New Living Translation
Exodus 31:18
18When the Lord finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, 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 people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time. 17It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.’” When the Lord finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, 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 24:12Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Stay there, and I will give you the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people.”
- Exodus 32:15Then Moses turned and went down the mountain. He held in his hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.
- Exodus 34:1Then the Lord told Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. I will write on them the same words that were on the tablets you smashed.
- Deuteronomy 4:13He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets.
- Deuteronomy 5:22“The Lord spoke these words to all of you assembled there at the foot of the mountain. He spoke with a loud voice from the heart of the fire, surrounded by clouds and deep darkness. This was all he said at that time, and he wrote his words on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
- Deuteronomy 9:9This happened when I was on the mountain receiving the tablets of stone inscribed with the words of the covenant that the Lord had made with you. I was there for forty days and forty nights, and all that time I ate no food and drank no water.
- 2 Corinthians 3:3Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.
- Exodus 8:19“This is the finger of God!” the magicians exclaimed to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He wouldn’t listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.
- Exodus 32:16These tablets were God’s work; the words on them were written by God himself.
- Jeremiah 31:33“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
- Matthew 12:28But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.
- Luke 11:20But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.
- 2 Corinthians 3:7The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away.
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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