Keluaran 31:18

31:18 He gave Moses two tablets of testimony when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, tablets of stone written by the finger of God. ¹ 

Keluaran 32:15-16

32:15 Moses turned and went down from the mountain with ²  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.

Keluaran 34:1

The New Tablets of the Covenant

34:1 ³ The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out ⁴  two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write ⁵  on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you smashed.

Keluaran 34:28-29

34:28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; ⁶  he did not eat bread, and he did not drink water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. ⁷ 

The Radiant Face of Moses

34:29 ⁸ Now when Moses came down ⁹  from Mount Sinai with ¹⁰  the two tablets of the testimony in his hand ¹¹  – when he came down ¹²  from the mountain, Moses ¹³  did not know that the skin of his face shone ¹⁴  while he talked with him.

Ulangan 4:13

4:13 And he revealed to you the covenant ¹⁵  he has commanded you to keep, the ten commandments, ¹⁶  writing them on two stone tablets.

Ulangan 5:22

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. ¹⁷  Then he inscribed the words ¹⁸  on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

Ulangan 8:3

8:3 So he humbled you by making you hungry and then feeding you with unfamiliar manna. ¹⁹  He did this to teach you ²⁰  that humankind ²¹  cannot live by bread ²²  alone, but also by everything that comes from the Lord’s mouth. ²³ 

Ulangan 9:9-11

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 ²⁴  forty days and nights, eating and drinking nothing. 9:10 The Lord gave me the two stone tablets, written by the very finger ²⁵  of God, and on them was everything ²⁶  he ²⁷  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.

Ulangan 10:4

10:4 The Lord ²⁸  then wrote on the tablets the same words, ²⁹  the ten commandments, ³⁰  which he ³¹  had spoken to you at the mountain from the middle of the fire at the time of that assembly, and he ³²  gave them to me.

Ulangan 10:2

10:2 I will write on the tablets the same words ³³  that were on the first tablets you broke, and you must put them into the ark.”

1 Korintus 3:3

3:3 for you are still influenced by the flesh. ³⁴  For since there is still jealousy and dissension among you, are you not influenced by the flesh and behaving like unregenerate people? ³⁵ 

[31:18]  ¹ sn The expression “the finger of God” has come up before in the book, in the plagues (Exod 8:15) to express that it was a demonstration of the power and authority of God. So here too the commandments given to Moses on stone tablets came from God. It too is a bold anthropomorphism; to attribute such a material action to Yahweh would have been thought provoking to say the least. But by using “God” and by stating it in an obviously figurative way, balance is maintained. Since no one writes with one finger, the expression simply says that the Law came directly from God.

[32:15]  ² tn The disjunctive vav (ו) serves here as a circumstantial clause indicator.

[34:1]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The perfect tense with vav consecutive makes the value of this verb equal to an imperfect tense, probably a simple future here.

[34:1]  sn Nothing is said of how God was going to write on these stone tablets at this point, but in the end it is Moses who wrote the words. This is not considered a contradiction, since God is often credited with things he has people do in his place. There is great symbolism in this command – if ever a command said far more than it actually said, this is it. The instruction means that the covenant had been renewed, or was going to be renewed, and that the sanctuary with the tablets in the ark at its center would be built (see Deut 10:1). The first time Moses went up he was empty-handed; when he came down he smashed the tablets because of the Israelites’ sin. Now the people would see him go up with empty tablets and be uncertain whether he would come back with the tablets inscribed again (B. Jacob, Exodus, 977-78).

[34:28]  ⁶ tn These too are adverbial in relation to the main clause, telling how long Moses was with Yahweh on the mountain.

[34:28]  ⁷ tn Heb “the ten words,” though “commandments” is traditional.

[34:29]  ⁸ 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 Lord is reflected differently today, but nonetheless reflected. II. The glory of Yahweh authenticates the message (31-32). III. The authentication of the message must be used cautiously with the weak and immature (33-35).

[34:29]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in the hand of Moses.”

[34:29]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “and Moses.”

[34:29]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the ten words.”

[5:22]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and he added no more” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NLT “This was all he said at that time.”

[5:22]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the words spoken by the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “manna which you and your ancestors did not know.” By popular etymology the word “manna” comes from the Hebrew phrase מָן הוּא (man hu’), i.e., “What is it?” (Exod 16:15). The question remains unanswered to this very day. Elsewhere the material is said to be “white like coriander seed” with “a taste like honey cakes” (Exod 16:31; cf. Num 11:7). Modern attempts to associate it with various desert plants are unsuccessful for the text says it was a new thing and, furthermore, one that appeared and disappeared miraculously (Exod 16:21-27).

[8:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “in order to make known to you.” In the Hebrew text this statement is subordinated to what precedes, resulting in a very long sentence in English. The translation makes this statement a separate sentence for stylistic reasons.

[8:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “the man,” but in a generic sense, referring to the whole human race (“mankind” or “humankind”).

[8:3]  ²² tn The Hebrew term may refer to “food” in a more general sense (cf. CEV).

[8:3]  ²³ sn Jesus quoted this text to the devil in the midst of his forty-day fast to make the point that spiritual nourishment is incomparably more important than mere physical bread (Matt 4:4; cf. Luke 4:4).

[9:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in the mountain.” The demonstrative pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[9:10]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ tn Heb “according to all the words.”

[9:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the Lord” (likewise at the beginning of vv. 12, 13). See note on “he” in 9:3.

[10:4]  ²⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “according to the former writing.” See note on the phrase “the same words” in v. 2.

[10:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “ten words.” The “Ten Commandments” are known in Hebrew as the “Ten Words,” which in Greek became the “Decalogue.”

[10:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[10:4]  ³² tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” earlier in this verse.

[10:2]  ³³ sn The same words. The care with which the replacement copy must be made underscores the importance of verbal precision in relaying the Lord’s commandments.

[3:3]  ³⁴ tn Or “are still merely human”; Grk “fleshly.” Cf. BDAG 914 s.v. σαρκικός 2, “pert. to being human at a disappointing level of behavior or characteristics, (merely) human.” The same phrase occurs again later in this verse.

[3:3]  ³⁵ tn Grk “and walking in accordance with man,” i.e., living like (fallen) humanity without the Spirit’s influence; hence, “unregenerate people.”