Bible Strands
Exodus 24:2
Moses alone shall approach the LORD, but the others must not come near. And the people may not go up with him.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses Moses, issuing a direct command regarding the upcoming mountain ascent. This instruction immediately follows the initial summons for Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders to worship at a distance in Exodus 24:1.
The words — The verb נִגַּשׁ (ni.gash) and its plural יִגָּשׁוּ (yi.gashu) both mean "to draw near" or "approach." The phrase לְבַדּוֹ (le.vad.o) functions as an exclusive modifier, translating literally as "to him alone."
The thread — This boundary of access reappears when Moses departs with Joshua in Exodus 24:13, and again when he enters the cloud covering the mountain in Exodus 24:15 and Exodus 24:18. The narrative consistently tracks the separation between the divine presence, the authorized leaders, and the wider community.
Why it lands — The text establishes that proximity to God is strictly regulated by divine command rather than human ambition. It requires the reader to submit to explicit limits on who may approach and under what conditions.
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 Moses alone shall come near the Lord: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
Cross-references
- Exodus 24:13 So Moses set out with Joshua his attendant and went up on the mountain of God.
- Exodus 24:15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it,
- Exodus 24:18 Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
- Hebrews 10:21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
- Numbers 16:5 Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one He chooses He will bring near to Himself.
- Jeremiah 30:21 Their leader will be one of their own, and their ruler will arise from their midst. And I will bring him near, and he will approach Me, for who would dare on his own to approach Me?” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 49:19 Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Edom from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”
- Hebrews 9:24 For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.
- Exodus 20:21 And the people stood at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.