Exodus 19:1

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Exodus 19:1 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “In 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.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

In 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.
Exodus 19:1 — American Standard Version

Context — Exodus 19

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
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.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“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; and so Jerom f582 and others say it was on the forty seventh day after their…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“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 Testament church (Joh 1:17; Act 2:1).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“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 · 18th-century historical commentary
“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 called Sinai, from the multitude of thorny bushes that over - spread it. Exodus…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“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 · Cross-reference reference work
“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 · 19th-century historical commentary
“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 chronological data it is never used in this sense; but the day of the month is…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification