Exodus 24:14

Exo 24:14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur [are] with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.

Ver. 14. And Hur.] {See Trapp on "Exo 17:10"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us--There is a circular valley or hollow a good way up on the brow of Jebel Musa, which was their halting place, while he alone was privileged to ascend the highest peak. The people stood below, as in the "outer court," the elders in the "holy place," Moses, as a type of Christ, in "the holy of holies."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 14. Tarry ye here for us] Probably Moses did not know that he was to continue so long on the mount, nor is it likely that the elders tarried the whole forty days where they were: they doubtless, after waiting some considerable time, returned to the camp; and their return is supposed to have been the grand cause why the Israelites made the golden calf, as they probably reported that Moses was lost.

Aaron and Hur are with you] Not knowing how long he might be detained on the mount, and knowing that many cases might occur which would require the interference of the chief magistrate, Moses constituted them regents of the people during the time he should be absent.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(14) He said unto the elders.—Moses understood that his stay in the mount was about to be a prolonged one (see Exo_24:12). He therefore prudently determined to make arrangements for the government and direction of the people during his absence. Aaron his brother, and Hur, the father of Bezaleel, perhaps his brother- in-law, seemed to him the fittest persons to exercise authority over the people during his absence; and accordingly he named them as the persons to whom application was to be made under any circumstances of difficulty.

Here.—In the plain below the mountain. The injunction was that the camp should not be moved until Moses came down, however long he might be detained by the Divine colloquy.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. And unto the elders he said] viz. before going up into the mount (v. 13). The elders are not the seventy mentioned by J in vv. 1, 9 (among whom Hur is not named, and who are not likely to have had forensic differences while waiting for Moses’ return), but the elders in the camp, who would naturally take the lead during Moses’ absence, and who are bidden here not to move (with the camp) from where they are, till he and Joshua return. Perhaps (Nöld., We., Bä.) elders is even a harmonistic correction for people, suggested by vv. 1, 9.

whosoever hath a cause, &c.] if during Moses’ absence any differences arise among the people, requiring for their settlement the intervention of a judge, they must be referred to Aaron and Hur (Exo_17:10; Exo_17:12), as his representatives. The judicial organization established in ch. 18 does not seem to be presupposed; the verse thus supports the conclusion (p. 162) that ch. 18 once stood after ch. 24.

a cause] lit. words: see on Exo_23:8; cf. (for the Heb.) Isa_50:8.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he said unto the elders,.... The seventy elders which were selected out of the several tribes of Israel, and now about to return to the camp:

tarry ye here for us; meaning himself and Joshua, who was going with him:

until we come again unto you; perhaps Moses might not know how long his stay would be at the top of the mount, but supposed it would be some time by the provision he makes for hearing and adjusting cases in his absence:

and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; Hur is not mentioned before, as being with Moses and the rest; but doubtless he was, at least it is highly probable he was one of the seventy elders of him; see Gill on Exo 17:10.

if any man have any matters to do: any cases to be considered, any cause to be tried in difference between him and another man, and which cannot be determined by the inferior judges, is too difficult for them to take in hand:

let him come unto them; bring his case before them, and have their advice and opinion, and be determined by them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Wait ye. They returned soon to the camp; and the people not perceiving Moses with them, and supposing he was dead, made the golden calf.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

For us, i.e. for me and Joshua, and here, i.e. in the camp, where he was when he spake these words; for it was where not only Aaron and Hur, but the people might come, as it here follows, and therefore not upon the mount. Moses had made

Aaron and Hur joint-commissioners, to determine hard causes which were brought to them from the elders, according to the order, Exo 18:22. Some make Aaron the ecclesiastical head, and Hur the civil head; but Aaron was not authorized for ecclesiastical matters till Exo 28.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. Tarry ye — Moses appeared to know that he would be absent from the camp some time, and hence the instructions here given to the elders.

Aaron and Hur — Comp. Exo_17:10; Exo_17:12, notes. It would seem that Moses and Joshua parted from the elders on the spot where they ate and drank together, (Exo_24:11;) in which case it is of course to be understood that the elders would return to the camp and abide in their tents as usual until Moses returned. Possibly, however, as Keil supposes, Moses and the elders went down again to the camp together after the covenant meal.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he said unto the elders. Before taking his departure for the long sojourn implied in God"s address to him, "Come up to me into the mount, and be there" (ver. 12), Moses thought it necessary to give certain directions to the elders as to what they should do in his absence

1. They were to remain where they werei.e. , in the plain at the foot of Sinai, until his return, however long it should be delayed.

2. They were to regard Aaron and Hur as their leaders, and his (Moses") representatives. In case of any difficulty arising, they were to refer the matter to them. On Hur see the comment upon Exo_17:12.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

wait for us

"wait for Joshua and me"

Hur

Hur was a man who was a friend of Moses and Aaron. See how you translated this name in Exodus 17:10. (See: How to Translate Names)

translationWords

Moses

elder

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ואל הזקנים אמר BUT UNTO THE ELDERS HE SAID when he left the camp (אמר in the sequence of verbs which we find here denotes the pluperfect; the translation therefore is: and to the elders he had said).

שבו לנו בזה ABIDE YE HERE FOR US and stay ye with all the other people in the camp so as to be ready to decide his dispute for each man.

חור [AND] HUR — He was the son of Miriam and his father was Caleb the son of Jephunneh, as it is said, (1 Chr. 2:9) “Caleb took unto him Ephrath, who bare him Hur”; and Ephrath is identical with Miriam, as it is stated in Treatise Sotah 11b.

מי בעל דברים HE WHO HAS ANY MATTER TO DO — i. e. he who has any law-suit.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND UNTO THE ELDERS HE SAID: ‘TARRY YE HERE FOR US.’ The meaning of this is that when Moses parted from them with his minister, he commanded them that they should tarry there. It does not mean that they were to stay there day and night until their return, for he said, and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whosoever hath a cause, let him come near unto them, and it is in the camp that parties to a dispute would be found, since that was where the seat of justice was, and he had already told everybody, Return ye to your tents. But the meaning of tarry ye here is that they should stay at that place, and should not break through to come up to them, even to the place where Joshua was, until he [Moses] would come back to them.In my opinion it is possible that the explanation of the verse is as follows: “Sit [translated as “tarry”] in its literal meaning: “sit” — sit in court in our place and act as a substitute for us. in our place and serve as a substitute for us in the camp; Aaron and Hur are with you, and whosoever hath a cause — one of those hard causes that they would bring to me — let him come near unto them in my place.” He said unto them as a special recognition to Aaron and Hur, for they were to come before all the elders and they would all be assembled at one place, just as he said Aaron and Hur are with you. Thus Moses commanded that the elders together with Aaron and Hur should sit as a court, just as he himself did, over the officers of thousands and hundreds, until he returns, since he knew that he would tarry in the mountain. He said: for us [tarry ye here ‘for us’] as a mark of honor to his disciple, just as he said to Joshua, Choose us out men. This is a correct interpretation. But Rashi wrote: “And unto the elders he said — when he left the camp, Tarry ye here for us — stay you with the rest of the people so as to be ready to judge each man’s dispute.” But this is impossible, for they were not at that moment in the camp, and what sense would there be for him to tell them so when they were in the camp and had already been appointed as judges!Terumah

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.