Deuteronomy 10:4

And the LORD wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Commandments that He had spoken to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly. The LORD gave them to me,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses Israel in the plains of Moab, recounting the covenant renewal after the golden calf incident. He describes ascending the mountain to receive a second set of stone tablets containing the divine law.

The words — וַיִּכְתֹּב (va-yi-khtov) means "and he wrote," and כַּמִּכְתָּב הָרִאשׁוֹן (ka-mikh-tav ha-ri-shon) translates literally as "like the former writing." עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים ('a-se-re-t ha-de-va-ri-m) denotes the "ten words" or Decalogue.

The thread — The tablet renewal appears in Deuteronomy 9:10 and Exodus 34:28, where Moses remains on the mountain for forty days and nights to inscribe the law. The mountain's fiery manifestation during the covenant ceremony is noted in Deuteronomy 4:11.

Why it lands — The text records God's direct action in preserving the covenant law through a second inscription after the first was broken. It requires the reader to acknowledge the unbroken continuity of divine instruction and the necessity of obedience to a revealed standard.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the Lord gave them unto me.

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 9:10 Then the LORD gave me the two stone tablets, inscribed by the finger of God with the exact words that the LORD spoke to you out of the fire on the mountain on the day of the assembly.
Exodus 34:28 So Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.
Deuteronomy 4:11 You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.
Deuteronomy 18:16 This is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God or see this great fire anymore, so that we will not die!”
Hebrews 12:18 For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom, and storm;
Exodus 19:17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
Exodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words:
Deuteronomy 5:4 The LORD spoke with you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.