Exodus Chapters 2, 3, 4 Commentary by Mark Dunagan

The Book Of Exodus Chapters 2:11-4:31

I.

Chapter 2:

2:11 At the age of 40 (Acts 7:23), Moses determined to take a stand with the people of God. The year was about 1485 B.C. By this time Moses was highly educated and probably spoke fluently in both Egyptian and Hebrew (Acts 7:22).

Points To Note: 1. Obviously, someone had taught and informed Moses not only concerning his true ancestry, but also about the God of the Hebrews (Hebrews 11:24-26).

He refused to be called the “son of Pharaoh’s daughter”, indicating that the Egyptian royal court was willing to embrace him with open arms. “The very fact that he refused implies that some offer was made to him” (Fields p. 79).

But he realized that siding with the Egyptians meant moral and spiritual compromise (sin), and he realized that God was offering him far more than material riches (11:26). Obviously, Moses believed in heaven and eternal life. 2. “This decision has been illuminated by Carter’s discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun which produced some of the greatest treasures ever discovered in ancient Egypt” (Davis pp. 64-65).

2:11 “looked on their hard labors”-“The Hebrew means: ‘to watch something with emotion’” (Gispen p. 43). “Moses is one who shares God’s heart. God too has seen what the Egyptians are doing to the Israelites, and He will come to deliver (Exodus 3:7,8)” 1 2:11-12 Moses was far more than just a sympathizer with the Israelites, he took action. “It is natural that Moses would look around…but it also shows that he did not think of giving the sign to an open rebellion; yet he offered himself as a redeemer, liberator and expected Israel to realize this (Acts 7:25)” (Gispen p.

43).

Points To Note: 1. Many feel that Moses’ action here was wrong, “Moses here was acting at the wrong time, for the wrong motive, and he employed the wrong method.

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Exodus: R. Alan Cole, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, p. 59 1

Moses’ rash act was punished by his exile in the land of Midian for forty years” (Smith pp. 250-251). 2. And yet, Moses may have used deadly force, because such was needed to protect the Israelite who was being beaten.

The Egyptian might have been attempting to beat the Hebrew to death. 3.

“Hid him in the sand”, “This is a touch of local colour. There was no sand in most of Israel’s rocky hills, and a body was not so easy to hide as in Egypt” (Cole p. 59). 3. On his own Moses is trying to do what he can to assist the people of God, and yet Moses will need to learn that: A. He isn’t fully prepared for such a task. B. He needs to learn respect for God’s time table.

C. God will bring Israel out with a mighty hand, in a way that will bring glory and honor to God. 2:13-14 As is typical, the man in the wrong resents outside interference. “No doubt the other Hebrew, the innocent party, accepted Moses gladly” (Cole p. 60).

Here we also see that often those who are oppressed, are guilty of oppressing others. “One who is oppressed by others may be equally oppressive himself if given an opportunity” (Fields p. 80). “The slaying of the Egyptian could only have been made known by the Israelite whom Moses had saved the day before.

Imagine how fast and far the gossip grape-vine carried this news!” (Fields pp.

80-81). “Who made you a prince or a judge over us?” Implies that this Hebrew resented any form of authority. These words resemble the words used by the Sodomites against Lot (Genesis 19:9). We always need to re-examine our motives. It is tempting to gripe about taxes, governmental regulations, etc…But we need to make sure that we aren’t the type of people who simply resent any type of authority over us. The fact that Moses was afraid, proves that he was human.

2:15 Moses fled only when Pharaoh wanted to execute him, hence the flight can be viewed as an act of faith (Heb. 11:27). For Moses made no effort to patch things up with Pharaoh, renounce his loyalty to the Hebrews or plead for mercy.

The Pharaoh who wanted to kill Moses was probably Thutmose III (1501-1447 B.C.) “The Egyptians maintained a substantial sense of ethnic pride that caused them to consider foreigners inferior. For a foreigner to kill an Egyptian was a great crime” 2 In addition, Pharaoh might have feared that Moses would become a leader of a Hebrew insurrection.

2:15 “the land of Midian”: The Midianites were descendants of Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:2). They lived in southeastern Sinai and northwestern Arabia on both sides of the Gulf of Aqaba. This desert land differed greatly from Goshen. This journey might have taken Moses perhaps 250 miles from Egypt.

