Exodus 24 — Hebrew and Greek compared
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Same 2 Similar 5 Different 8 Divergent 2 Disparate 1
Disparate in this chapter: 24:10
Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.
The Ceremony of the Covenant
24:1 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:1 He said to Moses, “Come up to YHWH, you, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders, and bow down from a distance.
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:1 He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders, and they shall bow down to the Lord from a distance.
Greek changes to “they shall bow down” and repeats the divine object. Here its term is presbyteroi, “elders,” not gerousia, “council.” [G24]
24:2 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:2 Moses alone shall approach YHWH. They shall not approach, and the people shall not come up with him.”
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:2 Moses alone shall approach God. They shall not approach, and the people shall not come up with them.”
Greek says “God” and “with them”; Hebrew says YHWH and “with him.”
24:3 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:3 Moses came and told the people all YHWH’s words and ordinances. All the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything YHWH has spoken.”
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:3 Moses came in and related to the people all God’s words and ordinances. All the people answered with one voice, “We will do and obey everything the Lord has spoken.”
Greek adds “and obey,” corresponding to the pledge in verse 7. [G24]
24:4 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:4 Moses wrote down all YHWH’s words. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve pillars for Israel’s twelve tribes.
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:4 Moses wrote down all the Lord’s words. Moses rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve stones for Israel’s twelve tribes.
Hebrew names pillars; Greek stones.
24:5 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:5 He sent young men of the sons of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as peace offerings to YHWH.
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:5 He sent young men of the sons of Israel, who offered whole burnt offerings and sacrificed calves as a sacrifice of well-being to God.
Greek specifies calves and calls the offering soterion, a well-being or saving offering in this sacrificial context. It does not itself name a Christian sacrament.
24:6 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:6 Moses took half the blood and put it in basins; the other half he dashed against the altar.
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:6 Moses took half the blood and poured it into bowls; the other half he poured against the altar.
Both divide the blood; its application is described differently.
24:7 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:7 He took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. They said, “We will do and obey everything YHWH has spoken.”
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:7 He took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. They said, “We will do and obey everything the Lord has spoken.”
24:8 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:8 Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, saying, “Look, the blood of the covenant YHWH has made with you concerning all these words.”
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:8 Moses took the blood and sprinkled it over the people, saying, “Look, the blood of the covenant the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.”
The covenant declaration agrees in substance. Its importance in Christian reception does not make the texts Disparate. [G24]
Saints reception: Hebrews 9:18–22 recalls the covenant blood and quotes its declaration in a developed account of covenant inauguration. Its additional details are not inserted into Exodus. [S-Heb9]
The Covenant Meal and Theophany
24:9 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:9 Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders went up,
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:9 Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s council of elders went up,
Greek gerousia names the council of elders.
24:10 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:10 and they saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was something like a pavement of sapphire, clear as the very heavens.
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:10 and they saw the place where the God of Israel stood. What was beneath His feet was like sapphire brickwork, like the appearance of the firmament of heaven in its clarity.
Hebrew narrates seeing the God of Israel; Greek narrates seeing the place where God stood. The represented object of the theophanic vision materially differs. No motive of theological censorship is inferred.
24:11 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:11 He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel. They beheld God, and ate and drank.
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:11 Not one of Israel’s chosen men was missing. They appeared in the place of God, and ate and drank.
The preservation and vision clauses differ substantially. Greek ophthēsan is passive: “they appeared/were seen,” not “they saw.” [H24; G24]
Moses Enters the Glory Cloud
24:12 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:12 YHWH said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there. I will give you the stone tablets, the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there. I will give you the stone tablets, the law and commandments I have written to establish law for them.”
Both connect the written law with instruction or legislation for the people.
24:13 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:13 Moses rose with Joshua his attendant, and Moses went up the mountain of God.
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:13 Moses rose with Joshua, who attended him, and they went up the mountain of God.
Hebrew explicitly names Moses as the one ascending; Greek uses “they.” Joshua is the person named by Greek Iesous here.
24:14 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:14 He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute may approach them.”
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:14 They said to the elders, “Remain here until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are with you. If anyone has a dispute, let them approach them.”
Hebrew says “he said”; Greek says “they said.”
24:15 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:15 Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:15 Moses and Joshua went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
The consulted Greek adds Joshua, not Aaron as V1 claimed. [G24]
24:16 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:16 YHWH’s glory settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day He called to Moses from within the cloud.
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:16 God’s glory descended on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called Moses from within the cloud.
Hebrew says the glory settled; Greek says it descended and explicitly names the Lord as the speaker.
24:17 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:17 The appearance of YHWH’s glory was like a consuming fire on the mountain’s summit in the sight of the sons of Israel.
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:17 The appearance of the Lord’s glory was like a blazing fire on the mountain’s summit before the sons of Israel.
Both compare the visible glory to fire.
24:18 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
24:18 Moses entered the cloud and went up the mountain. Moses remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Greek · Saints priority
G 24:18 Moses entered the cloud and went up the mountain. He remained there on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Saints reception: Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 28.2–3, uses ascent into the mountain and cloud as a mystical image of purified theological contemplation. [S-Greg28]
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Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.