Bible Strands
Exodus 32:15
Then Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses descends Mount Sinai immediately after God relents from threatening calamity on Israel, carrying the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands.
The words — וַ/יִּ֜פֶן (va/i.Yi.fen) means "and he turned," and וַ/יֵּ֤רֶד (va/i.Ye.red) means "and he went down," marking a deliberate physical reversal of direction toward the camp.
The thread — The descent with the tablets recurs in Deuteronomy 9:15, the tablets' divine origin is clarified in Exodus 32:16, and Moses' prior ascent is recorded in Exodus 24:18.
Why it lands — The text states the tablets were inscribed on both sides, front and back, requiring the reader to acknowledge the covenant's completeness and divine authorship before applying its stipulations.
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 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.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 9:15 So I went back down the mountain while it was blazing with fire, with the two tablets of the covenant in my hands.
- Exodus 16:34 And Aaron placed it in front of the Testimony, to be preserved just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
- Exodus 24:18 Moses entered the cloud as he went up on the mountain, and he remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
- Exodus 31:18 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.
- Exodus 40:20 Moses took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attaching the poles to the ark; and he set the mercy seat atop the ark.
- Deuteronomy 5:22 The LORD spoke these commandments in a loud voice to your whole assembly out of the fire, the cloud, and the deep darkness on the mountain; He added nothing more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
- Psalms 19:7 The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.
- Revelation 5:1 Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One seated on the throne. It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals.