Exodus 24:12-18·~1 min

Moses on the Mountain

The LORD summons Moses up the mountain to receive the stone tablets He has written. Moses goes with Joshua and leaves the elders under Aaron and Hur's care until he returns.

T¹²hen the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay here, so that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.” ¹³So Moses set out with Joshua his attendant and went up on the mountain of God. ¹⁴And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are here with you. Whoever has a dispute can go to them.”

Cloud and glory cover Sinai, and after six days the LORD calls to Moses from within the cloud. Before Israel's eyes the glory burns like fire, while Moses enters the cloud and remains on the mountain forty days and nights.

¹⁵When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, ¹⁶and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered it, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. ¹⁷And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the mountaintop in the eyes of the Israelites. ¹⁸Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Section summaryThe LORD calls Moses higher to receive the stone tablets written for Israel's instruction, and Moses sets out with Joshua while the elders remain below under Aaron and Hur. The mountain is then covered by cloud and glory until Moses enters the cloud and remains there forty days and forty nights.

Role in the chapterThis section shifts from covenant ratification to covenant instruction. It separates Moses from the people and places him within the cloud of divine glory, preparing for the commands that follow in the rest of the book.