New English Translation
Exodus 31:18
18He 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.
Exodus 31:18 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- New International Version (NIV)When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
Context of Exodus 31:18
16The Israelites must keep the Sabbath by observing the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17It is a sign between me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’” 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.
Read all of Exodus 31Exodus 31:18 word by word
וַיִּתֵּ֣ן אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה כְּכַלֹּתוֹ֙ לְדַבֵּ֤ר אִתּוֹ֙ בְּהַ֣ר סִינַ֔י שְׁנֵ֖י לֻחֹ֣ת הָעֵדֻ֑ת לֻחֹ֣ת אֶ֔בֶן כְּתֻבִ֖ים בְּאֶצְבַּ֥ע אֱלֹהִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he gaveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- unto Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- when he had made an endכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: finishH3615
- of communingדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- with him upon mountהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
- Sinaiסִינַיsîynay · SinaiH5514
- twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
- tablesלוּחַlûach lûach · tabletH3871
- of testimonyעֵדוּת‛êdûth · testimonyH5715
- of stoneאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
- writtenכָּתַבkâthab · to writeH3789
- with the fingerאֶצְבַּע'etsba‛ · fingerH676
- of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
Cross-references for Exodus 31:18
- Exodus 24:12The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandments that I have written, so that you may teach them.”
- Exodus 32:15Moses turned and went down from the mountain with 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.
- Exodus 34:1The Lord said to Moses, “Cut out two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you smashed.
- Deuteronomy 4:13And he revealed to you the covenant he has commanded you to keep, the ten commandments, writing them on two stone tablets.
- Deuteronomy 5:22The 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. Then he inscribed the words on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
- Deuteronomy 9:9When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you, I remained there forty days and nights, eating and drinking nothing.
- 2 Corinthians 3:3revealing that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on tablets of human hearts.
- Exodus 8:19The magicians said to Pharaoh, “It is the finger of God!” But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.
- Exodus 32:16Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
- Jeremiah 31:33“But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land,” says the Lord. “I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God and they will be my people.
- Matthew 12:28But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you.
- Luke 11:20But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you.
- 2 Corinthians 3:7But if the ministry that produced death – carved in letters on stone tablets – came with glory, so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face (a glory which was made ineffective),
Commentaries on Exodus 31:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18When 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 Exodus 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. Dr. Winder, in his History of Knowledge, thinks it probable that this was the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Two tables of testimony - See Exodus 25:16; Exodus 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 Exodus 24:12. The history of what relates to the construction of the sanctuary is here interrupted, and is taken up again in Exodus 35:1.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18Verse 18 The law was written in tables of stone, to show how lasting it is: to denote likewise the hardness of our hearts; one might more easily write on stone, than write any thing good on our corrupt natural hearts. It was written with the finger of God; by his will and power. God only can write his law in the heart: he gives a heart of flesh; then, by his Spirit, which is the finger of God, writes his will in the heart, 2Co 3:3.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18Normally, each party to a covenant received a written copy of the terms of the covenant. So it may be that the two stone tablets were identical, one being God’s copy and the other the people’s copy, to be kept together in the ark of the covenant. finger of God: See 34:28.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. tables of stone, written with the finger of God--containing the ten commandments (Ex 24:12), called "tables of testimony," because God testified His will in them.Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 31:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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