Exodus - 32:26



26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoever is on Yahweh's side, come to me!" All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Exodus 32:26.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoso is on Jehovah's side, let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
Then standing in the gate of the camp, he said: If any man be on the Lord's side let him join with me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him:
then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoso is on the LORD'S side, let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.
Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come to me. And all the sons of Levi assembled themselves to him.
and Moses standeth in the gate of the camp, and saith, 'Who is for Jehovah?, unto me!' and all the sons of Levi are gathered unto him;
Then Moses took his place at the way into the tents, and said, Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come to me. And all the sons of Levi came together to him.
and standing at the gate of the camp, said: "If anyone is for the Lord, let him join with me." And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him.
Stetit ergo Moses in porta castrorum, et dixit, Quis est Jehovae? Ad me. Et eongregati sunt ad eum omnes filii Levi.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Who is on the Lord's side? - That is, Who among you is free from this transgression? And all the sons of Levi, etc. - It seems they had no part in this idolatrous business.

Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp,.... In one of the gates of it; for it doubtless had more than one to go in and out of, as is clear from Exodus 32:27 it being probably entrenched all around; here Moses set himself, it being the usual place, as in cities, where the people were summoned together on important occasions, and justice and judgment were administered:
and said, who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me; who is for the worship of the true God, and him only, and against the worship of a gold calf, or any other idol, and is zealous for the glory of God, and the honour of his name:
and all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him; that is, all those that had not given in to the idolatry of the calf; all is put for many. Jarchi infers from hence, that this tribe was wholly free from that sin; but the contrary is most evident, for it appears from the context that many of them were slain for it; yea, as, on the one hand, they were only of the tribe of Levi, who joined themselves to Moses, though there was no doubt many in all the tribes that were not in the idolatry; so, on the other hand, there were none slain, or very few, but of the tribe of Levi, as will appear in the exposition of the following verses, the being principally concerned with Aaron in making the calf; and therefore those of the same tribe that joined them not were the more zealous and studious to purge themselves from the imputation of the crime, by going over to Moses at once, and showing themselves to be on the Lord's side.

Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said--The camp is supposed to have been protected by a rampart after the attack of the Amalekites.
Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me--The zeal and courage of Moses was astonishing, considering he opposed an intoxicated mob. The people were separated into two divisions, and those who were the boldest and most obstinate in vindicating their idolatry were put to death, while the rest, who withdrew in shame or sorrow, were spared.

Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, the place of judgment; and said, Who is on the Lord's side? - The idolaters had set up the golden calf for their standard, and now Moses sets up his in opposition to them.

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