And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.

EXODUS 19:23KJV
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Exodus 19:23 (KJV)

What does Exodus 19:23 mean?

Exodus 19:23 records Moses telling the LORD that the people cannot go up Mount Sinai because God had already commanded them to set boundaries around the mountain and to make it holy. Moses is reminding God that he has followed the instructions to keep the people at a distance for their safety and out of respect for God's holiness.

In this verse, Moses is speaking directly to the LORD (Yahweh) during the events at Mount Sinai, just before the giving of the Ten Commandments. The context is that God has warned that anyone who crosses the set boundaries and touches the mountain will die, emphasizing the seriousness of approaching God's presence. Moses is assuring God that the people have been properly warned and the mountain has been set apart as sacred.

The Hebrew behind Exodus 19:23

  • "Set bounds" (גָּבַל, gavál): This word means to mark off or set a boundary. The command to set physical limits around the mountain shows the seriousness of respecting God's holiness and the danger of approaching Him carelessly.
  • "Sanctify" (קָדַשׁ, qadásh): This word means to make something holy or set it apart for God. The mountain itself is treated as sacred space, not just the people, highlighting the unique presence of God at Sinai.

Why Exodus 19:23 matters

  • This verse clarifies that Moses was careful to obey God's instructions exactly, showing the importance of following God's commands when dealing with holy matters.
  • Exodus 19:23 emphasizes the separation between God and the people at this moment, underlining the idea that God's presence is powerful and not to be approached lightly.
  • The verse connects to the larger narrative of Exodus 19, where the preparation and boundaries set at Sinai prepare the people for receiving God's law, showing that access to God requires both reverence and obedience.

Where else these words appear

“bounds” Hebrew H1379 · used in 5 verses

  • Exodus 19:12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:
  • Deuteronomy 19:14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
  • Joshua 18:20 And Jordan was the border of it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the coasts thereof round about, according to their families.

“Sinai” Hebrew H5514 · used in 34 verses

  • Exodus 16:1 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
  • Exodus 34:32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai.
  • Numbers 9:5 And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.

“chargedst” Hebrew H5749 · used in 40 verses

  • Genesis 43:3 And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
  • 2 Kings 17:15 And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.
  • Psalms 146:9 The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.