Exodus 24:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Historically, the elders of God's people held this title based on different circumstances. First, this designation was sometimes based on their age, indicating that they were older and had acquired experience in leadership through years of involvement, as noted even before their departure from Egypt (Ex. 3:16, 18; Ex. 4:29). During the Exodus (Ex. 12:21) and afterward (Ex. 17:5-6; Ex. 18:12), elders played significant roles.

Second, this term also denoted the esteemed authority of those who led the tribes in national matters. Some elders were part of the governing or judicial bodies responsible for civil affairs, comprised of chiefs or leaders from each town. For example, the elders of Sokhof (Judg. 8:14), Gilead (Judg. 11:5, 7-10), and Bethlehem (Ruth 4:2, 4, 9) served in civil courts. Others managed household matters. This assembly of elders represented the leadership across all tribes. We see in 2 Kings 23 that all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem gathered before King Josiah. Some of these elders were designated to hear the people's judgments, indicating a collective governance.

The significance of having seventy elders was intentionally established to reflect the seventy souls that journeyed with Jacob into Egypt, as recorded (Genesis 46:27; Deuteronomy 10:22). Thus, the large number of elders acted as a symbol for the Israelites, serving as a continual reminder of God's grace, demonstrating how from a small group of Jacob's family, the population had flourished to thousands over the course of two centuries.

He completes this immediately after the revelation and then ascends the mountain with the elders. It appears that the narrative progresses in a chronological manner.

In verses 1 and 2, other inquiries arise, such as the identity of the one who instructed Moses to ‘Go up to the Lord.’ Some interpret this as referring to the revelation that enveloped Moses; the term Memra in Onkelos signifies, among Kabbalists, the Logos, or the Word of God communicated to humans. Others consider the pronoun He to point back to chapter 20, verse 23, referencing the Angel ‘upon whom the name of Jehovah is inscribed.’ Yet, we recognize that the Angel guiding Israel was indeed the Lord Himself. Thus, in verse 1, it is necessary to distinguish the speaker from Jehovah, to whom Moses is sent, implying that it refers to the Angel directing the completion of the code and the ascent into the mountain with the elders. Moses acts upon this by first delivering the book of the covenant to the people.

The seventy elders mentioned, who were privileged to ascend the mountain and stand before God's presence, hold significant importance in Jewish tradition and in the mystical philosophy known as Kabbalism. During the Middle Ages, Kabbalah devolved into aspects resembling shamanism and magical practices. Kabbalah, or Kabbalistics, referred to a profound philosophical teaching, as noted by Frank based on the works of Rosenroth and Pic de Mirandol, disguised as an interpretation of Scripture and purportedly transmitted in a verbal tradition from the seventy elders on the mountain to their disciples. It was customary for each Kabbalistic initiate to have only one disciple to continue the tradition. The Talmud provides insight into the origins of this doctrine, although the Mishnah and Gemara include no inherent traces of the doctrine itself, presenting only legendary tales about the Kabbalists. It is more plausible that the philosophical framework of Kabbalah emerged during the Babylonian captivity, influencing the Kabbalah itself and reflecting in the thoughts of Philo and the Alexandrian Jews, as suggested by Frank.