Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 19:9
And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee forever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.
9. Jehovah declares that He will so speak to Moses as to satisfy the people that he is His accredited messenger.
I come ] more clearly, I am coming, i.e. am about to come. The first announcement of the coming theophany.
a thick cloud ] Heb. the thickness of a cloud (or, of the clouds).
and may believe thee also ] the pron. is emphatic. Stress is laid also on the people’s believing Moses in Exo 4:1-9; Exo 4:31, Exo 14:31 (all J).
And Moses told, &c.] The words of the people have been already reported to Jehovah in v. 8, and no other words have followed since. The clause is probably a misplaced variant of v. 8b.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 9. A thick cloud] This is interpreted by Ex 19:18: And Mount Sinai was altogether on a SMOKE-and the SMOKE thereof ascended as the SMOKE of a furnace; his usual appearance was in the cloudy pillar, which we may suppose was generally clear and luminous.
That the people may hear] See Clarke on Ex 15:9. The Jews consider this as the fullest evidence their fathers had of the Divine mission of Moses; themselves were permitted to see this awfully glorious sight, and to hear God himself speak out of the thick darkness: for before this, as Rabbi Maymon remarks, they might have thought that Moses wrought his miracles by sorcery or enchantment; but now, hearing the voice of God himself, they could no longer disbelieve nor even doubt.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I come unto thee, as to the mediator between me and them, and the interpreter of my mind to them.
In a thick cloud: Exo 19:16, and compare 1Ki 8:12; 2Ch 6:1.
The words of the people; those mentioned Exo 19:8. This is here repeated, because Gods answer to them now follows.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9-15. The Lord said unto Moses, Lo,I come . . . in a thick cloud, c.The deepest impressions aremade on the mind through the medium of the senses and so He who knewwhat was in man signalized His descent at the inauguration of theancient church, by all the sensible tokens of august majesty thatwere fitted to produce the conviction that He is the great andterrible God. The whole multitude must have anticipated the eventwith feelings of intense solemnity and awe. The extraordinarypreparations enjoined, the ablutions and rigid abstinence they wererequired to observe, the barriers erected all round the base of themount, and the stern penalties annexed to the breach of any of theconditions, all tended to create an earnest and solemn expectationwhich increased as the appointed day drew near.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the Lord said unto Moses,…. As the Targum of Jonathan, on the third day; though Jarchi says the fourth; which seems not so well to agree with his words on the preceding verse, since it seems to be at the same time that Moses returned the words of the people to the Lord, that he said what follows to him:
lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud; which was different from the pillar of cloud in which he went before the people, and now stood in it on the top of the mount; for he speaks not now of his present appearance to Moses, but of his appearance on the mount three days after; wherefore the Septuagint version wrongly renders it, “in a pillar of cloud”: there were appearances of the divine Majesty in a cloud frequently afterwards, both in the Old and New Testament, see
Ex 40:34 and so Christ, the mighty Angel, is said to be clothed with a cloud, Re 10:1. And from such appearances as these, the Heathens have represented their deities, as Apollo k, Venus l, Juno m, and others, coming in a cloud, or clothed with one:
that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever; they had believed Moses already, particularly at the Red sea, when they saw what was done there, but afterwards, as it seems, returned to their unbelief again; but now, as they would be eyewitnesses of the cloud in which the Lord would appear to Moses, so they would be ear witnesses of what he said to him; for though the cloud was a thick one in which he came, so that they could not see any similitude, any likeness at all, not so much as a brightness, a shining glory, as they had seen in the pillar of cloud, see Ex 16:7, yet, the voice of God out of it was so loud, when he spoke with Moses, that this vast body of people being placed around, at the lower part of the mount, heard plainly and distinctly all that was said; so that they were sure they were not imposed upon by Moses, but that the law he delivered to them was from God, since they heard it with their own ears; and therefore they and their posterity believed it for ever, and never entertained the least distrust of the divinity and authority of it. This case was widely different from that of Numa or Mahomet, the one pretending to receive instructions from the goddess Egeria, and the other from the angel Gabriel; but all depended upon their own word, none were, nor did they pretend that any were eye or ear witnesses of what they declared; but such was the case here:
and Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord; the same which he is said to return to him in the preceding verse, and here repeated for the confirmation of it, and to lead on to what the Lord had to say further concerning them.
