Preface: Moses has been on Mount Sinai for perhaps a day or two, and he has come down with additional laws and guidance for Israel. The people, in this chapter, enthusiastically ratify the words of God. There is a celebration; and many animals are sacrificed. Moses goes back up Mount Zion, but he take 70 elders and some others with him. In this chapter, we see the manifestation of God from at least two perspectives: those sons of Israel who are at the foot of the mountain; and Moses and the elders who are with him. As a cloud envelops the mountain, Moses goes further up the mountain.

The Bible Summary of Exodus 24 (in 140 characters or less): The people said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do", and they offered sacrifices. The LORD told Moses to stay on the mountain.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Exodus. This will be the most extensive examination of Exodus 24, 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 24:

Introduction

         vv.     1–2           God Commands Moses and Some Specific Persons to Come onto the Mountain

         vv.     3–8           Moses Presents the Covenant Between God and the Israelites; They Accept It

         vv.     9–18         Moses and the Chosen Persons Go Up on the Mountain

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         A Bird’s Eye View of Exodus 20–40

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Exodus 24 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Exodus 24 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Exodus 24

         Introduction         The Prequel of Exodus 24

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Exodus 24

         Introduction         The Places of Exodus 24

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Exodus 24

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Exodus 24

         Introduction         Outlines of Exodus 24 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Exodus 24 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Exodus –)

         Introduction         Paragraph Divisions of Modern Translation for Exodus 24

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Exodus 24)

         Introduction 

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         v.       2              The Order of Events (Exodus 20–31)

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         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Exodus 24 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Exodus 24

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Exodus 24

         Summary            Shmoop Summary of Exodus 24

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Exodus 24

         Summary 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Exodus 24

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Exodus 24

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Exodus 24

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An Introduction to Exodus 24

I ntroduction: Exodus 24 returns us to narrative. This chapter begins with God calling for Moses and Aaron, Aaron’s two oldest sons, and 70 elders to approach God on the mountain (only Moses would be able to come near to the Lord). Moses will climb further up the mountain and receive the ten commandments written in stone.

Moses will give the recent judgments and pronouncements of God, and the people agreed to do what God required (with the Ten Commandments, God spoke directly to the people; but the people asked that Moses stand between them and God, so that they would hear Moses speaks these words rather than God).

Moses began to write these words down, and there were celebrations and animal sacrifices offered.

Then those called for by God came up the mountain and they were all able to see some manifestation of God. God speaks to Moses, and I suspect that those with him could hear these words of God.

God will call for Moses to come up the mountain again and commune with Him for 40 days and 40 nights.

The people there in attendance should have been able to see enough to keep the people under control. We will find out later that the people pursued false gods anyway.

The sons of Israel will also pledge obedience to all of God's laws in this chapter. They have seen some marvelous miracles and are willing now to vow that they will do what God tells them to do. Their vow will not last very long, but they are sincere (showing that sincerity means little or nothing).

We do not know the substance of the things which Moses said to the people (or said to the elders who then gave this information to the people). In Exodus 20:22—after the Ten Commandments had been given and after the people said, “Moses, stand between us and God; you hear the words of God and then tell us.”—we have several chapters of laws and judgments. Are these the things which Moses hears on this mountain, and then conveys them to the people of Israel? Moses has to be telling the people something. There are words of God given on both sides of this chapter (Exodus 20:22–23:33 and 25:1–31:17). Ultimately, it makes little difference when Moses said this or that section of God’s commands to the people; and little difference at what meeting Moses received these words. I simply like to line up a series of events and then present them in chronological order. This might be virtually impossible to do. It is not even completely clear how many times Moses went up on the mountain (I am guessing 2 or 3 times to speak directly with God).

Timeline for Exodus 24

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God Commands Moses and Some Specific Persons to Come onto the Mountain

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)        And unto Moses He said, “Come up unto Y^ehowah, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy from the elders of Israel, and they have worshiped from afar. And has come near Moses to himself alone unto Y^ehowah; and they will not come near. And the people will not come up with him.”

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  And He said to Mosheh, Come up before the Lord, thou and Aharon, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and they shall worship at a distance. And Mosheh shall draw nigh alone before the Lord, but they shall not draw nigh, nor shall the people ascend with them. Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   And Michael, the Prince of Wisdom, said to Mosheh on the seventh day of the month, Come up before the Lord, thou and Aharon, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance. And Mosheh alone shall approach before the Lord; but they shall not draw nigh, nor may the people come up with him.

Jerusalem targum                  .

Revised Douay-Rheims         And he said to Moses: Come up to the Lord, you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abiu, and seventy of the ancients of Israel, and you shall adore afar off. And Moses alone shall come up to the Lord, but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people come up with him.

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) .

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        He said to Mosha, "Come up to Mar-Yah, you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Yisrael; and worship from a distance. Mosha alone shall come near to Mar-Yah, but they shall not come near, neither shall the people go up with him."

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     AND he said to Moses, Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and you shall worship afar off. And Moses alone shall come near the LORD; but they shall not draw near; neither shall the people come up with him.

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And to Moses he said, Go up to the Lord, you and Aaron and Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: and they shall worship the Lord from a distance. And Moses alone shall draw near to God; and they shall not draw near, and the people shall not come up with them.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             .

Easy English                          God repeats his covenant

Then God said to Moses, ‘Come up to the Lord. Come with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and 70 of the leaders of Israel. You must worship me, but do not come near. Only Moses can come near to me. And the people must not come with him.’

Easy-to-Read Version–2006  God and Israel Make Their Agreement

The Lord told Moses, “You, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders of Israel must come up the mountain and worship me from a distance. Then only Moses will come close to the Lord. The other men must not come close, and the rest of the people must not even come up the mountain.”

God’s Word™                         .

Good News Bible (TEV)         The Covenant Is Sealed

The Lord said to Moses, “Come up the mountain to me, you and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the leaders of Israel; and while you are still some distance away, bow down in worship. You alone, and none of the others, are to come near me. The people are not even to come up the mountain.”

The Message                         He said to Moses, “Climb the mountain to God, you and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. They will worship from a distance; only Moses will approach God. The rest are not to come close. And the people are not to climb the mountain at all.”

Names of God Bible               The Promise Sealed with Blood

Yahweh said to Moses, “You and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 of Israel’s leaders come up the mountain to me and worship at a distance. Moses may come near Yahweh, but the others may not. The people must not come along with Moses.”

NIRV                                      The Blood of the Covenant

The Lord said to Moses, “You and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 of the elders of Israel must come to worship the Lord. Do not come close when you worship. Only Moses can come close to me. The others must not come near. And the people may not go up with him.”

New Simplified Bible              Jehovah said to Moses: »You and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders come up the mountain to me and worship at a distance.

»Moses alone may come near Jehovah. The others may not. The people must not come along with Moses.«

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

Contemporary English V.       The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on this mountain. Bring along Aaron, as well as his two sons Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel's leaders. They must worship me at a distance, but you are to come near. Don't let anyone else come up."

The Living Bible                     The Lord now instructed Moses, “Come up here with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. All of you except Moses are to worship at a distance. Moses alone shall come near to the Lord; and remember, none of the ordinary people are permitted to come up into the mountain at all.”

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    Israel Agrees

Then He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy of the leaders of Israel and worship from far away. But Moses alone may come near the Lord. The others should not come near and should not come up with him.”

New Living Translation           Israel Accepts the Lord’s Covenant

Then the Lord instructed Moses: “Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance. Only Moses is allowed to come near to the Lord. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.”

Unlocked Dynamic Bible        .

Unfolding Bible (simplified)    .

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Then the Lord told Moses:

‘I want you, Aaron, Nadab, AbiUd, and seventy of IsraEl’s elders to come to Me and bow before [Me] from a distance. And thereafter, I want you to come close to Me by yourself… none of the others should come any closer!’

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           Covenant at Sinai

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders, and worship from a distance. Only Moses may come near to the Lord. The others shouldn’t come near, while the people shouldn’t come up with him at all.”

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Then Moses was told, Do thou and Aaron and Nadab and Abiu, with seventy elders of Israel, come up to meet the Lord, and worship from afar. Only Moses must enter the Lord’s presence, the rest are not to draw near, and none of the people are to come up with him.

Translation for Translators                                 Yahweh's agreement is confirmed

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Come to me, up on top of this mountain, you and Aaron and his sons Nadab and Abihu. Also take along seventy of the Israeli elders/leaders. While you are still some distance from the top of the mountain, prostrate yourselves on the ground and worship me. Moses, I will allow you alone to come near to me. The others must not come near, and the rest of the people must not come up the mountain.”

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Conservapedia                       .

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                Moses and Aaron and the Princes Ascend Sinai.

Then it was commanded to Moses; "Go up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the princes of Israel, and let them worship at a distance. But Moses shall approach alone to the Ever-living; for they must not approach, nor the people go up with him.".

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           And he said unto Moses: come unto the Lord: both you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel, and worship afar off. And Moses went himself alone unto the Lord, but they came not nigh, neither came the people up with him.

HCSB                                     The Covenant Ceremony

Then He said to Moses, “Go up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel’s elders, and bow in worship at a distance. Moses alone is to approach the Lord, but the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him.”

International Standard V        The Covenant is Sealed with Blood

The Lord [Lit. He] told Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship [Or bow down in worship] at a distance. Only Moses is to approach the Lord, but the others [Lit. but they] are not to approach; the people are not to come up with him.”

Jubilee Bible 2000                  .

Lexham English Bible            Confirming the Covenant

And to Moses he said, "Go up to Yahweh--you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy from the elders of Israel--and you will worship at a distance. And Moses {alone} will come near to Yahweh, and they will not come near, and the people will not go up with him."

