure of Israel out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came into the wilderness of Sinai: For departing out of Raphidim, and coming to the desert of Sinai, they camped in the same place, and there Israel pitched their tents over against the mountain.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        In the third month after the B'nai Yisrael had gone forth out of the land of Egypt, on that same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. When they had departed from Rephidim, and had come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Yisrael encamped before the mountain.

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     IN the third month after the departure of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, on the same day they came to the wilderness of Seen. Then they journeyed from Rephidim and came to the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mountain.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And in the third month of the departure of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came into the wilderness of Sina. And they departed from Raphidin, and came into the wilderness of Sina, and there Israel encamped before the mountain.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             In the third month after the children of Israel went out from Egypt, on the same day, they came into the waste land of Sinai. And when they had gone away from Rephidim and had come into the waste land of Sinai, they put up their tents in the waste land before the mountain: there Israel put up its tents.

Easy English                          The Israelites come to Mount Sinai

Three whole months after the Israelites left Egypt, they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they left Rephidim, they arrived in the Desert of Sinai. The Israelites put up their tents in the desert, in front of the mountain.

Easy-to-Read Version–2003  The people of Israel reached the Sinai desert in the third month of their trip from Egypt. They had traveled from Rephidim to the Sinai desert. The people of Israel camped in the desert near the mountain (Mount Horeb).

Easy-to-Read Version–2006  God’s Agreement With Israel

The Israelites reached the desert of Sinai in the third month of their trip from Egypt. They had traveled from Rephidim to the Sinai desert. The Israelites camped in the desert near Mount Sinai.

God’s Word™                         Israel at Mount Sinai

Two months after the Israelites left Egypt, they came to the desert of Sinai. Israel had moved from Rephidim and had come into the desert of Sinai. They had set up camp there in front of the mountain.

Good News Bible (TEV)         The Israelites at Mount Sinai

The people of Israel left Rephidim, and on the first day of the third month after they had left Egypt they came to the desert of Sinai. There they set up camp at the foot of Mount Sinai, and Moses went up the mountain to meet with God. A portion of v. 3 is included for context.

The Message                         Mount Sinai

Three months after leaving Egypt the Israelites entered the Wilderness of Sinai. They followed the route from Rephidim, arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai, and set up camp. Israel camped there facing the mountain.

NIRV                                      Israel Comes to Mount Sinai

Exactly three months after the people of Israel left Egypt, they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they started out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai. They camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

New Simplified Bible              The Israelites arrived at the desert of Sinai in the third month after they left the land of Egypt. They traveled from Rephidim to the desert of Sinai. Israel camped in the wilderness at the foot of Mount Sinai.

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       The Israelites left Rephidim. Then two months after leaving Egypt, they arrived at the desert near Mount Sinai, where they set up camp at the foot of the mountain.

The Living Bible                     The Israelis arrived in the Sinai peninsula three months after the night of their departure from Egypt. After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the base of Mount Sinai and set up camp there.

New Berkeley Version                       .

New Life Version                    Moses Meets God on Mount Sinai

In the third month after the people of Israel left Egypt, they came to the Sinai Desert on the same day. They had left Rephidim and had come to the Sinai Desert.

New Living Translation           The Lord Reveals Himself at Sinai

Exactly two months after the Israelites left Egypt,[i.e., two lunar months to the day after leaving Egypt. Compare Num 33:3.] they arrived in the wilderness of Sinai. After breaking camp at Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp there at the base of Mount Sinai.

Unlocked Dynamic Bible        In the third month after leaving Egypt, they came to the wilderness of Sinai. After they left Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai, and they set up their tents at the base of the mountain.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Well, it was on that same day (in the third month after the children of IsraEl left the land of Egypt) that they arrived in the Sinai desert. They had left RaphiDin and traveled through the desert to Sinai, and IsraEl set up camp there in front of the mountain.

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           Arrival at Mount Sinai

On exactly the third-month anniversary of the Israelites’ leaving the land of Egypt, they came into the Sinai desert. They traveled from Rephidim, came into the Sinai desert, and set up camp there. Israel camped there in front of the mountain while Moses went up to God. A portion of v. 3 is included for context.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       The third new moon was rising since they left the land of Egypt, on the day when the Israelites reached the wilderness of Sinai.[1] They set out from Raphidim, and marched all the way to the Sinai desert before they encamped, pitching their tents there in full view of the mountain.

[1] The Latin here interprets the Hebrew as meaning simply ‘in the third month’, but this does not explain the words ‘on that day’ which follow.

Translation for Translators     Yahweh gave instructions to Moses at Sinai Mountain.

The Israeli people then left Rephidim, and exactly two months after leaving Egypt, they/we came to the desert near Sinai Mountain. They/We set up their/our tents at the base of the mountain.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Conservapedia                       In the third month that the Sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. That is, Sivan. The first month was Abib, or the modern Nisan. If the day of the month is not named, and especially when Hebrew uses the phrase "this day", the first day of the month is implied. They were moving out of Rephidim and had now come to the wilderness of Sinai, and were encamped in the wilderness. There Israel was encamped in front of the mountain.        That is, before its eastern face. "Front" and "back" mean literally the sunrise and sunset face.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                Israel arrives at Sinai.

At the third month from the coming out of the land of the Mitzeraim, on that dey they came to the desert of Sinai. Then the Rephidim also marched and came to the desert of Sinai, and encamped in the desert. Israel also encamped there near the hill.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           The third month after the children of Israel were gone out of Egypt: the same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Raphidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai and had pitched their tents in the wilderness. And there Israel pitched before the mount.

HCSB                                     .

