Deuteronomy 9:11

And at the end of forty days and forty nights, the LORD gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites in the plains of Moab, marking the conclusion of his forty-day and forty-night period on Mount Sinai after receiving the covenant tablets.

The words — The text highlights נָתַן (naTan, "he gave") and מִקֵּץ (miqets, "at the end of") to emphasize Yahweh's deliberate act of delivering the tablets after the specified duration.

The thread — This delivery connects to Moses’ initial ascent to receive the tablets (Deuteronomy 9:9), the subsequent departure from the mountain with the ark of the covenant (Numbers 10:33), and the New Testament theme of a superior covenant mediated by Christ (Hebrews 8:6).

Why it lands — The passage states that the covenant originates from God's initiative and timing, requiring the reader to acknowledge divine authorship before confronting the people's immediate rebellion.

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

וַיְהִ֗יva/y.Hiand/ it was מִקֵּץ֙mi./Ketzfrom/ [the] end of אַרְבָּעִ֣ים'ar.ba.'Imforty י֔וֹםYomday[s]וְאַרְבָּעִ֖יםve./'ar.ba.'Imand/ forty לָ֑יְלָהLa.ye.lahnight[s]נָתַ֨ןna.Tanhe gave יְהוָ֜הYah.wehYahweh אֵלַ֗י'e.La/ito/ me אֶת־'et-<obj.>שְׁנֵ֛יshe.Nei[the] two לֻחֹ֥תlu.Chot[the] tablets of הָאֲבָנִ֖יםha./'a.va.Nim<the>/ stone<s>לֻח֥וֹתlu.Chot[the] tablets of הַבְּרִֽית׃ha./be.Ritthe/ covenant

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 9:9 When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I ate no bread and drank no water.
Numbers 10:33 So they set out on a three-day journey from the mountain of the LORD, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a resting place for them.
Hebrews 8:6 Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises.
Hebrews 9:4 containing the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. Inside the ark were the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.