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    .

Unlocked Literal Bible            .

Urim-Thummim Version         .

Wikipedia Bible Project          And to Moses He said "Come up to Yahweh, you and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you bow prostrate from afar." And Moses presented himself alone to Yahweh, and they did not present themselves, and the people did not go up with him.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  .

The Heritage Bible                 And he said to Moses, Come up to Jehovah, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and prostrate yourselves afar off. And Moses separately shall come near Jehovah, and they shall not come near; and the people shall not go up with him.

New American Bible (2002)   .

New American Bible(2011)    Ratification of the Covenant.

Moses himself was told: Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, with Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You shall bow down at a distance. Moses alone is to come close to the LORD; the others shall not come close, and the people shall not come up with them.

New English Bible–1970        The covenant is sealed.

THEN HE SAID TO MOSES, 'Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. While you are still at a distance, you are to bow down; and then Moses shall approach the LORD by himself, but not the others. The people may not go up with him at all.'

New Jerusalem Bible             .

New RSV                               .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           To Moshe [Adonai] said, “Come up to Adonai — you, Aharon, Nadav, Avihu, and seventy of the leaders of Isra’el. Prostrate yourselves at a distance, while Moshe alone approaches Adonai — the others are not to approach, and the people are not to go up with him.”

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Israeli Authorized Version      .

The Scriptures 1998              And to Mosheh He said, “Come up to יהוה, you and Aharon, Naa and Aihu, and seventy of the elders of Yisra’ĕl, and you shall bow yourselves from a distance. “But Mosheh shall draw near to יהוה by himself, and let them not draw near, nor let the people go up with him.”

Tree of Life Version                Cutting the Covenant at Sinai

Then to Moses He said, “Come up to Adonai, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel, and worship from afar. Moses alone is to approach Adonai, but the others may not draw near, nor are the people to go up with him.”

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            AND TO MOSES HE SAID, “GO UP TO JESUS, YOU AND AARON AND NADAB AND ABIUD, AND SEVENTY OF THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL: AND THEY SHALL WORSHIP JESUS FROM A DISTANCE. AND MOSES ALONE SHALL DRAW NEAR TO THE THEOS (Alpha & Omega). AND THEY SHALL NOT DRAW NEAR, AND THE PEOPLE SHALL NOT COME UP WITH THEM.”

Awful Scroll Bible                   He is to have said to Moses: Be ascending up to Jehovah, with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Isra-el. Yous are to have bowed down at a distance. Moses is to have drawn near to Jehovah - were they to draw near, even were the people to ascend? -...

Concordant Literal Version    .

Darby Translation (1889)       .

exeGeses companion Bible   YAH VEH CUTS A COVENANT

And he says to Mosheh,

Ascend to Yah Veh,

you and Aharon, Nadab and Abi Hu

and seventy of the elders of Yisra El;

and prostrate afar off.

And Mosheh approaches Yah Veh alone:

and they come not nigh

and the people ascend not with him.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And He said unto Moshe, Come up unto Hashem, thou, and Aharon, Nadav, and Avihu, and shive'im (seventy) of the Ziknei Yisroel; and worship ye afar off.

And Moshe alone shall come near Hashem; but they shall not come near; neither shall HaAm go up with him.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Third Millennium Bible            .

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                People Affirm Their Covenant with God

Then God said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu (Aaron’s older sons), and seventy of Israel’s elders, and you shall worship at a [safe] distance. Moses alone shall approach the Lord, but the others shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him.”

The Expanded Bible              God Makes a Covenant with Israel

The Lord told Moses, “You, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel must come up to me and ·worship [bow down to] me from a distance. Then Moses alone must come near me; the others must not come near. The rest of the people must not come up the mountain with Moses.”

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-8

Moses Summoned by God

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. The emphatic position of the word "Moses" in the Hebrew text shows that this command was given to Moses directly, not addressed to the people, as the Ten Commandments had been. Nadab and Abihu were sons of Aaron, and the seventy elders represented the people. In drawing near to the Lord these men were commanded to bow down, to worship, but only from a distance, Moses alone, as the prophet of Jehovah, being permitted to go to the top of the mountain.

And Moses alone shall come near the Lord; but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him. Both Aaron and his sons, representing the priests, and the seventy elders, the government representatives of the popular assembly, were excluded from the intimate privileges of the prophet of the Lord.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               Eternal One (to Moses): Come up the mountain to Me, Moses, and this time bring with you Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 elders of Israel. These may come, but you must worship from a distance. Only Moses is permitted to approach Me; but be careful, for the others must stay at a distance. The rest of the people of Israel must stay below; they are not to come up the mountain with you.

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           And to Moses He said, "Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and prostrate yourselves from afar.

And Moses alone shall approach the Lord but they shall not approach, and the people shall not ascend with him."

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 Sealing the Covenant

[God] said to Moses, 'Go up to God along with Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. [All of] you must bow down at a distance. Only Moses shall then approach God. The others may not come close, and the people may not go up with him.

Nadav and Abihu

Aaron's sons, see Exodus 6:23.

Nadav and Abihu

They had been chosen as the next generation of leaders (Exodus 24:1, 24:9, 28:1), but they died because of improper sacrifice (Leviticus 10:1, Numbers 3:4, 26:61, 1 Chronicles 24:2).

and seventy...

See note on Exodus 3:16.

elders of Israel

The 70 elders (Exodus 24:1,9; Numbers 11:16,24) which would later constitute the Great Sanhedrin. Like any other prophet, Moses would first have to establish his credentials with the Sanhedrin (Hai Gaon, in Teshuvoth HaGeonim, Shaarey Teshuvah 14).

NET Bible®                             The Lord Ratifies the Covenant

¹ But to Moses the Lord² said, “Come up³ to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance.⁴ Moses alone may come⁵ near the Lord, but the others⁶ must not come near,⁷ nor may the people go up with him.”

^1sn Exod 24 is the high point of the book in many ways, but most importantly, here Yahweh makes a covenant with the people – the Sinaitic Covenant. The unit not only serves to record the event in Israel’s becoming a nation, but it provides a paradigm of the worship of God’s covenant people – entering into the presence of the glory of Yahweh. See additionally W. A. Maier, “The Analysis of Exodus 24 According to Modern Literary, Form, and Redaction Critical Methodology,” Springfielder 37 (1973): 35-52. The passage may be divided into four parts for exposition: vv. 1-2, the call for worship; vv. 3-8, the consecration of the worshipers; vv. 9-11, the confirmation of the covenant; and vv. 12-18, the communication with Yahweh.

^2tn Heb “And he;” the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

^3sn They were to come up to the Lord after they had made the preparations that are found in vv. 3-8.

^4sn These seventy-four people were to go up the mountain to a certain point. Then they were to prostrate themselves and worship Yahweh as Moses went further up into the presence of Yahweh. Moses occupies the lofty position of mediator (as Christ in the NT), for he alone ascends “to Yahweh” while everyone waits for his return. The emphasis of “bowing down” and that from “far off” stresses again the ominous presence that was on the mountain. This was the holy God – only the designated mediator could draw near to him.

^5tn The verb is a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive; it and the preceding perfect tense follow the imperative, and so have either a force of instruction, or, as taken here, are the equivalent of an imperfect tense (of permission).

^6tn Heb “they.”

^7tn Now the imperfect tense negated is used; here the prohibition would fit (“they will not come near”), or the obligatory (“they must not”) in which the subjects are obliged to act – or not act in this case.

New American Bible(2011)    .

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Brenner’s Mechanical Trans....and to "Mosheh ^{Plucked out}" he said, go up to "YHWH ^{He Is}", you and "Aharon ^{Light bringer}", "Nadav ^{He offered willingly}" and "Aviyhu ^{He is my father}", and / from the bearded ones of "Yisra'el ^{He turns El aside}", and you will bend yourself down (at) a distance, and "Mosheh ^{Plucked out}" <alone> will be drawn near to "YHWH ^{He Is}", and they will not draw near, and the people will not go up with him,...

Charles Thompson OT           .

C. Thompson LXX (updated) .

Context Group Version          And he said to Moses, Come up to YHWH, you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and you (pl) bow down in deference far off: and Moses alone shall come near to YHWH; but they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with him.

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    .

Modern English Version         The Covenant Confirmed

Then He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship from a distance. Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come near, nor may the people go up with him.”

Modern Literal Version           .

New American Standard B.    People Affirm Their Covenant with God

Then He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance. Moses alone, however, shall come near to the Lord, but they shall not come near, nor shall the people come up with him.”

New European Version          God Enters Covenant with Israel

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. Moses alone shall come near to Yahweh, but they shall not come near, neither shall the people go up with him.

New King James Version       Israel Affirms the Covenant

Now 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. And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.”

Niobi Study Bible                   Moses and the Elders on Mount Sinai
And He said unto Moses, "Come up unto the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship you afar off. And Moses alone shall come near the LORD; but they shall not come nigh, neither shall the people go up with him."

Owen's Translation                .

Restored Holy Bible 6.0         .

Updated Bible Version 2.11   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young’s Updated LT             And unto Moses He said, “Come up unto Jehovah, you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and you [all] have bowed yourselves afar off;” and Moses has drawn near by himself unto Jehovah; and they draw not near, and the people go not up with him.

The gist of this passage:     God tells Moses to come up to the mountain with Aaron, two of his sons, and the 70 elders. Moses will be allowed to approach God more closely.

1-2

Translation: Then God [lit., He] said to Moses, “Come up to Y^ehowah,...

Come up is in the 2^nd person, masculine singular, Qal imperfect, meaning that God is speaking to Moses directly, telling him personally to ascend the mountain. This indicates that God is finished giving laws at that time.

As has been mentioned before, there is probably a tent that Moses goes to and he communes with God inside of the tent (that is, when God chooses to, He speaks to Moses). This is not the Tabernacle, which has not yet been built, but a tent which is mentioned later on in the book of Exodus.

However, to be clear, I do not believe that is where God was speaking to Moses in Exodus 24:1–2.

I am assuming that what we are reading in Exodus, with the exception of a few places, is in chronological order (we have discussed in great detail chapters 4–7 and what is going on there).

So, God has just given Moses a set of laws and regulations and promises. I would assume that God tells Moses to teaching all of these things to the people first, and then to come back up the mountain for a much longer session. The 3 chapters which we have covered, God would have spoken to Moses in a relatively short period of time (this would have all taken place in an afternoon or perhaps over a period of a few days).

There is at least one commentator which suggests that this takes place prior to the giving of the Law (Rashi’s notes, if I remember correctly).

So, Moses goes up the mountain and then he will come back apparently on the same day or very soon thereafter.

God tells Moses, “Come up to Y^ehowah.” I do not know exactly the formality of this; nor do we know where Moses is exactly right at this point. Has he come up to God already? Is he being sent back with these laws and regulations?

I would make the assumption that God has already told Moses, “Now, take these laws and regulations and go back down this mountain and teach them to the people and to the elders; write them down so that they will not forget them. Then, I want you to come back for more.” After which, God speaks vv. 1–2 to Moses.

When recording these events, Moses appears to be quite careful about avoiding repeating certain things. When God brought the plagues to Egypt, God first revealed each plague to Moses; Moses went down to Pharaoh and told Pharaoh what God expected from him. And then Moses and Aaron did whatever they had been told to do in order to begin the next plague. If each step in this process had been written about, the plague chapters would have been twice as long. So, we often have God speaking to Moses and Aaron; then Moses and Aaron speaking to Pharaoh, and then Aaron lifts up his staff and the plague begins. Throughout these chapters, there is almost no repetition. So, God may say to Moses, “Speak to Pharaoh, and tell him A, B and C.” Then Moses may have told Aaron, “Tell Pharaoh, A, B and C.” Then Aaron spoke to Pharaoh and said, “A, B and C.” Undoubtedly, these are the steps in these plagues; but the way that they are presented, God might tell Moses, “A & B.” When Moses says to Aaron might be skipped over entirely, and then, in the narrative, “And Aaron said to Pharaoh, “C.” As a result, we get the full picture, but without getting a massive amount of repetition (which approach moves the narrative right along).

In v. 3, Moses will tell the people about the laws and regulations that God said to him. Then Moses will write them down in v. 4. Then they would worship God. Now, either Moses decided, on his own, to do all of these things, or God told him what to do. Furthermore, what God says in vv. 1–2 seems to leave out some important steps. Moses is already on Mount Sinai (we don’t know where exactly, but he is up there alone). In order for him to do what God is asking him to do, he must come down from the mountain and speak to the people, and to Aaron and perhaps to the elders. So, the way that all of this is laid out, some of what God has said to Moses appears to have been left out; and that I have more or less reconstructed it based upon what Moses actually does.

This sort of abbreviated approach is very much in line with the plague narrative which we have already studied (which narrative also has God speaking to Moses; and which narrative does not appear to include every single word spoken by God to Moses).

This order of events will be discussed more fully at the end of v. 2.

Translation: ...you and Aaron,...

For the most part, God’s encounters with Moses appear to involve just God and Moses. However, on occasion, Aaron was included.

Here, God is tell Moses to go get Aaron and bring him onto the mountain.

Aaron is a fascinating character. You will recall that God wanted Moses alone to confront Pharaoh; but Moses demanded that Aaron, his older brother, act as the spokesman. God allowed this, even though this was not God’s first choice. However, Aaron will maintain a place in both Israel’s past and future as a result.

Translation: ...Nadab and Abihu,...

Aaron has two sons, and they will appear to perpetuated Aaron’s priesthood (they are big failures and God will remove them by the sin unto death at a later date).

Nadab and Abihu are the first two sons of Aaron (Ex. 6:23). However, even though they have been chosen for this great honor, this does not mean that they can sustain any sort of a spiritual life. We are occasionally offered the chance to serve God in a wonderful capacity (I can think of several television evangelists who very likely do or did have the gift of evangelism). However, in a position of great spiritual responsibility, the penalty is also great for disobedience. Aaron's two sons will both die the sin unto death in Num. 10:1–2.

Translation: ...and seventy of the elders of Israel,...

There are a number of elders who act as go-betweens for Moses and Aaron. Moses’ authority is accepted, and when he decides to say something, it is often these elders who appear to tell these things to the people.

The way that this is constructed, there appear to be far more than 70 elders, but only 70 will be selected to come up the mountain.

Then God asks Moses to bring up what might be termed the seventy elders. From Jacob's loins, came seventy who were the seed of the nation Israel (Ex. 1:5). God always has set up a system of authority or hierarchy. Here, Moses was pre-imminent, with Aaron as his counsel and second in command.

The seventy served both as witnesses and as those in command of their respective groups. At this point in time, it sounds as though these 70 might already exist or that Moses almost randomly choose them from a larger group of elders. In any case, Moses is asked to bring up 70 elders again in Num. 11:16, 24–25, and there, God makes it clear that they are to be carefully chosen. It was upon these that God would pour out His Spirit so that Moses could employ these men specifically as heads of state, as it were. He was shouldering too much responsibility and needed to delegate much of it (as his father-in-law had wisely suggested in the matter of the courts in a Exodus 23).

Translation: ...they will worship [Me] from afar.”

Worship is the 2^nd person, masculine singular, Hithpael perfect of shâchah (שָחַה) [pronounced shaw-KHAW], which means bow down. This same word is used when one prostrates himself before a ruler or a monarch. However, in an instance such as this, worship is the better translation, as worship is a bowing of the soul or of the heart, and not necessarily an overt position. We have the same word in the same stem and tense in Ex. 33:10, which reads: When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship [lit., bow down], each at the entrance of his tent.

In Gen. 22:5, Abraham tells of his intention to go with his son and worship; and this is done by offering his son on the altar before God. Worship is in the plural, even though Isaac was first scurrying around for wood and then he was tied up on the altar; and Abraham was about to cut Isaac's throat, then God provided him with the scapegoat.

In this passage, since worship is in the imperfect (a continuous tense), all of these actions come under the heading of worship. In Gen. 24:26, 48 Ex. 4:31 12:27 Num. 22:31, we have both the physical act of bowing one's head where this is accompanied by worship. That this word does not necessarily refer to a physical position may be further implied by 2Sam. 16:4 2Kings 5:18 Esther 3:2, 5 Psalm 29:2 96:9 Isa. 27:13 Ezek. 8:16. The point of all this is that they will worship by bowing down, but there will be more to their worship than their simple posture before God. They will have an attitude of humility, or grace orientation in their souls.

The Hithpael is the reflexive of the Piel (intensive) stem. They will cause themselves to worship and this worship will be intense. The perfect tense means that this is looked upon as a completed action; that is, they will ascend the mountain and worship, then they will return.

Moses and everyone that he brings up onto the mountain will worship God. Moses speaks directly to God (we only know of God appearing as a burning bush; we do not know if there are other manifestations or not).

The worship takes place from afar, so the people that Moses brings up onto the mountain will not approach God closely. They will be a distance away from God’s manifestation of Himself.

Exodus 24:1 Then God [lit., He] said to Moses, “Come up to Y^ehowah, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, they will worship [Me] from afar.”

Moses was more qualified than anyone else to be in command at all levels; however, that does not mean that he should command at all levels. Sometimes when we find that we are good at something, we tend to go overboard and allow it to be all-consuming. It doesn't matter if you are the absolute, undisputed best; there are times to delegate authority. Because Jesus Christ is Y^ehowah of the Old Testament, He also chose seventy disciples early on in His ministry to go out herald His coming in every city wherein He was to go.

Let me ask a question: if God has previously spoken to Moses in the pre-Tabernacle tent, why doesn’t God simply give Moses the law right there? As we have seen so far, God is nothing is not theatric with this particular generation. Moses is not going to emerge from some tent, carrying a handful of papyrus, claiming, “Here are the laws which God gave to me.” Who is going to buy into that?

Therefore, everything which takes place will be quite theatric for the 70 who go with Moses; and those even below the mountain—the people—it is going to be clear that something out of the ordinary is going on. No one in the Exodus generation is going to look at Moses and the laws which he writes down (or dictates) and say, “You are just making up those laws as you go along, Moses.” What is being observed on the mountain and below the mountain will indicate that what is taking place is something quite extraordinary, as has never been experienced by any generation before or after.

No one—not even Joshua—will actually see God speaking to Moses. However, there will be such an abundance of signs taking place on Mount Sinai that the people will accept that God is speaking to Moses. There are 70 elders who view this from the first summit of the mountain; and there are all of the people who see this happening from below.

Throughout our study of Exodus, there is a close mixture of the recording of the Word of God and the experience of the generations which saw this take place. The events unfold for those generations with much fanfare; and Moses is very careful to record these events for posterity (which words we are studying today, 3600 years later).

We have the historical document in our hands (or, more likely, on our computer or phone screens); but the people of that era experienced these things firsthand—including the great events of the exodus and the ways that these events were later celebrated. All of this stuff was a mixture of actual events, a shared history, and celebrations which commemorated the events which the people all shared in; combined with the actual Word of God, which Moses wrote. The events and the document cannot be separated. These things cannot be separated; otherwise, an entire generation of perhaps 2 million people would have said, somehow in some way, “These things never happened. I was there and the events did not happen; and the feasts to celebrate these events did not happen.” We do not have anything like this. What we read in Exodus has been accepted as accurate history for thousands of years.

