וְאֶל־מֹשֶׁ֨ה אָמַ֜ר עֲלֵ֣ה אֶל־יְהוָ֗ה אַתָּה֙ וְאַהֲרֹן֙ נָדָ֣ב וַאֲבִיה֔וּא וְשִׁבְעִ֖ים מִזִּקְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶ֖ם מֵרָחֹֽק׃
Kepada Musa Ia berfirman: “Naiklah kepada Yang Mahakekal, engkau dan Harun, Nadab dan Abihu, serta tujuh puluh orang dari para tua-tua Israel, lalu sujudlah kamu dari jauh.
Rashi
ואחר באו משה ואהרן AND AFTERWARDS MOSES AND AARON CAME — But the elders slipped away one by one from behind Moses and Aaron until every-one of them had slipped away before they arrived at the palace, because they were afraid to go there. At Sinai they were punished for this, for it is stated (Exodus 24:2) “And Moses alone shall draw near unto the Lord, but they, (the elders; cf. Exodus 24:1) shall not draw near” — He bid them stay behind. (Exodus Rabbah 5:14)
Ramban
AND HE CALLED UNTO MOSES; AND THE ETERNAL SPOKE UNTO HIM. Scripture states [the fact that G-d called to Moses] here and not in other places, because Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of Meeting,31Exodus 40:35. and to draw near the place where G-d was,32Ibid., 20:18. except through G-d calling him [to come into the Tent of Meeting]. For Moses had already been told, and I will speak with thee from above the ark-cover;33Ibid., 25:22. where I will meet with thee.34Ibid., 30:36. Since he knew that the Eternal that sitteth upon the cherubim35I Chronicles 13:6. was there, Moses was afraid to come into the Tent at all until He called him, just as it was at Mount Sinai where it is said, and on the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.36Exodus 24:16. See also Note 7 above. Or it may be that Moses did not know that the Glory of G-d was in the Tent and that the communication to him would be from there,37For Moses thought that he would hear the Divine Voice speaking to him from above the ark-cover, but actually the Holy One, blessed be He, would be speaking from heaven (Abohab). See also Ramban on Exodus 40:2, Vol. II, p. 619. since the cloud did not cover the Tent of Meeting until the eighth day of the installation according to the opinion of our Rabbis;38“And it came to pass, on the eighth day … (Further 9:1). This was the first of Nisan, and the day was distinguished in ten different ways … It was the day on which the Divine Glory dwelt for the first time among the Israelites …” (Torath Kohanim, ibid.). and after this call Moses came into the innermost part of the Tent [i.e., the Holy of Holies], just as the Rabbis have interpreted:39Torath Kohanim at the beginning of Parshath Acharei, (further, 16:2): “Thy brother [Aaron] is under the command not to enter the holy place [except when it was his duty to officiate there], (further 16:2), but Moses is not included in this command.” “Aaron was not to enter [the Sanctuary except at the prescribed time], but Moses was not included in this command.” This is the plain meaning of this verse. I have explained it already above.40Exodus 40:34.
But our Rabbis have said41Torath Kohanim, Vayikra 1:7. that “all communications [that came to Moses], whether they are introduced by the word dabeir (speak), or by emor (say), or tzav (command), were preceded by a call,” that is to say, G-d said to him, ‘Moses, Moses’ and he answered, ‘Here am I.’42Exodus 3:4. This was a way of expressing affection and encouragement to Moses.43Accordingly, the call to Moses that is mentioned at the beginning of this book was not for the purpose of giving him permission to come into the Tent of Meeting, but rather to express G-d’s affection for Moses and His inspiriting him for the communication. If so, it stands to reason, Ramban continues, that this kind of call [“Moses, Moses”] came to him on all occasions when he received a Divine communication. The reason why it is mentioned specifically here, etc. (see text). Now according to this opinion, Scripture mentioned the expression [And He called unto him …] here, because it was the first communication that came to Moses from the Tent of Meeting, thus teaching us concerning all the other communications that such was His procedure with him all the time and with the whole Torah. The expression out of the Tent of Meeting refers according to the Rabbis to the preceding words, [the interpretation of the verse thus being]: “and He called unto him out of the Tent of Meeting; and the Eternal spoke to him in the Tent,” for Moses was already there [in the Tent].44For since the purpose of the call was not to give permission to Moses to enter, but rather to show him affection, the sense of the verse may then be explained as follows: “and G-d called him out of the Tent and He spoke to him in the Tent” where he already was. The explanation of the verse according to its plain meaning and sense is: “and the Eternal called unto Moses and spoke unto him, out of the Tent of Meeting.”
By way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], this verse is like, And unto Moses He said: ‘Come up unto the Eternal.’45Exodus 24:1. Its secret is known from the Revelation on Mount Sinai46See Note 17 in Seder Yithro (Vol. II, p. 251). and the Ten Commandments. I have alluded to it already.45Exodus 24:1.
But our Rabbis have said41Torath Kohanim, Vayikra 1:7. that “all communications [that came to Moses], whether they are introduced by the word dabeir (speak), or by emor (say), or tzav (command), were preceded by a call,” that is to say, G-d said to him, ‘Moses, Moses’ and he answered, ‘Here am I.’42Exodus 3:4. This was a way of expressing affection and encouragement to Moses.43Accordingly, the call to Moses that is mentioned at the beginning of this book was not for the purpose of giving him permission to come into the Tent of Meeting, but rather to express G-d’s affection for Moses and His inspiriting him for the communication. If so, it stands to reason, Ramban continues, that this kind of call [“Moses, Moses”] came to him on all occasions when he received a Divine communication. The reason why it is mentioned specifically here, etc. (see text). Now according to this opinion, Scripture mentioned the expression [And He called unto him …] here, because it was the first communication that came to Moses from the Tent of Meeting, thus teaching us concerning all the other communications that such was His procedure with him all the time and with the whole Torah. The expression out of the Tent of Meeting refers according to the Rabbis to the preceding words, [the interpretation of the verse thus being]: “and He called unto him out of the Tent of Meeting; and the Eternal spoke to him in the Tent,” for Moses was already there [in the Tent].44For since the purpose of the call was not to give permission to Moses to enter, but rather to show him affection, the sense of the verse may then be explained as follows: “and G-d called him out of the Tent and He spoke to him in the Tent” where he already was. The explanation of the verse according to its plain meaning and sense is: “and the Eternal called unto Moses and spoke unto him, out of the Tent of Meeting.”
By way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], this verse is like, And unto Moses He said: ‘Come up unto the Eternal.’45Exodus 24:1. Its secret is known from the Revelation on Mount Sinai46See Note 17 in Seder Yithro (Vol. II, p. 251). and the Ten Commandments. I have alluded to it already.45Exodus 24:1.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ואלה המשפטים אשר תשים לפניהם, “and these are the ordinances which you shall place before them.” The Talmud Gittin 88 understands the word “before them” to mean that these ordinances are to be submitted to the wise, the trained and not to the uninformed average Israelite. Rashi elaborates there by saying that the legislation before us was presented by Moses to the seventy elders, i.e. the members of the Supreme Court. These elders had already functioned as the highest tribunal prior to the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. They were the people who ascended part of Mount Sinai together with Moses (24,1). The Talmud there is bothered by the fact that ordination as an elder is impossible in Babylon or anywhere else outside the Holy Land. This would appear to deprive Jewish judges in the Diaspora of their authority. The Talmud concludes that the status of such Judges as הדיוטות notwithstanding, the fact that each such judge views himself as merely an appointee of a judge ordained as such in Eretz Yisrael makes their status legal. This entire line of exegesis is based on the unusual word לפניהם, “before them,” instead of להם, “to them,” which is the normal way of the Torah telling Moses to convey legislation to the Israelites (compare 15,25 שם שם לו לו חוק ומשפט). Keeping this in mind, the Talmud also uses the word לפניהם as a prohibition not to submit disputes to gentile courts even if these are guided by Torah principles of adjudicating disputes.