The revelation at Sinai is related twice in the Torah: first in Exodus, at its chronological place, and again in Deuteronomy, within Moses’ speech reviewing Israel’s wilderness history.
Sinai is a climax of Exodus, toward which the book strives from its beginning. At the burning bush, where Moses receives his mission, he is told that after bringing the people out they will serve God on this mountain (Exodus 3:12: “בְּהוֹצִיאֲךָ אֶת הָעָם מִמִּצְרַיִם תַּעַבְדוּן אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים עַל הָהָר הַזֶּה”). Ibn Ezra identifies Sinai as a principal purpose of the Exodus. Nahmanides, introducing Terumah, explains the Tabernacle as an attempt to preserve over time the ideal state of divine revelation at Sinai. Immediately after the golden calf Moses asks that if God’s presence does not accompany them, He not bring them up from there (Exodus 33:15: “אִם אֵין פָּנֶיךָ הֹלְכִים אַל תַּעֲלֵנוּ מִזֶּה”). In other words: if You will not reveal Your presence among us as You travel with us, leave us here at Sinai, where You revealed Yourself to Israel.
The Sinai account contains difficulties arising from duplicate and even contradictory descriptions. I shall offer an overall perspective on its purpose and nature that explains these difficulties.
The Difficulties
Let us begin with some duplications. God’s descent appears twice: Exodus 19:18 describes the whole mountain smoking because He descended in fire; verse 20 again says He descended to its summit. Another example occurs in the prior negotiations. Moses summons the elders, conveys God’s commands, and the people jointly promise to do all He has said (19:7–8). Far from the Ten Commandments, chapter 24 opens with similar negotiations ending in nearly identical wording: Moses relates God’s words and ordinances, and the people answer with one voice that they will do them (24:3). What is the relationship between these accounts?
Following the Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 88a), Rashi on Exodus 24:1 places the altar and basins before the Torah’s giving: Moses is told to ascend on 4 Sivan, the altar is erected on 5 Sivan, and Torah is given on 7 Sivan. Ibn Ezra, Nahmanides, and Sforno instead place chapter 24 afterward. Netziv’s Ha’amek Davar (19:8; 24:1) follows Rashi, viewing both descriptions as a single story entirely before the giving. He goes further, placing the legal portion of Mishpatim before it too: chapter 24 says Moses recounted all the ordinances, apparently referring to the preceding unit introduced as the ordinances to set before them (21:1; 24:3: “הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים”). Either way, this duplication requires explanation.
There are also many contradictions. Did Israel hear the Ten Commandments directly from God, or did Moses hear and transmit them? Immediately afterward we read:
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. And all the people perceived the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the horn, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off. (Exodus 20:14–15)
וְכָל הָעָם רֹאִים אֶת הַקּוֹלֹת וְאֶת הַלַּפִּידִם וְאֵת קוֹל הַשֹּׁפָר וְאֶת הָהָר עָשֵׁן וַיַּרְא הָעָם וַיָּנֻעוּ וַיַּעַמְדוּ מֵרָחֹק. וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל מֹשֶׁה דַּבֵּר אַתָּה עִמָּנוּ וְנִשְׁמָעָה וְאַל יְדַבֵּר עִמָּנוּ אֱלֹהִים פֶּן נָמוּת. (שמות כ' יד-טו)
Seeing the thunder, flashes, horn, and smoke preceding the Commandments, the people are frightened and request mediation. This suggests that only Moses hears the Commandments. Yet the continuation says something quite different:
And the people stood afar off; but Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. (Exodus 20:18)
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה כֹּה תֹאמַר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אַתֶּם רְאִיתֶם כִּי מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם דִּבַּרְתִּי עִמָּכֶם. (שמות כ׳, י״ט)
This suggests that the people hear God directly.
The verses also differ about Sinai’s purpose. It is commonly seen as the making of a covenant, explicitly described in Deuteronomy:
And He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even the ten words; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone. (Deuteronomy 4:13)
וַיַּגֵּד לָכֶם אֶת בְּרִיתוֹ אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה אֶתְכֶם לַעֲשׂוֹת עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים וַיִּכְתְּבֵם עַל שְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת אֲבָנִים. (דברים ד' יג)
But before His descent, God tells Moses:
And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and may also believe thee for ever.’ And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD. (Exodus 19:9)
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי בָּא אֵלֶיךָ בְּעַב הֶעָנָן בַּעֲבוּר יִשְׁמַע הָעָם בְּדַבְּרִי עִמָּךְ וְגַם בְּךָ יַאֲמִינוּ לְעוֹלָם... (שמות י"ט ט)
Here the purpose seems not covenant-making but demonstrating God’s speech with Moses to strengthen belief in his prophecy.
The “Aspect of Love” and the “Aspect of Moses’ Prophecy”
To answer these and further difficulties, I shall use Rabbi Mordechai Breuer’s method of aspects, introduced in the book’s introduction. The apparent single story contains two principal accounts. In Breuer’s terms, two aspects illuminate Israel’s pivotal event differently. I shall distinguish them, then attempt to reconcile them and suggest how the event occurred in reality.
Their central difference appears to concern Sinai’s purpose. One aspect chiefly seeks to establish belief in Moses’ prophecy. Maimonides explains:
Israel did not believe Moses our teacher because of his signs. Belief based on signs contains doubt, for a sign might be achieved by secret arts or sorcery… What established their belief? Sinai, where our own eyes, not another’s, saw; our own ears, not another’s, heard the fire, sounds, and flashes. He approached the thick darkness, the voice spoke to him, and we heard… How do we know Sinai alone proves his prophecy true beyond doubt? Exodus 19:9 says that the people will hear God speak with him and believe in him forever. Before that, their trust was therefore not enduring certainty but trust followed by doubt and reflection. (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the Torah 8:1; translated from the Hebrew)
The second aspect assigns a wholly different role: a sublime union, a kind of marriage between the Holy One and the community of Israel. Its purpose is a covenant of lovers. Many biblical passages describe this bond’s beautiful chapters, such as Jeremiah:
Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: Thus saith the LORD: I remember for thee the affection of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. (Jeremiah 2:2)
כֹּה אָמַר ה' זָכַרְתִּי לָךְ חֶסֶד נְעוּרַיִךְ אַהֲבַת כְּלוּלֹתָיִךְ לֶכְתֵּךְ אַחֲרַי בַּמִּדְבָּר בְּאֶרֶץ לֹא זְרוּעָה. (ירמיהו ב' ב)
I shall call the first the “aspect of Moses’ prophecy,” the second the “aspect of love.” Their differing purposes shape the event’s character and atmosphere. In the first, Sinai is traumatic and terrifying: God speaks with Moses because Israel cannot withstand the encounter’s intensity. In the second it is an intimate covenant between partners, with direct divine speech and no intermediary.
These aspects explain duplications, beginning with the two descriptions of arrival in Exodus 19:1–2:
In the third month after the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount. (Exodus 19:1–2)
בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁלִישִׁי לְצֵאת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה בָּאוּ מִדְבַּר סִינָי. וַיִּסְעוּ מֵרְפִידִים וַיָּבֹאוּ מִדְבַּר סִינַי וַיַּחֲנוּ בַּמִּדְבָּר וַיִּחַן שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶד הָהָר. (שמות י"ט א-ב)
The repeated descent is explained similarly. Verses 16–19 present a traumatic event befitting Moses’ prophecy, filled with majesty and terror:
And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a horn exceeding loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. Now mount Sinai was altogether on smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the horn waxed louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. (Exodus 19:16–19)
וַיְהִי בַיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי בִּהְיֹת הַבֹּקֶר וַיְהִי קֹלֹת וּבְרָקִים וְעָנָן כָּבֵד עַל הָהָר וְקֹל שֹׁפָר חָזָק מְאֹד וַיֶּחֱרַד כָּל הָעָם אֲשֶׁר בַּמַּחֲנֶה. וַיּוֹצֵא מֹשֶׁה אֶת הָעָם לִקְרַאת הָאֱלֹהִים מִן הַמַּחֲנֶה וַיִּתְיַצְּבוּ בְּתַחְתִּית הָהָר. וְהַר סִינַי עָשַׁן כֻּלּוֹ מִפְּנֵי אֲשֶׁר יָרַד עָלָיו ה' בָּאֵשׁ וַיַּעַל עֲשָׁנוֹ כְּעֶשֶׁן הַכִּבְשָׁן וַיֶּחֱרַד כָּל הָהָר מְאֹד. וַיְהִי קוֹל הַשֹּׁפָר הוֹלֵךְ וְחָזֵק מְאֹד מֹשֶׁה יְדַבֵּר וְהָאֱלֹהִים יַעֲנֶנּוּ בְקוֹל. (שמות י"ט טז-יט)
The second descent contains no such phenomena:
And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, to the top of the mount; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. (Exodus 19:20)
וַיֵּרֶד ה' עַל הַר סִינַי אֶל רֹאשׁ הָהָר וַיִּקְרָא ה' לְמֹשֶׁה אֶל רֹאשׁ הָהָר וַיַּעַל מֹשֶׁה (שמות י"ט כ)
God here invites Israel’s representative Moses to the place of His presence, creating a bond with Israel. This fits the aspect of love.
Exodus 19:3–8 describes a covenant before the Commandments. Chapter 24, after the Commandments and ordinances, offers a parallel covenant with similar negotiations through Moses.
Their relationship can likewise be explained through the two aspects. Chapter 19’s covenant belongs to Moses’ prophecy, fitting its declared purpose:
And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and may also believe thee for ever.’ And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD. (Exodus 19:9)
"וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי בָּא אֵלֶיךָ בְּעַב הֶעָנָן בַּעֲבוּר יִשְׁמַע הָעָם בְּדַבְּרִי עִמָּךְ וְגַם בְּךָ יַאֲמִינוּ לְעוֹלָם וַיַּגֵּד מֹשֶׁה אֶת דִּבְרֵי הָעָם אֶל ה'" (שמות י"ט ט)
Chapter 24’s covenant of the basins fits love. Israel participates actively in an impressive ceremony: twelve pillars for the tribes, young Israelite representatives offering sacrifices (24:5), the covenant book read to all, and their response pledging to do and hear (24:7: “נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע”). Blood is sprinkled upon them to strengthen the bond (24:8). Most strikingly, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders behold Israel’s God while eating and drinking. This exceptional closeness expresses celebration and joy; see Appendix B below.
This contrasts sharply with chapter 19’s distant atmosphere. There is no impressive ceremony, only obedience – “we will do” – without chapter 24’s hearing, much less eating and drinking before God. In Moses’ prophecy aspect the covenant comes first, then God speaks the Commandments to Moses before Israel to establish his status. In love’s aspect God first reveals Himself and speaks directly to Israel; then Mishpatim’s commandments are given and the covenant of the basins is made in chapter 24.
Contradictions as well as duplications acquire new meaning. God commands Moses to sanctify the people for the third day, including washing and limits against ascending:
And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments, and be ready against the third day; for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying: Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it; whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death; no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live; when the ram’s horn soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.’ (Exodus 19:10–13)
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵךְ אֶל הָעָם וְקִדַּשְׁתָּם הַיּוֹם וּמָחָר וְכִבְּסוּ שִׂמְלֹתָם. וְהָיוּ נְכֹנִים לַיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי כִּי בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִשִׁי יֵרֵד ה' לְעֵינֵי כָל הָעָם עַל הַר סִינָי. וְהִגְבַּלְתָּ אֶת הָעָם סָבִיב לֵאמֹר הִשָּׁמְרוּ לָכֶם עֲלוֹת בָּהָר וּנְגֹעַ בְּקָצֵהוּ כָּל הַנֹּגֵעַ בָּהָר מוֹת יוּמָת. לֹא תִגַּע בּוֹ יָד כִּי סָקוֹל יִסָּקֵל אוֹ יָרֹה יִיָּרֶה אִם בְּהֵמָה אִם אִישׁ לֹא יִחְיֶה בִּמְשֹׁךְ הַיֹּבֵל הֵמָּה יַעֲלוּ בָהָר. (שמות י"ט י-יג)
Yet this does not fit the traumatic account in verses 16–19. The frightened people flee the burning mountain, as one could anticipate (20:14–15). Why require a boundary?
Indeed no boundary is needed in that aspect. The fulfillment is described:
And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their garments. And he said unto the people: ‘Be ready against the third day; come not near a woman.’ (Exodus 19:14–15)
וַיֵּרֶד מֹשֶׁה מִן הָהָר אֶל הָעָם וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֶת הָעָם וַיְכַבְּסוּ שִׂמְלֹתָם. וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל הָעָם הֱיוּ נְכֹנִים לִשְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים אַל תִּגְּשׁוּ אֶל אִשָּׁה. (שמות י"ט יד-טו)
Moses prepares the people, but no restriction on ascent is mentioned. This contrast exposes two preparation scenarios. In Moses’ prophecy aspect the event itself is so overwhelming that no one would break through to see God; neither command nor execution of a boundary is needed. In love’s aspect there is a genuine danger of crossing the thin line between worship of God and idolatry. A boundary and sanctification are therefore commanded and carried out. The final Torah combines them: the preparation command comes from love and includes the boundary; its execution comes from Moses’ prophecy and omits it.
