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 

Exodus 40:38

40:38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, but fire would be ³  on it at night, in plain view ⁴  of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

[24:18]  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.

[24:18]  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.

[40:38]  ³ tn Here is another imperfect tense of the customary nuance.

[40:38]  ⁴ tn Heb “to the eyes of all”; KJV, ASV, NASB “in the sight of all”; NRSV “before the eyes of all.”