Exodus 24:18

24:18 Moses went into the cloud when he went up ¹  the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. ² 

Deuteronomy 9:9

9:9 When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you, I remained there ³  forty days and nights, eating and drinking nothing.

Deuteronomy 9:18

9:18 Then I again fell down before the Lord for forty days and nights; I ate and drank nothing because of all the sin you had committed, doing such evil before the Lord as to enrage him.

Deuteronomy 9:25

Moses’ Plea on Behalf of the Lord’s Reputation

9:25 I lay flat on the ground before the Lord for forty days and nights, ⁴  for he ⁵  had said he would destroy you.

¹ tn The verb is a preterite with vav (ו) consecutive; here, the second clause, is subordinated to the first preterite, because it seems that the entering into the cloud is the dominant point in this section of the chapter.

² sn B. Jacob (Exodus, 750) offers this description of some of the mystery involved in Moses’ ascending into the cloud: Moses ascended into the presence of God, but remained on earth. He did not rise to heaven – the ground remained firmly under his feet. But he clearly was brought into God’s presence; he was like a heavenly servant before God’s throne, like the angels, and he consumed neither bread nor water. The purpose of his being there was to become familiar with all God’s demands and purposes. He would receive the tablets of stone and all the instructions for the tabernacle that was to be built (beginning in chap. 25). He would not descend until the sin of the golden calf.

³ tn Heb “in the mountain.” The demonstrative pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁴ tn The Hebrew text includes “when I prostrated myself.” Since this is redundant, it has been left untranslated.

⁵ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.