And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
Parallel translations
- WEB Moses wrote all Yahweh’s words, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mountain, and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
- KJV And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
- NKJV And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
- NASB And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he got up early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel.
- NLT Then Moses carefully wrote down all the Lord’s instructions. Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses wrote down God's words and built an altar with twelve pillars for the tribes. The covenant is recorded and Israel as a whole is represented before God.
Overview
By writing the words, Moses preserves the covenant as an enduring, authoritative record. The altar signifies God's presence and the need for sacrifice, while the twelve pillars represent all Israel joined in the covenant. The careful preparation shows the seriousness of binding a people to God. The written word and the altar together point ahead to the gospel, where Scripture testifies and Christ's sacrifice secures the covenant.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Deut 31:9So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel.
- Gen 28:18Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it,
- Josh 4:8–9Thus the Israelites did as Joshua had commanded them. They took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each tribe of Israel, just as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them to the camp, where they set them down.
- Gal 2:9And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.
- Rev 21:14The wall of the city had twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
- Luke 22:30so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
- Josh 24:26–27Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was near the sanctuary of the LORD.
- Josh 4:2–3“Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe,
- Num 17:2“Speak to the Israelites and take from them twelve staffs, one from the leader of each tribe. Write each man’s name on his staff,
- Gen 28:22And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”
- Gen 31:45So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a pillar,
- 1 Kgs 11:30And Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing, tore it into twelve pieces,
- Exod 20:24–26You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.
- Lev 24:5You are also to take fine flour and bake twelve loaves, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf,
- Exod 28:21The twelve stones are to correspond to the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
- Ezra 6:17For the dedication of the house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and a sin offering for all Israel of twelve male goats, one for each tribe of Israel.
- Josh 4:20And there at Gilgal Joshua set up the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan.
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 24:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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