1In the third month after the exodus of the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, on this day, they came to the wilderness of Sinai.
2And they traveled from Rephidim and came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness. And Israel camped there opposite the mountain.
3And Moses had gone up to God. And YHWH called to him from the mountain, saying, “This is what you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell to the children of Israel:
19:3. Moses had gone up to God. While “going up to God” is an intriguing image, the Septuagint text is more probably correct. It reads “up to the mountain of God,” which fits better with the words that follow: “And YHWH called to him from the mountain.”
4‘You’ve seen what I did to Egypt, and I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to me.
19:4. on eagles’ wings. The eagle is the highest-flying bird, so there is no threat from above. Eagles fly with their young on their backs.
5And now, if you’ll listen to my voice and observe my covenant, then you’ll be a treasure to me out of all the peoples, because all the earth is mine.
19:5. if. This first occurrence of the word segullah (treasure) is not ambiguous in context: The people of Israel will be a treasured possession of God only if they listen and fulfill their covenant. Their status is not based on some intrinsic quality but on their behavior. God is about to make a covenant with them. If they keep their part of it, then they will be segullah. (For more on the matter of being chosen and a treasured people, see the comment on Deut 7:6.)
19:5. a treasure to me out of all the peoples. Since the verse says explicitly that this treasured status is based on their behavior, and not on their being superior to anyone else, what then is the purpose of their being chosen to observe this covenant? The reason was stated, no less explicitly, to their ancestor Abraham: to be a blessing to all the families of the earth.
6And you’ll be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation to me.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
19:6. holy. For a long time we have taught that this word, Hebrew q
d
š, does not refer to some sacred, elevated condition but rather that it denotes being separate, set aside for some particular purpose. But, really, it does in fact refer to a special consecrated state. When God tells Moses at the bush, “Take off your shoes from your feet, because the place on which you’re standing: it’s holy ground,” this means more than that the ground is “set aside.” It means “holy” in just the way that people naturally understand it on first reading. The ground has a special quality deriving from the realm of the divine which makes shoes inappropriate there. And in the present context, “holy nation” does not mean that Israel will be separate from other nations. It means that Israel will be consecrated if the people will live the life that their divine covenant requires of them. (See also the comment on Exod 29:37.)
7And Moses came and called the people’s elders and set before them all these words that YHWH had commanded him.
8And all the people responded together, and they said, “We’ll do everything that YHWH has spoken.” And Moses brought back the people’s words to YHWH.
9And YHWH said to Moses, “Here, I am coming to you in a mass of cloud for the purpose that the people will hear when I am speaking with you, and they will believe in you as well forever.” And Moses told the people’s words to YHWH.
10And YHWH said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow; and they shall wash their clothes
11and be ready for the third day, because on the third day YHWH will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people.
12And you shall limit the people all around, saying, ‘Watch yourselves about going up in the mountain and touching its edge. Anyone who touches the mountain shall be put to death.
13A hand shall not touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot. Whether animal or man, he will not live.’ At the blowing of the horn they shall go up the mountain.”
14And Moses went down from the mountain to the people. And he consecrated the people, and they washed their clothes.
15And he said to the people, “Be ready for three days. Don’t come close to a woman.”
19:15. he said to the people, “Don’t come close to a woman.” If he is speaking to “the people,” which includes both men and women, why does he say, “Don’t come close to a woman”? Like many passages, this may have two opposite interpretations. It may be a case of male chauvinism in language, in which an address to “the people” means the men. Or it may reflect a perception that a command to abstain from sex for three days needs to be particularly directed to men because men are more likely than women to violate the instruction.
16And it was on the third day, when it was morning, and it was: thunders and lightning and a heavy cloud on the mountain, and a sound of a horn, very strong. And the entire people that was in the camp trembled.
19:16. a heavy cloud. The word “heavy” recurs, but this time it refers to something divine.
17And Moses brought out the people toward God from the camp, and they stood up at the bottom of the mountain.
18And Mount Sinai was all smoke because YHWH came down on it in fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
19And the sound of the horn was getting much stronger. Moses would speak, and God would answer him in a voice.
19:19. in a voice. Here, Hebrew b
qôl can mean “in a voice” or “with sound” (i.e., aloud) or “with thunder.” In v. 16 the word refers first to thunder sounds and then to the sound of a horn. But the divine statement in v. 9 that “the people will hear when I am speaking with you” suggests that the people will hear spoken words between God and Moses, and that is what now happens in v. 19.
20And YHWH came down on Mount Sinai, at the top of the mountain, and YHWH called to Moses at the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
21And YHWH said to Moses, “Go down. Warn the people in case they break through to YHWH, to see, and many of them fall.
22And also let the priests who approach YHWH consecrate themselves, or else YHWH will break out against them.”
23And Moses said to YHWH, “The people is not able to go up to Mount Sinai, because you warned us, saying, ‘Limit the mountain and consecrate it.’”
24And YHWH said to him, “Go. Go down. Then you’ll come up, you and Aaron with you. And let the priests and the people not break through to come up to YHWH, or else He’ll break out against them.”
25And Moses went down to the people, and he said it to them.