k “Nnbe et candentes humeros amictus Augur Apollo. —–” Horat. Carmin. l. 1. ode 2. l “Et Venus aethereos inter dea candida nimbos Dona ferens aderat —-“. Virgil. Aeneid, l. 8. “prope finem”. “Hoc Venus obscuro faciem circumdata nimbo Detulit. —-” Virgil. Aeneid, l. 12. m “Agens hyemem nimbo succincta, per auras —-“. Ib. Aeneid. 10.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Approach of God Announced. | B. C. 1491. |
9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD. 10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, 11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. 12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: 13 There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. 14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes. 15 And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
Here, I. God intimates to Moses his purpose of coming down upon mount Sinai, in some visible appearance of his glory, in a thick cloud (v. 9); for he said that he would dwell in the thick darkness (2 Chron. vi. 1), and make this his pavilion (Ps. xviii. 11), holding back the face of his throne when he set it upon mount Sinai, and spreading a cloud upon it, Job xxvi. 9. This thick cloud was to prohibit curious enquiries into things secret, and to command an awful adoration of that which was revealed. God would come down in the sight of all the people (v. 11); though they should see no manner of similitude, yet they should see so much as would convince them that God was among them of a truth. And so high was the top of mount Sinai that it is supposed that not only the camp of Israel, but even the countries about, might discern some extraordinary appearance of glory upon it, which would strike a terror upon them. It seems also to have been particularly intended to put an honour upon Moses: That they may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever, v. 9. Thus the correspondence was to be first settled by a sensible appearance of the divine glory, which was afterwards to be carried on more silently by the ministry of Moses. In like manner, the Holy Ghost descended visibly upon Christ at his baptism, and all that were present heard God speak to him (Matt. iii. 17), that afterwards, without the repetition of such visible tokens, they might believe him. So likewise the Spirit descended in cloven tongues upon the apostles (Acts ii. 3), that they might be believed. Observe, When the people had declared themselves willing to obey the voice of God, then God promised they should hear his voice; for, if any man be resolved to do his will, he shall know it, John vii. 17.
II. He orders Moses to make preparation for this great solemnity, giving him two days’ time for it.
1. He must sanctify the people (v. 10), as Job, before this, sent and sanctified his sons, Job i. 5. He must raise their expectation by giving them notice what God would do, and assist their preparation by directing them what they must do. “Sanctify them,” that is, “Call them off from their worldly business, and call them to religious exercises, meditation and prayer, that they may receive the law from God’s mouth with reverence and devotion. Let them be ready,” v. 11. Note, When we are to attend upon God in solemn ordinances it concerns us to sanctify ourselves, and to get ready beforehand. Wandering thoughts must be gathered in, impure affections abandoned, disquieting passions suppressed, nay, and all cares about secular business, for the present, dismissed and laid by, that our hearts may be engaged to approach unto God. Two things particularly prescribed as signs and instances of their preparation:– (1.) In token of their cleansing themselves from all sinful pollutions, that they might be holy to God, they must wash their clothes (v. 10), and they did so (v. 14); not that God regards our clothes; but while they were washing their clothes he would have them think of washing their souls by repentance from the sins they had contracted in Egypt and since their deliverance. It becomes us to appear in clean clothes when we wait upon great men; so clean hearts are required in our attendance on the great God, who sees them as plainly as men see our clothes. This is absolutely necessary to our acceptably worshipping God. See Psa 26:6; Isa 1:16-18; Heb 10:22. (2.) In token of their devoting themselves entirely to religious exercises, upon this occasion, they must abstain even from lawful enjoyments during these three days, and not come at their wives, v. 15. See 1 Cor. vii. 5.