The Ten Commandments
Both aspects appear in the speaking of the Commandments too. Did Israel hear directly, or did only Moses hear while the people withdrew in fear? This contradiction reflects the two aspects.
Immediately afterward the people fear the preceding sounds, flashes, and horn and ask Moses to hear as their representative (Exodus 20:14–17). This fits the aspect emphasizing his superior prophetic capacity to speak face to face without fear. On this account the event concludes without their hearing the Commandments directly:
And Moses said unto the people: ‘Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before you, that ye sin not.’ (Exodus 20:17)
וַיַּעֲמֹד הָעָם מֵרָחֹק וּמֹשֶׁה נִגַּשׁ אֶל הָעֲרָפֶל אֲשֶׁר שָׁם הָאֱלֹהִים. (שמות כ׳, י״ח)
Love’s aspect instead brings Israel close to its Father in heaven and establishes a lovers’ covenant. Fear and intermediaries have no place. Direct divine speech is appropriate, and occurs according to this aspect, as God’s statement that He spoke from heaven indicates (20:18).
Medieval commentators noted a striking feature within the Commandments. The first two use the first person: I, brought thee out, before Me, I am a jealous God (Exodus 20:2–4: “אָנֹכִי… הוֹצֵאתִיךָ… פָּנָי… אָנֹכִי”). The others use the third person: do not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain, for He will not acquit misuse of His name (verse 6: “ה’ אֱלֹהֶיךָ… ה’… שְׁמוֹ”).
The sages infer that Israel heard the first two directly from God (Horayot 8a; Makkot 24a). Ibn Ezra’s long commentary (Exodus 20:1) rejects this as the plain meaning: the Commandments form an uninterrupted unit, and grammatical-person shifts do not prove division or a change of speaker. He cites many similar shifts, for instance Exodus 23:18–19’s first-person My feast followed by third-person the LORD thy God (“חַגִּי… אֱלֹהֶיךָ”). These are strong proofs, yet why the shift here? His explanation that this is normal usage is insufficient: here the change is sustained and consistent, unlike brief shifts in his examples.
On my reading the shifts signal both aspects. The first-person opening indicates direct delivery of all Commandments to Israel and belongs to love. The third-person remainder suggests speech entrusted to Moses to transmit, strengthening belief in him, and belongs to prophecy. In that aspect God accepts Israel’s request for Moses’ mediation; only Moses hears directly.
Their request must occur before the Commandments in this aspect, though narrated afterward. This allows the Commandments to be read according to both. Had the request preceded them chronologically, the only reading would be Moses’ exclusive hearing. As written, their first appearance suggests direct speech to everyone, fitting love. The subsequent request then raises the possibility that Israel did not hear directly, fitting prophecy. Moving the request afterward also magnifies Israel’s missed opportunity and Moses’ status: an initial impression of direct hearing gives way to the realization that fear led them to ask Moses to hear instead.
In either aspect the Commandments remain one unit: all directly addressed to Israel in love, or all to Moses in prophecy. This explains their unusual introduction, stating that God spoke all these words without specifying His audience (Exodus 20:1: “וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה לֵאמֹר”). Such commands normally identify the recipient. Here the introduction serves both aspects and therefore leaves Moses or Israel unspecified.
Thus Exodus presents two aspects. Moses’ prophecy establishes his status through fear and upheaval, with no need to restrict a burning mountain. Covenant precedes revelation through formal words rather than pillars, sacrifices, blood, or eating. The people themselves send Moses to hear and thereby acknowledge his uniqueness.
Love’s covenant follows the Commandments and the ordinances, in chapter 24’s ceremony. Commandments and covenant alike occur in a quiet, pleasant, intimate atmosphere with no place for thunder and lightning. This requires limiting the people lest they break through and many fall (19:21). Israel hears God directly, and intimacy continues through the subsequent covenant, where Nadab, Abihu, and the elders eat, drink, and behold God (24:10–11).
In both aspects the covenant is bilateral. Israel is not a passive object forced beneath a mountain like an overturned tub, but a meaningful participant: formally promising obedience (19:8) or acting more fully in chapter 24’s ceremony.