Points To Note:

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The IVP Bible Background Commentary. Genesis-Deuteronomy, Walton & Matthews, p. 87 2

1. Years later, the Midianites would become bitter foes of the Israelites (Numbers 25:17-18; Judges 6), “it is unthinkable that the story of the Midianite sojourn of Moses would have been invented by a later Israelite author” (Fields pp. 81-82). 2. What happened to Moses, especially when he returned to Egypt must have made some Egyptians really think. For in one of the most well-known Egyptian tales, The Story of Sinuhe, the main character fears disfavor from a new pharaoh early in the second millennium B.C. and flees through Canaan to Syria. There he marries the daughter of a Bedouin chieftain and becomes a powerful leader among those people.

Hence, what had happened to Moses, sounded a lot like one of their most popular literary works. In addition, heading in the direction of Midian wasn’t unusual, for runaway slaves had often used this same route.

2:15-17 It is still the custom that unmarried women in the Sinai peninsula work as shepherdesses and enjoy more freedom among the Bedouins than married women. Neither are we shocked that the other shepherds bullied these young ladies. “Even after his leadership setback in Egypt, Moses was still willing to champion the cause of the weak….This injustice aroused Moses’ anger. He rescued the daughters and even watered their flock for them” (Smith p. 251).

The father of these girls is called a priest (2:16). While we aren’t sure as to all the particulars of their beliefs, we know that they didn’t practice circumcision (4:25).

2:18-20 The daughters of Reuel could see that Moses was from Egypt, possibly by the way he was dressed. The name “Reuel” means perhaps ‘friend of God’, ‘shepherd of God’, or ‘God is a shepherd/friend’. Such a name would be very appropriate in a pastoral society. In Exodus 3:1 the same man is called Jethro, and in Judges 4:11 he is called “Hobab”. Like many Bible characters, this man had more than one name. “When they reported the incident to their father he reproached them for their lack of hospitality…It is striking that the priest had acquiesced in the daily slighting of his daughters, and was grateful for Moses’ help” (Gispen p. 46).

2:21 “Zipporah” (zip POE rah) (little bird). “We might translate as ‘warbler’ or, less kindly, ‘twitterer’; it is the name of a small bird” (Coe p. 61).

2:22 “Gershom”-(GUR shom). “In spite of the kindness he received, and the blessing of a child that God gave him in his marriage, he felt himself an exile” (Gispen p. 46). The name infers that Moses was homesick for Egypt and especially for his people who were still in bondage.

Point To Note: But far from wasting time in Midian, “God was preparing Moses to be a leader of men, so for forty-years he received experience by leading the flocks of the Midianite priest” (Davis p. 65). Here he learned: 1. To trust in God and less in 3

his own abilities. 2. Patience. 3. Details about the land, its trails, oases, etc….He was later to lead the Israelites through part of the very territory wherein he labored as a shepherd. Let us be impressed that God doesn’t waste our time. We might be tempted to think that we are presently stuck or spinning our wheels, but God might be using such a situation to humble us, knock off the rough edges and bring us to a greater level of faith and maturity.

2:23-25 Moses’ stay in Midian will last for 40 years (Exodus 7:7; Acts 7:23,30).

The king of Egypt who died was probably Thutmose III (1501-1447 B.C.). His successor and the Pharaoh of the Exodus was probably Amenhotep II (14471421 B.C.). In secular history this man is also noted for his cruelty. After a victory over Syria, he carried seven Syrian leaders upside-down from the bow of his ship on the trip up the Nile, after which he personally sacrificed them. “The fact that the Israelites cried unto God shows that they retained some faith in the God of their fathers. When the old oppressing king died, they prayed in hope.

But the bondage continued for a time” (Fields p. 87). These verses also suggest that at this point the Israelites really cried out to God. “It seems that the author wanted to express that only now did they turn of one accord to God” (Gispen p.

48). The fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are drawing near, the four generations of bondage in a strange land is drawing to an end (Genesis 15:13-16).

