Exodus 20:21

20:21 The people kept ¹  their distance, but Moses drew near the thick darkness ²  where God was. ³ 

Exodus 24:15-18

24:15 Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 24:16 The glory of the Lord resided ⁴  on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. ⁵  On the seventh day he called to Moses from within the cloud. 24:17 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in plain view ⁶  of the people. 24:18 Moses went into the cloud when he went up ⁷  the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. ⁸ 

Exodus 34:2

34:2 Be prepared ⁹  in the morning, and go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and station yourself ¹⁰  for me there on the top of the mountain.

Deuteronomy 5:5-31

5:5 (I was standing between the Lord and you at that time to reveal to you the message ¹¹  of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.) He said:

The Ten Commandments

5:6 “I am the Lord your God, he who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery. 5:7 You must not have any other gods ¹²  besides me. ¹³  5:8 You must not make for yourself an image ¹⁴  of anything in heaven above, on earth below, or in the waters beneath. ¹⁵  5:9 You must not worship or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I punish ¹⁶  the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons for the sin of the fathers who reject ¹⁷  me, ¹⁸  5:10 but I show covenant faithfulness ¹⁹  to the thousands ²⁰  who choose ²¹  me and keep my commandments. 5:11 You must not make use of the name of the Lord your God for worthless purposes, ²²  for the Lord will not exonerate anyone who abuses his name that way. ²³  5:12 Be careful to observe ²⁴  the Sabbath day just as the Lord your God has commanded you. 5:13 You are to work and do all your tasks in six days, 5:14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath ²⁵  of the Lord your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the foreigner who lives with you, ²⁶  so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest. 5:15 Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there by strength and power. ²⁷  That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe ²⁸  the Sabbath day. 5:16 Honor ²⁹  your father and your mother just as the Lord your God has commanded you to do, so that your days may be extended and that it may go well with you in the land that he ³⁰  is about to give you. 5:17 You must not murder. ³¹  5:18 You must not commit adultery. 5:19 You must not steal. 5:20 You must not offer false testimony against another. ³²  5:21 You must not desire ³³  another man’s ³⁴  wife, nor should you crave his ³⁵  house, his field, his male and female servants, his ox, his donkey, or anything else he owns.” ³⁶ 

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. ³⁷  Then he inscribed the words ³⁸  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 ³⁹  and we have heard him speak from the middle of the fire. It is now clear to us ⁴⁰  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 ⁴¹  who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the middle of the fire as we have, and has lived? 5:27 You go near so that you can hear everything the Lord our God is saying and then you can tell us whatever he ⁴²  says to you; then we will pay attention and do it.” 5:28 When the Lord heard you speaking to me, he ⁴³  said to me, “I have heard what these people have said to you – they have spoken well. 5:29 If only it would really be their desire to fear me and obey ⁴⁴  all my commandments in the future, so that it may go well with them and their descendants forever. 5:30 Go and tell them, ‘Return to your tents!’ 5:31 But as for you, remain here with me so I can declare to you all the commandments, ⁴⁵  statutes, and ordinances that you are to teach them, so that they can carry them out in the land I am about to give them.” ⁴⁶ 

Acts 7:38

7:38 This is the man who was in the congregation ⁴⁷  in the wilderness ⁴⁸  with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors, ⁴⁹  and he ⁵⁰  received living oracles ⁵¹  to give to you. ⁵² 

[20:21]  ¹ tn Heb “and they stood”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:21]  ² sn The word עֲרָפֶל (’arafel) is used in poetry in Ps 18:9 and 1 Kgs 8:12; and it is used in Deut 4:11, 5:22 [19].

[20:21]  ³ sn It will not be hard to expound the passage on the Ten Commandments once their place in scripture has been determined. They, for the most part, are reiterated in the NT, in one way or another, usually with a much higher standard that requires attention to the spirit of the laws. Thus, these laws reveal God’s standard of righteousness by revealing sin. No wonder the Israelites were afraid when they saw the manifestation of God and heard his laws. When the whole covenant is considered, preamble and all, then it becomes clear that the motivation for obeying the commands is the person and the work of the covenant God – the one who redeemed his people. Obedience then becomes a response of devotion and adoration to the Redeemer who set them free. It becomes loyal service, not enslavement to laws. The point could be worded this way: God requires that his covenant people, whom he has redeemed, and to whom he has revealed himself, give their absolute allegiance and obedience to him. This means they will worship and serve him and safeguard the well-being of each other.

