Exodus 3:16
in Exodus 3Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, hath appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
KJV
Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
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This verse in Exodus 3
Commentary
5 notes on this verseElders of Israel - Though it is not likely the Hebrews were permitted to have any regular government at this time, yet there can be no doubt of their having such a government in the time of Joseph, and for some considerable time after; the elders of each tribe forming a kind of court of magistrates, by which all actions were tried, and legal decisions made, in the Israelitish community. I have surely visited you - An exact fulfillment of the prediction of Joseph, Gen 50:24, God will surely visit you, and in the same words too.
This site's exposition
Go, and gather the elders of Israel together
on Exodus 3:16-17
Israel has elders while it is still in slavery, and that body is the first Moses is sent to. The message he carries, I have surely visited you, picks up the last words of Genesis, where Joseph told his brothers God will surely visit you at 50:24 and took an oath about his bones at 50:25. The elders are handed the sentence their fathers were left holding, and the land named in verse 17 is the land Joseph named.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Go and gather the elders of Israel together,....
He must repeat to them what God had said to him, as a faithful ambassador. Note, That which ministers have received of the Lord they must deliver to his people, and keep back nothing that is profitable.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But he evinced great reluctance to it and stated a variety of objections [Ex 3:11, 13; 4:1, 10] all of which were successfully met and removed--and the happy issue of his labors was minutely described.
The words behind it
24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֵ֣ךְ | lekh | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְאָֽסַפְתָּ֞ | veasafta | and you will gather | H622 → | 200 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| זִקְנֵ֣י | ziknei | [the] elders of | H2205 → | 178 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֤ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶם֙ | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֞ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֤י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲבֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ | ʾavoteikhem | ancestors your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| נִרְאָ֣ה | nirah | he appeared | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֵלַ֔י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֧י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אַבְרָהָ֛ם | ʾavraham | Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| יִצְחָ֥ק | yitzchak | Isaac | H3327 → | 108 times |
| וְיַעֲקֹ֖ב | veyaako | and Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| פָּקֹ֤ד | pakod | certainly <to observe> | H6485 → | 303 times |
| פָּקַ֙דְתִּי֙ | pakadti | I have observed | H6485 → | 303 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֔ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הֶעָשׂ֥וּי | heasui | the [thing] done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָכֶ֖ם | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| בְּמִצְרָֽיִם׃ | bemitzrayim | in Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
לֵ֣ךְgo
lekhH1980 →1546 times
וְאָֽסַפְתָּ֞and you will gather
veasaftaH622 →200 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
זִקְנֵ֣י[the] elders of
zikneiH2205 →178 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְאָמַרְתָּ֤and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶם֙to them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֞הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֤י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
אֲבֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ancestors your
ʾavoteikhemH1 →1212 times
נִרְאָ֣הhe appeared
nirahH7200 →1300 times
אֵלַ֔יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
אֱלֹהֵ֧י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
אַבְרָהָ֛םAbraham
ʾavrahamH85 →175 times
יִצְחָ֥קIsaac
yitzchakH3327 →108 times
וְיַעֲקֹ֖בand Jacob
veyaakoH3290 →350 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
פָּקֹ֤דcertainly <to observe>
pakodH6485 →303 times
פָּקַ֙דְתִּי֙I have observed
pakadtiH6485 →303 times
אֶתְכֶ֔ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הֶעָשׂ֥וּיthe [thing] done
heasuiH6213 →2628 times
לָכֶ֖םto <the> you
lakhem
בְּמִצְרָֽיִם׃in Egypt
bemitzrayimH4714 →641 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
Psalms 8:4what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?
it leads to
- Job 7:17
What is man that You should exalt him, that You should set Your heart upon him,
- Psalms 144:3
O LORD, what is man, that You regard him, the son of man that You think of him?
- Hebrews 2:6–9
But somewhere it is testified in these words: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?
- Psalms 146:3
Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.
- Luke 1:68
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people.
- Job 7:17
Through
Genesis 50:24Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac,…
it leads to
- Exodus 3:16–17
Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me and said: I have surely attended to you…
- Genesis 26:3
Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath…
- Genesis 35:12
The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”
- Exodus 3:16–17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this verse
About Exodus
Who and where
4 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsAbrahamCalled out of Ur, the father of all who believe, justified by faith, and the friend of God through whose seed all nations are bles…
- PersonPatriarchsIsaacThe son of promise and of laughter — bound on Moriah, the quiet inheritor of the covenant.
- PersonPatriarchsJacobThe heel-grasping supplanter reshaped at Peniel into 'Israel, he who strives with God' — father of the twelve tribes.
- PlaceThe NileEgyptThe land where Joseph rose, where Israel grew into a nation in bondage, where the Passover lamb was slain and the sea opened, and…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.