Exodus 3:1

3:1 Now Moses ¹  was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert ²  and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. ³ 

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, ⁴  and the whole mountain shook ⁵  violently.

Malachi 4:4-5

Restoration through the Lord

4:4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, to whom at Horeb ⁶  I gave rules and regulations for all Israel to obey. ⁷  4:5 Look, I will send you Elijah ⁸  the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.

¹ sn The vav (ו) disjunctive with the name “Moses” introduces a new and important starting point. The Lord’s dealing with Moses will fill the next two chapters.

² tn Or “west of the desert,” taking אַחַר (’akhar, “behind”) as the opposite of עַל־פְּנֵי (’al-pÿne, “on the face of, east of”; cf. Gen 16:12; 25:18).

³ sn “Horeb” is another name for Mount Sinai. There is a good deal of foreshadowing in this verse, for later Moses would shepherd the people of Israel and lead them to Mount Sinai to receive the Law. See D. Skinner, “Some Major Themes of Exodus,” Mid-America Theological Journal 1 (1977): 31-42.

⁴ sn The image is that of a large kiln, as in Gen 19:28.

⁵ tn This is the same word translated “trembled” above (v. 16).

⁶ sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (cf. Exod 3:1).

⁷ tn Heb “which I commanded him in Horeb concerning all Israel, statutes and ordinances.”

⁸ sn I will send you Elijah the prophet. In light of the ascension of Elijah to heaven without dying (2 Kgs 2:11), Judaism has always awaited his return as an aspect of the messianic age (see, e.g., John 1:19-28). Jesus identified John the Baptist as Elijah, because he came in the “spirit and power” of his prototype Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36).