Exodus 19:7

So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses acts as the intermediary between Yahweh and the Israelite community at the moment the nation is being formally constituted. He returns to convene the tribal elders and presents the divine instructions immediately after receiving them on the mountain.

The words — The verb וַ/יִּקְרָא (va/i.yik.Ra') literally means “he summoned,” indicating a formal calling together of leadership. The prepositional phrase לִ/פְנֵי/הֶם (li/f.nei./Hem) translates to “before them,” specifying the direct placement of the message in the elders’ presence.

The thread — This protocol of Moses gathering the elders to receive and transmit divine commands recurs in Exodus 4:29 and Exodus 3:16. The structural pattern of relaying a received message to a community for response mirrors Paul’s method in 1 Corinthians 15:1.

Why it lands — The text establishes that covenant communication requires the message to be explicitly presented to the community’s recognized leaders before public assent. It asks the reader to observe that accurate transmission precedes collective commitment.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיָּבֹ֣אva/i.ya.Vo'and/ he went מֹשֶׁ֔הmo.ShehMoses וַיִּקְרָ֖אva/i.yik.Ra'and/ he summoned לְזִקְנֵ֣יle./zik.Nei<to>/ [the] elders of הָעָ֑םha./'Amthe/ people וַיָּ֣שֶׂםva/i.Ya.semand/ he set לִפְנֵיהֶ֗םli/f.nei./Hem<to>/ before/ them אֵ֚ת'et<obj.>כָּל־kol-all הַדְּבָרִ֣יםha./de.va.Rimthe/ words הָאֵ֔לֶּהha./'E.leh<the>/ these אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich צִוָּ֖הוּtzi.Va./huhe had commanded/ him יְהוָֽה׃Yah.wehYahweh

King James Version

And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.

Cross-references

Exodus 4:29 Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites,
Exodus 3:16 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 and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.
1 Corinthians 15:1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm.

People named

Moses