Exodus 31:18
in Exodus 31When 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, the two tables of the testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
KJV
And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
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This verse in Exodus 31
Commentary
9 notes on this verseWhen he had made an end of communing - When the forty days and forty nights were ended. Two tables of testimony - See Clarke’s note on Exo 34:1. Tables of stone - That the record might be lasting, because it was a testimony that referred to future generations, and therefore the materials should be durable. Written with the finger of God - All the letters cut by God himself.
This site's exposition
two tables of testimony, tables of stone
The communing on the mount ends with an object handed over, two stone tables written with the finger of God. That phrase came into the book from Egypt's magicians at 8:19, when they failed at the lice and told Pharaoh what they were up against, and Luke 11:20 has Jesus use it of casting out devils. Moses is carrying these tables down in 32:19 when he sees the calf and breaks them, so the first thing broken after the covenant is the document of the covenant, and God writes them again at 34:1.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
This law was "written with the finger of God," and this finger of God the New Testament explicitly identifies with the Holy Spirit. For when one Evangelist has "By the finger of God, I cast out devils," another says this same thing thus: "By the spirit of God, I cast out devils." Who would not have this joy in the divine mysteries, when the redemptive doctrine shines with so clear a light, rather than all the powers of this world though they be infused with unwonted peace and happiness?
A commentator
Augustine of HippoON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 14.23 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
Now, to make our statement all the clearer, let us look at the Decalogue itself. It is certain, then, that Moses on the mount received the law, that he might deliver it to the people, written on tables of stone by the finger of God. It is summed up in these ten commandments, in which there is no precept about circumcision, nor anything concerning those animal sacrifices which have ceased to be offered by Christians. Well, now, I should like to be told what there is in these ten commandments, except the observance of the Sabbath, which ought not to be kept by a Christian,—whether it prohibit the making and worshipping of idols and of any other gods than the one true God, or the taking of God's name in vain; or prescribe honour to parents; or give warning against fornication, murder, theft, false witness, adultery, or coveting other men's property? Which of these commandments would any one say that the Christian ought not to keep? Is it possible to contend that it is not the law which was written on those two tables that the apostle describes as "the letter that killeth," but the law of circumcision and the other sacred rites which are now abolished? But then how can we think so, when in the law occurs this precept, "Thou shall not covet," by which very commandment, notwithstanding its being holy, just, and good, "sin," says the apostle, "deceived me, and by it slew me?" What else can this be than "the letter" that "killeth"?
The Medieval Church1 voice
Since the rules pertaining to the necessity of justice are contained in the divine precepts, and it belongs to justice to "render to each one his due": it is necessary that certain moral precepts order us toward God: and certain toward our neighbor according to …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The law was written in tables of stone, to denote the perpetual duration of it (what can be supposed to last longer than that which is written in stone, and laid up?), to denote likewise the hardness of our hearts; one might more easily write in stone than write any thing that is good in our corrupt and sinful hearts.
These tables of stone, were not prepared by Moses, but probably by the ministry of angels. They were written with the finger of God - That is, by his will and power immediately, without the use of any instrument.
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him on Mount Sinai,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Two tables of testimony - See Exo 25:16; Exo 32:15. The tables of stone which represented the covenant between Yahweh and His people, and which, when covered with the mercy-seat were to give the sanctuary its significance, are now delivered to Moses in accordance with the promise in Exo 24:12. The history of what relates to the construction of the sanctuary is here interrupted, and is taken up again in Exo 35:1.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּתֵּ֣ן | vaiyiten | and he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֗ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| כְּכַלֹּתוֹ֙ | kekhaloto | when finished he | H3615 → | 208 times |
| לְדַבֵּ֤ר | ledaber | to speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אִתּוֹ֙ | ʾito | with him | H854 → | 929 times |
| בְּהַ֣ר | behar | on [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| סִינַ֔י | sinai | Sinai | H5514 → | 35 times |
| שְׁנֵ֖י | shenei | [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| לֻחֹ֣ת | luchot | [the] tablets of | H3871 → | 43 times |
| הָעֵדֻ֑ת | haedut | the testimony | H5715 → | 59 times |
| לֻחֹ֣ת | luchot | tablets of | H3871 → | 43 times |
| אֶ֔בֶן | ʾeven | stone | H68 → | 273 times |
| כְּתֻבִ֖ים | ketuvim | written | H3789 → | 224 times |
| בְּאֶצְבַּ֥ע | beetzba' | by [the] finger of | H676 → | 31 times |
| אֱלֹהִֽים׃ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
וַיִּתֵּ֣ןand he gave
vaiyitenH5414 →2011 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֗הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
כְּכַלֹּתוֹ֙when finished he
kekhalotoH3615 →208 times
לְדַבֵּ֤רto speak
ledaberH1696 →1141 times
אִתּוֹ֙with him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
בְּהַ֣רon [the] mountain of
beharH2022 →546 times
סִינַ֔יSinai
sinaiH5514 →35 times
שְׁנֵ֖י[the] two
sheneiH8147 →768 times
לֻחֹ֣ת[the] tablets of
luchotH3871 →43 times
הָעֵדֻ֑תthe testimony
haedutH5715 →59 times
לֻחֹ֣תtablets of
luchotH3871 →43 times
אֶ֔בֶןstone
ʾevenH68 →273 times
כְּתֻבִ֖יםwritten
ketuvimH3789 →224 times
בְּאֶצְבַּ֥עby [the] finger of
beetzba'H676 →31 times
אֱלֹהִֽים׃God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 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
2 Corinthians 3:3It 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…
it leads to
- 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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 11:19
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,
- 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…
- 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.”
- Psalms 40:8
I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”
- Jeremiah 31:33
Through
Deuteronomy 4:13He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to follow—the Ten Commandments that He wrote on two tablets of stone.
it leads to
- Exodus 24:12
Then 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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 34:28
So Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.
- Exodus 24:12
Through
Exodus 24:12Then 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…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 5:22
The LORD spoke these commandments in a loud voice to your whole assembly out of the fire, the cloud, and the deep darkness on the mountain; He added nothing more. And He wrote them…
- Deuteronomy 5:22
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); Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 55; Augustine of Hippo, ON THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 14.23; Bonaventure, Breviloquium, Part 5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.