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Exodus 24:2-4
New English Translation
Exodus 24:2-4
New English Translation
2 Moses alone may come near[a] the Lord, but the others[b] must not come near,[c] nor may the people go up with him.”
3 Moses came[d] and told the people all the Lord’s words[e] and all the decisions. All the people answered together,[f] “We are willing to do[g] all the words that the Lord has said,” 4 and Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Early in the morning he built[h] an altar at the foot[i] of the mountain and arranged[j] twelve standing stones[k]—according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
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- Exodus 24:2 tn The verb is a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive; it and the preceding perfect tense follow the imperative, and so have either a force of instruction, or, as taken here, are the equivalent of an imperfect tense (of permission).
- Exodus 24:2 tn Heb “they.”
- Exodus 24:2 tn Now the imperfect tense negated is used; here the prohibition would fit (“they will not come near”), or the obligatory (“they must not”) in which the subjects are obliged to act—or not act in this case.
- Exodus 24:3 sn The general consensus among commentators is that this refers to Moses’ coming from the mountain after he made the ascent in 20:21. Here he came and told them the laws (written in 20:22-23:33), and of the call to come up to Yahweh.
- Exodus 24:3 sn The Decalogue may not be included here because the people had heard those commands themselves earlier.
- Exodus 24:3 tn The text simply has “one voice” (קוֹל אֶחָד, qol ʾekhad); this is an adverbial accusative of manner, telling how the people answered—“in one voice,” or unanimously (see GKC 375 §118.q).
- Exodus 24:3 tn The verb is the imperfect tense (נַעֲשֶׂה, naʿaseh), although the form could be classified as a cohortative. If the latter, they would be saying that they are resolved to do what God said. If it is an imperfect, then the desiderative would make the most sense: “we are willing to do.” They are not presumptuously saying they are going to do all these things.
- Exodus 24:4 tn The two preterites quite likely form a verbal hendiadys (the verb “to get up early” is frequently in such constructions). Literally it says, “and he got up early [in the morning] and he built”; this means “early [in the morning] he built.” The first verb becomes the adverb.
- Exodus 24:4 tn “under.”
- Exodus 24:4 tn The verb “arranged” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied to clarify exactly what Moses did with the twelve stones.
- Exodus 24:4 tn The thing numbered is found in the singular when the number is plural—“twelve standing-stone.” See GKC 433 §134.f. The “standing-stone” could be a small piece about a foot high, or a huge column higher than men. They served to commemorate treaties (Gen 32), or visions (Gen 28) or boundaries, or graves. Here it will function with the altar as a place of worship.
New English Translation (NET)
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