Charles Ellicott Commentary Exodus 4:29

"And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:" — Exodus 4:29 (ASV)

THE RETURN TO EGYPT.

Moses and Aaron went. —The two brothers returned together from the Sinaitic region to Egypt. No particulars of the journey are narrated, nor can we even tell what route they followed. On their arrival, they at once set themselves to carry out the charge committed to them (Exodus 3:16). The Israelites in Egypt, though suffering under severe oppression, had an organisation of their own, jurisdiction probably attaching to the heads of tribes or chief families. (Compare to Numbers 1:4-16.) These persons are here called “elders,” which the Septuagint renders τὴν γερουσίαν, “the senate.” Moses and Aaron could have no power to convoke them; but they invited them to a conference, and the elders came.