The Church Fathers on this verse

Exodus 24:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord: and rising in the morning, he built an altar at the foot of the mount, and twelve titles according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Douay-Rheims

וַיִּכְתֹּ֣ב מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֵ֚ת כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֣ם בַּבֹּ֔קֶר וַיִּ֥בֶן מִזְבֵּ֖חַ תַּ֣חַת הָהָ֑ר וּשְׁתֵּ֤ים עֶשְׂרֵה֙ מַצֵּבָ֔ה לִשְׁנֵ֥ים עָשָׂ֖ר שִׁבְטֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

Hebrew (Masoretic text)

The Church Fathers on this verse

2 Church Fathers comment on this verse

Roshdestwenski W.G.

Teacher of the Church

Moses asserts that he recorded all the Lord's commands, including the Ten Commandments, which he received as if pronounced directly by God from the summit of Mount Sinai. Indeed, he documented all the words of the Lord. This act of recording is highlighted in Exodus 34:28, which states that Moses was in the presence of the Lord for forty days and nights, during which he neither ate bread nor drank water, and inscribed the words of this covenant, known as the ten words.

Read more (285 words)

It is unmistakable that God Himself inscribed the commandments' words on both the first and second tablets with His finger, a fact reinforced by the directive given to Moses in Exodus 34:1, where it commands him to produce two stone tablets like the first and to ascend the mountain, with God affirming, "I will write on the tablets the words which were on the first tablets, which thou didst break." This promise recurs in Deuteronomy 10, where God reaffirms His intent to write (Deuteronomy 10:1). Further, the fulfillment of this promise is evident in Deuteronomy 10:4, stating that God will inscribe the same ten words on the tablets again.

These statements make it clear that the dual inscriptions of the Divine Ten Words on the two tablets came from a singular God, as noted by Augustine in Deuteronomy 15, urging those uncertain to seek guidance. It is important to clarify that the latter part references not only the ten precepts of moral law, which Moses confirms in Deuteronomy 10:1 were inscribed by God, but also addresses other statutes that provide explanations and expansions of the moral law. Such additional and clarifying laws can be found in Exodus chapters 20 through 23. The verses presented in Exodus 34 are straightforward, as the act of writing should be attributed to the Lord, who specifically informed Moses at the chapter's outset that He would inscribe His own words. Despite God writing His Divine Ten Words on two tablets, Moses also recorded the same covenant in his writings. This is demonstrated again in Exodus 34:27, where the Lord commands Moses, "Write these words unto thyself: for in these words have I made a covenant with thee and with Israel."

Wlastow G.K.

19th centuryCommentator

The altar, as noted by Cook, represented the presence of the Lord, paralleling the twelve stones which symbolized the twelve tribes of Israel. According to O. Gerlach, the offering was still in line with the ancient traditions of the patriarchs, as the laws governing the tabernacle had yet to be established. The altar was to be constructed in accordance with divine regulations (Exodus 20:24-26).

Cross references

Passages read together with this verse.