Exodus 24:1

The Lord Ratifies the Covenant

24:1 ¹ But to Moses the Lord ²  said, “Come up ³  to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance. ⁴ 

Exodus 24:9

24:9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up, ⁵ 

Numbers 11:16

The Response of God

11:16 ⁶ The Lord said to Moses, “Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know are elders of the people and officials ⁷  over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting; let them take their position there with you.

Numbers 11:25

11:25 And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to them, and he took some of the Spirit that was on Moses ⁸  and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, ⁹  they prophesied, ¹⁰  but did not do so again. ¹¹ 

Deuteronomy 21:3-9

21:3 Then the elders of the city nearest to the corpse ¹²  must take from the herd a heifer that has not been worked – that has never pulled with the yoke – 21:4 and bring the heifer down to a wadi with flowing water, ¹³  to a valley that is neither plowed nor sown. ¹⁴  There at the wadi they are to break the heifer’s neck. 21:5 Then the Levitical priests ¹⁵  will approach (for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve him and to pronounce blessings in his name, ¹⁶  and to decide ¹⁷  every judicial verdict ¹⁸ ) 21:6 and all the elders of that city nearest the corpse ¹⁹  must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. ²⁰  21:7 Then they must proclaim, “Our hands have not spilled this blood, nor have we ²¹  witnessed the crime. ²²  21:8 Do not blame ²³  your people Israel whom you redeemed, O Lord, and do not hold them accountable for the bloodshed of an innocent person.” ²⁴  Then atonement will be made for the bloodshed. 21:9 In this manner you will purge out the guilt of innocent blood from among you, for you must do what is right before ²⁵  the Lord.

¹ 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.

² tn Heb “And he;” the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ sn They were to come up to the Lord after they had made the preparations that are found in vv. 3-8.

⁴ 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.

⁵ tn The verse begins with “and Moses went up, and Aaron….” This verse may supply the sequel to vv. 1-2. At any rate, God was now accepting them into his presence.

⁶ sn The Lord provides Spirit-empowered assistance for Moses. Here is another variation on the theme of Moses’ faith. Just as he refused to lead alone and was given Aaron to share the work, so here he protests the burden and will share it with seventy elders. If God’s servant will not trust wholeheartedly, that individual will not be used by God as he or she might have been. Others will share in the power and the work. Probably one could say that it was God’s will for others to share this leadership – but not to receive it through these circumstances.

⁷ tn The “officials” (שֹׁטְּרִים, shottÿrim) were a group of the elders who seem to have had some administrative capacities. The LXX used the word “scribes.” For further discussion, see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 69-70.

⁸ tn Heb “on him”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn The temporal clause is introduced by the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi), which need not be translated. It introduces the time of the infinitive as past time narrative. The infinitive construct is from נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”). The figurative expression of the Spirit resting upon them indicates the temporary indwelling and empowering by the Spirit in their lives.

¹⁰ tn The text may mean that these men gave ecstatic utterances, much like Saul did when the Spirit came upon him and he made the same prophetic utterances (see 1 Sam 10:10-13). But there is no strong evidence for this (see K. L. Barker, “Zechariah,” EBC 7:605-6). In fact there is no consensus among scholars as to the origin and meaning of the verb “prophesy” or the noun “prophet.” It has something to do with speech, being God’s spokesman or spokeswoman or making predictions or authoritative utterances or ecstatic utterances. It certainly does mean that the same Holy Spirit, the same divine provision that was for Moses to enable him to do the things that God had commanded him to do, was now given to them. It would have included wisdom and power with what they were saying and doing – in a way that was visible and demonstrable to the people! The people needed to know that the same provision was given to these men, authenticating their leadership among the clans. And so it could not simply be a change in their understanding and wisdom.

¹¹ tn The final verb of the clause stresses that this was not repeated: “they did not add” is the literal rendering of וְלֹא יָסָפוּ (vÿlo’ yasafu). It was a one-time spiritual experience associated with their installation.

¹² tn Heb “slain [one].”

¹³ tn The combination “a wadi with flowing water” is necessary because a wadi (נַחַל, nakhal) was ordinarily a dry stream or riverbed. For this ritual, however, a perennial stream must be chosen so that there would be fresh, rushing water.

¹⁴ sn The unworked heifer, fresh stream, and uncultivated valley speak of ritual purity – of freedom from human contamination.

¹⁵ tn Heb “the priests, the sons of Levi.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “in the name of the Lord.” See note on Deut 10:8. The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

¹⁷ tn Heb “by their mouth.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “every controversy and every blow.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “slain [one].”

²⁰ tn Heb “wadi,” a seasonal watercourse through a valley.

²¹ tn Heb “our eyes.” This is a figure of speech known as synecdoche in which the part (the eyes) is put for the whole (the entire person).

²² tn Heb “seen”; the implied object (the crime committed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²³ tn Heb “Atone for.”

²⁴ tn Heb “and do not place innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel.”

²⁵ tn Heb “in the eyes of” (so ASV, NASB, NIV).