[24:16]  ⁴ sn The verb is וַיִּשְׁכֹּן (vayyishkon, “and dwelt, abode”). From this is derived the epithet “the Shekinah Glory,” the dwelling or abiding glory. The “glory of Yahweh” was a display visible at a distance, clearly in view of the Israelites. To them it was like a consuming fire in the midst of the cloud that covered the mountain. That fire indicated that Yahweh wished to accept their sacrifice, as if it were a pleasant aroma to him, as Leviticus would say. This “appearance” indicated that the phenomena represented a shimmer of the likeness of his glory (B. Jacob, Exodus, 749). The verb, according to U. Cassuto (Exodus, 316), also gives an inkling of the next section of the book, the building of the “tabernacle,” the dwelling place, the מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan). The vision of the glory of Yahweh confirmed the authority of the revelation of the Law given to Israel. This chapter is the climax of God’s bringing people into covenant with himself, the completion of his revelation to them, a completion that is authenticated with the miraculous. It ends with the mediator going up in the clouds to be with God, and the people down below eagerly awaiting his return. The message of the whole chapter could be worded this way: Those whom God sanctifies by the blood of the covenant and instructs by the book of the covenant may enjoy fellowship with him and anticipate a far more glorious fellowship. So too in the NT the commandments and teachings of Jesus are confirmed by his miraculous deeds and by his glorious manifestation on the Mount of the Transfiguration, where a few who represented the disciples would see his glory and be able to teach others. The people of the new covenant have been brought into fellowship with God through the blood of the covenant; they wait eagerly for his return from heaven in the clouds.

[24:16]  ⁵ tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.

[24:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the eyes of” which could mean in their opinion.

[24:18]  ⁷ 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.

[24:18]  ⁸ 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.

[34:2]  ⁹ tn The form is a Niphal participle that means “be prepared, be ready.” This probably means that Moses was to do in preparation what the congregation had to do back in Exod 19:11-15.

[34:2]  ¹⁰ sn The same word is used in Exod 33:21. It is as if Moses was to be at his post when Yahweh wanted to communicate to him.

[5:5]  ¹¹ tn Or “word” (so KJV, NASB, NIV); NRSV “words.”

[5:7]  ¹² tn Heb “there must not be for you other gods.” The expression “for you” indicates possession.

[5:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “upon my face,” or “before me” (עַל־פָּנָיַ, ’al-panaya). Some understand this in a locative sense: “in my sight.” The translation assumes that the phrase indicates exclusion. The idea is that of placing any other god before the Lord in the sense of taking his place. Contrary to the view of some, this does not leave the door open for a henotheistic system where the Lord is the primary god among others. In its literary context the statement must be taken in a monotheistic sense. See, e.g., 4:39; 6:13-15.

[5:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “an image, any likeness.”

[5:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “under the earth” (so ASV, NASB, NRSV); NCV “below the land.”

[5:9]  ¹⁶ tn In the Hebrew text the form is a participle, which is subordinated to what precedes. For the sake of English style, the translation divides this lengthy verse into two sentences.

[5:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “who hate” (so NAB, NIV, NLT). Just as “to love” (אָהַב, ’ahav) means in a covenant context “to choose, obey,” so “to hate” (שָׂנֵא, sane’) means “to reject, disobey” (cf. the note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37; see also 5:10).

[5:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “visiting the sin of fathers upon sons and upon a third (generation) and upon a fourth (generation) of those who hate me.” God sometimes punishes children for the sins of a father (cf. Num 16:27, 32; Josh 7:24-25; 2 Sam 21:1-9). On the principle of corporate solidarity and responsibility in OT thought see J. Kaminsky, Corporate Responsibility in the Hebrew Bible (JSOTSup). In the idiom of the text, the father is the first generation and the “sons” the second generation, making grandsons the third and great-grandsons the fourth. The reference to a third and fourth generation is a way of emphasizing that the sinner’s punishment would last throughout his lifetime. In this culture, where men married and fathered children at a relatively young age, it would not be unusual for one to see his great-grandsons. In an Aramaic tomb inscription from Nerab dating to the seventh century b.c., Agbar observes that he was surrounded by “children of the fourth generation” as he lay on his death bed (see ANET 661). The language of the text differs from Exod 34:7, the sons are the first generation, the grandsons (literally, “sons of the sons”) the second, great-grandsons the third, and great-great-grandsons the fourth. One could argue that formulation in Deut 5:9 (see also Exod 20:50) is elliptical/abbreviated or that it suffers from textual corruption (the repetition of the words “sons” would invite accidental omission).

[5:10]  ¹⁹ tn This theologically rich term (חֶסֶד, khesed) describes God’s loyalty to those who keep covenant with him. Sometimes it is used synonymously with בְּרִית (bÿrit, “covenant”; Deut 7:9), and sometimes interchangeably with it (Deut 7:12). See H.-J. Zobel, TDOT 5:44-64.

[5:10]  ²⁰ tc By a slight emendation (לַאֲלּוּפִים [la’allufim] for לַאֲלָפִים [la’alafim]) “clans” could be read in place of the MT reading “thousands.” However, no ms or versional evidence exists to support this emendation.

[5:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “love.” See note on the word “reject” in v. 9.