II. Chapter 3: “Because of the completeness of the historical profile of Moses, we are able to achieve a rather full understanding of both the man and his mission. Not only are his heroic acts part of the biblical record, but his weaknesses and failures are also clearly revealed….For forty years Moses had enjoyed the privileges and prestige of a prince of Egypt. Participation in certain royal processions and enjoyment of entertainment would have been a normal part of his daily experience. The time had come, however, when one of the biggest decisions of his life had to be made and that related to identification. Should he remain in the royal court and enjoy all the luxuries afforded him there or cast his lot with the people of God? The poverty and daily humiliation of his own people was something that he could not ignore. Perhaps the godly influence of his mother in those early years of his life began to weigh heavy upon his conscience……After forty years, Moses was finally able to return to Egypt. The question that must have loomed large in his mind was, what could a man of eighty do for his people now?” (Davis pp. 67-68).

3:1 “on this occasion Moses had taken his flock beyond the steppe and had even left the arid desert north of the mountains behind….An abundance of water and enough food for large herds can be found in the valleys of the mountain range” (Gispen p. 49). “Horeb”-(HORH eb), is another name for Mount Sinai.

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“Horeb actually refers to a range of mountains. The particular peak where God appears was known as Sinai” (Smith p. 252). Horeb is called the “Mountain of God”, not because the Israelites thought that God lived on the mountain, but rather Horeb was the place where God had spoken to Moses (3:2) and upon which He would later give the law to His people (Exodus 3:12; 19:1ff).

Point To Note: Many feel that Jebel Musa (7363 ft), in the Sinai Peninsula is the best candidate for Mount Sinai. Others feel that a more northern peak in the same range, Ras es-Sufsafeh (6541 ft) would be a better choice. “This desert, together with the surrounding valleys, is large enough to accommodate even a people as numerous as Israel; from this desert the Gebel Musa is not visible, while the entire plain is visible from Ras es-Sufsafeh. Palmer, an Englishman, who in 1868-1870 traveled in the region of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness, calculated that the (plain before this mountain) is large enough to accommodate all of Israel’s estimated two million people is each person were allotted 11 square feet” (Gispen p. 50). To the Hebrews the backside of anything meant the west side.

3:2 It is clear that Moses isn’t having some sort of vision or mere inner experience. And what is happening cannot be explained on any natural basis.

From time to time people try to argue that the burning bush was nothing more than sunlight hitting the bush at a certain angle, a certain type of bush that produces a volatile oil and at times can suddenly burst into flames, etc….All these faithless explanations fail to: 1. Play attention to what the text says, the bush while being on fire, was not being consumed. What surprised Moses, was not that the bush was on fire, but rather that it wasn’t burning up (3:3). 2. The fact that Moses was an expert in the plant life of this area and wouldn’t have been surprised by seeming a bush with berries or leaves of a brilliant flaming color. In fact, Moses probably had a better understanding of the local plant life than many modern experts.

3:3-6 “We are immediately reminded that this was, in fact, a self-revelation of God to Moses. We do not have record here of a long search on the basis of trial and error method in which Moses ‘discovered’ theological truth” (Davis p. 71) In addition, lest anyone dismiss this account as mythical, one is immediately faced with the fact that Jesus not only appealed to these verses as being historical reality, but also used them to teach a tremendous truth concerning the resurrection of the dead, the nature of man and the afterlife (Matthew 22:29-32).

Which included the concept that while God spoke to Moses, for all practical purposes God had spoken to all succeeding generations as well, “have you not

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read that which was spoken to you, by God” (22:31). To remove one’s shoes was viewed as an act of reverence and humility before God (Joshua 5:15).

Those sandals carried the dirt from his journey, and man must be pure when he approaches God. In addition, “it may be the sign of acceptance of a servant’s position, for a slave usually went barefoot” (Coe p. 65). “The form the Lord chose for His appearance attested the peaceable purpose: the Lord could descend on an insignificant plant, symbol of that which is most humble and even despised, tempering His all-consuming blaze” (Gispen p. 52). The statement, “Do not come near here” (3:5), means “stop coming near, as you are doing”.

Jesus will note that the statement “I am” necessarily infers that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, though physically dead, are still alive, for God is not the God of nonexistent persons. Be impressed that Moses doesn’t bring a new or unknown god to his people. Moses hid his face, probably understanding that no man could see God and live (Genesis 33:20; Isaiah 6:2).

3:6-10 This self-disclosure of God reveals: God is holy, hence worshipping Him will always demand respect, reverence, and moral purity. He is the God of history (3:6). He is concerned about His creation, and takes note of man’s cruelty to his fellowman. He is merciful, and sympathetic to the needs of His people, He is always fully aware of our aches and pains. He doesn’t expect us to act like suffering is an illusion. He is also a God who hears and answers prayer. “The description here is that of a God who acts not above history, but in and through history” (Davis p. 71).

Points To Note: 1. The promised land was “spacious”, hence room for all the tribes. The expression flowing with milk and honey, means that it was a land of pastures, where flocks giving milk could be raised. It would be a land of flowers, and fruit trees, from which bees would make honey (Deut. 8:7-8). 2. The nations or tribes which already occupied the land are here listed. While they were all distantly related (descendants of Ham) (Genesis 10:15-19), they often fought among themselves. “Their society was based on a city-state system.

Prominent among the city-states in Canaan were Hazor, Jericho, Gezer, Megiddo, Jerusalem, Shechem, and Hebron. Cities such as these ruled as much territory as they could control….Morally, the Canaanites had become very degenerate” (Fields pp. 97-98) (See Genesis 15:16; Leviticus 18:1ff).

“In the list of the six people groups that inhabited Canaan, the first three are well known…Canaan is mentioned as early as the Ebla tablets (twenty-fourth century B.C.), and the Canaanite people were the principal inhabitants of the fortified cities of the land” (Walton & Matthews p. 88). Generally the Canaanites were the inhabitants of the western plains. Hittites probably refers to immigrant groups from the old Hittite empire in the north (modern Turkey). Amorites loosely occupied the central mountain range and northern

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Transjordan. In other documents they are called the “Amurru”. Perizzite may mean village-dweller or nomad, as opposed to those who lived in walled cities. Hivites, could be the same people as the Horites, or the Hurrians, who were people from the mountains north of Mesopotamia. The Jebusites occupied Jerusalem (Judges 1:21) all the way up to the time of David’s reign (2 Samuel 5:6).

The First Excuse Given By Moses 3:11-12 Far from being eager to take on the Egyptians, Moses is very hesitant, and offers the excuse, “Who am I?” The forty years in the wilderness had definitely humbled Moses. He felt that he was a nobody compared to Pharaoh.

Cole notes, “Self-distrust is good, but only if it leads to trust in God. Otherwise it ends as spiritual paralysis, inability and unwillingness to undertake any course of action” (p. 68). And yet, God reassures Moses that he won’t be alone in this undertaking. This time the end result will not be Moses fleeing, but Moses bringing the nation to worship God at this very mountain.

The Second Excuse 3:13-15 Moses wanted to know how he could validate his claims before the nation of Israel. 40 years previous, they had not been impressed with his efforts to deliver them. “In patriarchal times, new revelations of the ancestral God were sometimes accompanied or illustrated by a new title for God (Genesis 16:13; 22:14; 35:7)” (Fields p. 100). The name given isn’t entirely new, for Jehovah, Yahweh (YHWH) had been used in Abraham’s time (Genesis 15:2; 22:14), and long before then (Genesis 4:26). But it may have been neglected in Egypt, it may have been a title that the Hebrews had forgotten. “to all generations”(3:15) reveals that God is above time, culture and changing moods (Hebrews 13:8).

“I AM WHO I AM”-this expression is from a root word which means “to be”. This is the essential idea behind the Hebrew word Yahweh (YHWH), which is commonly translated “Jehovah” or LORD. “It carries the fundamental idea of the self-existence of God, and simply means ‘I am the One who is’” (Davis pp. 7273). The reader should note that the name Yahweh is also found in secular documents (i.e. in the years to comethe cultures which surrounded Israel knew that this was the name of the God they served) including the Mesha Inscription.

“The statement basically emphasizes the timelessness of God. He is the selfexisting one, the Eternal, the one without beginning or end” (Smith p. 253).

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3:16-18 In addition, God lets Moses know that the elders of Israel will not only believe him but also support him. “The request to Pharaoh is for a three-day religious pilgrimage into the wilderness. This would generally consist of one day for travel each way and one full day for the religious ceremonies” (Walton & Matthews p. 89). “No specific place was in mind. God foreknew Pharaoh was not going to release Israel, whether the request was for a brief or long trip. By making the request small, the refusal of Pharaoh would display the harness of his heart. Moses later enlarged his demand, for Pharaoh to grant them entire departure from the land (6:10)….Actually Pharaoh had no right to detain them.

