Three interpretative trends address the vision at the ratification of the Sinai covenant in Exod. 24:10. Traditions relate whether God or a throne was seen, as well as the consequences for this vision for the leaders and history of the Israelites.
SKU (ISBN): 978-1-4632-0106-7
Publication Status: In Print
Publication Date: Sep 26,2012
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Page Count: 24
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-4632-0106-7
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Your price: $21.00
This chapter focuses on three interpretative trends that address the vision at the ratification of the Sinai covenant. The Israelite leaders ascended Mount Sinai where they saw "the God of Israel: under his feet there was the likeness of brick-work of sapphire [lapis lazuli], like the very sky for purity" (Exod. 24:10). The Aramaic translations gloss over the implication that God can be seen; the leaders only see the "throne of Glory". One midrashic tradition claims that what or how they saw was forbidden and the leaders were punished. Another links the vision to a horrific, yet pivotal moment in the Israelites' oppression in Egypt.