Exodus 24:11

And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(11) The nobles.—The word used is an unusual one, but seems to designate the “elders” of Exodus 24:1; Exodus 24:9. It implies nobility of birth.

He laid not his hand—i.e., He in nowise hurt or injured them. The belief was general that a man could not see God and live (Genesis 32:30; Exodus 32:20; Judges 6:22-23, &c.). In one sense it was true—“No man hath seen the Father.” But the Son could reveal Himself under the Old Dispensation, as under the New, and not even cause terror by His presence. (See the last clause of the verse.)

Also they saw God.—Rather, they both saw God, and also did eat and drink. It is intended to express in the clearest way that the two facts were concurrent. As they feasted on the sacrificial meal, the vision of God was made manifest to them. It is impossible to doubt that we have here a precious forecast of the Christian’s highest privilege—the realisation of the presence of God in the sacred feast of the Holy Communion.

Benson Commentary

Exodus 24:11. Upon the nobles — Or elders; of Israel he laid not his hand — Though they were men, the splendour of his glory did not overwhelm them, but it was so moderated, (Job 36:9,) and they were so strengthened, (Daniel 10:19,) that they were able to bear it: nay, though they were sinful men, and obnoxious to God’s justice, yet he did not lay his avenging hand upon them, as they feared he would. When we consider what a consuming fire God is, and what stubble we are before him, we shall have reason to say, in all our approaches to him, “It is of the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed.” They saw God, and did eat and drink — They had not only their lives preserved, but their vigour, courage, and comfort; it cast no damp upon their joy, but rather increased it. They feasted upon the sacrifice before God, in token of their cheerful consent to the covenant, their grateful acceptance of the benefits of it, and their communion with God in pursuance of that covenant.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

24:9-11 The elders saw the God of Israel; they had some glimpse of his glory, though whatever they saw, it was something of which no image or picture could be made, yet enough to satisfy them that God was with them of a truth. Nothing is described but what was under his feet. The sapphires are the pavement under his feet; let us put all the wealth of this world under our feet, and not in our hearts. Thus the believer sees in the face of Jesus Christ, far clearer discoveries of the glorious justice and holiness of God, than ever he saw under terrifying convictions; and through the Saviour, holds communion with a holy God.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He laid not his hand - i. e. He did not strike them. It was believed that a mortal could not survive the sight of God Exodus 33:20; Genesis 32:30; Judges 6:22; Judges 13:22 : but these rulers of Israel were permitted to eat and drink, while they were enjoying in an extraordinary degree the sense of the divine presence, and received no harm.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

11. upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand—The "nobles," that is, the elders, after the sprinkling of the blood, were not inspired with terror in presence of the calm, benign, radiant symbol of the divine majesty; so different from the terrific exhibitions at the giving of the law. The report of so many competent witnesses would tend to confirm the people's faith in the divine mission of Moses.

eat and drink—feasted on the peace offering—on the remnants of the late sacrifices and libations. This feast had a prophetic bearing, intimating God's dwelling with men.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The nobles; or, separated or select ones, i.e. the persons who were singled out to go up with Moses, Exodus 24:1,9, the same of whom it is said here, and Exodus 24:10, that they saw God.

He laid not his hand, i.e. did not hurt or destroy them, as they might expect according to the vulgar opinion, Genesis 16:13 32:20, &c., and the conscience of their own guilt, as being now before their Lord and Judge. And so the phrase of putting or stretching forth the hand is most frequently used, as Genesis 37:22 1 Samuel 26:11,23 Es 2:21 Job 1:11,12 Psa 138:7, &c.

Did eat and drink; so far they were from being destroyed, that they were not affrighted at this glorious appearance of God, but were refreshed and comforted by it, and did joyfully eat and drink together in God’s presence, celebrating the sacred feast made of the remnant of the peace-offerings, according to the manner. Thus God gave them a taste of his grace and mercy in this covenant, and an assurance that he would not deal with them according to the rigours of the law, but for the sake of the blood of Christ typically represented there, would graciously pardon and accept all those that sincerely, though imperfectly, obey him.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand,.... Which some interpret of his hand of prophecy, and of the measure of the Spirit, such an one as Moses had, and by virtue of which he lived forty days and nights without eating and drinking; but these not having such a measure of the Spirit, were obliged to eat and drink to support nature, as in the next clause: but it is rather to be understood of the hand of God; he did not inflict any disease or death upon them on their sight of him, it being a notion that no man could see God and live; but these men did live, not only Moses, and Aaron and his two sons, but the seventy elders, who were the principal choicest persons among the children of Israel; wherefore the Targum of Jonathan wrongly restrains this to Nadab and Abihu:

also they saw God, and did eat and drink: though they saw God, they continued alive and well, and in good health, of which their eating and drinking were a sign and evidence; or they ate, as Abendana, the sacrifices of the peace offerings, which were usually eaten by the priests and the people; and as a feast was common at covenant making, here was a feast kept by the elders, the representatives of the people, when they covenanted with God. Onkelos favours this sense,"and they rejoiced in their sacrifices, which were accepted with good will, as if they had ate and drank.''

Geneva Study Bible

And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he {f} laid not his hand: also they saw God, and {g} did eat and drink.

(f) He did not make them afraid, nor punish them.

