Exodus 19:17

17 Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

Exodus 19:17 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 19:17

And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp
Which was before the mountain and near it, when the above tokens were given of the divine Presence on it; as they were thrown into a panic upon the sound of the trumpet, it was, perhaps, with some difficulty that they were brought out of the camp, or persuaded to quit it; and nothing short of the presence of Moses at the head of them, to go before them, and lead them to the foot of the mountain, could have prevailed upon them to have done it:

to meet with God;
who came forth in such an awful and solemn manner, as their King and lawgiver, to deliver a body of laws to them, to be the rule of their future conduct:

and they stood at the nether part of the mount;
at the bottom of it, where bounds were set, and a fence made, that they should proceed no further, and yet near enough to hear what God said to Moses and to them.

Exodus 19:17 In-Context

15 He told them, “Get ready for the third day, and until then abstain from having sexual intercourse.”

16 On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled.

17 Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

18 All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the LORD had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently.

19 As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply.