Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 5:23
And when you heard the voice out of the darkness while the mountain was blazing with fire, all the heads of your tribes and your elders approached me,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the tribal heads and elders of Israel, recounting the immediate moment after God spoke the commandments from the fire. The leaders approached him in response to hearing the voice emerge from the dark, burning mountain.
The words — The Hebrew בֹּעֵר (bo.'Er) denotes the mountain was actively burning, while הַ/חֹ֔שֶׁךְ (ha./Cho.shekh) identifies the darkness as the medium from which the voice projected.
The thread — This scene of a people witnessing divine fire and darkness recurs in Exodus 20:18 and is contrasted in Hebrews 12:18 to distinguish the old covenant mountain from the new.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to acknowledge that approaching God demands recognizing His overwhelming presence before any mediation or instruction can occur.
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 it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;
Cross-references
- Exodus 20:18 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance.
- 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;