(g) That is, rejoiced.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

11. It was the general belief (see on Exodus 33:20) that God could not be ‘seen,’—except in a purely spiritual sense,—with impunity; but upon this occasion Jehovah put not forth his hand (Exodus 9:15, Exodus 22:8) upon Moses or his companions, to harm them.

nobles] Heb. ‘ăẓîlîm, only here in this sense. The etym. is uncertain. In Isaiah 41:9 ’âẓîl means angle, corner: so perhaps, like pinnâh (see Jdg 20:2 RVm.), the word denotes men of position and responsibility, as the corners, or supports, of the community.

beheld] Heb. ḥâzâh, in prose only Exodus 18:21 besides, but often used of a prophet seeing a vision (e.g. Numbers 24:4), and the verb of which one of the words rendered ‘seer’ (Amos 7:12 al.) is the partic. LXX. (cf. on v. 10) paraphrase by ‘appeared in the place of God.’

did eat and drink] viz. at a sacrificial meal: see on Exodus 18:12

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 11. - The nobles - i.e., the notables - the seventy elders, and other persons, already mentioned (vers. 1, 9). He laid not his hand. God did not smite them with death, or pestilence, or even blindness. It was thought to be impossible to see God and live. (See above, Genesis 32:30; Exodus 32:20; Judges 6:22, 23, etc.) Man was unworthy to draw near to God in any way; and to look on him was viewed as a kind of profanity. Yet some times he chose to show himself, in vision or otherwise, to his people, and then, as there could be no guilt on their part, there was no punishment on his. It is generally supposed that, in all such cases, it was the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity who condescended to show himself. Also they saw God. Rather, "they both saw God, and did eat and drink." The two were simultaneous. As they were engaged in the sacrificial meal, God revealed himself to them.

CHAPTER 24:12-18 Exodus 24:11

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Through their consecration with the blood of the covenant, the Israelites were qualified to ascend the mountain, and there behold the God of Israel and celebrate the covenant meal; of course, not the whole of the people, for that would have been impracticable on physical grounds, but the nation in the persons of its representatives, viz., the seventy elders, with Aaron and his two eldest sons. The fact that the latter were summoned along with the elders had reference to their future election to the priesthood, the bearers of which were to occupy the position of mediators between Jehovah and the nation, an office for which this was a preparation. The reason for choosing seventy out of the whole body of elders (Exodus 24:3) is to be found in the historical and symbolical significance of this number. "They saw the God of Israel." This title is very appropriately given to Jehovah here, because He, the God of the fathers, had become in truth the God of Israel through the covenant just made. We must not go beyond the limits drawn in Exodus 33:20-23 in our conceptions of what constituted the sight (חזה Exodus 24:11) of God; at the same time we must regard it as a vision of God in some form of manifestation which rendered the divine nature discernible to the human eye. Nothing is said as to the form in which God manifested Himself. This silence, however, is not intended "to indicate the imperfection of their sight of God," as Baumgarten affirms, nor is it to be explained, as Hoffmann supposes, on the ground that "what they saw differed from what the people had constantly before their eyes simply in this respect, that after they had entered the darkness, which enveloped the mountain that burned as it were with fire at its summit, the fiery sign separated from the cloud, and assumed a shape, beneath which it was bright and clear, as an image of untroubled bliss." The words are evidently intended to affirm something more than, that they saw the fiery form in which God manifested Himself to the people, and that whilst the fire was ordinarily enveloped in a cloud, they saw it upon the mountain without the cloud. For, since Moses saw the form (תּמוּנה) of Jehovah (Numbers 12:8), we may fairly conclude, notwithstanding the fact that, according to Exodus 24:2, the representatives of the nation were not to draw near to Jehovah, and without any danger of contradicting Deuteronomy 4:12 and Deuteronomy 4:15, that they also saw a form of God. Only this form is not described, in order that no encouragement might be given to the inclination of the people to make likenesses of Jehovah. Thus we find that Isaiah gives no description of the form in which he saw the Lord sitting upon a high and lofty throne (Isaiah 6:1). Ezekiel is the first to describe the form of Jehovah which he saw in the vision, "as the appearance of a man" (Ezekiel 1:26; compare Daniel 7:9 and Daniel 7:13). "And there was under His feet as it were work of clear sapphire (לבנת, from לבנה whiteness, clearness, not from לבנה a brick),

(Note: This is the derivation adopted by the English translators in their rendering "paved work." - Tr.)

and as the material (עצם body, substance) of heaven in brilliancy," - to indicate that the God of Israel was enthroned above the heaven in super-terrestrial glory and undisturbed blessedness. And God was willing that His people should share in this blessedness, for "He laid not His hand upon the nobles of Israel," i.e., did not attack them. "They saw God, and did eat and drink," i.e., they celebrated thus near to Him the sacrificial meal of the peace-offerings, which had been sacrificed at the conclusion of the covenant, and received in this covenant meal a foretaste of the precious and glorious gifts with which God would endow and refresh His redeemed people in His kingdom. As the promise in Exodus 19:5-6, with which God opened the way for the covenant at Sinai, set clearly before the nation that had been rescued from Egypt the ultimate goal of its divine calling; so this termination of the ceremony was intended to give to the nation, in the persons of its representatives, a tangible pledge of the glory of the goal that was set before it. The sight of the God of Israel was a foretaste of the blessedness of the sight of God in eternity, and the covenant meal upon the mountain before the face of God was a type of the marriage supper of the Lamb, to which the Lord will call, and at which He will present His perfected Church in the day of the full revelation of His glory (Revelation 19:7-9).