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Exodus Chapter
Nineteen
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
EXODUS 19
In this chapter we have an
account of the coming of the children of Israel to Mount Sinai, Exodus 19:1, of the
covenant made with them there, the proposal on the part of God, and their acceptance
of it, Exodus 19:3, the
previous notice God gave three days before of his appearance on the mount, the
orders for their preparation to meet him, and the execution of them, Exodus 19:9, the
awful and tremendous appearance of God upon the mount, Exodus 19:6 and the
strict charge given, that neither people nor priests should come near and gaze,
only Moses and Aaron with him were to come up, bounds being set to prevent the
rest, Exodus 19:21, and
the chapter is closed with observing, that Moses went down from the mount, and
delivered to the people what the Lord spoke to and by him, Exodus 19:25.
Exodus 19:1 In the third
month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same
day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.
YLT 1In the third month of the going out of the
sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, in this day they have come into the
wilderness of Sinai,
In the third
month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt,.... Which was
the month Sivan, and answers to part of May and part of June:
the same day
came they into the wilderness of Sinai; which had its name from
the mountain situated in it, and that from the bushes which grew upon it. JustinF26E
Trogo, l. 36. c. 2. calls it Synan, which he says Moses occupied, and StraboF1Geograph.
l. 16. p. 520. , Sinnan. Hither they came either on the same day they came from
Rephidim; which, according to BuntingF2Travels, p. 82. , were eight
miles from it, or on the same day of the month, as to number, that is, on the
third day of the third month; and so JeromF3Epist. Fabiolae de 42
mansion. fol. 15. c. 1. tom. 3. and others say it was on the forty seventh day
after their coming out of Egypt, three days after which they received the law
on Mount Sinai, it being a generally received notion that the law was given
fifty days after the passover; hence the feast of weeks is called from thence
the feast of pentecost, or fifty days: or rather this was the first day of the
month, as Jarchi and R. Moses; with which agrees the Targum of Jonathan; and so
was the forty fifth of their coming out of Egypt, five days after which they
received the law; it being a tradition with the Jews, as Aben Ezra observes,
that that was given on the sixth of Sivan, and may be accounted for thus; on
the first day they came to Sinai, and encamped there, on the day following
Moses went up to God, Exodus 19:3, on the
third day Moses gathered the elders together, Exodus 19:7, and
declared to them the words of God, and on the third day after that, which was
the sixth, the law was delivered to them.
Exodus 19:2 2 For
they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai,
and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain.
YLT 2and they journey from Rephidim, and enter the
wilderness of Sinai, and encamp in the wilderness; and Israel encampeth there
before the mount.
For they were
departed from Rephidim,.... After they had fought with Amalek, and came to the western
part of the mount to Horeb, where the rock was smitten for them; and they were
come from that now, and encamped at Sinai, after Jethro had paid a visit to
Moses:
and were come
to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in this wilderness; that is, of
Sinai, as in the preceding verse:
and there
Israel encamped before the mount; Mount Sinai, from whence
the desert or wilderness was called. This, as Jarchi says, was on the east side
of the mount; Horeb and Sinai were but one and the same mountain, which had two
tops. Horeb was on the western side, near to which lay the plain of Rephidim;
and Sinai was on the eastern side, on which the wilderness of that name
bordered: so that the children of Israel, when they came from Rephidim, came
from the western side, and took a circuit about and came to the eastern; which,
according to a fore mentioned writer, was eight miles, and was the twelfth
station or mansion of the children of Israel. This number twelve is taken
notice of by some, as having something singular and peculiar in it; there were
the twelve tribes of Israel, and at their twelfth mansion the law was given
them; Christ had twelve apostles, and there are twelve foundations of the new
Jerusalem, and 12,000 were sealed out of every tribe of Israel.
Exodus 19:3 3 And
Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the
mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the
children of Israel:
YLT 3And Moses hath gone up unto God, and Jehovah
calleth unto him out of the mount, saying, `Thus dost thou say to the house of
Jacob, and declare to the sons of Israel,
And Moses went
up unto God,.... Who was in the pillar of cloud upon the top of the mount;
this was on the second day, according to the Targum of Jonathan: "the Lord
called unto him out of the mountain"; or had called unto him, as Aben
Ezra, since without his leave he could not have gone up. He called to him out
of the cloud upon the top of the mountain to come up, and being come near him,
he called to him, and spoke with an articulate voice, as follows:
saying, thus
shalt thou say, to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; which are the
same, and are described as descending from the same person, who was called by
both names; the one was his name in the former and lower state of his life, the
other in the latter and more prosperous one; and his posterity are called by
these two names, as Bishop Patrick observes, to put them in mind, that they who
had lately been as low as Jacob, when he went to Padanaram, were now grown as
great as God made him when he came from thence, and was called Israel.
Exodus 19:4 4 ‘You
have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’
wings and brought you to Myself.
YLT 4Ye -- ye have seen that which I have done to
the Egyptians, and I bear you on eagles' wings, and bring you in unto Myself.
Ye have seen
what I did to the Egyptians,.... The plagues he brought upon them in
Egypt, and the destruction of them at the Red sea; these things they were
eyewitnesses of, and needed no other proof or evidence to convince and assure
them of them, and therefore must be under obligation to attend to what he was
about to recommend unto them, for which reason this is observed:
and how
I bare you on eagles' wings; that is, as on eagles' wings, the note of
similitude being wanting, but to be supplied; for it cannot be thought that
they were literally bore on eagles' wings; but as that creature is reported to
be very affectionate to its young, and careful of it, and, as is said, only to
one; for, having more, it will cast away all but one, and reserve that, which
it carefully nourishes; and being swift of flight, and strong of wing, it will
in a remarkable manner take its young upon it, and safely and swiftly convey it
where it pleases; of which See Gill on Deuteronomy 32:11.
The eagle excels other birds both in its strength and in the size of its body;
and especially its pectoral muscles, by which its wings are supported; are very
strong, so that it can carry its young, and other things, on its back and
wings; and some such thing nature itself seems to have required, as naturalists
observeF4Scheuchzer. Physica Sacra, vol. 2. p. 186. ; and there are
some histories, which, if true, greatly confirm and illustrate this. AelianusF5Hist.
Animal. l. 12. c. 21. reports of Tilgamus, a Babylonian, and who afterwards was
king of Babylon, and who seems to be the Tilgath Pilneser of the Scriptures,
king of Assyria, that when a lad, being thrown down from the top of a tower, an
eagle, which is a very quick sighted bird, saw him, and, before he came to the
ground, flew under him, took him upon its back, and carried him into a garden,
and gently let him down. So it is related of AristomenesF6Pausaniae
Messenica, sive, l. 4. p. 250, 251. , that as he was casting headlong into a
deep ditch by the Lacedemonians, where they used to throw condemned
malefactors, an eagle flew under him, and bore him on its wings, and carried
him to the bottom, without any hurt to any part of his body. Jarchi observes,
that whereas other birds carry their young between their feet, for fear of
those that fly above them, the eagle flying above all others, and so in no fear
of them, carries its young upon its wings, judging it better that a dart should
pierce that than its young. The Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase
the words,"and I bore you on clouds, as on eagles' wings;'which covered,
and protected, and sustained them, as the eagles' wings do its young; the
former adds, from Pelusium, a city in Egypt, supposed by the Targumist to be
the same with Rameses; where Jarchi observes the people of Israel were very
swiftly gathered together as the place of their rendezvous, and were as safely
brought from thence to the place where they now were. Thus the Lord showed an
affectionate concern for Israel, took them under his care and protection, stood
between them and the Egyptians in a pillar of cloud, and secured them from
their arrows, and swiftly and safely removed them from the land of Egypt to the
place where they now were, distinguishing them from all other nations, having
chosen them to be a special people to himself:
and brought you
unto myself: to the mountain of God, where he had appeared to Moses, and
given this as a sign and token of the truth of his mission, that he and Israel,
when brought out of Egypt by him, should serve him on this mount; and now they
were brought thither, where he was about not only to grant his presence in a
very singular manner, but to deliver his law unto them, and enter into a
covenant with them, and establish and settle them as his people; so that they
were a people near unto the Lord, taken into covenant, and indulged with
communion with him, and made partakers of various distinguished blessings of
his: both the above Targums are, "I brought you to the doctrine of my
law", to receive it at this mount.
Exodus 19:5 5 Now
therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you
shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is
Mine.
YLT 5`And now, if ye really hearken to My voice,
then ye have kept My covenant, and been to Me a peculiar treasure more than all
the peoples, for all the earth [is] Mine;
Now therefore,.... Since
they had received such marks of his favour, and were laid under great
obligations to him:
if ye will obey
my voice indeed; truly, sincerely, and heartily; or "in hearkening hearken",
or "in obeying obey"F7שמוע תשמעו "obediendo obedieritis", Pagninus,
Montanus; "audiendo audiveritis", Drusius; "auscultando
auscultabitis", Piscator; so Ainsworth. ; that is, closely and attentively
hearken to what he should say to them, and thoroughly and constantly yield a
cheerful obedience to his commands:
and keep my
covenant; now about to be made with them, which would consist of promises
of good things to be done to them on his part, and of duties to be performed by
them on their part, and so would constitute a formal covenant by stipulation
and restipulation:
then ye shall
be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; be as highly valued by
him, and as carefully preserved as the richest treasure among men; even as the
treasure of princes, consisting of gold and silver, precious stones, pearls and
jewels, and everything that is valuable; and of this he would give such proof
and demonstration, as would make it appear that they were esteemed by him above
all people upon the face of the earth; being chosen for his peculiar treasure,
and redeemed out of the house of bondage and slavery to be his peculiar people,
and distinguished from all others by particular favours and blessings:
for all the
earth is mine; as it is, and the inhabitants of it, by creation, sustentation,
preservation, and dominion, all being made, upheld, preserved, and governed by
him; and therefore, as he had a right to all, could choose what part he pleased
for his special use and service; or "though all the earth is mine"F8כי "tametsi", Vatablus; "quamvis",
Piscator, Drusius. , as Marinus in Aben Ezra, which yet the latter does not
seem to approve of; and then the sense is, though the whole world was his, and
all that is in it, yet such was his special affection, and peculiar regard to
Israel, as to choose them, and esteem them as his portion and inheritance, his
jewel, and peculiar treasure.
Exodus 19:6 6 And
you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are
the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
YLT 6and ye -- ye are to Me a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation: these [are] the words which thou dost speak unto the sons of
Israel.'
And ye shall be
unto me a kingdom of priests,.... Instead of being in a state of
servitude and bondage, as they had been in Egypt, they should be erected into a
kingdom, become a body politic, a free state, a commonwealth governed by its
own laws, and those laws of God's making; yea, they should be a kingdom to him,
and he be more immediately the king of them, as he was not of others, the
government of Israel being a Theocracy; and this kingdom should consist of men
that were priests, who had access to God, served him, and offered sacrifice to
him; or of men greatly esteemed and honoured, as priests were in those times.
Jarchi interprets it, a kingdom of princes, as the word sometimes signifies:
the subjects of this kingdom were princes, men of a princely spirit, and these
princes, like those of the king of Babylon, who boasted they were altogether
kings; and like the Roman senators, of whom the ambassador of Pyrrhus said,
that he saw at Rome as many kings as he saw senators. And so here all the
Targums render it, "kings and priests": to which reference seems to
be had not only in 1 Peter 2:9 but in Revelation 1:6,
they were kings when they got the victory, as in the times of Joshua, over the
several kings of Canaan, and had their kingdoms divided among them; and before
the priesthood was settled in the family of Aaron, every head of a family in
Israel was a priest; and they were all priests at the passover, as PhiloF9De
Vita Mosis, l. 3. p. 686. observes: and so the spiritual Israel of God are
kings and priests; they are kings, having the power and riches of kings; having
got through Christ the victory over sin, Satan, and the world; and being
possessed of the kingdom of grace, and heirs of the kingdom of glory; and
priests, being allowed to draw nigh to God, to present themselves, souls and
bodies, a holy and living sacrifice, to offer to him the sacrifices of prayer
and praise through Christ, by whom they become acceptable to him: "and an
holy nation"; being separated from all others, and devoted to the worship
and service of God, having holy laws, and holy ordinances, and a holy service,
and a holy place to perform it in, and holy persons to attend unto it, as they
afterwards had. In allusion to this, the spiritual Israel, or people of God,
are also called so, 1 Peter 2:9 being
chosen unto holiness, redeemed from all iniquity, called with an holy calling,
sanctified by the blood of Christ, and made holy by the Spirit of God, and
under the influence of his grace live holy lives and conversations:
these are the
words thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel: what he would
have them do, and they were bound to do in a way of duty to him, and what he in
a way of grace would do for them, and they should be unto him,
Exodus 19:7 7 So
Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all
these words which the Lord
commanded him.
YLT 7And Moses cometh, and calleth for the elders
of the people, and setteth before them all these words which Jehovah hath
commanded him;
And Moses came
and called for the elders of the people,.... After he had heard
the above words from the mouth of God, he came down from the mount into the
camp of Israel, and sent for the elders or principal men of the tribes and
families of Israel to come to him:
and, being
gathered together:
laid before
their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him; expressed
them in the plainest manner, set them in the clearest light to their minds and
consciences; so that they thoroughly understood them, were fully convinced of
the propriety of these things God required of them, and their obligation to
observe them, and saw plainly the greatness and importance of what he promised
unto them.
Exodus 19:8 8 Then
all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we
will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.
YLT 8and all the people answer together and say,
`All that Jehovah hath spoken we do;' and Moses returneth the words of the
people unto Jehovah.
And all the
people answered together,.... By their heads and representatives, the elders, summoned
before Moses, to whom he declared the whole will of God; or this being
communicated by them to their respective tribes and families, they were all of
one mind; there was not a contradicting voice among them, they all gave the
same answer, or all united in returning for answer what follows:
all that the
Lord hath spoken we will do; obey his voice in all things he directs
unto, or commands to be done, and keep the covenant he should make with them,
and observe whatever was required on their parts; which was well spoken, if
with the heart, and if, under a consciousness of their own weakness, they had
expressed their desire of dependence upon the grace of God to enable them to
perform, see Deuteronomy 5:28.
The Septuagint version adds, "and we will hear", or be obedient, as
in Exodus 24:7,
and Moses returned
the words of the people unto the Lord; not for his information,
who knew very well what they had said, but for the discharge of his office as a
mediator and messenger between God and them: this, according to Jarchi, was on
the third day of the month.
Exodus 19:9 9 And
the Lord
said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may
hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.”
So Moses told
the words of the people to the Lord.
YLT 9And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Lo, I am
coming unto thee in the thickness of the cloud, so that the people hear in My
speaking with thee, and also believe in thee to the age;' and Moses declareth
the words of the people unto Jehovah.
And the Lord
said unto Moses,.... As the Targum of Jonathan, on the third day; though Jarchi
says the fourth; which seems not so well to agree with his words on the
preceding verse, since it seems to be at the same time that Moses returned the
words of the people to the Lord, that he said what follows to him:
lo, I come unto
thee in a thick cloud; which was different from the pillar of cloud in which he went
before the people, and now stood in it on the top of the mount; for he speaks
not now of his present appearance to Moses, but of his appearance on the mount
three days after; wherefore the Septuagint version wrongly renders it, "in
a pillar of cloud": there were appearances of the divine Majesty in a cloud
frequently afterwards, both in the Old and New Testament, see Exodus 40:34 and so
Christ, the mighty Angel, is said to be clothed with a cloud, Revelation 10:1.
And from such appearances as these, the Heathens have represented their
deities, as ApolloF11"Nnbe et candentes humeros amictus Augur
Apollo. -----" Horat. Carmin. l. 1. ode 2. , VenusF12"Et
Venus aethereos inter dea candida nimbos Dona ferens aderat ----". Virgil.
Aeneid, l. 8. "prope finem". "Hoc Venus obscuro faciem
circumdata nimbo Detulit. ----" Virgil. Aeneid, l. 12. , JunoF13"Agens
hyemem nimbo succincta, per auras ----". Ib. Aeneid. 10. , and others,
coming in a cloud, or clothed with one:
that the people
may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever; they had
believed Moses already, particularly at the Red sea, when they saw what was
done there, but afterwards, as it seems, returned to their unbelief again; but
now, as they would be eyewitnesses of the cloud in which the Lord would appear
to Moses, so they would be ear witnesses of what he said to him; for though the
cloud was a thick one in which he came, so that they could not see any
similitude, any likeness at all, not so much as a brightness, a shining glory,
as they had seen in the pillar of cloud, see Exodus 16:7, yet,
the voice of God out of it was so loud, when he spoke with Moses, that this
vast body of people being placed around, at the lower part of the mount, heard
plainly and distinctly all that was said; so that they were sure they were not
imposed upon by Moses, but that the law he delivered to them was from God,
since they heard it with their own ears; and therefore they and their posterity
believed it for ever, and never entertained the least distrust of the divinity
and authority of it. This case was widely different from that of Numa or
Mahomet, the one pretending to receive instructions from the goddess Egeria,
and the other from the angel Gabriel; but all depended upon their own word,
none were, nor did they pretend that any were eye or ear witnesses of what they
declared; but such was the case here:
and Moses told
the words of the people unto the Lord; the same which he is
said to return to him in the preceding verse, and here repeated for the
confirmation of it, and to lead on to what the Lord had to say further
concerning them.
Exodus 19:10 10 Then
the Lord
said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and
let them wash their clothes.
YLT 10And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Go unto the
people; and thou hast sanctified them to-day and to-morrow, and they have
washed their garments,
And the Lord
said unto Moses,.... On the fourth day, according to the Targum of Jonathan:
go unto the
people; go down from the mountain, from the top of it, where he now was,
to the camp of Israel, which was pitched before it:
and sanctify
them today and tomorrow; the fourth and fifth days of the month; that is, he was, to
instruct them how they were to sanctify themselves in an external way, by
washing themselves, as after mentioned, their bodies and clothes, and by
abstaining from all sensual pleasures, lawful or unlawful:
and let them
wash their clothes; which the Jews understood not of their garments, but of their
bodies also; teaching them by these outward things the necessity of internal
purity and holiness, to appear before God: these outward rites were in use
before the law of Moses, as appears from Genesis 35:2 and
the Heathens themselves have similar notions of the cleanness of bodies and
garments, as well as the purity of mind, being acceptable to their deitiesF14"Casta
placent superis, pura cum veste venito". Tibullus. .
Exodus 19:11 11 And
let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down
upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
YLT 11and have been prepared for the third day; for
on the third day doth Jehovah come down before the eyes of all the people, on
mount Sinai.
