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JPS Old Testament
Exodus 32:28
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The sons of Levi did according to the word of Moshe: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and from the people on that day about three thousand persons fell.
The people from the family of Levi obeyed Moses, and that day about three thousand of the Israelites died.
The Levites did what Moses ordered, and that day about three thousand men of the people died.
So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people [of Israel] were killed that day.
So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.
So the children of Leui did as Moses had commanded: and there fel of the people the same day about three thousand men.
So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.
The men of the Levi tribe followed his orders, and that day they killed about three thousand men.
The sons of Levi did what Moshe said, and that day three thousand of the people died.
And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
The people from the tribe of Levi obeyed Moses. That day about 3000 of the people died.
And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell.
And the Levites did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
The Levites obeyed, and killed about three thousand men that day.
The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand men fell dead that day among the people.
And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell on that day.
The children of Leui dyd, as Moses sayde vnto them. And there fell of the people the same daye thre thousande men.
And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
And the sons of Levi did as Moses said; and about three thousand of the people were put to death that day.
And the chyldre of Leui dyd as Moyses had said: And there fel of the people ye same day about three thousande men.
And the children of Leui did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
And the sons of Levi did as Moses spoke to them, and there fell of the people in that day to the number of three thousand men.
And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people fell dead.
The sones of Leuy diden bi the word of Moises, and as thre and twenti thousynd of men felden doun in that day.
And the sons of Levi do according to the word of Moses, and there fall of the people on that day about three thousand men,
And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
The sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day.
The Levites obeyed Moses' command, and about 3,000 people died that day.
So the sons of Levi did as Moses said. About 3,000 men fell that day.
The sons of Levi did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand of the people fell on that day.
So the sons of Levi did, according to the word of Moses, - and there fell from among the people on that day, about three thousand men.
And the sons of Levi did according to the words of Moses, and there were slain that day about three and twenty thousand men.
And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
The Levites carried out Moses' orders. Three thousand of the people were killed that day.
So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
children: Deuteronomy 33:9, Malachi 2:4-6
there fell: Numbers 16:32-35, Numbers 16:41, 1 Corinthians 10:8, Hebrews 2:2, Hebrews 2:3
Reciprocal: Numbers 25:5 - Slay ye Numbers 35:8 - possession 1 Samuel 30:16 - eating 2 Chronicles 15:16 - he removed Zechariah 13:3 - and his
Cross-References
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made thee.
And God said unto Abraham: 'As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
And Jacob said: 'Sell me first thy birthright.'
And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night, and said unto him: 'Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.'
And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
And Jacob said when he saw them: 'This is God's camp.' And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the field of Edom.
And he commanded them, saying: 'Thus shall ye say unto my lord Esau: Thus saith thy servant Jacob: I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now.
And he took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over that which he had.
And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses,.... They girded their swords by their sides, went through the camp, and slew their brethren, companions and neighbours, who were keeping holy day in honour of the idol:
and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men; the Vulgate Latin version reads 23,000, very wrongly; now these being chiefly, if not altogether, of the tribe of Levi, the brethren, companions, and neighbours of the Levites, that were the slayers, together with the after plagues that came upon them, Exodus 32:35 account for the deficiency of males in this tribe, some few months after, when it was numbered; and the number of them from one month old and upwards amounted but to 22,000, which was but a very small one in proportion to the other tribes, who generally, one with another, numbered 40,000 each, and none so few as 30,000 r; of this tribe Aaron was, and therefore used with severity, because of his concern in this sin; and even though it was the tribe of Moses, it was not spared.
r See the Bishop of Clogber's Chronology of the Hebrew Bible, p. 360, 362.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
The faithfulness of Moses in the office that had been entrusted to him was now to be put to the test. It was to be made manifest whether he loved his own glory better than he loved the brethren who were under his charge; whether he would prefer that he should himself become the founder of a “great nation,” or that the Lord’s promise should be fulfilled in the whole people of Israel. This may have been especially needful for Moses, in consequence of his natural disposition. See Numbers 12:3; and compare Exodus 3:11. With this trial of Moses repeated in a very similar manner Numbers 14:11-23, may be compared the trial of Abraham Genesis 22:0 and of our Saviour Matthew 4:8-10.
Exodus 32:8
These be thy gods ... have brought - This is thy god, O Israel, who has brought ...
Exodus 32:10
Let me alone - But Moses did not let the Lord alone; he wrestled, as Jacob had done, until, like Jacob, he obtained the blessing Genesis 32:24-29.
