If you’ve ever seen the movie The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston, you probably remember the scene where God gives the Ten Commandments to Moses. (If you haven’t, here’s a direct link to the scene in question).
In that scene, God literally writes the words of the Decalogue on the two tablets of stone by way of a “finger” of fire. The voice booms as the commandments are written one by one.
Surprisingly, this whole moment isn’t too far from reality. Exodus 31:18 plainly says that God gave Moses the tablets of stone that written by the “finger of God.” At least in some small way, this is one moment where it seems like Hollywood nailed it.
When you fast forward to the second giving of the Law on Mount Sinai in Exodus 34, the circumstances have changed. God tells Moses to cut out the stone tablets himself and He will write the law on them a second time.
Or does He? According to Exodus 34:1, God says that He’s going to write the same words that were on the former tablets. Then, in Exodus 34:27-28, God tells Moses to write down the words. Later, in Deuteronomy 10:1-4, it says that Moses wrote on the tablets. So what really happened?
Despite the confusion, the situation seems pretty simple to rectify. Both Exodus 34:1 and Deuteronomy 10:2 say that God will write the words that were on the tablets that were shattered. Deuteronomy 10:4 clearly states that this is the Ten Commandment—not the words written by Moses in Exodus 34.
The difference is subtle but substantial. The Decalogue is a list of the central tenets to the Old Law, whereas what Moses writes in Exodus 34:10-26 is about how to keep the Old Law. It’s more about the covenant-keeping and less about the covenant itself.
Moses’ job wasn’t to create the Law, but to help the Israelites keep it (and follow it himself). If he could do that, then both parties—God and Israel—would be satisfied.
