Seventy men of the elders of Israel... — We find mention made of elders of the people in Exodus 3:16, and of officers (shoterim) in Exodus 5:16;
also of seventy elders in Exodus 24:1. Frequent mention is made in Scripture of the number seventy — a number which is composed of the two sacred numbers seven and ten — the former being the seal of the covenant, and the latter probably denoting perfection. The seventy who were chosen on the present occasion may have consisted of some of those who were appointed as judges at the suggestion of Jethro, but there is no evidence of their identity with any persons previously selected.