Discovery BoxExodus 19:1-2
Context19:1 1 In the third month after the Israelites went out 2 from the land of Egypt, on the very day, 3 they came to the Desert of Sinai. 19:2 After they journeyed 4 from Rephidim, they came to the Desert of Sinai, and they camped in the desert; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. 5
Numbers 10:11-13
Context10:11 6 On the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle of the testimony. 7 10:12 So the Israelites set out 8 on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud settled in the wilderness of Paran.
10:13 This was the first time they set out on their journey according to the commandment 9 of the Lord, by the authority 10 of Moses.
[19:1] 1 sn This chapter is essentially about mediation. The people are getting ready to meet with God, receive the Law from him, and enter into a covenant with him. All of this required mediation and preparation. Through it all, Israel will become God’s unique possession, a kingdom of priests on earth – if they comply with his Law. The chapter can be divided as follows: vv. 1-8 tell how God, Israel’s great deliverer promised to make them a kingdom of priests; this is followed by God’s declaration that Moses would be the mediator (v. 9); vv. 10-22 record instructions for Israel to prepare themselves to worship Yahweh and an account of the manifestation of Yahweh with all the phenomena; and the chapter closes with the mediation of Moses on behalf of the people (vv. 23-25). Having been redeemed from Egypt, the people will now be granted a covenant with God. See also R. E. Bee, “A Statistical Study of the Sinai Pericope,” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society 135 (1972): 406-21.
[19:1] 2 tn The construction uses the infinitive construct followed by the subjective genitive to form a temporal clause.
[19:1] 3 tn Heb “on this day.”
[19:2] 4 tn The form is a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive, “and they journeyed.” It is here subordinated to the next clause as a temporal clause. But since the action of this temporal clause preceded the actions recorded in v. 1, a translation of “after” will keep the sequence in order. Verse 2 adds details to the summary in v. 1.
[19:2] 5 sn The mountain is Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, the place where God had met and called Moses and had promised that they would be here to worship him. If this mountain is Jebel Musa, the traditional site of Sinai, then the plain in front of it would be Er-Rahah, about a mile and a half long by half a mile wide, fronting the mountain on the NW side (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 169). The plain itself is about 5000 feet above sea level. A mountain on the west side of the Arabian Peninsula has also been suggested as a possible site.
[10:11] 6 sn This section is somewhat mechanical: It begins with an introduction (vv. 11, 12), and then begins with Judah (vv. 13-17), followed by the rest of the tribes (vv. 18-27), and finally closes with a summary (v. 28). The last few verses (vv. 29-36) treat the departure of Hobab.
[10:11] 7 tc Smr inserts a lengthy portion from Deut 1:6-8, expressing the command for Israel to take the land from the Amorites.
[10:12] 8 sn The verb is the same as the noun: “they journeyed on their journeyings.” This underscores the point of their continual traveling.
