Discovery BoxExodus 24:12
Context24:12 1 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets 2 with 3 the law and the commandments that I have written, so that you may teach them.” 4
Exodus 24:18
Context24:18 Moses went into the cloud when he went up 5 the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. 6
Exodus 32:15-16
Context32:15 Moses turned and went down from the mountain with 7 the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. The tablets were written on both sides – they were written on the front and on the back. 32:16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
Exodus 34:1-4
Context34:1 8 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out 9 two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write 10 on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you smashed. 34:2 Be prepared 11 in the morning, and go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and station yourself 12 for me there on the top of the mountain. 34:3 No one is to come up with you; do not let anyone be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks or the herds may graze in front of that mountain.” 34:4 So Moses 13 cut out two tablets of stone like the first; 14 early in the morning he went up 15 to Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded him, and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.
Exodus 34:28-29
Context34:28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; 16 he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. 17
34:29 18 Now when Moses came down 19 from Mount Sinai with 20 the two tablets of the testimony in his hand 21 – when he came down 22 from the mountain, Moses 23 did not know that the skin of his face shone 24 while he talked with him.
Deuteronomy 4:13
Context4:13 And he revealed to you the covenant 25 he has commanded you to keep, the ten commandments, 26 writing them on two stone tablets.
Deuteronomy 5:22
Context5:22 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. 27 Then he inscribed the words 28 on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
Deuteronomy 9:9-11
Context9:9 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 29 forty days and nights, eating and drinking nothing. 9:10 The Lord gave me the two stone tablets, written by the very finger 30 of God, and on them was everything 31 he 32 said to you at the mountain from the midst of the fire at the time of that assembly. 9:11 Now at the end of the forty days and nights the Lord presented me with the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant.
Deuteronomy 9:2
Context9:2 They include the Anakites, 33 a numerous 34 and tall people whom you know about and of whom it is said, “Who is able to resist the Anakites?”
Colossians 3:3
Context3:3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
[24:12] 1 sn Now the last part is recorded in which Moses ascends to Yahweh to receive the tablets of stone. As Moses disappears into the clouds, the people are given a vision of the glory of Yahweh.
[24:12] 2 sn These are the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments would be written. This is the first time they are mentioned. The commandments were apparently proclaimed by God first and then proclaimed to the people by Moses. Now that they have been formally agreed on and ratified, they will be written by God on stone for a perpetual covenant.
[24:12] 3 tn Or “namely”; or “that is to say.” The vav (ו) on the noun does not mean that this is in addition to the tablets of stone; the vav is explanatory. Gesenius has “to wit”; see GKC 484-85 §154.a, n. 1(b).
[24:12] 4 tn The last word of the verse is לְהוֹרֹתָם (lÿhorotam), the Hiphil infinitive construct of יָרָה (yarah). It serves as a purpose clause, “to teach them,” meaning “I am giving you this Law and these commands in order that you may teach them.” This duty to teach the Law will be passed especially to parents (Deut 6:6-9, 20-25) and to the tribe of Levi as a whole (Deut 33:9-10; Mal 2:1-9).
[24:18] 5 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] 6 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.
[32:15] 7 tn The disjunctive vav (ו) serves here as a circumstantial clause indicator.
[34:1] 8 sn The restoration of the faltering community continues in this chapter. First, Moses is instructed to make new tablets and take them to the mountain (1-4). Then, through the promised theophany God proclaims his moral character (5-8). Moses responds with the reiteration of the intercession (8), and God responds with the renewal of the covenant (10-28). To put these into expository form, as principles, the chapter would run as follows: I. God provides for spiritual renewal (1-4), II. God reminds people of his moral standard (5-9), III. God renews his covenant promises and stipulations (10-28).
[34:1] 9 tn The imperative is followed by the preposition with a suffix expressing the ethical dative; it strengthens the instruction for Moses. Interestingly, the verb “cut out, chisel, hew,” is the same verb from which the word for a “graven image” is derived – פָּסַל (pasal).
