Kejadian 46:27

46:27 Counting the two sons ¹  of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt, all the people of the household of Jacob who were in Egypt numbered seventy. ² 

Keluaran 4:29

4:29 Then Moses and Aaron went and brought together all the Israelite elders. ³ 

Keluaran 24:1

The Lord Ratifies the Covenant

24:1 ⁴ But to Moses the Lord ⁵  said, “Come up ⁶  to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from a distance. ⁷ 

Keluaran 24:9

24:9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up, ⁸ 

Yehezkiel 8:11

8:11 Seventy men from the elders of the house of Israel ⁹  (with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them) were standing in front of them, each with a censer in his hand, and fragrant ¹⁰  vapors from a cloud of incense were swirling upward.

Lukas 10:1

The Mission of the Seventy-Two

10:1 After this ¹¹  the Lord appointed seventy-two ¹²  others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town ¹³  and place where he himself was about to go.

Lukas 10:17

10:17 Then ¹⁴  the seventy-two ¹⁵  returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to ¹⁶  us in your name!” ¹⁷ 

[46:27]  ¹ tn The LXX reads “nine sons,” probably counting the grandsons of Joseph born to Ephraim and Manasseh (cf. 1 Chr 7:14-20).

[46:27]  ² tn Heb “And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two people; all the people belonging to the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were seventy.”

[46:27]  sn The number seventy includes Jacob himself and the seventy-one descendants (including Dinah, Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim) listed in vv. 8-25, minus Er and Onan (deceased). The LXX gives the number as “seventy-five” (cf. Acts 7:14).

[4:29]  ³ sn These are the leaders of the tribes who represented all the people. Later, after the exodus, Moses will select the most capable of them and others to be rulers in a judicial sense (Exod 18:21).

[24:1]  ⁴ sn Exod 24 is the high point of the book in many ways, but most importantly, here Yahweh makes a covenant with the people – the Sinaitic Covenant. The unit not only serves to record the event in Israel’s becoming a nation, but it provides a paradigm of the worship of God’s covenant people – entering into the presence of the glory of Yahweh. See additionally W. A. Maier, “The Analysis of Exodus 24 According to Modern Literary, Form, and Redaction Critical Methodology,” Springfielder 37 (1973): 35-52. The passage may be divided into four parts for exposition: vv. 1-2, the call for worship; vv. 3-8, the consecration of the worshipers; vv. 9-11, the confirmation of the covenant; and vv. 12-18, the communication with Yahweh.

[24:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “And he;” the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:1]  ⁶ sn They were to come up to the Lord after they had made the preparations that are found in vv. 3-8.

[24:1]  ⁷ sn These seventy-four people were to go up the mountain to a certain point. Then they were to prostrate themselves and worship Yahweh as Moses went further up into the presence of Yahweh. Moses occupies the lofty position of mediator (as Christ in the NT), for he alone ascends “to Yahweh” while everyone waits for his return. The emphasis of “bowing down” and that from “far off” stresses again the ominous presence that was on the mountain. This was the holy God – only the designated mediator could draw near to him.

[24:9]  ⁸ tn The verse begins with “and Moses went up, and Aaron….” This verse may supply the sequel to vv. 1-2. At any rate, God was now accepting them into his presence.

[24:9]  sn This next section is extremely interesting, but difficult to interpret. For some of the literature, see: E. W. Nicholson, “The Interpretation of Exodus 24:9-11,” VT 24 (1974): 77-97; “The Antiquity of the Tradition in Exodus 24:9-11,” VT 26 (1976): 148-60; and T. C. Vriezen, “The Exegesis of Exodus 24:9-11,” OTS 17 (1967): 24-53.

[8:11]  ⁹ sn Note the contrast between these seventy men who represented Israel and the seventy elders who ate the covenant meal before God, inaugurating the covenant relationship (Exod 24:1, 9).

[8:11]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew word occurs only here in the OT.

[10:1]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And after these things.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:1]  ¹² tc There is a difficult textual problem here and in v. 17, where the number is either “seventy” (א A C L W Θ Ξ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï and several church fathers and early versions) or “seventy-two” (Ì⁷⁵ B D 0181 pc lat as well as other versions and fathers). The more difficult reading is “seventy-two,” since scribes would be prone to assimilate this passage to several OT passages that refer to groups of seventy people (Num 11:13-17; Deut 10:22; Judg 8:30; 2 Kgs 10:1 et al.); this reading also has slightly better ms support. “Seventy” could be the preferred reading if scribes drew from the tradition of the number of translators of the LXX, which the Letter of Aristeas puts at seventy-two (TCGNT 127), although this is far less likely. All things considered, “seventy-two” is a much more difficult reading and accounts for the rise of the other. Only Luke notes a second larger mission like the one in 9:1-6.

[10:1]  ¹³ tn Or “city.”

[10:17]  ¹⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[10:17]  ¹⁵ tc See the tc note on the number “seventy-two” in Luke 10:1.

[10:17]  ¹⁶ tn Or “the demons obey”; see L&N 36.18.

[10:17]  ¹⁷ tn The prepositional phrase “in your name” indicates the sphere of authority for the messengers’ work of exorcism.