2. He must set bounds about the mountain,Exo 19:12; Exo 19:13. Probably he drew a line, or ditch, round at the foot of the hill, which none were to pass upon pain of death. This was to intimate, (1.) That humble awful reverence which ought to possess the minds of all those that worship God. We are mean creatures before a great Creator, vile sinners before a holy righteous Judge; and therefore a godly fear and shame well become us, Heb 12:28; Psa 2:11. (2.) The distance at which worshippers were kept, under that dispensation, which we ought to take notice of, that we may the more value our privilege under the gospel, having boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, Heb. x. 19.
3. He must order the people to attend upon the summons that should be given (v. 13): “When the trumpet soundeth long then let them take their places at the foot of the mount, and so sit down at God’s feet,” as it is explained, Deut. xxxiii. 3. Never was so great a congregation called together, and preached to, at once, as this was here. No one man’s voice could have reached so many, but the voice of God did.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
9. And the Lord said unto Moses. God here proclaims, that by a manifest symbol of His glory, He will make it evident that the Law proceeded not from Moses, but that he merely delivered faithfully what he received from heaven; for God was so covered with the cloud, as with a veil that He still upraised their minds as by a certain sign of His presence. On this was the authority of Moses founded, that the Israelites knew God to be the author of the doctrine, of which he was the minister. And this is especially worth remarking, because we gather from hence that there is no other mode of proving a doctrine, except by the assurance that it comes not from elsewhere, but from God alone; and thus is every mortal brought down to his level, lest any one, however excellent in wisdom, should dare to advance his own imaginations. For if the mightiest of prophets, Moses, obtained credit in the Church on no other grounds than because he bore the commands of God, and only taught what he had heard, how foolish and impudent will it be in teachers, who sink down far beneath him, to endeavor to attain a higher point! In fine, this passage shows that we must believe in God alone, but that at the same time we must listen to the prophets, who spoke out of His mouth. Besides this, it appears that God did not wish to obtain credit for His servant Moses during a short period of time, but that posterity should pay him the same reverence even after his death. The call of some is temporary; and it may happen that God takes away the spirit of prophecy from those to whom He has given it; but so did He appear to Moses, as to ratify, and, as it were, consecrate the truth of his doctrine in all ages. Thence it follows, that the brightness of God’s glory, which was shown to his ancient people in the thick cloud, is not yet extinct, but that it ought to illuminate the minds of all the godly, reverently to submit themselves to Moses. What follows at the end of the verse is a repetition from the last; for there was no intervening reply of the people which Moses could report. The meaning is, that although the Israelites had voluntarily promised to abide in the path of duty, yet that this confirmation was added, like a spur to those who are running, that they may proceed more nimbly.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(9) And the Lord said . . . . The first step in the great event of the formation of a covenant between God and Israel was completed by the peoples acceptance of Gods offer. The second step was now to be taken. The terms of the covenant must be declared, and it pleased God to declare them, or, at any rate, the most important and fundamental of them, in the hearing of the people. He therefore makes the announcement of His approaching manifestation of Himself, and proceeds to give directions connected with it to Moses.
Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud.Heb., in the denseness of a cloud. Though God is lightnay, because He is light, clouds and darkness are round about Him (Psa. 97:2). Even when He reveals Himself. He still dwells in the thick darkness (2Ch. 6:1). It is absolutely necessary that He should be closely veiled when He draws near to men, for otherwise they could not endure for a moment the brightness of His presence. (See Exo. 40:35 :2Ch. 5:14; 2Ch. 7:2.) If even the light that remained on Moses face after converse with God required him thenceforth ordinarily to wear a veil before the people (Exo. 34:33-35), how much more needful must it be that God should cover His face when He condescends to converse with men! In the present case, it would seem to have been the pillar of the cloud that had guided Israel, which served Him for a covering, and out of which He spake to Moses and the people.