[5:11]  ²² tn Heb “take up the name of the Lord your God to emptiness”; KJV “take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” The idea here is not cursing or profanity in the modern sense of these terms but rather the use of the divine Name for unholy, mundane purposes, that is, for meaningless (the Hebrew term is שָׁוְא) and empty ends. In ancient Israel this would include using the Lord’s name as a witness in vows one did not intend to keep.

[5:11]  ²³ tn Heb “who takes up his name to emptiness.”

[5:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to make holy,” that is, to put to special use, in this case, to sacred purposes (cf. vv. 13-15).

[5:14]  ²⁵ tn There is some degree of paronomasia (wordplay) here: “the seventh (הַשְּׁבִיעִי, hashÿvi’i) day is the Sabbath (שַׁבָּת, shabbat).” Otherwise, the words have nothing in common, since “Sabbath” is derived from the verb שָׁבַת (shavat, “to cease”).

[5:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “in your gates”; NRSV, CEV “in your towns”; TEV “in your country.”

[5:15]  ²⁷ tn Heb “by a strong hand and an outstretched arm,” the hand and arm symbolizing divine activity and strength. Cf. NLT “with amazing power and mighty deeds.”

[5:15]  ²⁸ tn Or “keep” (so KJV, NRSV).

[5:16]  ²⁹ tn The imperative here means, literally, “regard as heavy” (כַּבֵּד, kabbed). The meaning is that great importance must be ascribed to parents by their children.

[5:16]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “He” in 5:3.

[5:17]  ³¹ tn Traditionally “kill” (so KJV, ASV, RSV, NAB). The verb here (רָצַח, ratsakh) is generic for homicide but in the OT both killing in war and capital punishment were permitted and even commanded (Deut 13:5, 9; 20:13, 16-17), so the technical meaning here is “murder.”

[5:20]  ³² tn Heb “your neighbor.” Clearly this is intended generically, however, and not to be limited only to those persons who live nearby (frequently the way “neighbor” is understood in contemporary contexts). So also in v. 20.

[5:21]  ³³ tn The Hebrew verb used here (חָמַד, khamad) is different from the one translated “crave” (אָוַה, ’avah) in the next line. The former has sexual overtones (“lust” or the like; cf. Song of Sol 2:3) whereas the latter has more the idea of a desire or craving for material things.

[5:21]  ³⁴ tn Heb “your neighbor’s.” See note on the term “fellow man” in v. 19.

[5:21]  ³⁵ tn Heb “your neighbor’s.” The pronoun is used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[5:21]  ³⁶ tn Heb “or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

[5:22]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and he added no more” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NLT “This was all he said at that time.”

[5:22]  ³⁸ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the words spoken by the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:24]  ³⁹ tn Heb “his glory and his greatness.”

[5:24]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “this day we have seen.”

[5:26]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “who is there of all flesh.”

[5:27]  ⁴² tn Heb “the Lord our God.” See note on “He” in 5:3.

[5:28]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “He” in 5:3.

[5:29]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “keep” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[5:31]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “commandment.” The MT actually has the singular (הַמִּצְוָה, hammitsvah), suggesting perhaps that the following terms (חֻקִּים [khuqqim] and מִשְׁפָּטִים [mishpatim]) are in epexegetical apposition to “commandment.” That is, the phrase could be translated “the entire command, namely, the statutes and ordinances.” This would essentially make מִצְוָה (mitsvah) synonymous with תּוֹרָה (torah), the usual term for the whole collection of law.

[5:31]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “to possess it” (so KJV, ASV); NLT “as their inheritance.”

[7:38]  ⁴⁷ tn This term, ἐκκλησία (ekklhsia), is a secular use of the term that came to mean “church” in the epistles. Here a reference to an assembly is all that is intended.

[7:38]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “desert.”

[7:38]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:38]  ⁵⁰ tn Grk “fathers, who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he” and a new clause introduced by “and” was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.

[7:38]  ⁵¹ tn Or “messages.” This is an allusion to the law given to Moses.

[7:38]  ⁵² tc ‡ The first person pronoun ἡμῖν (Jhmin, “to us”) is read by A C D E Ψ 33 1739 Ï lat sy, while the second person pronoun ὑμῖν (Jumin, “to you”) is read by Ì⁷⁴ א B 36 453 al co. The second person pronoun thus has significantly better external support. As well, ὑμῖν is a harder reading in this context, both because it is surrounded by first person pronouns and because Stephen perhaps “does not wish to disassociate himself from those who received God’s revelation in the past, but only from those who misinterpreted and disobeyed that revelation” (TCGNT 307). At the same time, Stephen does associate himself to some degree with his disobedient ancestors in v. 39, suggesting that the decisive break does not really come until v. 51 (where both his present audience and their ancestors are viewed as rebellious). Thus, both externally and internally ὑμῖν is the preferred reading.