Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said: this is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel. Moses ascends to God — the movement upward to God is the movement of the covenant mediator, bridging the gap between the holy and the people. The dual naming — house of Jacob and people of Israel — combines the family lineage (Jacob) with the covenant identity (Israel). The family descended from the patriarch and the nation born at the sea are addressed together. The message that follows is addressed to both: what they were (house of Jacob) and what they are becoming (people of Israel) through the covenant about to be given.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse