Exodus 24

## Summary Exodus 24 narrates the ratification of the covenant at Sinai: Moses reports Yahweh's words to the people, who commit to obedience; he writes them down, builds an altar with twelve pillars, and seals the covenant with sacrificial blood. Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy elders ascend partway and see a vision of "the God of Israel," after which Moses alone ascends further into the cloud on the mountain for forty days and nights to receive the stone tablets. ## Key words - *berit* ("covenant", H1285) — feminine singular noun, the central term for the agreement being sealed with blood and inscribed in a "book" (*sefer*, H5612H) in v.7-8. - *na'aseh* ("we will do", H6213A) — qal imperfect, 1st person plural; expresses the people's future-oriented commitment, repeated in vv.3 and 7, the second time paired with *nishma'* ("we will hear/obey", H8085H). - *dam* ("blood", H1818) — masculine singular noun, appears five times in vv.6-8, split in half and used both on the altar and sprinkled on the people, marking the ritual enactment of the covenant. - *kavod* ("glory", H3519) — masculine singular construct noun, describing what "settles" (*yishkon*, H7931) on Mount Sinai in v.16, visually likened to consuming fire in v.17. - *'Elohim* ("God", H0430G) — masculine plural noun (grammatically plural, used for the singular deity), object of the verb *yir'u* ("they saw", H7200G) in v.10, describing what the elders perceive. ## What the text says The chapter's verbs are mostly qal narrative forms (*vayyiqqach*, "and he took"; *vayya'al*, "and he went up"), which chain the episodes as a continuous sequence: Moses reports the words, writes them, builds, sends young men, takes blood, reads the book, sprinkles blood, and ascends. This narrative-vav structure gives the chapter a strict step-by-step procedural quality, appropriate to a ritual account. The double occurrence of *na'aseh* (v.3) and *na'aseh venishma* (v.7) — both qal imperfect first-person plural — marks the people's verbal assent before and after the reading of the "book of the covenant" (*sefer haberit*). The imperfect aspect indicates future/ongoing commitment rather than a completed act, distinguishing intention from the perfect-tense narration of what has already occurred (*dibber*, "he has spoken," H1696G, qal perfect). The vision report in vv.10-11 uses *'Elohim* (grammatically plural) as the object seen by the elders, described spatially ("under his feet," *tachat raglav*) rather than in bodily terms — the text specifies only the pavement-like substance beneath, not a description of the figure itself. ## Differences between versions The LXX of v.10 renders "they saw the God of Israel" (Hebrew *vayyir'u et Elohei Yisra'el*) as "they saw the place where the God of Israel stood" (καὶ εἶδον τὸν τόπον οὗ ἱστήκει ὁ θεὸς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ), introducing "the place" (τόπον) as the object seen rather than God directly. The Vulgate follows the Hebrew more closely: "viderunt Deum Israël." The LXX of v.12 also contains additional material (regarding Joshua, Aaron, and Hur ascending, and forty days/nights) not present in the Hebrew verse itself but paralleling vv.13-18, indicating a longer LXX text at that point compared to the Hebrew (TAHOT) verse division.