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Exodus 32:27

in Exodus 32

He told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each of you men is to fasten his sword to his side, go back and forth through the camp from gate to gate, and slay his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And he said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.

KJV

And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.

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This verse in Exodus 32

Commentary

9 notes on this verse
Let them hear how Moses, when he saw that God was angry with His people, and commanded swords to be taken for executing vengeance, declared those to be on God's side who should smite the crimes of the offenders without delay, saying, If any man is the Lord's, let him join himself to me; put every man his sword upon his thigh; go in and out from gate to gate through the midst of the camp, and slay every man his brother and friend and neighbour.

This site's exposition

Put every man his sword by his side

on Exodus 32:27-28

The order is to kill inside the camp and inside families, brother, companion and neighbour, and three thousand fall that day. Deuteronomy 33:9 blesses Levi in the language of exactly this scene, that he said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him, and the blessing goes on to give Levi the law and the incense. Adam Clarke holds that the three thousand were the chief transgressors rather than a number taken at random, since the nation as a whole had been spared through Moses' prayer.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Ephrem the Syrian

HOMILY ON OUR LORD 6 · Written before 373.

proposed

For the sons of Levi ran upon them, those who ran to [help] Moses and girded on their swords. For the sons of Levi did not know whom they should slay, because those that worshipped were mingled with those that worshipped not. But He, for …

A commentator

Caesarius of Arles

SERMON 40.1 · Written before 542.

proposed

Behold true and perfect charity: he ordered the death of a few people in order to save six hundred thousand, with the women and children excepted. If he had not been aroused with zeal for God to punish a few men, God's justice would have …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The interest of sin and wickedness is the devil's interest, and all wicked people side with that interest; the interest of truth and holiness is God's interest, with which all godly people side; and it is a case that will not admit a neutrality.
And he said unto them, thus saith the Lord God of Israel,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

The sin of idolatry is a great sin, so great a sin that the evil of it cannot be expressed; the people, as the first movers, might be said to bring the sin upon Aaron; but he being a magistrate, who should have suppressed it, and yet aiding and abetting it, might truly be said to bring it upon them, because he hardened their hearts and strengthened their hands in it.
2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

From gate to gate - It is probable that there was an enclosed or entrenched camp, in which the chief rulers and heads of the people were, and that this camp had two gates or outlets; and the Levites were commanded to pass from one to the other, slaying as many of the transgressors as they could find.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said--The camp is supposed to have been protected by a rampart after the attack of the Amalekites. Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me--The zeal and courage of Moses was astonishing, considering he opposed an intoxicated mob.

The words behind it

27 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • לָהֶ֗םto <the> them

    lahem

  • כֹּֽה־thus

    koh-H3541 →577 times

  • אָמַ֤רhe says

    ʾamarH559 →5305 times

  • יְהוָה֙Yahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] God of

    ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • שִׂ֥ימוּput

    simuH7760 →584 times

  • אִישׁ־everyone

    ʾish-H376 →1663 times

  • חַרְבּ֖וֹsword his

    charboH2719 →413 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • יְרֵכ֑וֹthigh his

    yerekhoH3409 →34 times

  • עִבְר֨וּpass

    ʾivruH5674 →556 times

  • וָשׁ֜וּבוּand return

    vashuvuH7725 →1056 times

  • מִשַּׁ֤עַרfrom gate

    mishaarH8179 →374 times

  • לָשַׁ֙עַר֙to gate

    lashaarH8179 →374 times

  • בַּֽמַּחֲנֶ֔הin the camp

    bamachanehH4264 →215 times

  • וְהִרְג֧וּand kill

    vehirguH2026 →167 times

  • אִֽישׁ־everyone

    ʾish-H376 →1663 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • אָחִ֛יוbrother his

    ʾachivH251 →630 times

  • וְאִ֥ישׁand everyone

    veishH376 →1663 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • רֵעֵ֖הוּfriend his

    reehuH7453 →188 times

  • וְאִ֥ישׁand everyone

    veishH376 →1663 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • קְרֹבֽוֹ׃neighbor his

    kerovoH7138 →77 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

10 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Numbers 25:5So Moses told the judges of Israel, “Each of you must kill all of his men who have joined in worshiping Baal of Peor.”7 worksLuke 14:26“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.4 worksDeuteronomy 33:8–9Concerning Levi he said: “Give Your Thummim to Levi and Your Urim to Your godly one, whom You tested at Massah and contested at the waters of Meribah.3 works2 Corinthians 5:16So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.2 worksExodus 32:26So Moses stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, come to me.” And all the Levites gathered around him.2 worksNumbers 25:7–12On seeing this, Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand,2 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Exodus 32:29Afterward, Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for service to the LORD, since each man went against his son and his brother; so the LORD has bestowed a blessing on you this day.”2 works2 Kings 10:25When he had finished making the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and officers, “Go in and kill them. Do not let anyone out.” So the guards and officers put them to the sword, threw the bodies out, and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal.2 worksEzekiel 9:5And as I listened, He said to the others, “Follow him through the city and start killing; do not show pity or spare anyone!2 worksJob 31:34because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside—2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Luke 14:26

    “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 10:37

      Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;

    • John 12:25

      Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

    • Philippians 3:8

      More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may…

    • Acts 20:24

      But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good…

    • Psalms 73:25–26

      Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You.

  • Through

    2 Corinthians 5:16

    So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

    it leads to

    • Colossians 3:11

      Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.

    • Philippians 3:7–8

      But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.

    • John 6:63

      The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

Where this verse is studied

About Exodus

Moses Breaks the Tables of the Law — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Moses Breaks the Tables of the Law — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Exodus: the study guide →Read Exodus 32 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 40.1; Ephrem the Syrian, HOMILY ON OUR LORD 6; Gregory the Dialogist, The Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 3, Chapter 25; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Exodus 32 →