Exodus 19:17
in Exodus 19Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
KJV
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
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This verse in Exodus 19
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Out of the camp - The encampment must have extended far and wide over the plain in front of the mountain. From one entrance of the plain to the other there is space for the whole host of the Israelites.
This site's exposition
on the third day in the morning
on Exodus 19:16-17
Everything promised for the third day arrives at once, thunders, lightnings, a thick cloud and a trumpet loud enough that the whole camp trembled. Moses then brings the people out of the camp to meet with God, so the trembling and the approach happen in the same hour. They stand at the nether part of the mount, inside the line drawn at verse 12 and as near as that line allows.
This site's exposition
they stood at the foot of the mountain
Albert Barnes pictures the camp spread across the plain before the mountain, with room from one end of it to the other for the whole host. Deuteronomy 9:10 and 18:16 remember this gathering at the foot of the mountain as the day Israel assembled before God. Moses leads them out.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp,....
He that had led them out of the bondage of Egypt now led them to receive the law from God's mouth. Public persons are indeed public blessings when they lay out themselves in their places to promote the public worship of God. Moses, at the head of an assembly worshipping God, was as truly great as Moses at the head of an army in the field.
He that had led them out of the bondage of Egypt now led them to receive the law from God's mouth. Public persons are indeed public blessings when they lay out themselves in their places to promote the public worship of God. Moses, at the head of an assembly worshipping God, was as truly great as Moses at the head of an army in the field.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Here, too, one can see the fitness of the injunction to set bounds around the mount, that neither man nor beast might approach too near, for it rises like a perpendicular wall." But Jebel Musa, the old traditional Sinai, and the highest peak, has also a spacious valley, Wady Sebaiyeh, capable of holding the people. It is not certain on which of these two they stood.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Here, too, one can see the fitness of the injunction to set bounds around the mount, that neither man nor beast might approach too near, for it rises like a perpendicular wall." But Jebel Musa, the old traditional Sinai, and the highest peak, has also a spacious valley, Wady Sebaiyeh, capable of holding the people. It is not certain on which of these two they stood.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
And Moses brought forth the people - to meet with God - For though they might not touch the mount till they had permission, yet when the trumpet sounded long, it appears they might come up to the nether part of the mount, (see Exo 19:13, and Deu 4:11); and when the trumpet had ceased to sound, they might then go up unto the mountain, as to any other place. It was absolutely necessary that God should give the people at large some particular evidence of his being and power, that they might be saved from idolatry, to which they were most deplorably prone; and that they might the more readily credit Moses, who was to be the constant mediator between God and them. God, therefore, in his indescribable majesty, descended on the mount; and, by the thick dark cloud, the violent thunders, the vivid lightnings, the long and loud blasts of the trumpet, the smoke encompassing the whole mountain, and the excessive earthquake, proclaimed his power, his glory, and his holiness; so that the people, however unfaithful and disobedient afterwards, never once doubted the Divine interference, or suspected Moses of any cheat or imposture. Indeed, so absolute and unequivocal were the proofs of supernatural agency, that it was impossible these appearances could be attributed to any cause but the unlimited power of the author of Nature. It is worthy of remark that the people were informed three days before, Exo 19:9-11, that such an appearance was to take place; and this answered two excellent purposes: 1. They had time to sanctify and prepare themselves for this solemn transaction; and, 2. […]
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Out of the camp - The encampment must have extended far and wide over the plain in front of the mountain. From one entrance of the plain to the other there is space for the whole host of the Israelites.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיּוֹצֵ֨א | vaiyotze' | and he led out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֧ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעָ֛ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| לִקְרַ֥את | likrat | to meet | H7122 → | 139 times |
| הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה | hamachaneh | the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֖וּ | vaiyityatzevu | and they stood | H3320 → | 48 times |
| בְּתַחְתִּ֥ית | betachtit | at [the] lower part of | H8482 → | |
| הָהָֽר׃ | hahar | the mountain | H2022 → | 546 times |
וַיּוֹצֵ֨אand he led out
vaiyotze'H3318 →1067 times
מֹשֶׁ֧הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָעָ֛םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
לִקְרַ֥אתto meet
likratH7122 →139 times
הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑הthe camp
hamachanehH4264 →215 times
וַיִּֽתְיַצְּב֖וּand they stood
vaiyityatzevuH3320 →48 times
בְּתַחְתִּ֥יתat [the] lower part of
betachtitH8482 →
הָהָֽר׃the mountain
haharH2022 →546 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Deuteronomy 5:5At that time I was standing between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.…
it leads to
- Exodus 19:16
On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Galatians 3:19
Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the seed to whom the promise referred. It was administered through angels by a mediator.
- Exodus 20:18–21
When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance.
- Hebrews 12:18–24
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm;
- Exodus 19:16
Through
Deuteronomy 4:10The day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, “Gather the people before Me to hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all…
it leads to
- Exodus 19:9
The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you, and they will always put their trust in…
- Hebrews 12:18–19
For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm;
- Deuteronomy 17:19
It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all…
- Exodus 20:18
When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance.
- Exodus 19:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.