038. XXIV. The Revelation And Covenant At Sinai
§XXIV. THE REVELATION AND COVENANT AT SINAI Exodus 15, 16, 19, 24, 34
1. Experiences at Marah. Then Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur and marched three days into the wilderness, without finding water. Then they came to Marah, but could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. Hence its name was called Marah [Bitterness]. Therefore the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried to Jehovah, and Jehovah showed him a tree, and he cast it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet.
2. At Elim. And they came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water, and seventy palm-trees, and they encamped there by the waters.
3.March to Sinai. Then they journeyed from Elim, and they came to the wilderness of Sinai and encamped in the wilderness.
4.The divine directions. Then Jehovah said to Moses, I will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds for the people all about, with the command, ‘ Take heed to yourselves that ye go not up on the mountain nor even approach its base; whoever toucheth the mountain shall surely be put to death; nothing shall touch it without being stoned to death or shot through; whether it be beast or man; he shall not live.’
5.The advents of Jehova. And Mount Sinai was wholly enveloped in smoke, because Jehovah came down upon it in fire; and the smoke of it ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. And when Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain, he called Moses to the top of the mountain; and Moses went up. And Jehovah said to Moses, Go down, warn the people solemnly lest they press forward to see Jehovah, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, who come near Jehovah, sanctify themselves lest Jehovah break forth upon them. So Moses went down to the people and told them.
6. The two tablets of stone. Then Jehovah said to Moses, Hew out two stone tablets, and be ready by morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me on the top of the mountain. And no one shall come up with thee; neither let any one be seen in any part of the mountain, nor let the flocks and herds feed before that mountain. So he hewed out two stone tablets; and Moses rose early in the morning, and went up to Mount Sinai, as Jehovah had commanded him, and took in his hand two stone tablets. And Moses stood with him there and called on the name of Jehovah.
7. The terms of the early covenant. And Jehovah said, Behold, I make a covenant. Observe that which I command thee to-day:
THOU SHALT WORSHIP NO OTHER GOD.
THOU SHALT MAKE THEE NO MOLTEN GODS. THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD SHALT THOU OBSERVE.
EVERY FIRST-BORN IS MINE.
SIX DAYS SHALT THOU TOIL, BUT ON THE SEVENTH THOU SHALT REST.
THOU SHALT OBSERVE THE FEAST OF WEEKS AND INGATHERING AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
THOU SHALT NOT OFFER THE BLOOD OF MY SACRIFICE WITH LEAVEN. THE FAT OF MY FEAST SHALL NOT BE LEFT UNTIL MORNING. THE BEST OF THE FIRST-FRUITS OF THY LAND SHALT THOU BRING TO THE HOUSE OF JEHOVAH THY GOD.
THOU SHALT NOT SEETHE A KID IN ITS MOTHER’S MILK.
8. Recording the ten words. Then Jehovah said to Moses, Write these words; for in accordance with these words have I made a covenant with thee and with Israel. And he was there with Jehovah forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote upon the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten words [Decalogue].
9. Acceptance of the ten words. Then Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Jehovah commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people to Jehovah.
10.The sacrificialmeal. And Jehovah said to Moses, Come up to Jehovah, together with Aaron, and Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship afar off; and Moses alone shall come near to Jehovah; but they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with him. So Moses went up together with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under his feet it was like a pavement of sapphire stone, and like the very sky for clearness. And against the nobles of the Israelites he did not stretch out his hand; so they beheld God and ate and drank.
I.The Records of the Revelation and Covenant at Sinai. Sinai, the sacred mountain of God, was regarded by succeeding generations as the spot where the covenant between Israel and Jehovah was established and where all of Israel’s laws were promulgated. The further removed from the days of Moses, the more firmly did each succeeding generation cherish this tradition. Each new code, although it incorporated new principles and laws adapted to new conditions, was attributed to Moses. In time all of these codes naturally found a place in the growing body of legislation that was connected with Mount Sinai. The earliest prophetic narratives suggest the historical basis of this later expanded tradition. In slightly different form, they each picture the revelation at Sinai and preserve that primitive decalogue, which appears to have been the basis of the original covenant between Jehovah and his people.