Sinai in Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy’s account spans chapters 4–5. Chapter 4 supplies fragments of memory and lessons; chapter 5 completes the narrative and repeats the Commandments. Some points parallel both Exodus aspects; others conflict.
A central Exodus distinction concerned direct divine hearing versus secondhand hearing through Moses. Both tendencies appear in Deuteronomy, though direct hearing dominates:
And the LORD spoke unto you out of the midst of the fire; ye heard the voice of words, but ye saw no form; only a voice. And He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even the ten words; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone. (Deuteronomy 4:12–13)
וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֲלֵיכֶם מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ קוֹל דְּבָרִים אַתֶּם שֹׁמְעִים וּתְמוּנָה אֵינְכֶם רֹאִים זוּלָתִי קוֹל. וַיַּגֵּד לָכֶם אֶת בְּרִיתוֹ אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה אֶתְכֶם לַעֲשׂוֹת עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים וַיִּכְתְּבֵם עַל שְׁנֵי לֻחוֹת אֲבָנִים. (דברים ד' יב-יג)Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? (Deuteronomy 4:33)
הֲשָׁמַע עָם קוֹל אֱלֹהִים מְדַבֵּר מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׁמַעְתָּ אַתָּה וַיֶּחִי. (דברים ד' לג)Out of heaven He made thee to hear His voice, that He might instruct thee; and upon earth He made thee to see His great fire; and thou didst hear His words out of the midst of the fire. (Deuteronomy 4:36)
מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם הִשְׁמִיעֲךָ אֶת קֹלוֹ לְיַסְּרֶךָּ וְעַל הָאָרֶץ הֶרְאֲךָ אֶת אִשּׁוֹ הַגְּדוֹלָה וּדְבָרָיו שָׁמַעְתָּ מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ. (דברים ד' לו)The LORD spoke with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire– (Deuteronomy 5:4)
פָּנִים בְּפָנִים דִּבֶּר ה' עִמָּכֶם בָּהָר מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ. (דברים ה' ד)Neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s wife; neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his man-servant, or his maid-servant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s. (Deuteronomy 5:18)
אֶת הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה דִּבֶּר ה' אֶל כָּל קְהַלְכֶם בָּהָר מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ הֶעָנָן וְהָעֲרָפֶל קוֹל גָּדוֹל וְלֹא יָסָף... (דברים ה' יח)
Moses repeatedly stresses direct hearing because it strengthens Israel’s duty to keep the covenant. One verse, however, says the reverse and casts a different light. After saying God spoke face to face (5:4), Moses clarifies:
I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare unto you the word of the LORD; for ye were afraid because of the fire, and went not up into the mount–saying: . (Deuteronomy 5:5)
אָנֹכִי עֹמֵד בֵּין ה' וּבֵינֵיכֶם בָּעֵת הַהִוא לְהַגִּיד לָכֶם אֶת דְּבַר ה' כִּי יְרֵאתֶם מִפְּנֵי הָאֵשׁ וְלֹא עֲלִיתֶם בָּהָר לֵאמֹר. (דברים ה' ה)
The original intention apparently was for the people to ascend too. Their fear required Moses to carry the Commandments to them, so only he actually heard directly. Nevertheless it is called face-to-face revelation. Their failure to ascend results from fear, not a boundary. This fits Moses’ prophecy aspect, which needs no boundary for precisely that reason.
Despite these parallels, three major differences distinguish the books.
First, love’s quiet and pleasant Exodus account is wholly absent from Deuteronomy. Even its dominant direct-hearing account is accompanied by darkness, fire, cloud, thick darkness, sounds, and lightning. Moreover, Exodus places thunder and lightning only before the Commandments, even in prophecy’s aspect, never during their delivery. Deuteronomy’s voices and fire persist during them: the words are heard from the midst of fire (4:36).
