Exodus 32:15

And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Moses	מֹשֶׁה֙ mo.Sheh	H4872	Mosheh · proper noun, a man's name
turned	וַיִּ֜פֶן vai.Yi.fen	H6437	to turn · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
down	וַיֵּ֤רֶד vai.Ye.red	H3381	to descend (literally · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
mount	הָהָ֔ר ha.Har	H2022	a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
two	וּשְׁנֵ֛י u.she.Nei	H8147	two · conjunction + cardinal number, both genders dual construct
tables	לֻחֹ֥ת lu.Chot	H3871	probably meaning to glisten · noun, common feminine plural construct
testimony	הָעֵדֻ֖ת ha.'e.Dut	H5715	testimony · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
hand	בְּיָד֑וֹ be.ya.Do	H3027	a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
tables	לֻחֹ֗ת lu.Chot	H3871	probably meaning to glisten · noun, common feminine plural absolute
written	כְּתֻבִים֙ ke.tu.Vim	H3789	to grave · verb, qal passive participle, masculine plural absolute
both	מִשְּׁנֵ֣י mi.she.Nei	H8147	two · preposition + cardinal number, both genders dual construct
sides	עֶבְרֵיהֶ֔ם 'ev.rei.Hem	H5676	properly · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
written	כְּתֻבִֽים ke.tu.Vim	H3789	to grave · verb, qal passive participle, masculine plural absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 9:15 So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.
Exodus 16:34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
Exodus 24:18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
Exodus 31:18 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 wi…
Exodus 40:20 And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
Deuteronomy 5:22 These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a…
Psalms 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
Revelation 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 32:15-20

Here is, I. The favour of God to Moses, in trusting him with the two tables of the testimony, which, though of common stone, were far more valuable than all the precious stones that adorned the breast-plate of Aaron. The topaz of Ethiopia could not equal them, Exo 32:15, Exo 32:16. God himself, without the ministry either of man or angel (for aught that appears), wrote the ten commandments on these tables, on both their sides, some on one table and some on the other, so that they were folded together like a book, to be deposited in the ark. II. The familiarity between Moses and Joshua. While Moses was in the cloud, as in the presence-chamber, Joshua continued as near as he might, in the anti…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 32:15

Moses turned, and went down from the mount--The plain, Er-Raheh, is not visible from the top of Jebel Musa, nor can the mount be descended on the side towards that valley; hence Moses and his companion, who on duty had patiently waited his return in the hollow of the mountain's brow, heard the shouting some time before they actually saw the camp.

Adam Clarke on Exodus 32:15

The tables were written on both their sides - If we take this literally, it was certainly a very unusual thing; for in ancient times the two sides of the same substance were never written over. However, some rabbins suppose that by the writing on both sides is meant the letters were cut through the tables, so that they might be read on both sides, though on one side they would appear reversed. Supposing this to be correct, if the letters were the same with those called Hebrew now in common use, the ס samech, which occurs twice, and the final ם mem which occurs twenty-three times in the ten commandments, both of these being close letters, could not be cut through on both sides without falling…

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John Gill on Exodus 32:15

And Moses turned, and went down from the mount,.... He turned himself from God, with whom he had been conversing forty days; his back was to the ascent of the mount, and he turned himself in order to go down; or "he looked" (g), as a man considers what is to be done, as Aben Ezra observes, and he saw that he was obliged to go down in haste: and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand; or hands, as in Exodus 32:19 for they were, perhaps, as much as he could carry in both hands, being of stone, as in Exodus 31:18 on which was written the law, the "testimony" of the will of God with respect to what was to be done or not done: the letters were written on both their sides, on the one s…

The Church Fathers

For if we should designate a number which signifies the law, what will it be except ten? For indeed we hold it as most certain that the Decalogue of the law, that is, those very well known ten commandments, were first written by the finger of God on two stone tablets. But the law, when grace gives no aid, makes transgressors and exists only in the letter. For because of this especially the apostle says, "The letter kills, but the spirit gives life." Therefore let the spirit be added to the letter so that the letter may not kill him to whom the spirit does not give life, but that we may practice the commandments, not by our own strength but by the gift of the Savior.
— Augustine of Hippo, TRACTATE ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 122.8

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Levite — A descendant of the tribe of Levi (Ex. 6:25; Lev. 25:32; Num. 35:2; Josh. 21:3, 41). This name is, however, generally used as the title of that portion of the tribe which was set apart for the…
Levites — (descendants of Levi). Sometimes the name extends to the whole tribe, the priests included, (Exodus 6:25; Leviticus 25:32; Numbers 35:2; Joshua 21:3,41) etc; sometimes only to those members of the…
Sinai · .The law — .The law
Table · 3. Of testimony — 3. Of testimony

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Exodus 32:15

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 32:15-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 32:15

Adam Clarke on Exodus 32:15

John Gill on Exodus 32:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Exodus 32:15

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 32:15-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 32:15

Adam Clarke on Exodus 32:15

John Gill on Exodus 32:15

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Exodus 32:15-16

Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 32:15-18

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Exodus 32:15-29

Rashi on Exodus 32:15