Exodus 24

The Covenant Ceremony

¹He said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship from a distance.

²Moses alone shall come near to the LORD, but they shall not come near. The people shall not go up with him.”

³Moses came and told the people all the LORD’s words, and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words which the LORD has spoken will we do.”

⁴Moses wrote all the LORD’s words, then rose up early in the morning and built an altar at the base of the mountain, with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.

⁵He sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of cattle to the LORD.

⁶Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

⁷He took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, “We will do all that the LORD has said, and be obedient.”

⁸Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Look, this is the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you concerning all these words.”

⁹Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up.

¹⁰They saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was like a paved work of sapphire stone, like the skies for clearness.

¹¹He didn’t lay his hand on the nobles of the children of Israel. They saw God, and ate and drank.

¹²The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain, and stay here, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commands that I have written, that you may teach them.”

¹³Moses rose up with Joshua, his servant, and Moses went up onto God’s Mountain.

¹⁴He said to the elders, “Wait here for us, until we come again to you. Behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever is involved in a dispute can go to them.”

¹⁵Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.

¹⁶The LORD’s glory settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. The seventh day he called to Moses out of the middle of the cloud.

¹⁷The appearance of the LORD’s glory was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.

¹⁸Moses entered into the middle of the cloud, and went up on the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Previous Exodus 23

Next Exodus 25

Moses formally establishes God's covenant with Israel through a solemn ceremony involving sacrifice, the sprinkling of blood, and the people's pledge of obedience. The covenant is ratified when Moses reads the law and the people unanimously commit to follow all God's commands, with blood symbolically sealing the agreement between God and his people. The chapter concludes with Moses ascending Mount Sinai to receive the stone tablets, where he remains for forty days in God's presence.

Context

This chapter serves as the climactic conclusion to the law-giving at Sinai (chapters 19-23) and transitions to the detailed instructions for the tabernacle that follow.

Key Themes

Outline

1-2
Divine Invitation to Worship God calls Moses, Aaron, his sons, and seventy elders to worship, with Moses alone permitted to approach closely.
3-8
Covenant Ratification Ceremony Moses reads God's words to the people, who pledge obedience, and the covenant is sealed with sacrificial blood.
9-11
Vision of God's Glory The leaders ascend the mountain and witness a theophany, seeing God enthroned above a sapphire pavement.
12-18
Moses Ascends for the Tablets God summons Moses higher up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, where he remains forty days in the divine cloud.

The Covenant Ceremony

24:1–24:18

narrative narration solemn

Moses ratifies the covenant with Israel through blood sacrifice and the people's pledge of obedience. Moses then ascends Mount Sinai to receive the stone tablets from God.

person_contrast

Moses uniquely functions as both covenant mediator sprinkling sacrificial blood and solitary recipient of divine revelation, bridging Israel's communal commitment with God's private instruction.

Insight Character Study

Moses uniquely functions as both covenant mediator sprinkling sacrificial blood and solitary recipient of divine revelation, bridging Israel's communal commitment with God's private instruction.

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Exodus 24:1 5 references

Lexicals 5

Leviticus 10:1 Lexical

Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strang…

Exodus 24

The Covenant Ceremony

The Covenant Ceremony

Insights

Cross-References

Exodus 24:1 5 references

Exodus 24:4 4 references

Exodus 24:5 5 references

Exodus 24:6 5 references

Exodus 24:7 2 references

Exodus 24:9 5 references

Exodus 24:12 5 references

Exodus 24:14 1 reference

Exodus 24:16 3 references

Interlinear