Exodus 31:18-32:6

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 31:12-18

Here is, I. A strict command for the sanctification of the sabbath day, Exod. 31:13-17. The law of the sabbath had been given them before any other law, by was of preparation (Exod. 16:23); it had been inserted in the body of the moral law, in the fourth commandment; it had been annexed to the judicial law (Exod. 23:12); and here it is added to the first part of the ceremonial law, because the observance of the sabbath is indeed the hem and hedge of the whole law; where no conscience is made... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 31:18

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him on Mount Sinai ,.... After all those laws, orders, and instructions before related, which having done, he ceased to converse with him any longer in that manner he had, and at parting gave him two tables of testimony ; the two tables of the law, which is a testimony of the will of God, and contained the duty of the Israelites both towards God and man, and are reducible to these two, love to God, and love to our... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 31:18

When he had made an end of communing - When the forty days and forty nights were ended. Two tables of testimony - See Clarke's note on Exodus 34:1 . Tables of stone - That the record might be lasting, because it was a testimony that referred to future generations, and therefore the materials should be durable. Written with the finger of God - All the letters cut by God himself. Dr. Winder, in his History of Knowledge, thinks it probable that this was the first writing in... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 31:18

Verse 18 18And he gave unto Moses. It must be observed, that, after the voice of God had been heard from the midst of the fire, and He had delivered the Ten Commandments, and the form of the tabernacle had been described, and the work had been already finished by the artificers, though its dedication had not yet taken place, Moses was again withdrawn from the sight and intercourse of men, that he might be taught apart by himself to be a faithful interpreter of the Law. For although God had... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 31:12-18

The Sabbath. If this prohibition to work upon the Sabbath is introduced, as probably it is, lest the people, in their zeal for the service of the sanctuary, should be tempted to infringe upon the holy day, it has certain obvious sides of instruction turned towards ourselves. We cannot but see in it the high honour which God puts upon his Sabbath . 1. It is the one command of the Decalogue to which reference is made in the conclusion of this series of instructions. This implies its... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 31:18

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 31:18

When he had made an end of communing . Literally, "when he had finished speaking." Two tables . Rather, " the two tables"— i.e; the tables promised when he went up into the mount ( Exodus 24:12 ). Of stone . Stone was the ordinary material on which Egyptian documents were engraved, both at the time of the Exodus, and before and after. They were, however, for the most part, either inscribed upon the natural rock, or engraved on the walls of temples or tombs. Inscriptions upon slabs... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 31:18

The Tables of Testimony were in many respects like the document impressed upon them. For instance, they were— I. OF STONE , AND THEREFORE ENDURING AND WELL NIGH IMPERISHABLE . Few things are more enduring than some kinds of stone. Inscriptions exist, engraved on stone, which are certainly anterior to Abraham. No remains in metal go back so far. Gold and silver are, comparatively speaking, soft. Iron corrodes. Steel was unknown at the period. The material selected to... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 31:18

Two tables of testimony - See Exodus 25:16; Exodus 32:15.The tables of stone which represented the covenant between Yahweh and His people, and which, when covered with the mercy-seat were to give the sanctuary its significance, are now delivered to Moses in accordance with the promise in Exodus 24:12.The history of what relates to the construction of the sanctuary is here interrupted, and is taken up again in Exodus 35:1. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 31:18

Exodus 31:18. He gave unto Moses the two tables of testimony After his forty days’ stay upon the mount, God dismissed him, giving him the ten articles of the moral law, written upon two tables of stone, to be delivered to the people, and to be laid up in the ark, as the standing record of the divine will relating to the principal branches of their duty. In the most ancient times, it must be observed, laws were wont to be engraven upon tables of brass, marble, wood, &c. These tables of... read more

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