Exodus Chapter 19

Old Testament Law (Torah) 25 Verses

What is Exodus 19 about?

Israel's deliverance from Egypt, the Ten Commandments given at Sinai, and the construction of the Tabernacle. The complete chapter text below provides the immediate literary context for study.

Text — American Standard Version (1901)

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. For original Hebrew/Greek interlinear text, open in BibleWord.ai.
1In the third month after the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
2And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount.
3And Moses went up unto God, and Jehovah called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:
4Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles` wings, and brought you unto myself.
5Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine:
6and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
7And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Jehovah commanded him.
8And all the people answered together, and said, All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people unto Jehovah.
9And Jehovah said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and may also believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto Jehovah.
10And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments,
11and be ready against the third day; for the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
12And 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:
13no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, he shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
14And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their garments.
15And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not near a woman.
16And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled.
17And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
18And mount Sinai, the whole of it, smoked, because Jehovah descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
19And when the voice of the trumpet waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
20And Jehovah came down upon mount Sinai, to the top of the mount: and Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
21And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto Jehovah to gaze, and many of them perish.
22And let the priests also, that come near to Jehovah, sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth upon them.
23And Moses said unto Jehovah, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou didst charge us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.
24And Jehovah said unto him, Go, get thee down; and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto Jehovah, lest he break forth upon them.
25So Moses went down unto the people, and told them.

What do historical commentaries say about this chapter?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · on verse 1
“In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, etc.] Which was the month Sivan, and answers to part of May and part of June: the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai; which had its name from the mountain situated in it, and that from the bushes which grew upon it. Justin f579 calls it Synan, which he says Moses occupied, and Strabo f580, Sinnan. Hither they came either on the same day they came from Rephidim; which, according to Bunting f581, were eight miles from it, or on the same day of the month, as to number, that is, on the third day of the third month;…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“ARRIVAL AT SINAI. (Exo. 19:1-25) In the third month--according to Jewish usage, the first day of that month--"same day."--It is added, to mark the time more explicitly, that is, forty-five days after Egypt--one day spent on the mount (Exo 19:3), one returning the people's answer (Exo 19:7-8), three days of preparation, making the whole time fifty days from the first passover to the promulgation of the law. Hence the feast of pentecost, that is, the fiftieth day, was the inauguration of the Old Testament church, and the divine wisdom is apparent in the selection of the same reason for the institution of the New…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · on verse 1
“The wilderness ... the desert of Sinai - If the mount from which the law was delivered be the rock of Ras Safsafeh, then the spacious plain of Er Rahah would be the “desert” of Sinai (see Exodus 5:17). return to 'Top of Page'”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · on verse 1
“In the third month after they came out of Egypt. It is computed that the law was given just fifty days after their coming out of Egypt, in remembrance of which the feast of Pentecost was observed the fiftieth day after the passover, and in compliance with which the spirit was poured out upon the apostles, at the feast of Pentecost, fifty days after the death of Christ. Mount Sinai was a place which nature, not art, had made conspicuous, for it was the highest in all that range of mountains. Thus God put contempt upon cities and palaces, setting up his pavilion on the top of a mountain, in a barren desert. It is…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · on verse 1
“19:1-9 God prepared his people to receive the covenant by first reminding them of the past and of what they had learned about him (19:4). He then made promises concerning the future, which were contingent upon obedience (19:5-6). The final result was their promise to obey what the Lord has commanded (19:8). 19:1 Exactly two months after the Israelites left Egypt: It was now the fifteenth day of the third month.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · on verse 1
“am 2513, bc 1491, An, Ex, Is, 1, Sivan the third: Exo 12:2, Exo 12:6; Lev 23:16-18 came: Exo 16:1; Num 33:15 Exodus 19:2”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · on verse 1
“In the third month after their departure from Egypt, the Israelites arrived at Sinai, proceeding from Rephidim into the desert of Sinai, and encamping there before the mountain. On what day of the month, the received text does not state. The striking expression הזּה בּיּום ("the same day"), without any previous notice of the day, cannot signify the first day of the month; nor can השּׁלישׁי החדשׁ signify the third new moon in the year, and be understood as referring to the first day of the third month. For although, according to the etymology of חדשׁ (from חדשׁ to be new), it might denote the new moon, yet in…”
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