Exodus 19:18

19:18 Now Mount Sinai was completely covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire, and its smoke went up like the smoke of a great furnace, ¹  and the whole mountain shook ²  violently.

Exodus 20:18

20:18 All the people were seeing ³  the thundering and the lightning, and heard ⁴  the sound of the horn, and saw ⁵  the mountain smoking – and when ⁶  the people saw it they trembled with fear ⁷  and kept their distance. ⁸ 

Deuteronomy 4:11-12

4:11 You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain, a mountain ablaze to the sky above it ⁹  and yet dark with a thick cloud. ¹⁰  4:12 Then the Lord spoke to you from the middle of the fire; you heard speech but you could not see anything – only a voice was heard. ¹¹ 

Deuteronomy 5:22-25

The Narrative of the Sinai Revelation and Israel’s Response

5:22 The Lord said these things to your entire assembly at the mountain from the middle of the fire, the cloud, and the darkness with a loud voice, and that was all he said. ¹²  Then he inscribed the words ¹³  on two stone tablets and gave them to me. 5:23 Then, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness while the mountain was ablaze, all your tribal leaders and elders approached me. 5:24 You said, “The Lord our God has shown us his great glory ¹⁴  and we have heard him speak from the middle of the fire. It is now clear to us ¹⁵  that God can speak to human beings and they can keep on living. 5:25 But now, why should we die, because this intense fire will consume us! If we keep hearing the voice of the Lord our God we will die!

Hebrews 12:18

12:18 For you have not come to something that can be touched, ¹⁶  to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind

¹ sn The image is that of a large kiln, as in Gen 19:28.

² tn This is the same word translated “trembled” above (v. 16).

³ tn The participle is used here for durative action in the past time (GKC 359 §116.o).

⁴ tn The verb “to see” (רָאָה, ra’ah) refers to seeing with all the senses, or perceiving. W. C. Kaiser suggests that this is an example of the figure of speech called zeugma because the verb “saw” yokes together two objects, one that suits the verb and the other that does not. So, the verb “heard” is inserted here to clarify (“Exodus,” EBC 2:427).

⁵ tn The verb “saw” is supplied here because it is expected in English (see the previous note on “heard”).

⁶ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated as a temporal clause to the following clause, which receives the prominence.

⁷ tn The meaning of נוּעַ (nua’) is “to shake, sway to and fro” in fear. Compare Isa 7:2 – “and his heart shook…as the trees of the forest shake with the wind.”

⁸ tn Heb “and they stood from/at a distance.”

⁹ tn Heb “a mountain burning with fire as far as the heart of the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

¹⁰ tn Heb “darkness, cloud, and heavy cloud.”

¹¹ tn The words “was heard” are supplied in the translation to avoid the impression that the voice was seen.

¹² tn Heb “and he added no more” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NLT “This was all he said at that time.”

¹³ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the words spoken by the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ tn Heb “his glory and his greatness.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “this day we have seen.”

¹⁶ tn This describes the nation of Israel approaching God on Mt. Sinai (Exod 19). There is a clear contrast with the reference to Mount Zion in v. 22, so this could be translated “a mountain that can be touched.” But the word “mountain” does not occur here and the more vague description seems to be deliberate.