One liberal option is, the books of Moses sort of happened 1000 years after the events themselves (which may or may not have occurred). What this would logically mean is, the shared history recorded in the books of Moses would have been suddenly thrust upon the people. Were they observing feast days? If so, then why were they, if there was no written command to do so? And if they were not observing the feast days, then could they have just suddenly began to observe them, sort of pretending that they have observed these celebrations all along? Logically, the idea that the final version of the Pentateuch arrived hundreds of years after the fact does not really solve any problems; but it certainly introduces a vast array of problems which defy logic.

The conservative view is, Moses wrote these Scriptures when he is said to have written them. The people received them when they are said to have received them. And then, from that point on, they observed the feast days and celebrations, which commemorated their history (this history spoken of in the feast days commemorated events that the first participants in the feast days actually lived through). This would have made the concept of tradition indelible in Jewish culture.

Translation: Moses will come near by himself alone to Y^ehowah;...

Because come near is in the 3^rd person, masculine singular, this means that this is not a direct quote from God to Moses, but Moses is speaking of himself in the third person (as he does throughout the Pentateuch; as is the custom for most writers of Scripture; the most notable exception being that of Luke, the Gentile).

What is implied in v. 2 is, this is a continuation of what God said to Moses; but it is not a direct quote, but a summing up of what God said. Properly, the quotation mark should be placed at the end of v. 1 rather than at the end of v. 2.

The seventy elders will apparently come to a low plateau of the mountain and they will remain there as Moses goes back up again to record the law (Joshua perhaps joins him).

Moses by himself is to come up to God; or come near to God. So, what has changed is, before, only Moses was allowed to come up onto Mount Sinai. At this point, God wants these 74 men to come up onto the mountain. However, 73 of them will keep their distance; and Moses will come close.

Translation: ...the others will not come near [to Me].

God makes it clear that the other 73 are to keep their distance. If there is a physical or audio manifestation of God, they are not brought close enough to see or hear Him (that is an assumption which I am making here).

So, what are these men doing there? If they cannot see God, if they are not allowed to go where Moses goes, why are they there? They are witnesses to this event. Even though they do not see God, the things which are happening on the mountain testify to God and to God’s power.

I had read and heard about hurricanes all of my life, but I really had little or no conception of what one was. Then I moved to Texas. I have been in the midst of 3 hurricanes, and not far from several other hurricanes. I distinctly remember the eye of the first hurricane that I was in; and I am fairly certain that I was in the eye of another; but I just don’t remember it.

The people at the foot of Mount Sinai and see and hear the lightning and thunder and dark clouds; and the witnesses here will be right in the midst of that.

Translation: The people will not come up with him.”

There are 2 million other people at the foot of Mount Sinai. They are not to come up the mountain at all. God had already set boundaries and they were to remain outside of those boundaries. Furthermore, the people, being afraid of God’s voice, chose to retain a distance between themselves and God as well.

Exodus 24:2 Moses will come near by himself alone to Y^ehowah; the others will not come near [to Me]. The people will not come up with him.

Moses, throughout the Pentateuch, is a type of Christ; that is, many of his actions and his deeds portray the Lord Jesus Christ in shadow form. Whereas Moses is the one mediator between God and the people of Israel, Jesus Christ is the mediator between man and God.

Moses brought the old covenant to the people of Israel, Jesus Christ presents us with a new covenant. Therefore, family of God set apart, partakers of a heavenly vocation: consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses was also [faithful] in all his house. For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those thing which were to be spoken later; but Christ [was faithful] as a Son over His house whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and boast of our hope stabilized until the end (Heb. 3:1–6).

In the paraphrase, I simply changed the persons throughout, so that this would become a single quote.

Exodus 24:1–2 Then God said to Moses, “Come back up here and this time, bring Aaron and his two oldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, along with 70 of Israel’s elders. Those who come with you may worship Me from afar. You will come up near to Me by yourself; the others will not come near to Me. The people will remain where they are, at the foot of the mountain, outside of the established boundaries.”

——————————

Moses Presents the Covenant Between God and the Israelites; They Accept It

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so comes Moses and so he declares to the people all words of Y^ehowah and all the judgments. And so answer all the people a voice one, and so they say, “All the words which has spoken Y^ehowah we will do.”

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Targum (Onkelos)                  And Mosheh came and recited to 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 that the Lord hath spoken will we do.

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   And Mosheh came and set before the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.

Revised Douay-Rheims         So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice: We will do all the words of the Lord, which he has spoken.

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) .

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Mosha came and told the people all the words of Mar-Yah, and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, "All the words which Mar-Yah has spoken will we do."

