Bible Strands
Exodus 34:23
Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God issues this command to Israel during the covenant renewal following the golden calf incident, establishing the required pilgrimage schedule.
The words — The Hebrew phrase שָלֹ֥שׁ פְּעָמִ֖ים בַּ/שָּׁנָ֑ה (sha.Losh pe.'a.Mim ba./sha.Nah) literally renders "three times in the year," and יֵרָאֶה (ye.ra.'Eh) specifies the active presentation of oneself before a superior.
The thread — This appearance requirement recurs in Exodus 23:14, Exodus 23:17, and Deuteronomy 16:16, consistently tied to specific agricultural feasts and the designated sanctuary.
Why it lands — The text requires every Israelite male to physically journey to the central worship site at fixed intervals to acknowledge Yahweh’s provision and sovereign authority.
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
Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel.
Cross-references
- Exodus 23:14 Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me.
- Exodus 23:17 Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD.
- Deuteronomy 16:16 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.
- Genesis 32:28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
- Genesis 33:20 There he set up an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.
- Psalms 84:7 They go from strength to strength, until each appears before God in Zion.