Second, the timing of Israel’s request differs. Both accounts have the people asking Moses to hear instead:
And all the people perceived the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the horn, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off. (Exodus 20:15)
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל מֹשֶׁה דַּבֵּר אַתָּה עִמָּנוּ וְנִשְׁמָעָה וְאַל יְדַבֵּר עִמָּנוּ אֱלֹהִים פֶּן נָמוּת. (שמות כ׳, י״ו)These words the LORD spoke unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice, and it went on no more. And He wrote them upon two tables of stone, and gave them unto me. And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain did burn with fire, that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; and ye said: ‘Behold, the LORD our God hath shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire; we have seen this day that God doth speak with man, and he liveth. Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? (Deuteronomy 5:19–23)
וַיְהִי כְּשָׁמְעֲכֶם אֶת הַקּוֹל מִתּוֹךְ הַחֹשֶׁךְ וְהָהָר בֹּעֵר בָּאֵשׁ וַתִּקְרְבוּן אֵלַי כָּל רָאשֵׁי שִׁבְטֵיכֶם וְזִקְנֵיכֶם. וַתֹּאמְרוּ הֵן הֶרְאָנוּ ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֶת כְּבֹדוֹ וְאֶת גָּדְלוֹ וְאֶת קֹלוֹ שָׁמַעְנוּ מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה רָאִינוּ כִּי יְדַבֵּר אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם וָחָי. וְעַתָּה לָמָּה נָמוּת כִּי תֹאכְלֵנוּ הָאֵשׁ הַגְּדֹלָה הַזֹּאת אִם יֹסְפִים אֲנַחְנוּ לִשְׁמֹעַ אֶת קוֹל ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ עוֹד וָמָתְנוּ. כִּי מִי כָל בָּשָׂר אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַע קוֹל אֱלֹהִים חַיִּים מְדַבֵּר מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ כָּמֹנוּ וַיֶּחִי. קְרַב אַתָּה וּשְׁמָע אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר יֹאמַר ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ וְאַתְּ תְּדַבֵּר אֵלֵינוּ אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר יְדַבֵּר ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֵלֶיךָ וְשָׁמַעְנוּ וְעָשִׂינוּ. (דברים ה' יט-כג)
In Exodus they fear phenomena preceding the Commandments and ask beforehand. In Deuteronomy they request mediation only after hearing them all, for God’s future speech. The future-tense request suggests this, and its consequence makes it explicit:
Oh that they had such a heart as this alway, to fear Me, and keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! Go say to them: Return ye to your tents. (Deuteronomy 5:26–27)
לֵךְ אֱמֹר לָהֶם שׁוּבוּ לָכֶם לְאָהֳלֵיכֶם. וְאַתָּה פֹּה עֲמֹד עִמָּדִי וַאֲדַבְּרָה אֵלֶיךָ אֵת כָּל הַמִּצְוָה וְהַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תְּלַמְּדֵם וְעָשׂוּ בָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לָהֶם לְרִשְׁתָּהּ. (דברים ה׳, כ״ז–כ״ח)
Returning to their tents means the event has ended. What Moses subsequently hears directly is the detailed explanation of commandments, statutes, and ordinances given in Mishpatim.
Third, Deuteronomy conspicuously omits the covenant of the basins. Exodus calls only the prior covenant (19:5) and chapter 24’s ceremony covenants, not the Commandments themselves. Deuteronomy mentions neither surrounding covenant and instead calls the Commandments His covenant (4:13).
Israel actively participates in Exodus, answering in unison that it will do God’s words (19:8; 24:3), and do and hear (24:7). Its representatives, the young Israelites, offer sacrifices (24:5). This element is completely absent in Deuteronomy, where the covenant descends from heaven upon passive recipients. The picture grows bleaker in 5:5: they do not even hear directly, relying on secondhand transmission.
Thus Deuteronomy parallels Exodus but also differs markedly. Its portrayal is generally unflattering: passive Israel resembles the Talmudic image of a mountain held over it like a tub (Shabbat). No covenant ceremony or other covenant is made by Israel; it passively hears Commandments called God’s covenant. Thunder and lightning overshadow even these sublime words.
As in Exodus, Deuteronomy’s aspects divide over direct hearing. Its dominant aspect affirms it, crediting Israel with courage to hear despite the sounds and flashes. The second, in 5:5, denies even this achievement.
Several reasons may explain the pessimistic tone. The account belongs to Moses’ speech on the eve of entry into the land and his own death. Much time has passed since Sinai; perspective naturally broadens and the overall picture changes. Moreover, a moral exhortation naturally adopts a critical viewpoint, emphasizing some details and omitting others.
Combining the Aspects
I hope to have unfolded the hidden aspects, separating the Torah’s white light into the spectrum of accounts composing it. That is the chapter’s main aim; combining them into a continuous historical event is secondary. Many combinations are possible. Classical commentators, harmonizing contradictory passages, in effect offer such combinations. Still, I shall propose one, not tied to a single commentator, emphasizing that it is not necessary or exclusive.
Begin with the two covenants in Exodus 19 and 24. Moses omits both in Deuteronomy, but a combined account can acknowledge that they occurred despite his omission for various reasons. In analyzing Exodus I assigned each to a different aspect. Historically, however, two covenants could have occurred: a general covenant before the Commandments, without detailed laws, and a later detailed covenant incorporating the covenant book and Mishpatim’s commandments.
Both books contain direct-hearing verses and verses implying mediation. The aspect method distinguishes these, but their combination can allow both to be true. The sages already proposed this:
How many Commandments did Israel hear from the Almighty? Rabbi Joshua says two; the rabbis say all. (Pesikta Rabbati 22:3; translated from the Hebrew)
The Babylonian Talmud repeats this teaching (Horayot 8a; Makkot 24a), cited earlier.
A rabbinic opinion thus divides the Commandments: the first two heard directly, the rest through Moses. The grammatical-person shift provides the hint already noted.
One aspect has thunder and lightning, the other quiet. To combine them, we can follow Sifrei:
One verse describes thunder and lightning on the third morning (Exodus 19:16); another describes a still small voice (1 Kings 19:12). How can both stand? When the Holy One speaks, everyone is silent. (Sifrei Numbers, section 58; translated from the Hebrew)
The Babylonian Talmud repeats this idea in a broader context concerning the event’s character:
Hezekiah said: what does the verse mean when judgment sounds from heaven and earth fears and becomes quiet (Psalm 76:9)? If it feared, why was it quiet; if quiet, why did it fear? Initially it feared, and afterward it became quiet. (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 88a; translated from the Hebrew)
The event thus begins with thunder and lightning, but the Commandments themselves are delivered in absolute silence.
The two aspects describe the same event differently, assigning different purposes and characters that produce further differences. Each claims the whole account, yet historical Sinai was one event composed of different aspects, like white light composed of spectral colors.
Appendix A: Moses’ Ascent
The chapter explained Sinai through love and Moses’ prophecy. The aspect method can also analyze a particular event within it: Moses’ ascent. Here, however, the division follows a different axis.
Exodus 24:12 through the chapter’s end describes Moses’ solitary ascent. Careful reading reveals two ascents, two aspects. The first appears in verses 12–15:
And the LORD 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.’ And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister; and Moses went up into the mount of God. And unto the elders he said: ‘Tarry ye here for us, until we come back unto you; and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whosoever hath a cause, let him come near unto them.’ And Moses went up into the mount, and the cloud covered the mount. (Exodus 24:12–15)
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה עֲלֵה אֵלַי הָהָרָה וֶהְיֵה שָׁם וְאֶתְּנָה לְךָ אֶת לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן וְהַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוָה אֲשֶׁר כָּתַבְתִּי לְהוֹרֹתָם. וַיָּקָם מֹשֶׁה וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ מְשָׁרְתוֹ וַיַּעַל מֹשֶׁה אֶל הַר הָאֱלֹהִים. וְאֶל הַזְּקֵנִים אָמַר שְׁבוּ לָנוּ בָזֶה עַד אֲשֶׁר נָשׁוּב אֲלֵיכֶם וְהִנֵּה אַהֲרֹן וְחוּר עִמָּכֶם מִי בַעַל דְּבָרִים יִגַּשׁ אֲלֵהֶם. וַיַּעַל מֹשֶׁה אֶל הָהָר וַיְכַס הֶעָנָן אֶת הָהָר. (שמות כ"ד יב-טו)
The next verses describe another:
And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the mount; and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights. (Exodus 24:16–18)
וַיִּשְׁכֹּן כְּבוֹד ה' עַל הַר סִינַי וַיְכַסֵּהוּ הֶעָנָן שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִתּוֹךְ הֶעָנָן. וּמַרְאֵה כְּבוֹד ה' כְּאֵשׁ אֹכֶלֶת בְּרֹאשׁ הָהָר לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה בְּתוֹךְ הֶעָנָן וַיַּעַל אֶל הָהָר... (שמות כ"ד טז-יח)
Verse 18’s second half, Moses’ forty days and nights on the mountain, concludes both together.
Joshua accompanies the first ascent but is absent from the second. In the first the cloud covers the mountain after Moses ascends (24:15); in the second it covers it six days before he enters (24:16).
Their purposes differ too. The first explicitly concerns receiving the stone tablets, Torah, and commandment written to instruct Israel (24:12). The second leaves its purpose unstated, but proximity to the Tabernacle passages implies instruction in its construction. Those passages repeatedly refer to God’s showing Moses the pattern on the mountain (25:40; 26:30).
