Faced with the overwhelming burden of guiding the nation alone, Moses receives a solution from God that addresses both an immediate crisis and a long-term need. God establishes a permanent council of leaders, an institution known for generations as the Great Sanhedrin, designed to share the heavy yoke of leadership and instill spiritual and political order within the nation [רש״ר הירש, צפנת פענח, אם למקרא].
The instruction to assemble these leaders is not framed as a rigid, harsh command, but rather as a compassionate response to Moses's personal plea for relief [הכתב והקבלה]. The primary approach among commentators is that this gathering should be conducted pleasantly. Moses is to persuade these men by highlighting the profound privilege of guiding God's people. Furthermore, the appointment is made explicitly for God's sake. By drawing their authority directly from His divine providence rather than solely from Moses's human appointment, the council remains guided by truth and mutual agreement [אור החיים, רבנו בחיי, תורה תמימה].
The requirement to assemble seventy men raises a historical question, as the Israelites already had seventy elders who had traveled down to Egypt and stood at Mount Sinai. The primary approach among commentators is that those original elders had sinned during the giving of the Torah by acting frivolously, eating and drinking while witnessing the divine revelation. God chose not to punish them immediately so as to preserve the joy of the Torah's giving, but they later perished in a fire at Taberah. Consequently, a new group of seventy is required [רש״י, רבנו בחיי, צאינה וראינה].
The number seventy holds deep symbolic weight, mirroring the seventy nations of the world, the seventy heavenly princes, and the seventy souls who originally descended into Egypt. It represents a perfect totality, encompassing all possible perspectives and strengths. Together with Moses presiding over them, they form the complete seventy-one-member Sanhedrin [רמב״ן, רקנאטי, חזקוני]. These individuals must be exceptional, possessing character traits that mirror those of God and Moses [דעת זקנים, מנחת עני].
They are chosen specifically from the elders of Israel, a title denoting acquired wisdom and knowledge rather than mere chronological age [תורה תמימה, אברבנאל]. Yet, wisdom alone is insufficient. God specifies that these men must be both elders and officers. They must combine the intellectual wisdom of leadership with the practical capability to govern the public, maintain order, and command respect [אבן עזרא, הטור הארוך, העמק דבר]. Commentators agree that the identity of these officers is deeply significant. They are the very same Israelite foremen who were appointed by the Egyptian taskmasters during the era of harsh labor. Ordered to strike their brethren to force them to work faster, these men chose mercy. They absorbed the beatings themselves, sacrificing their own well-being for the community. Now, in a perfect act of divine justice, God rewards their past suffering by elevating them to greatness and endowing them with divine inspiration [רש״י, רבנו בחיי, צאינה וראינה, דעת זקנים, אלשיך].
Once selected, these men are to be brought to the Tabernacle to stand alongside Moses. This public display serves a distinct purpose: when the entire nation sees these elders entering the site of the Divine Presence with Moses, they will immediately recognize their elevated status and treat them with profound reverence [רש״י, צאינה וראינה, משכיל לדוד]. Standing alongside Moses also implies that they must be similar to him in character and possess a flawless family lineage [תורה תמימה]. Their sudden placement at the Tabernacle, without the lengthy preparation usually required for prophecy, indicates that the divine inspiration resting upon them will be highly practical. It is specifically tailored for governing the nation and managing physical burdens, rather than the lofty, abstract prophecy experienced by Moses [מלבי״ם, אברבנאל]. Finally, standing together ensures that the spirit of leadership flows from a single source—from Moses directly to them. This shared origin prevents future disputes and guarantees a unified, cohesive leadership for the people [אברבנאל].