Exodus 13:22
in Exodus 13Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place before the people.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, departed not from before the people.
KJV
He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
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This verse in Exodus 13
Commentary
7 notes on this verseHe took not away the pillar of the cloud - Neither Jews nor Gentiles are agreed how long the cloud continued with the Israelites. It is very probable that it first visited them at Succoth, if it did not accompany them from Rameses; and that it continued with them till they came to the river Jordan, to pass over opposite to Jericho, for after that it appears that the ark alone was their guide, as it always marched at their head.
This site's exposition
the Lord went before them by day in a pillar
on Exodus 13:21-22
Both pillar of a cloud and pillar of fire occur here for the first time in Scripture, and the same cloud and fire close the book at Exodus 40:36-38, where Israel moves only when the cloud lifts off the tabernacle. 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 says the fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, so the New Testament draws this line itself. Verse 22 adds that the pillar stayed by day and by night, and Gill follows it as far as the borders of Canaan, after which the ark went before the people at Joshua 3:6.
This site's exposition
left its place before the people
John Wesley reads the cloud as the badge of God's protection and so the bond of Israel's allegiance, given as the people entered the wilderness. Matthew Henry sets the unbroken watch beside Psalm 121, where the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Guidance and protection came together.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
In the first two stages it was enough that God directed Moses whither to march: he knew the country and the road well enough; but now that they had come to the edge of the wilderness (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Protection draws allegiance; this cloud was the badge of God's protection, and so became the bond of their allegiance. Thus they were initiated, and admitted under that government, now when they were entering upon the wilderness. And it signifies the special conduct and protection which the church of Christ is under in this world.
He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day,.... It always appeared in the daytime, and was a guide and shelter: nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people; this continued till they came through the wilderness to the borders of the land of Canaan, when they needed it no longer, and then it left them; for when they passed over Jordan the ark went before them, Jos 3:6.
Christ is our way, the light of our way and the guide of it. It signified the special guidance and protection which the church of Christ is under in this world. God himself is the keeper of Israel, and he neither slumbers nor sleeps, Ps. cxxi.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָמִ֞ישׁ | yamish | it departed | H4185 → | |
| עַמּ֤וּד | ʾamud | [the] pillar of | H5982 → | 111 times |
| הֶֽעָנָן֙ | heanan | <the> cloud | H6051 → | 87 times |
| יוֹמָ֔ם | yomam | by day | H3119 → | 50 times |
| וְעַמּ֥וּד | veamud | and [the] pillar of | H5982 → | 111 times |
| הָאֵ֖שׁ | haesh | <the> fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| לָ֑יְלָה | layelah | night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| לִפְנֵ֖י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָעָֽם׃ פ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָמִ֞ישׁit departed
yamishH4185 →
עַמּ֤וּד[the] pillar of
ʾamudH5982 →111 times
הֶֽעָנָן֙<the> cloud
heananH6051 →87 times
יוֹמָ֔םby day
yomamH3119 →50 times
וְעַמּ֥וּדand [the] pillar of
veamudH5982 →111 times
הָאֵ֖שׁ<the> fire
haeshH784 →378 times
לָ֑יְלָהnight
layelahH3915 →233 times
לִפְנֵ֖י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הָעָֽם׃ פthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 10:1Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 1:28
The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the…
- Matthew 17:2
There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
- Revelation 1:15–16
His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters.
- Revelation 5:2
And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”
- Daniel 10:6
His body was like beryl, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of polished bronze, and his voice like the sound of…
- Ezekiel 1:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.