And be ready
against the third day,.... Not the third day of the month, but the third day from
hence, this being the fourth, and the morrow the fifth, and the third day, the
day following that, the sixth, on which day it is generally agreed by the Jews
that the law was given; see Gill on Exodus 19:16.
for the third
day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai; which must be
understood, consistent with his omnipresence, and is only expressive of some
visible display of his power, and of some sensible token of his presence to the
people; he was now upon it in the pillar of cloud, but then he would appear in
another manner, and descend in a thick cloud and fire, which all the people
would see, though they could not see the similitude of anything in it.
Exodus 19:12 12 You
shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that
you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the
mountain shall surely be put to death.
YLT 12`And thou hast made a border [for] the people
round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, going up into the mount, or
coming against its extremity; whoever is coming against the mount is certainly
put to death;
And thou shall
set bounds to the people round about,.... That is, round about
the mountain, by drawing a line, throwing up a foss or ditch, or else by laying
up heaps of stones or sand, which might be come at easily, or bushes and
branches of trees, which grew thick on the mount, from whence it had its name;
but be it what will that were used, these were to signify, that so far the
people might go, but no further, which their curiosity might prompt them to:
saying, take
heed unto yourselves that ye go not up into the mount; so far were
they from being allowed to go up to the top of it, that they were not allowed
to ascend it at all, or to go any further than where the ascent or rise began;
it was at their peril to ascend, and this was what they were to take heed unto,
lest they incurred danger:
or touch the
border of it; it being the mountain of God, and relatively holy through his
presence on it:
whosoever
toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death; which severe law was
made to deter them from any attempt to go up the mountain, since it was death
even to touch it, see Hebrews 12:18.
Exodus 19:13 13 Not
a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow;
whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they
shall come near the mountain.”
YLT 13a hand cometh not against him, for he is
certainly stoned or shot through, whether beast or man it liveth not; in the
drawing out of the jubilee cornet they go up into the mount.'
There shall not
a hand touch it,.... The mountain or the border of it, which is repeated that it
might be taken notice of; and to show that it would be resented if they were to
stretch out their hand and only lightly touch it, much more should they set
their feet upon it and attempt to ascend it: or rather, "shall not touch
him"F15לא תגע
בש "non tanget eum", Vatablus, Drusius,
"non feriet eum", Tigurine version. ; that is, the man that shall
touch the mountain; he shall be so detestable and abominable, whoever touches
it or breaks through the bounds of it, and attempts to ascend it, that no man
shall follow him to lay hold on him, in order to bring him back to justice, but
shall dispatch him at once in one or other of the ways directed to:
but he shall
surely be stoned, or shot through; if near at hand, all
about him shall rise upon him, and take up stones and stone him; but if he is
got at a distance, then they were to shoot arrows at him; and in this way Aben
Ezra interprets it; the words, says he, refer to the man that toucheth the
mount, who is not to be followed and apprehended, but those that see him, and
are near, abiding in the place where they are, are to stone him immediately,
and if afar off they are to throw darts at him: though the Targum of Jonathan
seems to understand it, as if punishment would be immediately inflicted upon
such a person, not by the hands of men, but by the hand of God; for it says,
such an one shall be stoned with hailstones, and fiery darts shall be spread
upon him; or, as the Jerusalem Targum, shall be shot at him:
whether it be
beast, or man, it shall not live; that touches the
mountain, and so it is explained, Hebrews 12:20, the
word beast comprehends all kinds of beasts, wild and tame, and all sorts of
cattle, of the herd or flock; as the word "man" takes in women as
well as men, as Ben Gersom observes; Aben Ezra thinks fowls are not mentioned,
because they cannot be taken, but fly away immediately; but then they might be
shot:
when the
trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount; this,
according to Jarchi, was a trumpet of a ram's horn; the word used in the Arabic
language signifying a ram; but it is a mere fancy and fable of his, that this
was of the ram of Isaac which was sacrificed in his stead; it is much more
likely that there was indeed no real trumpet, only a sound was formed like the
sound of one; and, it is highly probable, was formed by the ministering angels;
Aben Ezra observes, that the sound of a trumpet was never heard until the day
of the decalogue, until the day that was given; and that there was not a
greater wonder on Mount Sinai than this: the design and use of it was to
gather, this vast body of people together, to come and hear what God had to say
unto them; and when its sound was protracted to a great length, or was in one
continued tone, and somewhat lower, as is usual when a trumpet is about to
cease blowing, then the people were to take it as a token that they should
approach the mountain; not to ascend it, but come to the lower and nether part
of it, where bounds were set to direct them how far they might go, and no
further: so the Septuagint version is,"when the voices (or thunders) and
the trumpets and the cloud departed from the mountain, they went up to the
mountain:'a certain Jewish writerF16R. Samuel Ben Hophni, apud Aben
Ezram, in loc. interprets this, not of the people in general, but of Aaron and
his sons, and of the seventy elders, see Exodus 19:24.
Exodus 19:14 14 So
Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and
they washed their clothes.
YLT 14And Moses cometh down from the mount unto the
people, and sanctifieth the people, and they wash their garments;
And Moses went
down from the mount unto the people,.... The same day that he
went up, the fourth day of the month:
and sanctified
the people; instructed them and ordered them what they should do for their
sanctification, in order to their hearing the law from the mouth of the Lord:
and they washed
their clothes; as the Lord had directed Moses to enjoin them, and as he had
commanded them; see Gill on Exodus 19:10.
Exodus 19:15 15 And
he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come near your
wives.”
YLT 15and he saith unto the people, `Be ye prepared
for the third day, come not nigh unto a woman.'
And he said
unto the people, be ready against the third day,.... The third day from
thence, the sixth of the month Sivan, against which day they were to prepare
themselves, by washing their garments, and all other outward acts of
sanctification and purity they were directed to, that they might be ready for
the service of that day, to hear and receive the law from God himself: Aben
Ezra has this note on the passage,"perhaps not a man slept that night,
that he might hear the voice of the Lord in the morning, as was the way or
custom of the high priest on the day of atonement;'that is, not to sleep the
night before:
come not at
your wives; or, "do not draw nigh to a woman"F17תגשו אל אשה
μη προσελθητε γυναικι
Sept. "to a woman", Ainsworth. , to lie with her; meaning not with a
strange woman, or one that was not his wife, for that was not lawful at any
time; nor with a menstruous woman who was unclean, and so forbidden, but with a
man's own wife: what was lawful must now be abstained from, for the greater
sanctification and solemnity of the service of this day, see 1 Corinthians 7:5,
so ChaeremohF18Apud Porphyr, de Abstinentia, l. 4. sect. 7. Vid
Clement. Alexand Stromat. l. 1. p. 306. the stoic says of the Egyptian priests,
that when the time is at hand that they are to perform some very sacred and
solemn service, they spend several days in preparing for it; sometimes two and
forty, sometimes more, sometimes less, but never under seven; when they abstain
from all animals, and from all kind of herbs and pulse, and especially from
venereal conversation with women; and to this latter JuvenalF19"Ille
petit veniam quoties non abstinet uxor, "Concubitu, sacris observandisque
diebus". Juvenal, Satyr 6. the poet has respect.
Exodus 19:16 16 Then
it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings
and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet
was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.
YLT 16And it cometh to pass, on the third day,
while it is morning, that there are voices, and lightnings, and a heavy cloud,
on the mount, and the sound of a trumpet very strong; and all the people who
[are] in the camp do tremble.
And it came to
pass on the third day in the morning, The sixth of the month,
according to the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi; on which day, as the Jews
generally sayF20T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 86. 2. & Yoma, fol. 4. 2.
Seder Olam Rabba, c. 5. p. 18. , the law was given, and which, they also
observe, was a sabbath day: yea, they are sometimes so very particular as to
fix the hour of the day, and sayF21Pirke Eliezer, c. 46. , it was
the sixth hour of the day, or twelve o'clock at noon, that Israel received the
decalogue, and at the ninth hour, at three o'clock in the afternoon, returned
to their stations:
there were
thunders, and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount; which were to
awaken the attention of the people to what they were to hear and receive, and
to strike their minds with an awe of the divine Being; and to add to the
solemnity of the day, and the service of it; and to signify the obscurity and
terror of the legal dispensation, and the wrath and curse that the
transgressors the law might expect, even an horrible tempest of divine vengeance,
see Hebrews 12:18.
and the voice
of the trumpet exceeding loud; or, "exceeding strong"F23חזק מאד "fortis valde",
Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; so Ainsworth. ; being blown by the mighty angels,
and by ten thousand them, with whom the Lord now descended:
so that all the
people that was in the camp trembled, at the sound of it, it
was so loud and terrible, and it so pierced their ears and their hearts: a
different effect the Gospel trumpet the jubilee trumpet, the joyful sound of
love, grace, and mercy, has upon sensible sinners, and on true believers: the
law with its curses terrifies, the Gospel with its blessings comforts.
Exodus 19:17 17 And
Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at
the foot of the mountain.
YLT 17And Moses bringeth out the people to meet God
from the camp, and they station themselves at the lower part of the mount,
And Moses
brought forth the people out of the camp,.... Which was before the
mountain and near it, when the above tokens were given of the divine Presence
on it; as they were thrown into a panic upon the sound of the trumpet, it was,
perhaps, with some difficulty that they were brought out of the camp, or
persuaded to quit it; and nothing short of the presence of Moses at the head of
them, to go before them, and lead them to the foot of the mountain, could have
prevailed upon them to have done it:
to meet with
God; who came forth in such an awful and solemn manner, as their King
and lawgiver, to deliver a body of laws to them, to be the rule of their future
conduct:
and they stood
at the nether part of the mount; at the bottom of it, where bounds were set,
and a fence made, that they should proceed no further, and yet near enough to
hear what God said to Moses and to them.
Exodus 19:18 18 Now
Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon
it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole
mountain[a] quaked
greatly.
YLT 18and mount Sinai [is] wholly a smoke from the
presence of Jehovah, who hath come down on it in fire, and its smoke goeth up
as smoke of the furnace, and the whole mount trembleth exceedingly;
And Mount Sinai
was altogether on a smoke,.... Not from nature, as volcanos, but for a
reason after given; it seemed to be one large body of smoke, nothing else to be
seen but smoke; an emblem of the darkness of the legal dispensation, which was
full of obscure types and figures, of dark shadows and smoky sacrifices, to
which the clear day, of the Gospel dispensation is opposed, see 2 Corinthians 3:12.
because the
Lord descended upon it in fire; in flaming fire, as the Targums, which set
the mountain on fire, and caused this prodigious smoke; for if he, who is a
consuming fire, but toucheth the hills and mountains, they smoke, Psalm 104:32.
and the smoke
thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace such an one as that which
Abraham in vision saw, Genesis 15:17.
and the whole
mount quaked greatly; to which circumstance Deborah refers in her song, when she
speaks of mountains melting and flowing from before the presence of the God of
Israel, and particularly of Sinai, Judges 5:4, and the
psalmist, who makes mention of the earth shaking, and the heavens dropping, and
of Sinai being moved at his presence, Psalm 68:8, it is
probable there was an earthquake at this time, which sometimes attends thunders
and lightnings, see Revelation 16:18.
Exodus 19:19 19 And
when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke,
and God answered him by voice.
YLT 19and the sound of the trumpet is going on, and
very strong; Moses speaketh, and God doth answer him with a voice.
And when the
voice of the trumpet sounded long,.... Not in one continued
tone, as before, Exodus 19:13, where
a different word is used, and when it decreased, and was about to cease, which
was to summon the people to attend; but now they were come to the foot of the
mount, and this sounding was a preparation to the giving of the law unto them,
and was not one continued even tone: but waxed louder and louder; or,
"going, and exceeding strong"; or, "strengthening itself
exceedingly"F24הולך וחזק מאד προβαινουσαι
ισχυροτεραι σφοδρα, Sept. "iens et fortificans se
valde", Montanus; "roborans se", Vatablus; "quum pergeret
et invalesceret valde", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ; it went on to
an high pitch, until it was exceeding vehement and strong, and so sonorous as
scarce to be bore:
Moses spake; what he said
is not here recorded; it is highly probable, as has been observed by some, that
he uttered those words related of him in Hebrews 12:21
"I exceedingly fear and quake": such an impression did this loud and
strong voice of the trumpet make upon him:
and God
answered him by a voice; a still and gentle one, in order to encourage and comfort him;
and so the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,"with a pleasant and audible
voice, and with delightful words.'
Exodus 19:20 20 Then
the Lord
came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses
to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
YLT 20And Jehovah cometh down on mount Sinai, unto
the top of the mount, and Jehovah calleth for Moses unto the top of the mount,
and Moses goeth up.
And the Lord
came down on Mount Sinai,.... In the above visible tokens of his presence and power;
otherwise he is the incomprehensible Jehovah, that immense and omnipotent
Being, who fills heaven and earth, and cannot be contained and circumscribed in
either:
on the top of
the mount; where the fire he descended in rested, and where the smoke and
thick cloud were, as a token of his presence:
and the Lord
called Moses up to the top of the mount; who either was at the
bottom of it with the people, or in a higher ascent of it between God and them:
and Moses went
up; to the top of it, where the Lord was, as he ordered him: a
certain travellerF25Baumgarten Peregrinatio, l. 1. c. 24. p. 61.
tells us that the top of this mount was scarce thirty feet in circumference.
Exodus 19:21 21 And
the Lord
said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at
the Lord,
and many of them perish.
YLT 21And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Go down,
protest to the people, lest they break through unto Jehovah to see, and many of
them have fallen;
And the Lord
said unto Moses, go down,.... As soon as he was got to the top of the mount he was bid to
go down again to the bottom, with a message to the people:
charge the
people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze; to see if
they could observe any similitude or likeness of God, that they might have an
idea of it in their minds, or make an image like unto it; to prevent which, the
Lord, knowing the vanity and curiosity of their minds, ordered Moses to give
them a strict charge not to transgress the bounds set them, or to break down or
break through the fence of stones and sand, or hedge of bushes, brambles, and
branches of trees, or whatever was placed for bounds:
and many of
them perish; or "fall"F26נפל πεσωσιν Sept. "et
corruant", Pagninus, Tigurine version; "et cadat", Montanus;
"cadant", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius; so Ainsworth. ;
by the hand of God; either fall by death, or into some grievous calamity, as
the men of Bethshemesh perished through looking into the ark, 1 Samuel 6:19.
Exodus 19:22 22 Also
let the priests who come near the Lord consecrate themselves,
lest the Lord
break out against them.”
YLT 22and also the priests who are coming nigh unto
Jehovah do sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth on them.'
And let the
priests also, which come near unto the Lord,.... Either the
firstborn, as the Jews generally interpret it, so Jarchi and Aben Ezra; who
were sanctified to the Lord, and in whose stead afterwards the Levites were
taken; or the sons of Aaron, who should be, and were potentially, though not
actually priests, as Ben Gersom expresses it, from an ancient book of theirs
called Mechilta; or rather some principal persons, as heads of families and the
like, who, before the priesthood was settled in the family of Aaron, officiated
as priests, and drew nigh to God, and offered up sacrifices for themselves and
others, and were distinguished from others by this character, and therefore do
not intend princes, as some interpret the word; for the description of them
will not agree to them, but plainly points to a sort of men, to whom it was
peculiar to perform that office. These Moses is bid to charge that they
sanctify
themselves; in the same manner as the people in general were before ordered,
and keep themselves within the same bounds; not daring to transgress them,
because they were persons that used to draw nigh to God in the performance of
religious actions:
lest the Lord
break forth upon them; and smite them, that they die, in like manner as he made a
breach on Uzzah afterwards for touching the ark of the Lord, 2 Samuel 6:6.
Exodus 19:23 23 But
Moses said to the Lord,
“The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, ‘Set
bounds around the mountain and consecrate it.’”
YLT 23And Moses saith unto Jehovah, `The people
[is] unable to come up unto mount Sinai, for Thou -- Thou hast protested to us,
saying, Make a border [for] the mount, then thou hast sanctified it.'
And Moses said
unto the Lord,.... Upon his giving such strict orders both with respect to the
people and the priests:
the people
cannot come up to Mount Sinai; suggesting as if there was no need for him
to go down on that account, to give them a charge not to break through and
gaze; since, as he thought, there was no probability that they ever would
attempt it, seeing such a solemn charge had been given, nor any possibility of
it, since such a fence was made:
for thou
chargedst us, saying, set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it; and
accordingly bounds have been set, that the people may not go up it, and the
place has been declared sacred, that so none will presume to do it, according
to the solemn charge that has been given: someF1So some in Vatablus.
read the preceding clause by way of interrogation, "may not the people
come up to Mount Sinai?" may not any of them? or, if any of them, who may?
and there was the greater reason for asking such a question, since the priests
that drew near to God might not, and so the next words are conceived to be an
answer to it.
Exodus 19:24 24 Then
the Lord
said to him, “Away! Get down and then come up, you and Aaron with you. But do
not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break
out against them.”
YLT 24And Jehovah saith unto him, `Go, descend,
then thou hast come up, thou, and Aaron with thee; and the priests and the
people do not break through, to come up unto Jehovah, lest He break forth upon
them.'
And the Lord
said unto him, away, get thee down,.... And prevent the
people and priests from breaking through the bounds and gazing, to which their
curiosity would tempt them; as the Lord knew better than Moses, and it was high
time for him to be gone, the matter required haste, the people were under great
temptations of indulging their curiosity, to the peril of their lives:
and thou shall
come up, thou, and Aaron with thee; which is thought to be
an answer to the question, who might come up? only himself and Aaron, who was
his prophet and spokesman, and concerned with him in his miracles, and in
conducting the people of Israel; and who was to be chief priest as Moses was to
be, and was the leader and governor of the people:
but let not the
priests and the people break through to come up unto the Lord, lest he break
forth upon them; it required the immediate presence of Moses below, and immediate
care was to be taken by him, lest the priests and people, led by a vain
curiosity, should attempt to ascend the mount, and come where God was, to see
if they could observe any likeness of him; which would so provoke him, that in
just retaliation, as they had broke through the bounds set, he would break
forth on them by inflicting sudden death upon them.
Exodus 19:25 25 So
Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.
YLT 25And Moses goeth down unto the people, and
saith unto them: --
So Moses went
down to the people,.... As the Lord commanded him:
and spake unto
them: charging them to keep their distance, and not presume to pass
the line he had drawn, or the foss or fence he had made: in the Jerusalem
Targum it is added,"come and receive the ten words;'the decalogue or ten
commands; and the Targum of Jonathan,"come and receive the law with the
ten words;'the ten commandments of the law, which are delivered in the
following chapter.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Exodus 19:18
Septuagint reads all the people.