Israel entered Egypt by invitation, and surely could leave upon request” (Fields pp. 102-103). God deliberately made the initial demand of Pharaoh as low as this in order to give Pharaoh every chance of granting it. If he was so stubborn as to refuse even this, there was no hope: he was without excuse.

3:19-22 Note that God’s foreknowledge didn’t determine how Pharaoh would react. Foreknowing the future doesn’t mean that such foreknowledge determines the future. God’s people would not leave empty-handed. “In a certain sense such objects were a small compensation for the 400 years of slavery and humiliation” (Davis p. 74). In addition, many of these objects were used in constructing the tabernacle and its furnishings (Exodus 35:5,22).

Carefully note what they weren’t told to ask for, i.e. food, weapons, armor, cattle, etc.. “the plundering of Egypt accentuates the fact that the king would declare war on the God of the Hebrews by his refusal; and the hand of the Lord would triumph so brilliantly that women and children would carry away the spoils” (Gispen p. 58).

Point To Note: A better translation than the KJV “borrow” in 3:22 is “ask” (NASV). God never asks His people to do something which is deceitful or dishonest. By the time that the Israelites would do this “asking” it was clear to everyone that they were leaving for good and never coming back (Exodus 12:31-36).

III. Chapter 4: The Third Excuse:

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4:1 Moses knew that people can be very skeptical, and he feared that the people wouldn’t believe that he had actually been sent by God. “He probably feared that his brothers would not even remember him after such a long absence” (Davis p. 74). Why should the Israelites believe a sheep-herding, fugitive who had already failed in one attempt to deliver them? In addition, it had been 430 years since God had spoken directly to any Israelite. And yet, Moses had forgotten that God had already promised that they would believe him (3:18).

4:2-9 Note the tenderness of God. God is working with Moses. God isn’t insensitive or uncaring, rather He gives Moses everything he really needs to accomplish the task being given to him. The fact that Moses fled from the snake, would seem to suggest that it was large and of a poisonous variety.

Grabbing such a snake by its tail was normally a dangerous thing to do! To follow the Lord’s directive took courage and faith. The leprous hand, “displayed the limitless and superhuman power of God. Leprosy usually was a disease of long duration….But in the case of Moses, the infection, the cure, and the cleansing were all immediate” (Fields p. 111). “The Egyptians regarded the Nile River as the source of life and productivity. So Moses’ showing the people that he had power over the Nile would prove that God had given Moses ability to overcome the Egyptians” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 113). “shows God’s control of the prosperity of Egypt, which was entirely dependent on the waters of the Nile. It also anticipates the plagues that God will send” (Walton & Matthews p. 89).

The Fourth Excuse

4:10 Now that Moses could no longer use the argument of Israel’s possible unbelief, he pointed to his own lack of eloquence. Stephen says that Moses was “a man of power in words and deeds” (7:22), and this was prior to being called

by God. Apparently, Moses is downplaying his abilities. But Moses might also be placing too much confidence in human ability. For what really would deliver Israel would not be an eloquent speaker, but the power of God. Moses is claiming that he had a hard time recalling words, a hard time putting his thoughts into words, and probably a hard time thinking on his feet and responding to the objections that a man like Pharaoh would present. Moses had to learn that God’s purposes do not depend upon human eloquence and wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:1-4). In fact, many people thought that Paul was a horrible speaker (2 Corinthians 10:10). But we can make the same mistake that Moses made, we can start thinking that presentation, atmosphere, human wit, etc…is more important than the gospel message itself (Romans 1:16).

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4:11 God isn’t impressed with this excuse. In fact, Moses’ excuse was actually an attack upon the wisdom of God. Moses was virtually saying, “God, you are making a mistake, you are displaying ignorance on your part in choosing me, for I am unqualified”. God reminded Moses that He was in ultimate control of man’s communication faculties. Before God selected Moses, God knew all about his speaking abilities. The verse isn’t teaching that God is directly responsible for every human disability, rather seeing that God has the power to create the organs that enable human speech, the power to harm and heal, obviously, God can make up for whatever real short-comings that Moses does have. In fact, God will inspire Moses, and give him the words to speak to Pharaoh (4:12). And Moses should of known this!