That the people may hear . . . and believe thee for ever.Gods purpose in manifesting Himself to the people was twofold :(1) To impress them with the awful sense of His presence, and through them, their descendants; (2) to make them more ready to submit to Moses, and believe him for ever. On the whole, it must be said that the purpose was accomplished. God has remained to the Israelites, for more than three millennia, an awful power, real, personal, tremendous. The Law of Moses, under whatever false interpretations, has remained the guide of their life. Though the living Moses was often resisted and contemned, the dead Moses has been reverenced and obeyed from his death to the present time. His laws are still accepted and professedly obeyed by the entire Jewish community.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud Or, Behold, I am coming; that is, I am about to come thus . He refers to the sublime theophany to be manifested on the third day thereafter, (Exo 19:11,) and often subsequently, when Jehovah would impress the people with an awful sense of his power and majesty . “As God knew the weakness of the sinful nation, and could not, as the Holy One, come into direct intercourse with it on account of its un-holiness, but was about to conclude the covenant with it through the mediation of Moses, it was necessary, in order to accomplish the design of God, that the chosen mediator should receive special credentials; and these were to consist in the fact that Jehovah spoke to Moses in the sight and hearing of the people, that is to say, that he solemnly proclaimed the fundamental law of the covenant in the presence of the whole nation, (Exo 19:16 to Exo 20:18,) and showed by this fact that Moses was the recipient and mediator of the revelation of God, in order that the people might believe him for ever, as the law was to possess everlasting validity . Mat 5:18. ” Keil .
And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord The repetition of these words from Exo 19:8 looks like the blunder of some ancient copyist . They add nothing to the passage, and have no natural connexion with what precedes or follows . To suppose, with Dillmann, that it is a sentence copied from another documentary source is no more satisfactory than to assume that the writer carelessly repeated himself . But the ancient versions contain the words, and the two sentences differ, in that Exo 19:8 employs the word returned ( ) and this verse has told, ( . ) If the words are retained it is better to connect them with what follows, thus: “When Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord, then the Lord said unto Moses,” etc .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 19:9. I come unto thee in a thick cloud This thick cloud, as appears from Exo 19:16, &c. implies all those awful demonstrations which accompanied the Divine Presence; and, in this view, the reason here subjoined for God’s coming in this thick cloud, is manifest: that the people, hearing the Almighty converse with Moses from the midst of these alarming terrors, might be fully convinced of the Divine Presence and intercourse with Moses; and, consequently, believe, and receive as sacred, what he delivered to them from GOD.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
2Ch 6:1 . So again, David, Psa 18:11 . While we behold with awe and reverence this appearance of God, and his speaking with Moses in the hearing of the people, let the Reader take the wing of meditation, and flee to the river Jordan, and see, and hear, the milder dispensation which Jehovah made in his threefold character of persons; the Holy Ghost descending, and the Father speaking, in the presence and audience of the people, while Jesus, our Moses, stood in the river. Mat 3:16-17 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud.” Exo 19:9 .
This is a sample of God’s daily visitation of the world. God cannot come otherwise than in a thick cloud. The cloud is not necessary for him, it is necessary for those to whom he comes. No man can see God and live. Many a cloud that we blame is created for the purpose of attempering high light to our vision. The darkness of the way is as much to be attributed to God as is the light. He makes us stand still as well as go forward. The cloud does not deprive us of the music of the voice. Mere spectacle would do little for us; it is to the voice itself that we must pay heed. Remember that the cloud only conceals God: it does not destroy him. Clouds and darkness are round about him; righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Exo 19:9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.
Ver. 9. And believe thee. ] Without suspicion of an imposture; such as was that of Mohammed.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the LORD said. See note on Exo 3:7, and p. note on Exo 6:10.
Lo. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6.
speak . . . believe. Compare Rom 10:17. “Faith cometh by hearing”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Lo: Exo 19:16, Exo 20:21, Exo 24:15, Exo 24:16, Deu 4:11, 1Ki 8:12, 2Ch 6:1, Psa 18:11, Psa 18:12, Psa 97:2, Isa 19:1, Mat 17:5, Mar 9:7, Luk 9:34, Luk 9:35, Rev 1:7
that the: Deu 4:12, Deu 4:36, Joh 12:29, Joh 12:30
believe: Exo 14:31, 2Ch 20:20, Isa 7:9, Luk 10:16
Reciprocal: Exo 4:5 – That they Deu 4:10 – the day Deu 5:4 – General Psa 99:7 – in the cloudy Act 1:9 – a cloud