Nahmanides explains that the Tabernacle’s secret is the concealed dwelling there of the glory that dwelt at Sinai (25:1), elaborating linguistic parallels. The first revelation after the Tabernacle’s erection (40:34–38) indeed parallels the second ascent.
In the Tabernacle the cloud covers the tent and God’s glory fills it (40:34: “וַיְכַס הֶעָנָן… כְבוֹד ה’”). At the second ascent God’s glory dwells at Sinai and the cloud covers it for six days (24:16: “כְּבוֹד ה’… וַיְכַסֵּהוּ הֶעָנָן”).
At the Tabernacle Moses cannot enter because the cloud rests upon it (40:35). Likewise at the second ascent he waits six days until God’s seventh-day call from within the cloud permits entry (24:16).
At the Tabernacle the cloud is there by day and fire by night in all Israel’s sight (40:38: “וְאֵשׁ… לְעֵינֵי כָל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל”). At the second ascent God’s glory resembles consuming fire at the summit in Israel’s sight (24:17: “כְּאֵשׁ… לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל”).
Moses’ second mission is therefore to bring God’s revelation from Sinai’s summit into the Tabernacle within Israel.
These purposes explain the descriptions’ differences. The second transfers revelation to the Tabernacle, so the cloud already dwelling on the mountain is Sinai’s revelatory cloud and precedes Moses. The first receives God’s words, tablets, Torah, and commandment (24:12). In this respect it resembles Moses’ other meetings with God, when God descends in a cloud to speak. As shown in “The Meeting Tent, the Curtain, and the Incense Altar,” these meetings take place in the Tent of Meeting, initially outside the camp and later at its center. The cloud descends only after Moses arrives (33:9: “וְהָיָה כְּבֹא מֹשֶׁה הָאֹהֱלָה יֵרֵד עַמּוּד הֶעָנָן…”). Similarly, at his first ascent to receive divine speech, Moses goes up before the cloud appears.
The purposes also explain Joshua’s presence only in the first ascent, for receiving Torah. Moses’ attendant has a special connection to him and the Torah he brings. As Israel’s leader, Joshua is commanded to meditate on the Torah book day and night (Joshua 1:8). This bond connects him to the meeting tent where divine speech is received. Exodus contrasts Moses’ return to camp with Joshua son of Nun, his young attendant, remaining in the tent (33:11: “וּמְשָׁרְתוֹ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן נַעַר לֹא יָמִישׁ מִתּוֹךְ הָאֹהֶל”).
Appendix B: Revelation to the People’s Leaders
Finally I shall discuss the special revelation to Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders. Not centrally tied to the two-aspect distinction, it occurs in chapter 24’s covenant, where this group sees Israel’s God (24:10: “וַיִּרְאוּ אֵת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל”), before Moses’ solitary ascent.
Before the Commandments, God instructs Moses to descend and then ascend with Aaron, forbidding priests and people to break through (19:24). Chapter 24 apparently fulfills that command, as Sforno on 19:25 explains: its opening similarly invites Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders (24:1). The aspect division supports this, since both the warning and chapter 24 belong to love. This special revelation illuminates intimacy between God and Israel. In Moses’ prophecy aspect there is no place for additional recipients: that would compromise his absolute uniqueness as prophet and leader.
Yet if chapter 24 fulfills the earlier command, why do Nadab, Abihu, and the elders join Moses and Aaron, whereas the instruction named only those two?
Consider alternative punctuation of Exodus 19:24. The cantillation places the major pause at “with thee,” separating Moses and Aaron, who ascend, from priests and people, who remain below. A pause instead after “and the priests” would command Moses, Aaron, and priests to ascend, leaving only the people below. Verse 22 supports this: priests who approach God must sanctify themselves, suggesting that they are indeed to approach. This can align command and fulfillment if priests means Nadab and Abihu, while the distinction from ordinary people leaves the elevated seventy elders among those ascending.
Besides departing from the cantillation, this interpretation has a drawback: even with new punctuation, Moses and Aaron remain a separate group, though nowhere in Sinai’s account do those two separate from everyone else. The only solitary approach is Moses without Aaron (24:2).
Alternatively, the first command mentioning Moses and Aaron may be abbreviated, perhaps to reach the Commandments quickly. Its full intention includes Aaron and the other leaders, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders, as chapter 24 describes at length.
