Exodus 24:16

Exo 24:16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

Ver. 16. Six days.] The people had but three days of preparation to receive the law; Moses hath six. Singular holiness is required of ministers: the measures of the sanctuary were double to the ordinary, as the shekel, cubit, &c. Ministers had need wish, as Elisha did, a doubled and trebled spirit, that they may save themselves and those that hear them. {1Ti 4:16}

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.

Exo 24:16. A cloud covered the mount six days — A visible token of God’s special presence there, for he so shows himself to us, as at the same time to conceal himself from us; he lets us know so much as to assure us of his power and grace, but intimates to us that we cannot find him out to perfection. During these six days Moses stayed waiting upon the mountain, for a call into the presence-chamber. And on the seventh day — Probably the sabbath day; he called unto Moses — Now the thick cloud opened in the sight of all Israel, and the glory of the Lord broke forth like devouring fire.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Or, him.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 16. And the seventh day he called] It is very likely that Moses went up into the mount on the first day of the week; and having with Joshua remained in the region of the cloud during six days, on the seventh, which was the Sabbath, God spake to him, and delivered successively to him, during forty days and forty nights, the different statutes and ordinances which are afterwards mentioned.

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

(16) The seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.—Moses, it is evident, would not enter the cloud without a positive summons. It pleased God to put off the summons for six days. Moses doubtless employed the time in such prayer and meditation as rendered him fit for near contact with Deity.

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

And the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Sinai,.... The divine Shechinah or Majesty, some visible token of it, an exceeding great brightness and splendour:

and the cloud covered it six days; either the glory of the Lord, so that it could not be seen it had been; or the mount, as Jarchi; but that is observed before, unless repeated for the sake of the time it covered it, six days; or him, Moses, as some in Jarchi, who for six days together was covered with a thick cloud, so that he was not seen by any while on the mountain; and thus he remained, until he was admitted into the immediate presence of God, for which he was now preparing: what he did, or was made known to him during this time, is not said; it is probable his thoughts were employed about the glory and greatness of the divine Being; and as he was abstracted from earthly men and things, he was more at leisure to contemplate on divine and heavenly things, and so was more fitted for an intercourse with God, and had more courage and presence of mind to enter into it:

and on the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud; in which the glory of God was, and which seems to favour the first sense of the preceding clause, that it was the glory of God the cloud covered.

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

Called him, to come up still higher, while Josue remained there.

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).

The glory of the Lord, i.e. the tokens of his glorious presence in the fire, Exo 24:17; Deu 4:36.

The cloud covered it from the eyes of the people.

The seventh day; so long God made Moses wait, either to exercise his humility, devotion, and dependence upon God; or to prepare him by degrees for so great a work; or because this was the sabbath day, called therefore the seventh with an emphatical article; and God might choose that day for the beginning of that glorious work, to put the greater honour upon it, and oblige the people to a stricter observance of it. So it was upon a Lord’s day that St. John had his revelation delivered to him, Rev 1:10.

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

16. Glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai — Compare the theophany as described in Exo_19:16-20. Whether the six days here mentioned were subsequent to Moses’s departure from the elders or previous to it, is a question not easily determined by the text. Either supposition is possible. The order of statements in the narrative does not determine the question, for in Exo_24:13-14 we observe that Moses’s direction for the elders is spoken after it is said that he and Joshua went up into the mount. In the note above, on Exo_24:9, we have given preference to the view that the sacrificial feast was prolonged for six days, during which time all that is recorded in Exo_24:3-11 occurred. During this solemn sealing of the covenant it was appropriate that the cloud should cover the mountain, and that on the seventh day Moses should be called to go up and receive the further revelations.

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

Now occurred a remarkable pause. The summons had been given to Moses, and he had obeyed it. He was there on the platform a little below the summit, ready, but waiting for a further call. The call was not made for six days. A holy calm reigned upon Sinai the cloud rested upon the summit, and in the cloud was the glory of the Lord. Moses and Joshua waited near but for six days there was no sign. God thus taught Moses, and through him the world, that near approach to him requires long and careful preparation. Moses, no doubt, was occupied during the six days in continual prayer. At last, on the seventh day, the call, which Moses had expected, came. God called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. God summoned him to a closer approach bade him enter the cloud and draw as nigh to him as possible.

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

A cloud covered the mount six days - A visible token of God's special presence there, for he so shews himself to us, as at the same time to conceal himself from us, he lets us know so much as to assure us of his power and grace, but intimates to us that we cannot find him out to perfection. During these six days Moses staid waiting upon the mountain, for a call into the presence- chamber. And on the seventh day - Probably the sabbath-day, he called unto Moses. Now the thick cloud opened in the sight of all Israel, and the glory of the Lord broke forth like devouring fire.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Yahweh's glory

This was the brilliant light of God's presence. AT: "The brilliant light showing God's presence" (See: Metonymy)

like a devouring fire

This means the glory of Yahweh was very large and seemed to burn brightly like a fire. AT: "like a big fire burning" (See: Simile)

in the eyes of the Israelites

Their eyes represent seeing, and seeing represents their thoughts or judgment about they saw. AT: "to the Israelites" (See: Metaphor)

forty days and forty nights

"40 days and 40 nights" (See: Numbers)

translationWords

Yahweh

glory

Sinai

call

devour

fire

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

ויכסהו הענן AND THE CLOUD COVERED IT (lit., “him”) [SIX DAYS] — Our Rabbis are of different opinions as to what this passage means. Some of them hold that these were the six days from the first of Sivan (until the Feast of Weeks, the day of the Giving of the Law) —

and that the word ויכסהו in the phrase ויכסהו הענן “the cloud covered him” or covered “it” means that it covered the mountain.

ויקרא אל משה ביום השביעי AND HE CALLED UNTO MOSES ON THE SEVENTH DAY of Sivan to utter the Ten Commandments. It is true that Moses and all Israel were standing there but the text states, “He called unto Moses” merely to give special honour to Moses calling him by name. Others, however, say that the passage means: AND THE CLOUD COVERED HIM — Moses, FOR SIX DAYS after the Ten Commandments had been given. These were at the beginning of the forty days which Moses spent on Mount Sinai when he went up to receive the Tablets, and Scripture teaches you that whosoever enters the camp of the Divine Majesty (here the mountain and later on the Holy of Holies) requires separation from others (must live in seclusion) for six days (Yoma 4a).

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.