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, Everything which the LORD has said we will do.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And Moses went in and related to the people all the words of God and the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, saying, All the words which the Lord has spoken, we will do and be obedient.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             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.

Easy English                          Then Moses told the people all the Lord's words and rules. And the people answered together, ‘We will do everything that the Lord has said.’ Then Moses wrote down everything that the Lord had said. A portion of v. 4 is included for context.

Easy-to-Read Version–2001  .

Easy-to-Read Version–2006  .

God’s Word™                         .

Good News Bible (TEV)         Moses went and told the people all the Lord's commands and all the ordinances, and all the people answered together, “We will do everything that the Lord has said.”

The Message                         So Moses went to the people and told them everything God had said—all the rules and regulations. They all answered in unison: “Everything God said, we’ll do.”

Names of God Bible               Moses went and told the people all Yahweh’s words and legal decisions. Then all the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything Yahweh has told us to do.” So Moses wrote down all Yahweh’s words.

NIRV                                      Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws. They answered with one voice. They said, “We will do everything the Lord has told us to do.” Then Moses wrote down everything the Lord had said. A portion of v. 4 is included for context.

New Simplified Bible              Moses told the people all Jehovah’s words and legal decisions. Then all the people answered with one voice: »We will do everything Jehovah told us to do.«

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

Casual English Bible             .

College Press Bible Study     .

Contemporary English V.       Moses gave the LORD's instructions to the people, and they promised, "We will do everything the LORD has commanded!"

The Living Bible                     Then Moses announced to the people all the laws and regulations God had given him; and the people answered in unison, “We will obey them all.”

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the Lord had given him. All the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.”

Unlocked Dynamic Bible        Moses went and told the people everything that Yahweh had said and all that he had commanded. The people all replied together, saying, “We will do everything that Yahweh has told us to do.”

Unfolding Bible Simplified      .

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          So Moses went and told the people about everything God had said and about His Laws. And the people unanimously answered all together:

‘We will do and obey everything that Jehovah has said!’

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           Moses came and told the people all the Lord’s words and all the case laws. All the people answered in unison, “Everything that the Lord has said we will do.”

New Advent (Knox) Bible       So Moses went and told the people all the Lord had said, all the commands he had given; and the whole people answered with one voice, We will do all that the Lord has bidden us.

Translation for Translators     Moses/I went and told the people everything that Yahweh had said and all that he had commanded. The people all replied together, saying, “We will do everything that Yahweh has told us to do.”

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Conservapedia Translation    Moses came and told the people everything that the LORD had said, and all the laws He had given. The people answered with one accord, saying, "all the words that the LORD has spoken, we will do!"

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                So Moses went and reported to the people the whole of the commands of the Ever-living, and the whole of His decrees; when all the people answered with one voice, and said; "All the commands which the Ever-living commands, we will do."

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

HCSB                                     Moses came and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. Then all the people responded with a single voice, “We will do everything that the Lord has commanded.”

International Standard V        Then Moses came and reported all the words of the Lord and all the statutes to the people, and they all [Lit. all the people] answered with one voice, “All the things that the Lord has spoken, we will do.”

Jubilee Bible 2000                  .

H. C. Leupold                         .

Lexham English Bible            And Moses came, and he told the people all the words of Yahweh and all the regulations. And all the people answered with one voice, and they said, "All the words that Yahweh has spoken we will do."

NIV, ©2011                             .

Peter Pett’s translation          .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    .

Unlocked Literal Bible            Moses went and told the people all of Yahweh’s words and decrees. All the people answered with one voice and said, “We will do all the words that Yahweh has said.”

Urim-Thummim Version         Moses came and related to the people all the Words of YHWH and all the ordinances, and all the people answered with one voice and promised, all the Words that YHWH has declared to us we will do.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And moses came and told the people all of Yahweh's words and of all of the rulings, and all the people answered with one voice and said "All the things that Yahweh had said we will do."

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  .

The Heritage Bible                 And Moses came, and tallied up to the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the judgments, and all the people answered in one voice, and said, We will do all the words which Jehovah has said.

New American Bible (2002)   .

New American Bible (2011)   When Moses came to the people and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all answered with one voice, “We will do everything that the LORD has told us.” Ex 19:8.

New English Bible–1970        Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, all his laws. The whole people answered with one voice and said, 'We will do all that the LORD has told us.'

New Jerusalem Bible             Moses went and told the people all Yahweh's words and all the laws, and all the people answered with one voice, 'All the words Yahweh has spoken we will carry out!'

New RSV                               .

Revised English Bible–1989   Moses went and repeated to the people all the words of the LORD, all his laws. With one voice the whole people answered, “We will do everything the LORD has told us.”

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Moshe came and told the people everything Adonai had said, including all the rulings. The people answered with one voice: “We will obey every word Adonai has spoken.”

exeGeses companion Bible   .