5 And I turned H6437 myself and came down H3381 from the mount, H2022 and put H7760 the tables H3871 in the ark H727 which I had made; H6213 and there they be, as the LORD H3068 commanded H6680 me.
And it came to pass, when Moses H4872 came down H3381 from mount H2022 Sinai H5514 with the two H8147 tables H3871 of testimony H5715 in Moses' H4872 hand, H3027 when he came down H3381 from the mount, H2022 that Moses H4872 wist H3045 not that the skin H5785 of his face H6440 shone H7160 while he talked H1696 with him.
And Moses H4872 turned, H6437 and went down H3381 from the mount, H2022 and the two H8147 tables H3871 of the testimony H5715 were in his hand: H3027 the tables H3871 were written H3789 on both H8147 their sides; H5676 on the one side and on the other were they written. H3789
And Joshua H3091 set up H6965 twelve H8147 H6240 stones H68 in the midst H8432 of Jordan, H3383 in the place where the feet H7272 of the priests H3548 which bare H5375 the ark H727 of the covenant H1285 stood: H4673 and they are there unto this day. H3117
And they drew out H748 the staves, H905 that the ends H7218 of the staves H905 were seen out H7200 in the holy H6944 place before H6440 the oracle, H1687 and they were not seen H7200 without: H2351 and there they are unto this day. H3117 There was nothing in the ark H727 save H7535 the two H8147 tables H3871 of stone, H68 which Moses H4872 put H3240 there at Horeb, H2722 when the LORD H3068 made H3772 a covenant with the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 when they came out H3318 of the land H776 of Egypt. H4714
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Deuteronomy 10
Commentary on Deuteronomy 10 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 10
De 10:1-22. God's Mercy in Restoring the Two Tables.
1. At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first—It was when God had been pacified through the intercessions of Moses with the people who had so greatly offended Him by the worship of the golden calf. The obedient leader executed the orders he had received as to the preparation both of the hewn stones, and the ark or chest in which those sacred archives were to be laid.
3. And I made an ark of shittim wood—It appears, however, from Ex 37:1, that the ark was not framed till his return from the mount, or most probably, he gave instructions to Bezaleel, the artist employed on the work, before he ascended the mount—that, on his descent, it might be finished, and ready to receive the precious deposit.
4, 5. he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing—that is, not Moses, who under the divine direction acted as amanuensis, but God Himself who made this inscription a second time with His own hand, to testify the importance He attached to the ten commandments. Different from other stone monuments of antiquity, which were made to stand upright and in the open air, those on which the divine law was engraven were portable, and designed to be kept as a treasure. Josephus says that each of the tables contained five precepts. But the tradition generally received, both among Jewish and Christian writers is, that one table contained four precepts, the other six.
5. I … put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me—Here is another minute, but important circumstance, the public mention of which at the time attests the veracity of the sacred historian.
6-9. the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera—So sudden a change from a spoken discourse to a historical narrative has greatly puzzled the most eminent biblical scholars, some of whom reject the parenthesis as a manifest interpolation. But it is found in the most ancient Hebrew manuscripts, and, believing that all contained in this book was given by inspiration and is entitled to profound respect, we must receive it as it stands, although acknowledging our inability to explain the insertion of these encampment details in this place. There is another difficulty in the narrative itself. The stations which the Israelites are said successively to have occupied are enumerated here in a different order from Nu 33:31. That the names of the stations in both passages are the same there can be no doubt; but, in Numbers, they are probably mentioned in reference to the first visit of the Hebrews during the long wandering southwards, before their return to Kadesh the second time; while here they have a reference to the second passage of the Israelites, when they again marched south, in order to compass the land of Edom. It is easy to conceive that Mosera (Hor) and the wells of Jaakan might lie in such a direction that a nomadic horde might, in different years, at one time take the former first in their way, and at another time the latter [Robinson].
10-22. Moses here resumes his address, and having made a passing allusion to the principal events in their history, concludes by exhorting them to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully.
16. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart—Here he teaches them the true and spiritual meaning of that rite, as was afterwards more strongly urged by Paul (Ro 2:25, 29), and should be applied by us to our baptism, which is "not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God" [1Pe 3:21].