International Standard V        The Israelis Reach Mount Sinai

On the third New Moon after the Israelis went out of the land of Egypt, on that very day,^a they came to the desert of Sinai. They had set out from Rephidim and arrived at the desert of Sinai where they camped in the desert. Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

^a 19:1 Lit. on this day

Lexham English Bible            Preparation for Receiving the Covenant at Mount Sinai

In the third month after the {Israelites} went out from the land of Egypt, on this day they came to the Sinai desert. They set out from Rephidim, and they came to the desert of Sinai, and they camped in the desert, and Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

NIV, ©2011                             At Mount Sinai

On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

Urim-Thummim Version         In the 3^rd month when the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came to the Desert of Sinai. For they had left Rephidim and were come to the Desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the desert and there Israel camped in front of the mountain.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Exactly two months after the Israelites had left Egypt, they arrived at the wilderness of Sinai. They arrived there coming from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.

The Heritage Bible                 In the third new moon of the going forth of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, that day they came into the desert of Sinai. And they pulled up from Rephidim, and came to the desert of Sinai, and pitched their tents in the desert, and there Israel pitched their tents in front of the mount.

New American Bible (2011)   Arrival at Sinai.

^a In the third month after the Israelites’ departure from the land of Egypt, on the first day, they came to the wilderness of Sinai.

After they made the journey from Rephidim and entered the wilderness of Sinai, they then pitched camp in the wilderness.* A portion of v. 2 is placed with the next passage.

* [19:2] Apparently from a different source (P) than v. 1, which notes the date, v. 2 from the J source includes a second notice of the arrival in the wilderness of Sinai. The Israelites now will be camped at Sinai from this point on all the way to Nm 10:10. This is a striking indication of the centrality and importance of the Sinai narrative in the overall composition of the Pentateuch.

a. [19:1–2] Nm 33:15.

New English Bible–1970        SINAI.

IN THE THIRD MONTH after Israel had left Egypt prob. rdg, Heb adds on this day, they came to the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and entered the wilderness of Sinai, where they encamped, pitching their tents opposite the mountain.

New Jerusalem Bible             Three months to the day after leaving Egypt, the Israelites reached the desert of Sinai. Setting out from Rephidim, they reached the desert of Sinai and pitched camp in the desert; there, facing the mountain, Israel pitched camp.

New RSV                               On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai. They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.

Revised English Bible–1989   Israel at Mount Sinai

IN the third month after Israel had left Egypt, they came to the wilderness of Sinai. They set out from Rephidim and, entering the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped there, pitching their tents in front of the mountain.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           (iv) In the third month after the people of Isra’el had left the land of Egypt, the same day they came to the Sinai Desert. After setting out from Refidim and arriving at the Sinai Desert, they set up camp in the desert; there in front of the mountain, Isra’el set up camp.

The Scriptures 1998              In the third month after the children of Yisra’ĕl had come out of the land of Mitsrayim, on this day they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. For they set out from Rephiim, and had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Yisra’ĕl camped there before the mountain.

Tree of Life Version                Theophany at Sinai

In the third month after Bnei-Yisrael had gone out of the land of Egypt, that same day they arrived at the wilderness of Sinai. They travelled from Rephidim, came into to the wilderness of Sinai, and set up camp in the wilderness. Israel camped there, right in front of the mountain.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Awful Scroll Bible                   On the third moon month that the sons of Isra-el, are to be led out of the solid grounds of Egypt, that day they are have come into the wilderness of Sinai. They were to pull up from Rephidim, even were they to come to the wilderness of Sinai. They were to camp in the wilderness, even was Isra-el to camp at the mountain.

exeGeses companion Bible   MOSHEH ON MOUNT SINAY

In the third month,

of the going of the sons of Yisra El

from the land of Misrayim

- that same day

they come to the wilderness of Sinay:

and they pull stakes from Rephidim

and come to the wilderness of Sinay

and encamp in the wilderness:

and there Yisra El camps in front of the mount.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           In the chodesh hashelishi (third new moon), after the Bnei Yisroel had their exodus from Eretz Mitzrayim, on that very day they came into the Midbar Sinai.

For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to Midbar Sinai, and had encamped in the midbar; and there Yisroel camped before HaHar.

Third Millennium Bible            In the third month after the children of Israel had gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the Wilderness of Sinai. For they had departed from Rephidim, and had come to the desert of Sinai and had pitched camp in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                Moses on Sinai

In the third month after the children of Israel had left the land of Egypt, the very same day, they came into the Wilderness of Sinai. When they moved out from Rephidim, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai and they camped there; Israel camped at the base of the mountain [of Sinai].

The Expanded Bible              Israel Camps at Sinai

Exactly three months after the Israelites had left Egypt, ·they [^L the sons/^T children of Israel] ·reached [came to] the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Sinai. When they left Rephidim, they came to the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Sinai and camped in the ·desert [wilderness] in front of the mountain.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-9

The Arrival at Sinai and the First Message

In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. The greater part of the time since the departure out of Egypt, on the fifteenth day of the first month, had apparently been spent at Elim and at Rephidim, and it was not until the third month that the great army came into the desert of Sinai proper. For they were departed from Rephidim, Exodus 17:1, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount, over against the mountain from which the entire range has received its name.

The Voice                               The Israelites entered the desert of Sinai on the day the third new moon appeared after the Israelites left Egypt. After departing from Rephidim, they entered into the desert of Sinai and set up camp out in the desert. The entire community of Israel camped right in front of the mountain of God.

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           In the third month of the children of Israel's departure from Egypt, on this day they arrived in the desert of Sinai.