Deuteronomy 4:11-15
4:11 You approached and stood at the foot of the mountain, a mountain ablaze to the sky above it
and yet dark with a thick cloud.
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.
4:13 And he revealed to you the covenant
he has commanded you to keep, the ten commandments,
writing them on two stone tablets.
4:14 Moreover, at that same time the
Lord commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to keep in the land which you are about to enter and possess.
The Nature of Israel’s God
4:15 Be very careful, then, because you saw no form at the time the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the middle of the fire.
Deuteronomy 5:22-26
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. Then he inscribed the words 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 and we have heard him speak from the middle of the fire. It is now clear to us 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!
5:26 Who is there from the entire human race who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the middle of the fire as we have, and has lived?
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,
and the whole mountain shook
violently.
Hebrews 12:18-19
12:18 For you have not come to something that can be touched,
to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind
12:19 and the blast of a trumpet and a voice uttering words
such that those who heard begged to hear no more.