Bible Strands
Exodus 24:11
But God did not lay His hand on the nobles of Israel; they saw Him, and they ate and drank.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the covenant ratification scene after Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders ascend to witness the divine presence beneath a sapphire pavement.
The words — The phrase שָׁלַח יָדוֹ (sha.Lach ya.D/o) literally renders “he stretched out his hand,” while אֲצִילֵי (a.tzi.Lei) identifies the group as “nobles.”
The thread — The text parallels covenant meal traditions where divine presence and communal eating intersect, echoing Jethro’s sacrifice with Aaron and elders (Exodus 18:12), Jacob’s mountain meal (Genesis 31:54), and the celebratory feast motif (Luke 15:23).
Why it lands — The verse states that the nobles survived a theophany and partook in a meal, establishing that covenant fellowship permits safe communion with God rather than immediate judgment.
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
King James Version
And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
Cross-references
- Exodus 18:12 Then Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
- Luke 15:23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate.
- Genesis 31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. And after they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.
- Genesis 16:13 So Hagar gave this name to the LORD who had spoken to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen the One who sees me!”
- Exodus 19:21 and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the LORD, lest many of them perish.
- Deuteronomy 12:7 There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.
- Ecclesiastes 9:7 Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:
- 1 Corinthians 10:16 Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
- Genesis 18:18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
- Genesis 32:24 So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak.