Covenant at Sinai and Giving of the Law

The dramatic encounter at Mount Sinai where God descended in fire and thunder to give the Ten Commandments and establish a covenant with Israel. This foundational moment—when divine law was inscribed on stone tablets and a nation committed to obey—defines Jewish identity, provides Christianity’s moral foundation, and represents in Islam one of the great revelations before the Quran.

The Biblical Account

Arrival at Sinai

Three Months After Exodus (Exodus 19:1-2):

• Third month after leaving Egypt
• Israelites camped before the mountain
• Wilderness of Sinai
• Pause after journey from Egypt
• Preparation for encounter with God

God’s Proposal (Exodus 19:3-6):

• Moses went up mountain
• God spoke: “You have seen what I did to Egypt, how I bore you on eagles’ wings”
• “Now if you obey my voice and keep my covenant…”
• “You shall be my treasured possession”
• “A kingdom of priests and a holy nation”
• Conditional covenant: obedience required

The People Agree (Exodus 19:7-8):

• Moses conveyed God’s words to elders
• All people answered together: “All that the LORD has spoken we will do”
• Unanimous commitment
• Before hearing specific terms
• Faith and trust

The Theophany

Preparation (Exodus 19:10-15):

• Three days of consecration
• Wash clothes, abstain from sexual relations
• Boundaries around mountain
• No one to touch mountain or die
• Holiness required

God Descends (Exodus 19:16-20):

• Thunder and lightning
• Thick cloud on mountain
• Very loud trumpet blast
• Everyone trembled
• Mount Sinai wrapped in smoke
• LORD descended in fire
• Smoke like furnace
• Mountain quaked violently
• Trumpet blast grew louder
• Moses spoke, God answered in thunder

Terror of the People (Exodus 20:18-21):

• Saw thunder and lightning, heard trumpet, saw smoking mountain
• Trembled with fear, stood far off
• Said to Moses: “You speak to us, we will listen; but don’t let God speak to us or we will die”
• Moses: “Don’t fear; God has come to test you, so that fear of Him will keep you from sinning”
• People stood far off, Moses approached thick darkness where God was

The Ten Commandments

The Decalogue (Exodus 20:1-17):

Preamble:

• “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery”
• Identity and redemption before law
• Grace before obligation

The Ten Words:

1. No other gods besides Me
2. No idols or images
3. Not take LORD’s name in vain
4. Remember Sabbath day, keep it holy
5. Honor father and mother
6. Not murder
7. Not commit adultery
8. Not steal
9. Not bear false witness
10. Not covet

Two Tablets:

• Written on stone by finger of God
• First tablet: Duties to God (commands 1-4)
• Second tablet: Duties to neighbor (commands 5-10)
• Love God, love neighbor

The Covenant Ceremony

The Book of the Covenant (Exodus 20:22-23:33):

• Detailed laws following Ten Commandments
• Civil, criminal, ceremonial regulations
• Moses wrote all God’s words

Ratification (Exodus 24:3-8):

• Moses told people all LORD’s words and laws
• People: “All the words the LORD has spoken we will do”
• Moses wrote everything down
• Built altar, twelve pillars (for twelve tribes)
• Young men sacrificed burnt offerings
• Moses took blood, sprinkled half on altar
• Read Book of Covenant to people
• People: “All that the LORD has spoken we will do and obey”
• Moses sprinkled blood on people: “This is the blood of the covenant”
• Blood binds God and people together

The Covenant Meal (Exodus 24:9-11):

• Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 elders went up
• Saw God of Israel
• Under His feet like pavement of sapphire
• God did not strike them
• They beheld God and ate and drank
• Covenant celebration

Moses on the Mountain

Forty Days and Nights (Exodus 24:12-18):

• God called Moses up to receive stone tablets
• Moses and Joshua went up
• Cloud covered mountain six days
• Seventh day, God called Moses from cloud
• Glory of LORD like consuming fire
• Moses entered cloud, stayed forty days and nights
• Received tablets, instructions for Tabernacle

The Golden Calf Crisis

The Rebellion

While Moses Delayed (Exodus 32:1-6):

• People grew restless
• Demanded Aaron make gods to lead them
• Aaron collected gold earrings
• Made golden calf
• “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from Egypt”
• Built altar, proclaimed festival
• People worshiped, feasted, revelry

God’s Anger and Moses’s Intercession

Divine Wrath (Exodus 32:7-10):

• God told Moses: “Your people have corrupted themselves”
• Made molten calf, worshiped it
• “Now let me alone, that my wrath may burn…I will consume them”
• “I will make of you a great nation”

Moses Pleads (Exodus 32:11-14):

• Implored LORD: “Why does your wrath burn against your people?”
• “Egyptians will say you brought them out to kill them”
• “Remember Abraham, Isaac, Israel, your servants”
• “You swore to multiply their descendants”
• LORD relented from disaster

The Tablets Broken

Moses Descends (Exodus 32:15-20):

• Carried two tablets, written on both sides
• Work of God, writing of God
• Heard noise of revelry
• Saw calf and dancing
• Anger burned, threw tablets, broke them
• Burned calf, ground to powder, scattered on water
• Made Israelites drink it

Covenant Renewed

Moses Returns to Mountain (Exodus 34:1-28):

• God: “Cut two tablets like first; I will write the words that were on the first”
• Moses carved tablets, went up early
• LORD descended in cloud, proclaimed His name
• “The LORD, the LORD, God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”
• Moses bowed, worshiped
• God renewed covenant
• Moses stayed forty days and nights again
• Wrote on tablets the Ten Commandments

Moses’s Shining Face (Exodus 34:29-35):

• Descended with tablets
• Face shone from speaking with God
• People afraid to approach
• Moses wore veil except when speaking to God or teaching law
• Visible transformation from divine encounter

Theological Significance in Judaism

Torah as Divine Gift

The Central Event:

• More important than Exodus itself
• Exodus freed them; Sinai made them Israel
• Revelation of God’s will
• Blueprint for holy living
• Foundation of Judaism

The Written and Oral Torah:

• Written Torah: Five Books of Moses
• Oral Torah: Traditional interpretation (later written in Mishnah, Talmud)
• Both given at Sinai (rabbinic tradition)
• Continuous revelation and interpretation

Shavuot Celebration:

• Feast of Weeks, fifty days after Passover
• Commemorates giving of Torah
• All-night Torah study
• Reading Ten Commandments in synagogue
• Dairy foods traditional
• Reenacting acceptance of Torah

The Covenant Relationship

Chosen People:

• “You shall be my treasured possession”
• “Kingdom of priests, holy nation”
• Special relationship with God
• Privilege and responsibility
• Called to holiness

Conditional Covenant:

• “If you obey my voice and keep my covenant”
• Blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28)
• Covenant can be broken
• But God’s commitment endures
• Repentance restores relationship

The Shema:

• “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
• Central declaration of Jewish faith
• Recited daily
• Monotheism proclaimed
• First commandment applied

Christian Perspective

Law and Grace

The Law as Tutor (Galatians 3:24):

• Law was guardian until Christ came
• Shows sin, inability to save ourselves
• Points to need for Savior
• Good but insufficient for salvation
• Fulfilled in Christ

New Covenant:

• Jeremiah 31:31-34 prophesied new covenant
• Jesus: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20)
• Law written on hearts, not stone
• Holy Spirit enables obedience
• Grace replaces law as means of righteousness

Sermon on the Mount:

• Jesus interprets and intensifies law
• Not just actions but heart attitudes
• “You have heard…but I say to you…”
• Fulfills law perfectly
• Calls disciples to higher righteousness

Typology

Moses and Christ:

• Moses mediator of old covenant
• Jesus mediator of new covenant (Hebrews 8-9)
• Moses sprinkled blood of animals
• Jesus shed His own blood
• Moses veiled face
• Christ reveals God fully

Pentecost Connection:

• Shavuot/Pentecost same festival
• Law given at Sinai
• Spirit given at Pentecost
• External law becomes internal transformation
• Both fifty days after deliverance (Passover/Easter)

Islamic Perspective

Musa on the Mountain

Quranic Account (Quran 7:142-156):

• Musa appointed to meet Allah forty nights
• Left Harun (Aaron) in charge
• People made calf in his absence
• Musa returned angry, rebuked Harun
• Chose seventy men for meeting with Allah
• Earthquake seized them
• Musa interceded

The Tablets:

• Quran 7:145: “We wrote for him on the tablets guidance and explanation of everything”
• Commanded to take them seriously
• Israelites told to hold firmly to what was given

Israelites’ Rebellion:

• Made calf from ornaments
• Worshiped it despite signs
• Allah forgave after repentance
• Pattern of rebellion and forgiveness
• Warning against idolatry

Sharia Comparison

Divine Law:

• Torah as revealed law from Allah
• Precedent for Sharia (Islamic law)
• Both comprehensive systems
• Both divine origin
• Quran as final, complete revelation

Historical and Critical Questions

Historicity**:

• No extra-biblical evidence for Sinai event
• Location of Mount Sinai disputed (traditional site in southern Sinai, alternatives proposed)
• Large-scale theophany difficult to verify historically
• Core tradition very ancient
• Central to Israelite identity from earliest times

The Law Codes**:

• Similarities to ancient Near Eastern law codes (Code of Hammurabi, Hittite laws)
• Distinctive elements: Monotheism, covenant framework
• Dating debates: Mosaic authorship vs. later compilation
• Most scholars see development over time
• Core Decalogue likely very ancient

Two Tablets Tradition**:

• Ancient Near Eastern treaties had two copies (one for each party)
• Placed in sanctuaries of respective gods
• Both tablets in Ark suggests both for Israel (God dwelling with them)
• Or first tablet God-focused, second neighbor-focused

The Law’s Content

Categories**:

• Moral law: Ten Commandments, ethical principles (permanent)
• Civil law: Governance, justice, property (for ancient Israel)
• Ceremonial law: Sacrifices, festivals, purity (fulfilled in Christ per Christian view)

Principles**:

• Love God supremely
• Love neighbor as self
• Jesus: These two summarize all law (Matthew 22:37-40)
• Justice, mercy, faithfulness
• Holiness reflecting God’s character

Modern Relevance

Moral Foundation**:

• Western law rooted in Ten Commandments
• Concepts of murder, theft, perjury, adultery codified
• Sabbath principle (rest, limits on work)
• Family values, social order

Church and Synagogue**:

• Public reading of Ten Commandments
• Moral instruction based on Sinai law
• Debates about law’s role for Christians
• Torah study central to Jewish practice

Significance

Thunder shook the mountain. Fire wrapped the peak. A trumpet blast grew louder and louder until the people trembled in terror and begged Moses to be their intermediary. God descended to meet humanity, and the mountain could not contain the meeting. This was Sinai—the mountain that burned, the day the law was given, the moment Israel became God’s people.

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.” Before the first commandment came identity. Before the law came grace. Before obligation came relationship. The God who freed them now claimed them as His own. The covenant would be conditional—“if you obey”—but it was offered to slaves, to nobodies, to people who had nothing to offer except their yes. And they said yes.

They didn’t know what they were agreeing to. The full law hadn’t been spelled out. The demands were yet to come. But they trusted. “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” Moses sprinkled blood on the altar and on the people, binding them together in covenant. This was not a contract between equals. This was the Creator of the universe choosing a people, giving them His law, dwelling among them.

The Ten Commandments came first—the foundation. Love God exclusively, completely, truly. Honor His name, His day, His image in your parents. Then love your neighbor: don’t murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, covet. Simple. Profound. Permanent. Written not by human hand but by the finger of God on stone tablets.

For Jews, Sinai is everything. Passover freed their bodies; Sinai formed their souls. The Torah given that day has been studied, debated, loved, lived for three millennia. Every Sabbath, Torah is read. Every Shavuot, the giving of the law is remembered. The covenant made at Sinai still binds, still guides, still shapes Jewish life. “You shall be my treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” They are.

For Christians, Sinai points forward. The law given on stone tablets shows the need for the law written on hearts. Moses mediated the old covenant; Jesus mediates the new. The blood of bulls and goats sprinkled at Sinai foreshadows the blood of Christ. And fifty days after Passover, when the law was given, echoes fifty days after Easter, when the Spirit was given. Same God, same pattern, fuller revelation.

For Muslims, Musa’s forty days on the mountain receiving divine guidance prefigures Muhammad’s reception of the Quran. Both revelations from Allah. Both comprehensive systems of law and life. Both tested by people making golden calves—idolatry then, idolatry now. The tablets Musa brought down carried truth. The Quran completes it.

The golden calf almost ended it. While Moses was on the mountain receiving the law, the people below were breaking it—the very first commandment, before the tablets even descended. They made a god from their jewelry, called it their deliverer, worshiped it. Moses broke the tablets in righteous anger. The covenant shattered before it fully began.

But God is merciful. Moses climbed the mountain again. God proclaimed His name: “The LORD, the LORD, God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” The tablets were rewritten. The covenant was renewed. Not because the people deserved it, but because God is faithful.

Moses came down with his face shining—literally glowing from being in God’s presence. The people couldn’t look at him. He had to wear a veil. The man who met God face to face, who mediated the covenant, who broke the tablets and renewed them, who interceded when God’s wrath burned—Moses carried the glory on his very skin.

From Sinai came the law that shaped civilization. Murder is wrong. Theft is wrong. Adultery breaks covenant. Lies destroy community. Honor your parents. Rest one day in seven. Don’t make gods from your imagination. These aren’t just rules for ancient Israel. These are the bones of human society.

The mountain doesn’t burn anymore. The trumpet doesn’t sound. But the law remains. Torah scrolls in synagogues. Ten Commandments in courtrooms and churches. Children learning “Thou shalt not…” Sinai happened once. Its echoes never stop.

“All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” They said it before hearing the cost. And the cost was everything—holiness, obedience, love for God and neighbor. But the promise was everything too—to be God’s treasured possession, to live in covenant with the Creator, to be set apart for His purposes.

The covenant at Sinai still stands. The law still speaks. And the God who descended in fire and thunder to give His people His word still calls: Be holy, for I am holy. Love Me. Love your neighbor. Remember that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of slavery. Now live like the freed people you are.