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Deuteronomy 4:11

in Deuteronomy 4

You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the heart of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness.

KJV

And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.

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This verse in Deuteronomy 4

Commentary

3 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

You came near and stood at the base of the mountain

on Deuteronomy 4:11-12

What the people saw was fire and darkness, "a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens," and the weight falls on what they did not see. They "heard the sound of the words, but saw no form," and verse 15 makes that the ground of the argument against images. Exodus 19:16-19 tells the same scene with thunder, a thick cloud and the ram's horn growing louder.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And ye came near and stood under the mountain,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Fires in the night are the most frightful, and the fire made the darkness that surrounded it look the more awful; for it must needs be a strong darkness which such a fire did not disperse. In allusion to this appearance upon Mount Sinai, God is said to show himself for his people, and against his and their enemies, in fire and darkness together, Ps. xviii.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

The middle of heaven. 12 The heart lies in the middle of the body. Hence heart is used in the sense of middle.
Ibn Ezra: Spain, 1089–1167 · Ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 4:11:1, via Sefaria, Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
I have already explained the matter in its place. Ibid.,:20, and:15. See Vol. II, pp. 282-284, and p. that the people heard the speaking of the Great Name, blessed be He, out of the midst of the fire, as they saw His great fire. Further, Verse.
Ramban: Spain, 1194–1270 · Ramban on Deuteronomy 4:12:1, via Sefaria, Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

13 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַתִּקְרְב֥וּןand you drew near !

    vatikrevunH7126 →280 times

  • וַתַּֽעַמְד֖וּןand you stood !

    vataamdunH5975 →521 times

  • תַּ֣חַתunder

    tachatH8478 →505 times

  • הָהָ֑רthe mountain

    haharH2022 →546 times

  • וְהָהָ֞רand the mountain

    vehaharH2022 →546 times

  • בֹּעֵ֤ר[was] burning

    boerH1197 →94 times

  • בָּאֵשׁ֙with <the> fire

    baeshH784 →378 times

  • עַד־to

    ʾad-H5704 →1261 times

  • לֵ֣ב[the] heart of

    levH3820 →595 times

  • הַשָּׁמַ֔יִםthe heavens

    hashamayimH8064 →421 times

  • חֹ֖שֶׁךְdarkness

    choshekhH2822 →

  • עָנָ֥ןcloud

    ʾananH6051 →87 times

  • וַעֲרָפֶֽל׃and thick darkness

    vaarafelH6205 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

13 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Hebrews 12:18For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm;11 worksPsalms 18:11He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.8 worksJob 3:5May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it; may the blackness of the day overwhelm it.4 works2 Thessalonians 1:8in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.4 works1 Kings 8:12Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.4 worksDeuteronomy 5:23And when you heard the voice out of the darkness while the mountain was blazing with fire, all the heads of your tribes and your elders approached me,3 works
The other 7 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Chronicles 6:1Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud;3 worksDeuteronomy 9:15So I went back down the mountain while it was blazing with fire, with the two tablets of the covenant in my hands.3 worksExodus 19:16–18On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled.2 worksPsalms 97:3Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes on every side.2 works2 Samuel 22:10He parted the heavens and came down with dark clouds beneath His feet.2 worksExodus 10:22So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and total darkness covered all the land of Egypt for three days.2 worksExodus 20:18–19When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance.1 works

The walk

2 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 5:23

    And when you heard the voice out of the darkness while the mountain was blazing with fire, all the heads of your tribes and your elders approached me,

    it leads to

    • Exodus 20:18–19

      When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance.

    • Hebrews 12:18–21

      For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm;

Where this verse is studied

About Deuteronomy

Moses Viewing the Promised Land, Frederic Edwin Church, 1846. Public domain.
Moses Viewing the Promised Land, Frederic Edwin Church, 1846. Public domain.
Deuteronomy: the study guide →Read Deuteronomy 4 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Deuteronomy 4 →