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Exodus 34:4

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Exodus 34:4 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as Jehovah had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as Jehovah had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone.
Exodus 34:4 — American Standard Version

Context — Exodus 34

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1And Jehovah said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon the tables the words that were on the first tables, which thou brakest.
2And be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me on the top of the mount.
3And no man shall come up with thee; neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.
4And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as Jehovah had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone.
5And Jehovah descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of Jehovah.
6And Jehovah passed by before him, and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth,
7keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children`s children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.
← Exodus 34:3Exodus 34:5 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, etc.] Which may be an emblem of the ministry of men, which God makes use of in hewing of his people, and bringing them to a sense of their sins, the breach of his law, and repentance for them, (<280605>Hosea 6:5): and Moses rose up early in the morning: which, according to the Jews f969, was the twenty ninth of Ab or July, which showed his ready and cheerful obedience to the divine will, and the quick dispatch he had made in hewing the tables; which whether he did with his own hands only, or made use of others whom he directed, is not very material; though the phrase “hew thee”, or “hew unto thee”, seems as if he were to do it himself,…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Moses . . . took in his hand the two tables of stone--As Moses had no attendant to divide the labor of carrying them, it is evident that they must have been light, and of no great dimensions--probably flat slabs of shale or slate, such as abound in the mountainous region of Horeb. An additional proof of their comparatively small size appears in the circumstance of their being deposited in the ark of the most holy place (Exo 25:10).”
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Related study paths

Read Exodus 34 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification