Exodus Chapter 24 verse 1 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerses 1-8. - THE RATIFICATION OF THE COVENANT. The giving of the Book of the Covenant being now completed, Moses, having received directions with respect to another ascent into the mount (vers. 1, 2), descended to the people, and in the first instance declared to them the main heads of the Covenant, which they received with favour, and expressed their willingness to obey (ver. 3). Not, however, regarding this as a sufficiently formal ratification, the Prophet proceeded to write out in a "Book" the whole of the commands which he had received, He then built an altar, erected twelve pillars, offered sacrifice, and having collected half the blood of the victims in basins, summoned the people to an assembly. At this, he read over solemnly all the words of the Book to them, and received their solemn adherence to it (ver. 7); whereupon, to complete the ceremony, and mark their entrance into covenant, he sprinkled the blood from the basins on the twelve tribes, represented by their leaders, and declared the acceptance complete (ver. 8). The ceremony was probably modelled on some customary proceedings, whereby important contracts between man and man were ratified among the Hebrews and Syrians. Verses 1, 2. - It has been supposed that these verses are out of place, and suggested to remove them to the end of verse 8. But no change is necessary. It is quite natural that God should have given the directions before Moses descended from the mount, and that he should have deferred executing them until the people had accepted the covenant. Nadab and Abihu were the two eldest of Aaron's sons, and so his natural successors in the priesthood, had they not sinned by offering "strange fire" (Leviticus 10:1, 2). They had been mentioned previously, in Exodus 6:23. Seventy of the elders. On the elders of Israel, see Exodus 3:16, and Exodus 18:21. The "seventy" eiders may, together with Nadab and Abihu, have represented the twelve tribes, six from each. Worship ye afar off. Though all were to ascend the mount to a certain height, only Moses was to go to the top. The others, being less holy than Moses, had to worship at a distance.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersXXIV.THE RATIFICATION OF THE COVENANT.(1) And he said.--We should have expected "And God said," or "And Jehovah said." The omission of the nominative is probably to be accounted for by the insertion into Exodus at this point of "the Book of the Covenant," which was originally a distinct document. Exodus 24:1 of Exodus 24 probably followed originally on Exodus 20:21 of Exodus 20. The sequence of the words was then as follows: "And Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. And he said unto Moses," &c.Come up.--The ascent of Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders seems to have been commanded in order to give greater solemnity to the ratification of the covenant between God and Israel, which is the main subject of this section. Moses received instructions on the subject before descending, and no doubt was divinely guided in the steps which he took previously to ascending with them.Nadab, and Abihu.--Aaron's two elder sons. (See Exodus 6:23.)Seventy of the elders.--These are not the "judges" of Exodus 18:21-26, who were not yet appointed (see Note on Exodus 18:24-25), but rather the heads of tribes and families who had exercised authority over the Israelites in Egypt, and through whom Moses had always communicated with the people. (See Exodus 3:16; Exodus 4:29; Exodus 12:21; Exodus 17:5-6.) . . .