The Fifth Excuse

4:13 Which is more than an excuse. Actually Moses is turning God down, “Would you please send another person, I don’t want this job”. “it now became apparent that Moses was not speaking out of weakness, but out of a lack of obedience" (Davis pp. 76-77). This verse reveals that many of our excuses are nothing more than flat out disobedience.

4:14 We can see why God would be angry, in fact, I think that we are surprised that God hasn’t expressed such anger sooner in this conversation. For even the casual reader has become very frustrated with Moses and his excuses before this verse. But once again, tempered with His anger, we see the mercy of God. Far from being alone, Aaron at that very moment was coming to meet Moses, in addition Aaron was a very capable assistant.

4:15-16 These verses reveal the nature and definiteness of God’s communication to Moses. Inspiration involves God giving His servants specific words, i.e. verbal inspiration (1 Corinthians 2:13). Hence, a prophet is merely a mouthpiece or spokesman for God (2 Peter 1:20-21). In light of such verses we must reject the human theory that God gave such men merely vague concepts and then allowed such men to express these concepts using their own limited knowledge and vocabulary. Moses would be as God to Aaron, in the sense that Aaron must get his utterances totally from Moses, just as Moses got his message totally from God (see Exodus 7:1-2,19).

Moses Returns

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Jethro appears to have been a reasonable man. God also reassures Moses, that he no longer had to fear any consequences of the incident with the Egyptian; all those who wanted to kill him were dead. The rest of the narrative suggests that this incident was completely forgotten in Egypt. Does verse 19 infer that God felt that Moses’ actions against the Egyptian were justified? In verse 20 we learn that Moses has had another child while living in Midian.

Eliezer had also been born by this time (18:4). God also lets Moses know that Pharaoh will not be impressed by the signs (4:21), and that Pharaoh’s stubbornness will finally result in severe consequences for the Egyptians (4:23).

“The Lord already knew the outcome of the battle and predicted in Midian what later would be the tenth and final plague” (Gispen p. 63). God considers Israel His first-born, thus indicating a very special love and relationship. “The term firstborn is applied to the most honored son of a family, who would usually be the oldest. Pharaoh would have no difficulty in understanding the expression…

Pharaoh’s oldest son…would be specially honored and even sacred in many respects” (Fields p. 119). Hence, the message to Pharaoh would be clear: “You are abusing my favorite son—let him go, or else you will forfeit your favorite!”

God considers it a personal attack when the wicked abuse His people (Acts 9:14).

The Bridegroom of Blood: 4:24-26

4:24 At a lodging place on the way back to Egypt, the text says that the Lord met Moses and sought to put him to death. “How this happened, whether we have to think of a man who struggled with him and whom Moses and Zipporah recognized as the Lord (some translations read: ‘the angel of the Lord’), or an acute illness, we do not know” (Gispen p. 63).

4:25 But clearly Zipporah knew the exact reason that the Lord was upset with Moses. Without anyone telling her to do so she took a sharp rock and used it as a knife to circumcise her son. “It is generally the view of commentators that these words were an expression of reproach and unhappiness. They reflect the fact that Zipporah performed the rite grudgingly, not from a desire to obey the God of Moses, but primarily out of practical necessity to save his life” (Davis p.

79). Her disgust at the rite of circumcision seems clear, “You are a bridegroom of blood”, i.e. this is what her marriage to Moses had required of her, and that she felt that it was a cruel practice, and yet the only way for her to keep Moses as her husband. “Zipporah looked upon Moses’ near-death and hoped-for recovery as a renewal of their marriage, and therefore called him bridegroom” (Fields p. 122). This incident was a warning to Moses that he must obey God wholly and fulfill his mission.

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Points To Note: 1. Before Moses could lead the people of God, he had to demonstrate complete loyalty to God’s covenant with Abraham, which included circumcision (Genesis 17:14). He could not be the leader of Israel, if he had not first been a follower of God in his own house. 2. Some time after this event, Moses will send his wife and sons back to live with Jethro (Exodus 18:2-3). They will then be reunited with him about a year later.

4:27-31 Here we learn that God had also been communicating with Aaron. And just as God has promised, all the elders in Israel believed everything that Moses had said. The elders here are the clan leaders of Israel, they typically served as a ruling assembly overseeing the leadership of a village or community. Here they accept the legitimacy of Moses’ role as leader and acknowledge that he carries the authority of God.

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