Exodus 32:28
in Exodus 32The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people fell dead.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
KJV
And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
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This verse in Exodus 32
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThere fell about three thousand men - These were no doubt the chief transgressors; having broken the covenant by having other gods besides Jehovah, they lost the Divine protection, and then the justice of God laid hold on and slew them. Moses doubtless had positive orders from God for this act of justice, (see Exo 32:27); for though, through his intercession, the people were spared so as not to be exterminated as a nation, yet the principal transgressors, those who were set on mischief, Exo 32:22, were to be put to death.
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.
This site's exposition
about three thousand of the people fell dead
Caesarius of Arles set these few deaths against the six hundred thousand who were saved, the count of men given at 12:37. Acts 2:41 counts about three thousand added at Pentecost.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Philoxenus of Mabbug13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 7 -- Second Discourse on the Fear of God · Written before 523.
proposed
And that He might increase in them this fear, immediately, by the mouth of offence, the rod of His chastisement was revealed, and after the offence the Chastiser gave them no respite, because their servitude was not worthy of His longsuffering. Above their head the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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 the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּֽעֲשׂ֥וּ | vaiyaasu | and they did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בְנֵֽי־ | venei- | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| לֵוִ֖י | levi | Levi | H3878 → | 59 times |
| כִּדְבַ֣ר | kidvar | according to [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֑ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וַיִּפֹּ֤ל | vaiyipol | and it fell | H5307 → | 435 times |
| מִן־ | min- | of | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָעָם֙ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֔וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| כִּשְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת | kishloshet | about three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| אַלְפֵ֖י | ʾalfei | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
| אִֽישׁ׃ | ʾish | person[s] | H376 → | 1663 times |
וַיַּֽעֲשׂ֥וּand they did
vaiyaasuH6213 →2628 times
בְנֵֽי־[the] descendants of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
לֵוִ֖יLevi
leviH3878 →59 times
כִּדְבַ֣רaccording to [the] word of
kidvarH1697 →1440 times
מֹשֶׁ֑הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וַיִּפֹּ֤לand it fell
vaiyipolH5307 →435 times
מִן־of
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָעָם֙the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֔וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
כִּשְׁלֹ֥שֶׁתabout three
kishloshetH7969 →432 times
אַלְפֵ֖יthousand<s>
ʾalfeiH505 →505 times
אִֽישׁ׃person[s]
ʾishH376 →1663 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
1 Corinthians 10:8We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.
it leads to
- Numbers 25:1–9
While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,
- 1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
- Psalms 106:29
So they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual…
- Revelation 2:14
But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food…
- Numbers 25:1–9
Through
Deuteronomy 33:9He said of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them.’ He disregarded his brothers and did not know his own sons, for he kept Your word and maintained Your covenant.
it leads to
- Exodus 32:25–29
Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them run wild and become a laughingstock to their enemies.
- 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;
- Jeremiah 18:18
Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us…
- Exodus 32:25–29
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; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 40.1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 7 -- Second Discourse on the Fear of God.