[34:1] 10 tn The perfect tense with vav consecutive makes the value of this verb equal to an imperfect tense, probably a simple future here.
[34:2] 11 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] 12 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.
[34:4] 13 tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified here and the name “Moses,” which occurs later in this verse, has been replaced with the pronoun (“he”), both for stylistic reasons.
[34:4] 14 sn Deuteronomy says that Moses was also to make an ark of acacia wood before the tablets, apparently to put the tablets in until the sanctuary was built. But this ark may not have been the ark built later; or, it might be the wood box, but Bezalel still had to do all the golden work with it.
[34:4] 15 tn The line reads “and Moses got up early in the morning and went up.” These verbs likely form a verbal hendiadys, the first one with its prepositional phrase serving in an adverbial sense.
[34:28] 16 tn These too are adverbial in relation to the main clause, telling how long Moses was with Yahweh on the mountain.
[34:28] 17 tn Heb “the ten words,” though “commandments” is traditional.
[34:29] 18 sn Now, at the culmination of the renewing of the covenant, comes the account of Moses’ shining face. It is important to read this in its context first, holding off on the connection to Paul’s discussion in 2 Corinthians. There is a delicate balance here in Exodus. On the one hand Moses’ shining face served to authenticate the message, but on the other hand Moses prevented the people from seeing more than they could handle. The subject matter in the OT, then, is how to authenticate the message. The section again can be subdivided into three points that develop the whole idea: I. The one who spends time with God reflects his glory (29-30). It will not always be as Moses; rather, the glory of the
[34:29] 19 tn The temporal clause is composed of the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), followed by the temporal preposition, infinitive construct, and subjective genitive (“Moses”).
[34:29] 20 tn The second clause begins with “and/now”; it is a circumstantial clause explaining that the tablets were in his hand. It repeats the temporal clause at the end.
[34:29] 21 tn Heb “in the hand of Moses.”
[34:29] 22 tn The temporal clause parallels the first temporal clause; it uses the same infinitive construct, but now with a suffix referring to Moses.
[34:29] 23 tn Heb “and Moses.”
[34:29] 24 tn The word קָרַן (qaran) is derived from the noun קֶרֶן (qeren) in the sense of a “ray of light” (see Hab 3:4). Something of the divine glory remained with Moses. The Greek translation of Aquila and the Latin Vulgate convey the idea that he had horns, the primary meaning of the word from which this word is derived. Some have tried to defend this, saying that the glory appeared like horns or that Moses covered his face with a mask adorned with horns. But in the text the subject of the verb is the skin of Moses’ face (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 449).
[4:13] 25 sn This is the first occurrence of the word בְּרִית (bÿrit, “covenant”) in the Book of Deuteronomy but it appears commonly hereafter (4:23, 31; 5:2, 3; 7:9, 12; 8:18; 9:9, 10, 11, 15; 10:2, 4, 5, 8; 17:2; 29:1, 9, 12, 14, 15, 18, 21, 25; 31:9, 16, 20, 25, 26; 33:9). Etymologically, it derives from the notion of linking or yoking together. See M. Weinfeld, TDOT 2:255.
[4:13] 26 tn Heb “the ten words.”
[5:22] 27 tn Heb “and he added no more” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NLT “This was all he said at that time.”
[5:22] 28 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the words spoken by the
[9:9] 29 tn Heb “in the mountain.” The demonstrative pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[9:10] 30 sn The very finger of God. This is a double figure of speech (1) in which God is ascribed human features (anthropomorphism) and (2) in which a part stands for the whole (synecdoche). That is, God, as Spirit, has no literal finger nor, if he had, would he write with his finger. Rather, the sense is that God himself – not Moses in any way – was responsible for the composition of the Ten Commandments (cf. Exod 31:18; 32:16; 34:1).
[9:10] 31 tn Heb “according to all the words.”
[9:10] 32 tn Heb “the
[9:2] 33 sn Anakites. See note on this term in Deut 1:28.
[9:2] 34 tn Heb “great and tall.” Many English versions understand this to refer to physical size or strength rather than numbers (cf. “strong,” NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT).