Exodus 32:14
This states a fact which was not revealed to Moses until after his second intercession when he had come down from the mountain and witnessed the sin of the people Exodus 32:30-34. He was then assured that the Lord’s love to His ancient people would prevail God is said, in the language of Scripture, to “repent,” when His forgiving love is seen by man to blot out the letter of His judgments against sin (2 Samuel 24:16; Joel 2:13; Jonah 3:10, etc.); or when the sin of man seems to human sight to have disappointed the purposes of grace (Gen 6:6; 1 Samuel 15:35, etc.). The awakened conscience is said to “repent,” when, having felt its sin, it feels also the divine forgiveness: it is at this crisis that God, according to the language of Scripture, repents toward the sinner. Thus, the repentance of God made known in and through the One true Mediator reciprocates the repentance of the returning sinner, and reveals to him atonement.
Exodus 32:17-18
Moses does not tell Joshua of the divine communication that had been made to him respecting the apostasy of the people, but only corrects his impression by calling his attention to the kind of noise which they are making.
Exodus 32:19
Though Moses had been prepared by the revelation on the Mount, his righteous indignation was stirred up beyond control when the abomination was before his eyes.
Exodus 32:20
See Deuteronomy 9:21. What is related in this verse must have occupied some time and may have followed the rebuke of Aaron. The act was symbolic, of course. The idol was brought to nothing and the people were made to swallow their own sin (compare Micah 7:13-14).
Exodus 32:22
Aaron’s reference to the character of the people, and his manner of stating what he had done Exo. 5:24, are very characteristic of the deprecating language of a weak mind.
Exodus 32:23
Make us gods - Make us a god.
Exodus 32:25
Naked - Rather unruly, or “licentious”.
Shame among their enemies - Compare Psalms 44:13; Psalms 79:4; Deuteronomy 28:37.
Exodus 32:26-29
The tribe of Levi, Moses’ own tribe, now distinguished itself by immediately returning to its allegiance and obeying the call to fight on the side of Yahweh. We need not doubt that the 3,000 who were slain were those who persisted in resisting Moses. The spirit of the narrative forbids us to conceive that the act of the Levites was anything like an indiscriminate massacre. An amnesty had first been offered to all by the words: “Who is on the Lord’s side?” Those who were forward to draw the sword were directed not to spare their closest relations or friends; but this must plainly have been with an understood qualification as regards the conduct of those who were to be slain. Had it not been so, they who were on the Lord’s side would have had to destroy each other. We need not stumble at the bold, simple way in which the statement is made.
Exodus 32:29
Consecrate yourselves to day to the Lord ... - The margin contains the literal rendering. Our version gives the most probable meaning of the Hebrew, and is supported by the best authority. The Levites were to prove themselves in a special way the servants of Yahweh, in anticipation of their formal consecration as ministers of the sanctuary (compare Deuteronomy 10:8), by manifesting a self-sacrificing zeal in carrying out the divine command, even upon their nearest relatives.
Exodus 32:31
Returned unto the Lord - i. e. again he ascended the mountain.
Gods of gold - a god of gold.
Exodus 32:32
For a similar form of expression, in which the conclusion is left to be supplied by the mind of the reader, see Daniel 3:15; Luke 13:9; Luke 19:42; John 6:62; Romans 9:22. For the same thought, see Romans 9:3. It is for such as Moses and Paul to realize, and to dare to utter, their readiness to be wholly sacrificed for the sake of those whom God has entrusted to their love. This expresses the perfected idea of the whole burnt-offering.
Thy book - The figure is taken from the enrolment of the names of citizens. This is its first occurrence in the Scriptures. See the marginal references. and Isaiah 4:3; Daniel 12:1; Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5, etc.
Exodus 32:33, Exodus 32:34
Each offender was to suffer for his own sin. Compare Exodus 20:5; Ezekiel 18:4, Ezekiel 18:20. Moses was not to be taken at his word. He was to fulfill his appointed mission of leading on the people toward the land of promise.
Exodus 32:34
Mine Angel shall go before thee - See the marginal references and Genesis 12:7.
In the day when I visit ... - Compare Numbers 14:22-24. But though the Lord chastized the individuals, He did not take His blessing from the nation.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Exodus 32:28. There fell about three thousand men. — These were no doubt the chief transgressors; having broken the covenant by having other gods besides Jehovah, they lost the Divine protection, and then the justice of God laid hold on and slew them. Moses doubtless had positive orders from God for this act of justice, (see Exodus 32:27); for though, through his intercession, the people were spared so as not to be exterminated as a nation, yet the principal transgressors, those who were set on mischief, Exodus 32:22, were to be put to death.