II.The March Through the Desert. The earliest narrative implies that the Hebrews, on leaving Egypt, marched directly across the desert. After three days’ journey they found one of the brackish springs, which characterize that desert region. A little later they come to Elim, with its twelve springs of water and grove of palm-trees. The only satisfactory identification of this fertile spot is at the head of the north eastern arm of the Red Sea. As the name suggests, it is probably to be identified with the biblical Elath, the important port which connected the trade of Canaan and Edom with Arabia, India and Africa. It was also at the end of the caravan route which led directly across the desert from Egypt (cf. map opp. p. 185). It was a journey of about two hundred miles, and could be comfortably made by a caravan in about a week. That Moses would lead his fugitive followers along the same direct highway to the land of Midian, as he himself had followed years before, was to be expected. In this way it would be possible most quickly to escape beyond the rule and pursuit of the Egyptians into a friendly asylum among kindred peoples. His aim was, doubtless, also to lead them to the sacred mountain of Jehovah, where he, a short time before, had received his divine call to lead forth his people from the bondage of Egypt.
III.The Situation of Mount Sinai. The course of the march of the Israelites turns in part upon the identification of Mount Sinai. The tradition, which identifies it with one of the imposing peaks in the southern part of the Sinaitic peninsula, cannot be traced earlier than the third or fourth century of the Christian era. It comes from those centuries in which the process of identifying biblical sites advanced most rapidly. It was an age in which conjecture and zeal to fix the background of every important event were regnant, with the result that nine out of every ten of these identifications have been shown by modern excavation and research to be incorrect.
All the Old Testament references to Sinai indicate clearly that the mountain was in the vicinity of Edom and probably one of the many imposing peaks to the southwest of Mount Seir. In the ancient song of Deborah, Judges 5, Sinai is associated with Mount Seir and the land of Edom (§XXXV, ii). In the early poem, found in Deuteronomy 33, the parallelism is equally significant.
“Jehovah came from Sinai, And beamed forth from Seir, And shone forth from Mount Paran.”
Elijah’s journey (recorded in 1 Kings 19:3-8) from Beersheba to Mount Horeb would have been possible if the mountain of God had been one of the southwestern spurs of Mount Seir, but practically impossible, if at the southern end of the Sinaitic peninsula. In the light of the Egyptian inscriptions and the recent excavations conducted by Professor Petrie (cf. Researches in Sinai), it is evident that there were important quarries and mines guarded by Egyptian garrisons on the eastern side of the peninsula. It is highly improbable, therefore, that the Hebrews would have journeyed along a caravan route thus guarded by Egyptian soldiers. Even if they had succeeded in reaching the traditional Mount Sinai, they would not have escaped Egyptian pursuit. The statement that Moses, when he received his call, arrived at the sacred mountain with the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, after a journey of only three days, indicates that it was not far from the land of Midian. The implication that Mount Sinai was the mountain at which the Midianites worshipped the same God as the Israelites, clearly points to a northern rather than a southern site, for at this period the Midianites were found only to the south and east of Mount Seir. Mount Sinai also appears to have been near Kadesh (only fifty miles south of Beersheba, cf. map, opp. p. 185) the centre of the Hebrew life in the wilderness. Thus, with remarkable unity, all the early evidence points to one of the southwestern spurs of Mount Seir as the sacred mountain of Jehovah.
IV.Nature of the Revelation at Sinai. The Old Testament contains three distinct accounts of the divine revelation at Sinai. In the late priestly, the cloud is represented as covering the mountain and the appearance of the glory of Jehovah is like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain. Into this cloud Moses ascends and there receives the law. In the Northern Israelite version a thick cloud likewise envelopes the mountain, which is designated as Horeb or simply the mountain. When, at God’s command, the people approach, they are so terrified by the thunder and the lightnings that they request Moses to receive for them the divine message. In the early Judean version the people are forbidden to approach Mount Sinai, which is enveloped with smoke and quakes violently. Moses himself alone ascends to receive the divine message. The three narratives, therefore, agree in the statement that a bright cloud, lighted up by flames of fire, shrouded the mountain. The Northern Israelite version implies that a raging thunder storm revealed to the waiting people below the presence of their God. The picture in the early Judean and late priestly narratives perhaps suggests an active volcano. Either phenomenon, so majestic and awe-inspiring, was calculated to make a profound impression upon the consciousness and memory of a primitive people, accustomed to the dry, almost rainless tracts of Egypt and the desert. Thus it is that, in language peculiar to itself, each tradition records the fact that the Deity made his presence powerfully felt at this initial stage in the life of his people.
