Exodus 19:3

3 Then Moses went up on the mountain to God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, "Say this to the family of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:

Exodus 19:3 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 19:3

And Moses went up unto God
Who was in the pillar of cloud upon the top of the mount; this was on the second day, according to the Targum of Jonathan: "the Lord called unto him out of the mountain"; or had called unto him, as Aben Ezra, since without his leave he could not have gone up. He called to him out of the cloud upon the top of the mountain to come up, and being come near him, he called to him, and spoke with an articulate voice, as follows:

saying, thus shalt thou say, to the house of Jacob, and tell the
children of Israel;
which are the same, and are described as descending from the same person, who was called by both names; the one was his name in the former and lower state of his life, the other in the latter and more prosperous one; and his posterity are called by these two names, as Bishop Patrick observes, to put them in mind, that they who had lately been as low as Jacob, when he went to Padanaram, were now grown as great as God made him when he came from thence, and was called Israel.

Exodus 19:3 In-Context

1 Exactly three months after the Israelites had left Egypt, they reached the Desert of Sinai.
2 When they left Rephidim, they came to the Desert of Sinai and camped in the desert in front of the mountain.
3 Then Moses went up on the mountain to God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, "Say this to the family of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:
4 'Every one of you has seen what I did to the people of Egypt. You saw how I carried you out of Egypt, as if on eagle's wings. And I brought you here to me.
5 So now if you obey me and keep my agreement, you will be my own possession, chosen from all nations. Even though the whole earth is mine,
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.