Exodus 31 · Verse 18

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 with the finger of God.

Exodus 31:18, King James Version

Exodus 31:18 in other translations

BSB	When the LORD had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
WEB	When he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses the two tablets of the covenant, stone tablets, written with God’s finger.
ASV	And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, the two tables of the testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
YLT	And He giveth unto Moses, when He finisheth speaking with him in mount Sinai, two tables of the testimony, tables of stone, written by the finger of God.
DARBY	And he gave to Moses, when he had ended speaking with him on mount Sinai, the two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
BBE	And when his talk with Moses on Mount Sinai was ended, he gave him the two stones of the law, two stones on which was the writing made by the finger of God.
Webster	And to Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, he gave two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

What does Exodus 31:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

18. tables of stone, written with the finger of God--containing the ten commandments (Ex 24:12), called "tables of testimony," because God testified His will in them.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 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 Exo 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 alphabetical characters ever exhibited to the world, though there might have been marks or hieroglyphics cut on wood, stone, etc., before this time; see Exo 17:14. That these tables were written, not by the commandment but by the power of God himself, the following passages seem to prove: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mountain, and be thou there; and I will give thee tables of stone Which I Have Written, that thou mayest teach them;" Exo 24:12. "And he gave unto Moses, upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, Written With The Finger Of God;" Exo 31:18. "And Moses went down from the mount, and the two tables of testimony were in his hand; the tables were Written on both their sides. And the tables were The Work Of God, and the Writing Was The Writing Of God, graven upon the tables;" Exo 32:15, Exo 32:16. "These words [the ten commandments] the Lord spake in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice; and he added no more, But He Wrote Them on two tables of stone;" Deu 5:22. It is evident therefore that this writing was properly and literally the writing of God himself. God wrote now on tables of stone what he had originally written on the heart of man, and in mercy he placed that before his eyes which by sin had been obliterated from his soul; and by this he shows us what, by the Spirit of Christ, must be rewritten in the mind, 2Cor 3:3; and this is according to the covenant which God long before promised to make with mankind, Jer 31:33. See also what is said on this subject, Exo 20:1 (note), Exo 34:1 (note), and Exo 17:14 (note). "No time," says Dr. A. Bayley, "seems so proper from whence to date the introduction of letters among the Hebrews as this, for after this period we find continual mention of letters, reading, and writing, in the now proper sense of those words. See Deu 27:8; Deu 31:9. Moses, it is said, επαιδευθη, was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians - in all the learning they possessed; but it is manifest that he had not learned of them any method of writing, otherwise there had been no want of God's act and assistance in writing the two tables of the law, no need of a miraculous writing. Had Moses known this art, the Lord might have said to him, as he does often afterwards, Write thou these words; Exo 34:27. Write on the stones the words of this law; Deu 27:3. Write you this song for you; Deu 31:19. Perhaps it may be said, God's writing the law gave it a sanction. True; but why might it not also teach the first use of letters, unless it can be proved that they were in use prior to this transaction? It might be thought too much to assert that letters no more than language were a natural discovery; that it was impossible for man to have invented writing, and that he did not invent it: yet this may appear really the case from the following reflections: - 1. Reason may show us how near to an impossibility it was that a just and proper number of convenient characters for the sounds in language should naturally be hit upon by any man, for whom it was easy to imitate and vary, but not to invent. 2. From evidence of the Mosaic history, it appears that the introduction of writing among the Hebrews was not from man, but God. 3. There are no evident vestiges of letters subsisting among other nations till after the delivery of the law at Mount Sinai; nor then, among some, till very late."

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

The law was written in tables of stone, to show how lasting it is: to denote likewise the hardness of our hearts; one might more easily write on stone, than write any thing good on our corrupt natural hearts. It was written with the finger of God; by his will and power. God only can write his law in the heart: he gives a heart of flesh; then, by his Spirit, which is the finger of God, writes his will in the heart, 2Co 3:3.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Exodus 31:18 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּתֵּ֣ןvai.yi.Tenand he gaveH5414

אֶל\־'el-toH413

מֹשֶׁ֗הmo.ShehMosesH4872

כְּכַלֹּתוֹ֙ke.kha.lo.Towhen finished heH3615

לְדַבֵּ֤רle.da.Berto speakH1696

אִתּוֹ֙'i.Towith himH854

בְּהַ֣רbe.Haron [the] mountain ofH2022

סִינַ֔יsi.NaiSinaiH5514

שְׁנֵ֖יshe.Nei[the] twoH8147

לֻחֹ֣תlu.Chot[the] tablets ofH3871

הָעֵדֻ֑תha.'e.Dutthe testimonyH5715

לֻחֹ֣תlu.Chottablets ofH3871

אֶ֔בֶן'E.venstoneH68

כְּתֻבִ֖יםke.tu.VimwrittenH3789

בְּאֶצְבַּ֥עbe.'etz.Ba'by [the] finger ofH676

אֱלֹהִֽים\׃'E.lo.HimGodH430

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 31:18

Deuteronomy 4:13
And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
Exodus 32:15-16
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. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
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 great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.
Exodus 24:12
And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
2 Corinthians 3:3
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
Exodus 8:19
Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.
Exodus 34:1-4
And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.
Luke 11:20
But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
Deuteronomy 9:9-11
When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water: And the Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the Lord spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the Lord gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.
Exodus 34:28-29
And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
2 Corinthians 3:7-8
But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
Matthew 12:28
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

gave.
24:12,18; 32:15,16; 34:1-4,28,29; De 4:13; 5:22; 9:9-11; 2Co 3:3
the finger.
8:19; 32:16; Jer 31:33; Mt 12:28; Lu 11:20; 2Co 3:7,8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Exodus 31:17
It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
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 with the finger of God.

Read all of Exodus 31

Exodus 31:18 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y dió á Moisés, como acabó de hablar con él en el monte de Sinaí, dos tablas del testimonio, tablas de piedra escritas con el dedo de Dios.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et lorsqu’il eut achevé de parler avec Moïse sur la montagne de Sinaï, il lui donna les deux tables du témoignage, tables de pierre, écrites du doigt de Dieu.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und er gab dem Mose, als er auf dem Berge Sinai mit ihm ausgeredet hatte, die zwei Tafeln des Zeugnisses, Tafeln von Stein, beschrieben mit dem Finger Gottes.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Deditque Dominus Moysi, completis hujuscemodi sermonibus in monte Sinai, duas tabulas testimonii lapideas, scriptas digito Dei.