Exodus 34 23

Exodus 34:23 kjv

Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel.

Exodus 34:23 nkjv

"Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the LORD God of Israel.

Exodus 34:23 niv

Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign LORD, the God of Israel.

Exodus 34:23 esv

Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel.

Exodus 34:23 nlt

Three times each year every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the LORD, the God of Israel.

Exodus 34 verses

Exodus 34 23 Meaning

Exodus 34:23 commands that all male Israelites must present themselves before the Lord God, the God of Israel, three times annually at the designated central sanctuary. This mandate established a fixed cycle of national pilgrimage and worship, ensuring regular corporate acknowledgement of God's sovereignty and remembrance of His redemptive acts. It underscored Israel's unique covenant relationship with Yahweh and their ongoing responsibility to Him as His chosen people.

Exodus 34 23 Context

Exodus 34:23 is situated within the renewed covenant instructions given to Moses on Mount Sinai, following Israel's egregious sin of the golden calf. Having broken the first set of tablets, Moses ascends the mountain again to receive new tablets and hear God's renewed covenant terms. This chapter, alongside Exodus 23, details core stipulations of the Mosaic covenant, emphasizing Israel's exclusive devotion to Yahweh and setting parameters for their religious and national life. The command to gather three times a year reinforces God's centrality to their existence, providing mandatory times for communal worship, thanksgiving, and national unity. This specific directive ensures that despite a wilderness existence and later scattered tribal lands, all Israelite males would annually gather at a central sanctuary (initially the tabernacle, later the Temple in Jerusalem) to maintain their covenant bond with God.

Exodus 34 23 Word analysis

• "Three times" (שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים - shalosh pe'amim): This precisely stipulated frequency, a divine mandate, not optional, highlights the non-negotiable importance of these annual convocations. It denotes the minimum required, underscoring the priority of collective worship in God's covenant with Israel.
• "in the year" (בַּשָּׁנָה - bashshanah): Specifies an annual cycle, creating a rhythmic and recurring commitment to communal worship and remembrance, aligning the national religious calendar with the agricultural seasons.
• "all your males" (כָּל־זְכוּרְךָ - kol-zekhūrkā): This phrase mandates the attendance of every Israelite male capable of travel, signifying a universal obligation within the male population to represent their households and the nation. It reflects the patriarchal structure where males were the covenantal heads of their families. While women and children were encouraged to attend and often did, the direct command for pilgrimage rested upon the male.
• "shall appear" (יֵרָאֶה - yēra'eh): This is the Niphal passive form of the Hebrew verb רָאָה (ra'ah), meaning "to see." While grammatically "be seen," in this theological context, especially when paired with "before the Lord," it is universally understood and rendered as "present oneself" or "appear." It implies an active, intentional act of presenting oneself reverently before the divine presence, an act of pilgrimage and worship rather than a passive viewing.
• "before the Lord God" (אֶת־פְּנֵי הָאָדוֹן יְהוָה - 'et-pənēy hā-'Ādhōn Yahweh): Literally "before the face of the Lord YHWH." This signifies coming into the immediate, manifest presence of God at His chosen sanctuary. "Ādhōn" (Lord, Master) emphasizes His absolute sovereignty, while "Yahweh" (YHWH), the sacred covenant name, underscores His personal, faithful relationship with Israel. This highlights the intensely personal and profound nature of these encounters.
• "the God of Israel" (אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל - 'Ĕlōhēy Yiśrā'ēl): This specific designation identifies Yahweh as uniquely bound to the nation of Israel through covenant. It affirms His particular choice of and relationship with Israel, distinguishing Him from the pagan deities of surrounding nations and emphasizing Israel's unique identity as His people.

Words-group by Words-group analysis:

• "Three times in the year all your males shall appear": This cluster encapsulates the core command: frequency, demographic, and required action. It highlights the divine scheduling of Israel’s religious life and the mandatory nature of corporate worship for its male populace, ensuring a periodic national re-affirmation of the covenant.
• "before the Lord God, the God of Israel": This phrase details the divine object of worship and relationship. It stresses God's ultimate authority ("Lord God") and His specific, covenantal bond with the nation ("the God of Israel"), creating a sacred space for direct interaction between His chosen people and Himself. This unique identification reinforces Israel's distinctiveness.

Exodus 34 23 Bonus section

The three pilgrimage feasts, commanded in this verse and others, are often seen as types or shadows of significant events in redemptive history, ultimately finding their fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

• Passover/Unleavened Bread (Spring): Foreshadows Christ, the Passover Lamb, whose sacrifice atones for sin, initiating the new covenant and a life free from the leaven of sin.
• Feast of Weeks / Pentecost (Early Summer): Foreshadows the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Church, completing Christ's work by empowering believers for witness and service, effectively establishing the spiritual harvest of souls.
• Feast of Booths / Tabernacles (Autumn): Foreshadows God's dwelling with His people in a perfect and eternal communion, both in the present through the Holy Spirit and ultimately in the eternal state (Rev 21:3), signifying joyful ingathering and divine presence.

This command ensured economic stability for the individual, as Deut 16:17 specifies bringing offerings "as he is able," linking thanksgiving directly to divine blessing. God promised security (Ex 34:24) from enemies for a nation whose males would leave their homes simultaneously for pilgrimage.

Exodus 34 23 Commentary

Exodus 34:23 establishes a foundational element of Israel's national and religious identity: the three annual pilgrimage feasts. These mandated appearances before God at a central sanctuary—Passover/Unleavened Bread, Weeks (Pentecost), and Booths (Tabernacles)—served multiple purposes. They reinforced communal unity, fostering a sense of shared heritage and covenant through common worship experiences. Spiritually, they provided regular opportunities for the entire male population, representing their families, to remember and give thanks for God's mighty acts of salvation, provision, and covenant faithfulness. Agriculturally, they marked the key seasons of harvest and provided occasions to acknowledge God as the giver of all sustenance. Furthermore, these gatherings were didactic, serving as times when God’s laws could be reaffirmed and taught, binding the people to His commands. Obedience to this command demonstrated Israel's loyalty and continued dependence on God's protection (Ex 34:24 implicitly promises safety during pilgrimage). Ultimately, these earthly pilgrimages foreshadowed a greater reality of humanity presenting itself before God in heavenly worship, culminating in the spiritual pilgrimages and appearances before Christ in the New Covenant.