Exodus 24:11

11 And he sent not his hand on the lords of the sons of Israel, that had gone far away (But he did not put his hand upon the leaders of the Israelites, who were there before him); and they saw God, and (then they) ate and drank.

Exodus 24:11 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 24:11

And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his
hand
Which some interpret of his hand of prophecy, and of the measure of the Spirit, such an one as Moses had, and by virtue of which he lived forty days and nights without eating and drinking; but these not having such a measure of the Spirit, were obliged to eat and drink to support nature, as in the next clause: but it is rather to be understood of the hand of God; he did not inflict any disease or death upon them on their sight of him, it being a notion that no man could see God and live; but these men did live, not only Moses, and Aaron and his two sons, but the seventy elders, who were the principal choicest persons among the children of Israel; wherefore the Targum of Jonathan wrongly restrains this to Nadab and Abihu:

also they saw God, and did eat and drink:
though they saw God, they continued alive and well, and in good health, of which their eating and drinking were a sign and evidence; or they ate, as Abendana, the sacrifices of the peace offerings, which were usually eaten by the priests and the people; and as a feast was common at covenant making, here was a feast kept by the elders, the representatives of the people, when they covenanted with God. Onkelos favours this sense,

``and they rejoiced in their sacrifices, which were accepted with good will, as if they had ate and drank.''

Exodus 24:11 In-Context

9 And (then) Moses, and Aaron, and Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elder men of Israel went up,

10 and saw [the] God of Israel, (and) under his feet, they saw as the work of a sapphire stone, and as heaven when it is clear. (and they saw the God of Israel, and under his feet they saw a pavement made out of sapphire stones, yea, like the heavens when they be clear blue.)

11 And he sent not his hand on the lords of the sons of Israel, that had gone far away (But he did not put his hand upon the leaders of the Israelites, who were there before him); and they saw God, and (then they) ate and drank.

12 Forsooth the Lord said to Moses, Come thou up to me into the hill, and be thou there, and I shall give to thee tables of stone, and the law, and commandments, which I have written, that thou teach them. (And the Lord said to Moses, Come thou up the mountain to me, and be thou here, and I shall give thee the stone tablets on which I have written the Law, yea, the commandments, so that thou can teach them to the people.)

13 [And] Moses and Joshua, his minister, rose, and Moses went up into the hill of God, (And Moses and Joshua, his servant, arose, and Moses went up the mountain to God,)