Exodus 24:12
in Exodus 24Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay here, so that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them.
KJV
And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
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This verse in Exodus 24
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Come up to me into the mount, and be there
on Exodus 24:12-13
God calls Moses higher and says the tables carry commandments which I have written, so the writing at verse 4 was Moses' hand and this writing is God's own. Joshua goes up as his minister, and he first appears eight chapters back choosing men to fight Amalek at 17:9. He is still with Moses coming down at 32:17, where he hears the noise in the camp and takes it for the sound of war.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Mystically the rolling away of the stone implies the disclosure of the sacraments, which were formerly hidden and closed up by the letter of the law. The law was written on stone. Indeed in the case of each of us, when we acknowledge our faith …
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The Lord spoke that word to Moses, and Moses, having heard the word, ascended the mountain and received two tablets of stone and the Law and the commandments. In this it is signified that if we wish to arrive at an understanding of the commandments …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
8, 9 ), and had said, What should I wait for the Lord any longer? he would have lost the honour of entering into the cloud; but communion with God is worth waiting for. And it is fit we should address ourselves to solemn ordinances with a solemn pause, taking time to compose ourselves, Ps. cviii. He is called up into a cloud on the seventh day, probably on the sabbath day,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
And the Lord said unto Moses, come up to me into the mount,....
"Come up, and I will give thee a law, that thou mayest teach them. " Moses taught them nothing but what he had received from the Lord, and he received nothing from the Lord but what he taught them; for he was faithful both to God and Israel, and did neither add nor diminish, but kept close to his instructions.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Come up to me into the mount, and be there - We may suppose Moses to have been, with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders, about midway up the mount; for it plainly appears that there were several stations on it.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Many Jews understand the “tables of stone” to denote the Ten Commandments; “a law,” the law written in the Pentateuch; and the “commandments” (or “the commandment”), the oral or traditional law which was in after ages put into writing in the Mishna and the Gemara. But it is more probable that the Ten Commandments alone are spoken of, and that the meaning is, “the tables of stone with the law, even the commandment.”
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
‘COME UP TO ME INTO THE MOUNTAIN.’ This is the same command which He had said to him on the preceeding day [i.e., on the sixth of Sivan], Come up unto the Eternal; 551 Verse. and Moses alone shall come near unto the Eternal, 552 Verse.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
AND TO ‘ATZILEI’ (THE NOBLES OF) THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. These are Nadab, and Abihu, and the elders mentioned above. 540 Verse. They are called atzilim [of the root atzal, to emanate] because the spirit of G-d emanated upon them. Similarly, I have called thee ‘mei’atzilehah’ 541 Isaiah:9.
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. 3 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
19 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֗ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| עֲלֵ֥ה | ʾaleh | come up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֵלַ֛י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָהָ֖רָה | haharah | the mountain towards | H2022 → | 546 times |
| וֶהְיֵה־ | vehyeh- | and be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שָׁ֑ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| וְאֶתְּנָ֨ה | veetenah | so let me give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְךָ֜ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לֻחֹ֣ת | luchot | [the] tablets of | H3871 → | 43 times |
| הָאֶ֗בֶן | haeven | <the> stone | H68 → | 273 times |
| וְהַתּוֹרָה֙ | vehatorah | and the law | H8451 → | 219 times |
| וְהַמִּצְוָ֔ה | vehamitzvah | and the commandment | H4687 → | 181 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| כָּתַ֖בְתִּי | katavti | I have written | H3789 → | 224 times |
| לְהוֹרֹתָֽם׃ | lehorotam | to teach them | H3384 → | 80 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֗הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
עֲלֵ֥הcome up
ʾalehH5927 →890 times
אֵלַ֛יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
הָהָ֖רָהthe mountain towards
haharahH2022 →546 times
וֶהְיֵה־and be
vehyeh-H1961 →3559 times
שָׁ֑םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
וְאֶתְּנָ֨הso let me give
veetenahH5414 →2011 times
לְךָ֜to <the> you
lekha
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
לֻחֹ֣ת[the] tablets of
luchotH3871 →43 times
הָאֶ֗בֶן<the> stone
haevenH68 →273 times
וְהַתּוֹרָה֙and the law
vehatorahH8451 →219 times
וְהַמִּצְוָ֔הand the commandment
vehamitzvahH4687 →181 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
כָּתַ֖בְתִּיI have written
katavtiH3789 →224 times
לְהוֹרֹתָֽם׃to teach them
lehorotamH3384 →80 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Jeremiah 31:33“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 3:3
It is clear that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 10:16
“This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their hearts and inscribe them on their minds.”
- Hebrews 8:10
For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And…
- Ezekiel 11:19–20
And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh,
- Jeremiah 24:7
I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their…
- 2 Corinthians 3:3
Through
Exodus 31:18When the LORD had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 4:13
He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to follow—the Ten Commandments that He wrote on two tablets of stone.
- Exodus 32:15–16
Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.
- Deuteronomy 4:13
Through
Hebrews 9:4containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
it leads to
- Numbers 17:10
The LORD said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebellious, so that you may put an end to their grumbling against…
- Numbers 17:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 2.10; Bonaventure, Collationes de Decem Praeceptis, Collation 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.