V.Meaning of the Covenant in Ancient Semitic Life. The well- authenticated tradition that a covenant was established between Jehovah and his people at Sinai is in harmony with the peculiar customs of the ancient nomadic East. To-day, as in the past, a covenant is the strongest bond that can bind together men or tribes. In certain parts of Arabia, as in the ancient East, a covenant is established between two individuals, when they have drunk their mingled blood. Such a solemn covenant carries with it an obligation on the part of each to protect the other, even at the cost of life. Henceforth they owe to each other the same duties, as do those who are descended from common ancestors. Thus it was that tribes in ancient times made alliances with each other. The ancient Semites also conceived of their deities as dwelling in certain definite abodes and capable of entering into solemn covenants with men and tribes. This prevalent Semitic conception clearly underlies the Hebrew tradition of the covenant at Sinai.
VI.The Giving of the Law at Sinai. In welding into a nation the scattered fugitives from Egypt and the kindred tribes of Midian, it was natural that Moses should employ the well-established Semitic institution of the covenant. That he did so is confirmed by combined testimony of the earliest records. Sinai would naturally be chosen as the scene of this covenant, for it was a covenant binding together those tribes, which regarded the sacred mountain as Jehovah’s abode. Both of the earlier prophetic narratives record a solemn sacrificial feast, which symbolized the establishment of this covenant. According to the Northern Israelite version, oxen were sacrificed and the blood was sprinkled upon the people, as in the later Hebrew ritual. The essential element, however, in the covenant was not the symbolism but the terms of agreement to which each of the contracting parties subscribed. Jehovah’s promises to deliver and protect his people had already been proclaimed by Moses and fulfilled in the marvellous deliverance from Egypt. The oldest traditions state that the obligations assumed by the people were formulated in ten brief commands. According to the early Judean narrative in Exodus 34, these commands were inscribed by Moses on two stone tablets which he had prepared by divine command. In the later versions of the story, Jehovah himself is represented as having inscribed with his own finger these ten words on two tablets which he gave to Moses.
VII.The Original Decalogue. In the present order of the narratives in Exodus, two distinct decalogues are given, the familiar one in Exodus 20 and the more distinctly ceremonial decalogue in Exodus 34. The implication of the narratives, however, is that the same decalogue was promulgated in both cases, and there is no suggestion that its original form was changed in the second account of the giving of the law. In the light of the variations between the two decalogues, two distinct questions arise: Which was the older and original of these decalogues? and, What is the explanation of their present position and order ? The contents of the decalogue given in Exodus 34 at once suggest that it is the older of the two. It demands absolute loyalty to Jehovah. This loyalty is to be expressed, however, in the observation of the ancient festivals, in the sacrificial gifts from the flocks and herds and field, and in conformity to the requirements of the early ritual. It contains in outline that ancient, popular definition of religion, which prevailed among the Hebrews, until the great ethical prophets, like Amos, Hosea and Isaiah placed the emphasis on spirit and deeds. It is, therefore, in harmony with the point of view of Moses’s age. Furthermore, its language is that of the early Judean narrative. In its original form it was apparently the immediate sequel of the account of the divine revelation in Exodus 19. Practically all of its regulations are repeated in slightly different form in the corresponding Northern Israelite laws found in Exodus 20:22 to Exodus 23:19. Thus the two oldest prophetic narratives testify that this ceremonial decalogue was a common heritage coming from the earliest period of Hebrew history. It is also significant that each of its regulations is repeated in the Old Testament at least three, and some of them six or seven times. It would seem, therefore, to represent the foundation of Israel’s legal system. Moreover, these distinct yet converging oldest lines of evidence all point to Moses as the great prophetic leader, who first formulated in this simple direct form the duties of the new-born nation.
VIII.The Duty of Loyalty to Jehovah. The first command demands the entire loyalty of the Hebrews to Jehovah. The denial of the existence of other gods is left to a later age; but within the ranks of that bond of Arab tribes known as Israel, the first command leaves no place for the worship of other desert deities. Henceforth Israel’s strength lay in the fact that it was a people which acknowledged one rather than many gods. The second command does not forbid the worship of those family gods and graven images which appear to have been found in the home of every early Israelite (as for example, that of David, 1 Samuel 19, cf. also § XXXIV). Isaiah and Jeremiah first openly denounced this time- honored practice. The ancient command is rather a protest against the molten gods of heathen nations, such as the Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Phoenicians. It is, therefore, but a further application of the great principle laid down in the first command. It may also be a result of that strong reaction against the polytheism and idolatry of the Egyptians, which is traceable in the early Hebrew religion. The third command enforces the obligation to observe the ancient Semitic spring festival; although the fact that it is called the feast of unleavened bread may reveal later Canaanite influence. The fourth and ninth commands specify the tribute which each member of the nation should bring to his Divine King as evidence of loyalty and devotion. They but reiterate the more or less clearly defined customs already in vogue throughout the Semitic world.
IX.The Seventh Day of Rest. The law of the sabbath presents many problems. The life of the nomad with his flocks and herds gives little opportunity for rest from labor. It is only on the agricultural stage that the command to rest on the seventh day could be fully carried out; yet it seems probable that the institution of the sabbath was already in existence in the days of Moses; for the most satisfactory explanation of its origin connects it with the primitive worship of the moon. The moon god was especially worshipped at the cities of Ur and Haran, which the Hebrews regarded as the home of their ancestors. Recent archaeological discoveries also indicate that the moon god was revered throughout Arabia. This worship was natural among a people who regarded the sun, with its hot, burning rays, as hostile, and the moon, with its cold, clear light, as friendly. Even to a modern observer no object in the heavens is as impressive as the moon with its changing phases. To the ancient nomads, as they pastured their flocks or made their long journeys by night through the desert, the moon was a never- ceasing miracle. Its four distinct phases—the crescent moon, at its first appearance in the west, the half moon, when the circle was clearly divided between light and darkness, the full moon, with its rounded orb, and the gibbous moon, with its peculiar form—each made its profound impression upon early man, who saw in the wonderful and unusual the highest revelation of the Deity. Many early peoples held sacred each of the four days at which the moon entered its different quarters. Among the Hebrews the new moon and the sabbath were closely connected.
Both of these sacred days were apparently observed by the same ceremonies and the same rest from labor. As Strabo states, rest from labor was demanded by the ancients on all sacred days. If the sabbath, therefore, was originally a sacred day, observed at the beginning of each new phase of the moon, there is every reason to believe that it was already an established institution among the Midianites and the ancestors of the Hebrews. It was natural that the sabbath law should also have found a place in the decalogue coming from the days of Moses. The emphasis upon rest perhaps reflects that nobler social and philanthropic interpretation of the sabbath, which was first clearly formulated by the later prophets and reasserted by Jesus, when he declared that “the sabbath is for man and not man for the sabbath.”
X.Ceremonial Laws. The sixth command requires the observation of the ancient Semitic feast of the ingathering at the end of the year. The seventh, eighth, and tenth demand the careful observation of certain ceremonial rites, the origin of which goes back to such a primitive stage in the history of religion that it is difficult to determine the original motive. Possibly leaven was not to be used in connection with the sacrificial blood because it represented corruption. Since the fat and the blood were the parts especially sacred to the Deity, the law that the fat should not be left until the morning was probably to guard against the possibility of decay and to insure its being offered by fire to Jehovah.
XI.The History of the Oldest Decalogue. The tradition that this decalogue was written on two tablets of stone is found in both of the early prophetic histories. Possibly these tablets with the ten words were first set up in the temple of Solomon that their contents might be read and thus impressed upon the consciences of the people. The brief decalogue form suggests, however, that the ten words were originally intended to be written not on stone, but upon the popular memory. The simplest explanation of their decalogue and pentad form is that they originally consisted of two groups of five short commands or words, each of which was to be remembered in connection with a finger of the two hands. Ten clearly defined decalogues are found in Exodus 20-23, and the parallel passages in Deuteronomy (cf. §§ LIX, LX). Others are included in the so-called “Holiness Code” of Leviticus 17-26. The decalogue would appear to have been the form in which, from earliest times, Israel’s popular laws were cast. This simple but effective method of impressing vital truths upon untrained minds is well worthy of the inspired genius of a great prophetic leader like Moses.