Exodus 20:18-21:25

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 20:18-21

I. The extraordinary terror with which the law was given. Never was any thing delivered with such awful pomp; every word was accented, and every sentence paused, with thunder and lightning, much louder and brighter, no doubt, than ordinary. And why was the law given in this dreadful manner, and with all this tremendous ceremony? 1. It was designed (once for all) to give a sensible discovery of the glorious majesty of God, for the assistance of our faith concerning it, that, knowing the terror... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 20:18

And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings ,.... That is, they heard the one, and saw the other; they heard the dreadful volleys of thunder, and saw the amazing flashes of lightning, which were like lamps and torches, as the word used signifies; by a communication of senses, one sense is put for another, and the sense of sight being the principal, as Ben Melech observes, it is put for the rest, and so in the following. It is an observation of Austin's F15 Confess. l. 10.... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 20:18

And all the people saw the thunderings, etc. - They had witnessed all these awful things before, (see Exodus 19:16 ;), but here they seem to have been repeated; probably at the end of each command, there was a peal of thunder, a blast of the trumpet, and a gleam of lightning, to impress their hearts the more deeply with a due sense of the Divine Majesty, of the holiness of the law which was now delivered, and of the fearful consequences of disobedience. This had the desired effect; the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:1-18

The moral law-General survey. View this law of the ten commandments as— I. AUTHORITATIVELY DELIVERED . "God spake all these words, saying," etc. ( Exodus 20:1 ). An authoritative revelation of moral law was necessary— 1 . That man might be made distinctly aware of the compass of his obligations . The moral knowledge originally possessed by man had gradually been parted with. What remained was distorted and confused. He had little right knowledge of his duty to God, and very... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:16-21

The ten words. "And God stake all these words." "And the people stood afar off: and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was." ( Exodus 20:1 , Exodus 20:21 ). Our subject is the law of the ten commandments, and— I. The NAMES of the code, for names are oft the keys to things. There are five chief names; four in the Old Testament and one in the New. 1 . " The ten words ." ["The ten commandments" is an unscriptural phrase.] ( Exodus 34:28 ; Deuteronomy 4:13 ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:18

The people saw the thunderings . The use of a specific verb for a generic one, with terms to all of which it is not, strictly speaking, applicable, is common to many writers, and is known to grammarians as zengma. "Saw" here means "perceived, witnessed." The mountain smoking . Compare Exodus 19:18 . In Deuteronomy 5:23 it is said that "the mountain did burn with fire." When the people saw it, they removed . It appears, from Deuteronomy 5:23 , that. before retiring, the people sent... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:18-21

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:18-21

The Divine presence at once attractive and repellent. When Christ was upon the earth, so winning was his graciousness that crowds flocked to him, and one man at least exclaimed, "Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." But at the same time so terrible was the manifestation of his power, that there were those who "besought him that he would depart out of their coasts." God is love, and God is power, and wherever he is, be exhibits both qualities; but there are some who sea... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 20:18-22

The terrors of Sinai their design and their effects. I. THEIR DESIGN . 1 . Not to slay the people. The people dreaded that if God spoke to them again, they would die ( Exodus 20:19 ). But Moses said—No; this was not the design of the manifestation. "Fear not" ( Exodus 20:20 ). The voice of the law in Scripture, though it is felt in the conscience to be a voice of death ( Romans 7:9-11 ), is not intended to be really so. It is meant to lead to Christ. 2 . To prove... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 20:18-21

Compare Deuteronomy 5:22-31. Aaron Exodus 19:24 on this occasion accompanied Moses in drawing near to the thick darkness.Exodus 20:22 to Exodus 23:33 is a series of laws which we may identify with what was written by Moses in the book called the book of the covenant, and read by him in the audience of the people Exodus 24:7.The document cannot be regarded as a strictly systematic whole. Portions of it were probably traditional rules handed down from the patriarchs, and retained by the... read more

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