Bible Strands
Leviticus 9:5
So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the whole congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses instructs the Israelites to bring specific offerings to the Tent of Meeting so the Lord will appear. The people obey by positioning the commanded items at the sanctuary's entrance while the entire assembly gathers to stand before God.
The words — וַ/יִּקְח֗וּ (va/yik.chu) translates literally as "and they took," describing the people's immediate action of retrieving the commanded sacrifices. אֶל־פְּנֵי (el-penei) means "to the face of," indicating the congregation's physical orientation toward the divine presence at the Tent of Meeting.
The thread — The motif of the assembly standing before God appears when the people gather at the foot of the mountain in Exodus 19:17 and when David convenes Israel to bring the ark in 1 Chronicles 15:3. Deuteronomy 31:12 similarly commands the people to assemble so they may hear and learn.
Why it lands — The text requires the community to physically position themselves at the designated sacred space in exact obedience to the mediator's instructions. It demands that the people wait in assembled stillness for the promised divine manifestation rather than initiating the encounter themselves.
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 they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord.
Cross-references
- Exodus 19:17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
- Deuteronomy 31:12 Assemble the people—men, women, children, and the foreigners within your gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and to follow carefully all the words of this law.
- 1 Chronicles 15:3 And David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD to the place he had prepared for it.
- 2 Chronicles 5:2 At that time Solomon assembled in Jerusalem the elders of Israel—all the tribal heads and family leaders of the Israelites—to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Zion, the City of David.
- Nehemiah 8:1 At that time all the people gathered together in the square before the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.