Keluaran 12:21

12:21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel, and told them, “Go and select ¹  for yourselves a lamb or young goat ²  for your families, and kill the Passover animals. ³ 

Keluaran 17:6

17:6 I will be standing ⁴  before you there on ⁵  the rock in Horeb, and you will strike ⁶  the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink.” ⁷  And Moses did so in plain view ⁸  of the elders of Israel.

Keluaran 24:1

The Lord Ratifies the Covenant

24:1 ⁹ But to Moses the Lord ¹⁰  said, “Come up ¹¹  to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance. ¹² 

Keluaran 24:14

24:14 He told the elders, “Wait for us in this place until we return to you. Here are ¹³  Aaron and Hur with you. Whoever has any matters of dispute ¹⁴  can approach ¹⁵  them.”

[12:21]  ¹ tn Heb “draw out and take.” The verb has in view the need “to draw out” a lamb or goat selected from among the rest of the flock.

[12:21]  ² tn The Hebrew noun is singular and can refer to either a lamb or a goat. Since English has no common word for both, the phrase “a lamb or young goat” is used in the translation.

[12:21]  ³ tn The word “animals” is added to avoid giving the impression in English that the Passover festival itself is the object of “kill.”

[17:6]  ⁴ tn The construction uses הִנְנִי עֹמֵד (hinni ’omed) to express the futur instans or imminent future of the verb: “I am going to be standing.”

[17:6]  sn The reader has many questions when studying this passage – why water from a rock, why Horeb, why strike the rock when later only speak to it, why recall the Nile miracles, etc. B. Jacob (Exodus, 479-80) says that all these are answered when it is recalled that they were putting God to the test. So water from the rock, the most impossible thing, cleared up the question of his power. Doing it at Horeb was significant because there Moses was called and told he would bring them to this place. Since they had doubted God was in their midst, he would not do this miracle in the camp, but would have Moses lead the elders out to Horeb. If people doubt God is in their midst, then he will choose not to be in their midst. And striking the rock recalled striking the Nile; there it brought death to Egypt, but here it brought life to Israel. There could be little further doubting that God was with them and able to provide for them.

[17:6]  ⁵ tn Or “by” (NIV, NLT).

[17:6]  ⁶ tn The form is a Hiphil perfect with the vav (ו) consecutive; it follows the future nuance of the participle and so is equivalent to an imperfect tense nuance of instruction.

[17:6]  ⁷ tn These two verbs are also perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutive: “and [water] will go out…and [the people] will drink.” But the second verb is clearly the intent or the result of the water gushing from the rock, and so it may be subordinated.

[17:6]  sn The presence of Yahweh at this rock enabled Paul to develop a midrashic lesson, an analogical application: Christ was present with Israel to provide water for them in the wilderness. So this was a Christophany. But Paul takes it a step further to equate the rock with Christ, for just as it was struck to produce water, so Christ would be struck to produce rivers of living water. The provision of bread to eat and water to drink provided for Paul a ready analogy to the provisions of Christ in the gospel (1 Cor 10:4).

[17:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[24:1]  ⁹ sn 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.

[24:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And he;” the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:1]  ¹¹ sn They were to come up to the Lord after they had made the preparations that are found in vv. 3-8.

[24:1]  ¹² sn 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.

[24:14]  ¹³ tn The word הִנֵּה (hinneh) calls attention to the presence of Aaron and Hur to answer the difficult cases that might come up.

[24:14]  ¹⁴ tn Or “issues to resolve.” The term is simply דְּבָרִים (dÿvarim, “words, things, matters”).

[24:14]  ¹⁵ tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of potential imperfect. In the absence of Moses and Joshua, Aaron and Hur will be available.

[24:14]  sn Attention to the preparation for Moses’ departure contributes to the weight of the guilt of the faithless Israelites (chap. 32) and of Aaron, to whom Moses had delegated an important duty.