Exodus 32:16
in Exodus 32The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
KJV
And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
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This verse in Exodus 32
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Moses turned, and went down from the mount--The plain, Er-Raheh, is not visible from the top of Jebel Musa, nor can the mount be descended on the side towards that valley; hence Moses and his companion, who on duty had patiently waited his return in the hollow of the mountain's brow, heard the shouting some time before they actually saw the camp.
This site's exposition
with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands
on Exodus 32:15-16
The tables are called the work of God and the writing the writing of God, and 31:18 says they were written with the finger of God. That phrase entered Scripture at 8:19 in the mouth of Egypt's magicians, who used it of the one plague they could not copy. Moses wrote at 24:4 and God writes here, and the first thing broken after the covenant is made is the covenant document itself.
This site's exposition
the writing was the writing of God
The tablets and the writing were both the work of God, and in verse 19 Moses throws them down and shatters them at the base of the mountain. At 34:1 Moses chisels out the second pair himself, and God writes on them the words of the first. Adam Clarke looks to Jeremiah 31:33, the law on the heart.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the tables were the work of God,.... And not of angels or men; the stones were made and formed by God into the shape they were: and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables; the letters in which the law was written were of his framing, devising, and engraving; and this was to show that this law was his own, and contained his mind and will; and to give the greater dignity and authority to it, and to deter men from breaking it.
While Moses was in the cloud, as in the presence-chamber, Joshua continued as near as he might, in the anti-chamber (as it were), waiting till Moses came out, that he might be ready to attend him; and though he was all alone for forty days (fed, it is likely, with manna), yet he was not weary of waiting, as the people were, but when Moses came down he came with him, and not till then.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The tables were the work of God - Because such a law could proceed from none but himself; God alone is the fountain and author of Law, of what is right, just, holy, and good. See the meaning of the word Law, Exo 12:49 (note). The writing was the writing of God - For as he is the sole author of law and justice, so he alone can write them on the heart of man.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַ֨לֻּחֹ֔ת | vehaluchot | and the tablets | H3871 → | 43 times |
| מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה | maaseh | [were] [the] work of | H4639 → | 236 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הֵ֑מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| וְהַמִּכְתָּ֗ב | vehamikhtav | and the writing | H4385 → | 9 times |
| מִכְתַּ֤ב | mikhtav | [was] [the] writing of | H4385 → | 9 times |
| אֱלֹהִים֙ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| ה֔וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| חָר֖וּת | charut | engraved | H2801 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַלֻּחֹֽת׃ | haluchot | the tablets | H3871 → | 43 times |
וְהַ֨לֻּחֹ֔תand the tablets
vehaluchotH3871 →43 times
מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה[were] [the] work of
maasehH4639 →236 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
הֵ֑מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
וְהַמִּכְתָּ֗בand the writing
vehamikhtavH4385 →9 times
מִכְתַּ֤ב[was] [the] writing of
mikhtavH4385 →9 times
אֱלֹהִים֙God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
ה֔וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
חָר֖וּתengraved
charutH2801 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַלֻּחֹֽת׃the tablets
haluchotH3871 →43 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
Hebrews 8:10For 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…
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.
- Ezekiel 36:26–28
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
- 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…
- 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,
- Hebrews 10:16–17
“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.”
- 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
Exodus 34:1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.
it leads to
- Exodus 32:19
As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain.
- Exodus 32:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.