Verse:
Exodus 19:9
And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe ( faith/'aman ) thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.
Commentary by Adam Clarke
Verse 9. A thick cloud That the people may hear
This is interpreted by Exodus 19:18: And Mount Sinai was altogether on a SMOKE-and the SMOKE thereof ascended as the SMOKE of a furnace; his usual appearance was in the cloudy pillar, which we may suppose was generally clear and luminous. Source
See Clarke on Exodus 15:9. The Jews consider this as the fullest evidence their fathers had of the Divine mission of Moses; themselves were permitted to see this awfully glorious sight, and to hear God himself speak out of the thick darkness: for before this, as Rabbi Maymon remarks, they might have thought that Moses wrought his miracles by sorcery or enchantment; but now, hearing the voice of God himself, they could no longer disbelieve nor even doubt.
Exodus 15:9
"The enemy boasted,
'I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.'
Commentary by Coffman
Verses 7-9 Source
And 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 unto Jehovah. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and may also believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto Jehovah.
One clear purpose of God was to surround the giving of the Law with such circumstances of glory and wonder that there could never afterward be any doubt whatever that God did indeed speak to them on that occasion. One need not be perplexed by the repetition of certain phrases in this account. This was not only after the custom of ancient writings, but this record of the giving of the First Covenant was presented in a form following the pattern of ancient covenant's in the period around 1500 B.C. This also accounts for Israel's acceptance in advance of all the terms of the covenant and their pledge to obey them. "This was a required preliminary to the giving of any covenant at all."F18
Commentary by Jameison, Fausset, Brown
The Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come . in a thick cloud, &c. Source
--The deepest impressions are made on the mind through the medium of the senses; and so He who knew what was in man signalized His descent at the inauguration of the ancient church, by all the sensible tokens of august majesty that were fitted to produce the conviction that He is the great and terrible God. The whole multitude must have anticipated the event with feelings of intense solemnity and awe. The extraordinary preparations enjoined, the ablutions and rigid abstinence they were required to observe, the barriers erected all round the base of the mount, and the stern penalties annexed to the breach of any of the conditions, all tended to create an earnest and solemn expectation which increased as the appointed day drew near.
Commentary by John Gill
Source
And the Lord said unto Moses?lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud;
As the Targum of Jonathan, on the third day; though Jarchi says the fourth; which seems not so well to agree with his words on the preceding verse, since it seems to be at the same time that Moses returned the words of the people to the Lord, that he said what follows to him:
which was different from the pillar of cloud in which he went before the people, and now stood in it on the top of the mount; for he speaks not now of his present appearance to Moses, but of his appearance on the mount three days after; wherefore the Septuagint version wrongly renders it, "in a pillar of cloud": there were appearances of the divine Majesty in a cloud frequently afterwards, both in the Old and New Testament, see (Exodus 40:34) (1 Kings 8:10,11) (Matthew 17:5) and so Christ, the mighty Angel, is said to be clothed with a cloud, (Revelation 10:1) . And from such appearances as these, the Heathens have represented their deities, as Apollo F11, Venus F12, Juno F13, and others, coming in a cloud, or clothed with one:
that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever;
they had believed Moses already, particularly at the Red sea, when they saw what was done there, but afterwards, as it seems, returned to their unbelief again; but now, as they would be eyewitnesses of the cloud in which the Lord would appear to Moses, so they would be ear witnesses of what he said to him; for though the cloud was a thick one in which he came, so that they could not see any similitude, any likeness at all, not so much as a brightness, a shining glory, as they had seen in the pillar of cloud, see (Exodus 16:7,10) , yet, the voice of God out of it was so loud, when he spoke with Moses, that this vast body of people being placed around, at the lower part of the mount, heard plainly and distinctly all that was said; so that they were sure they were not imposed upon by Moses, but that the law he delivered to them was from God, since they heard it with their own ears; and therefore they and their posterity believed it for ever, and never entertained the least distrust of the divinity and authority of it. This case was widely different from that of Numa or Mahomet, the one pretending to receive instructions from the goddess Egeria, and the other from the angel Gabriel; but all depended upon their own word, none were, nor did they pretend that any were eye or ear witnesses of what they declared; but such was the case here:
and Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord;FOOTNOTES:
the same which he is said to return to him in the preceding verse, and here repeated for the confirmation of it, and to lead on to what the Lord had to say further concerning them.
Referenced verses
F11 "Nnbe et candentes humeros amictus Augur Apollo. -----" Horat. Carmin. l. 1. ode 2.
F12 "Et Venus aethereos inter dea candida nimbos Dona ferens aderat ----". Virgil. Aeneid, l. 8. "prope finem". "Hoc Venus obscuro faciem circumdata nimbo Detulit. ----" Virgil. Aeneid, l. 12.
F13 "Agens hyemem nimbo succincta, per auras ----". Ib. Aeneid. 10.
Exodus 16:7,10 Exodus 40:34
7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD , because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?"
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.
1 Kings 8:10,11
34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Matthew 17:5
10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD .
11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.
Revelation 10:1
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.
Commentary by Matthew Henry
Source
9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.
Here, I. God intimates to Moses his purpose of coming down upon mount Sinai, in some visible appearance of his glory, in a thick cloud (Exodus 19:9); for he said that he would dwell in the thick darkness (2 Chronicles 6:1), and make this his pavilion (Psalms 18:11), holding back the face of his throne when he set it upon mount Sinai, and spreading a cloud upon it, Job 26:9. This thick cloud was to prohibit curious enquiries into things secret, and to command an awful adoration of that which was revealed. God would come down in the sight of all the people (Exodus 19:11); though they should see no manner of similitude, yet they should see so much as would convince them that God was among them of a truth. And so high was the top of mount Sinai that it is supposed that not only the camp of Israel, but even the countries about, might discern some extraordinary appearance of glory upon it, which would strike a terror upon them. It seems also to have been particularly intended to put an honour upon Moses: That they may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever, Exodus 19:9. Thus the correspondence was to be first settled by a sensible appearance of the divine glory, which was afterwards to be carried on more silently by the ministry of Moses. In like manner, the Holy Ghost descended visibly upon Christ at his baptism, and all that were present heard God speak to him (Matthew 3:17), that afterwards, without the repetition of such visible tokens, they might believe him. So likewise the Spirit descended in cloven tongues upon the apostles (Acts 2:3), that they might be believed. Observe, When the people had declared themselves willing to obey the voice of God, then God promised they should hear his voice; for, if any man be resolved to do his will, he shall know it, John 7:17.
References
2 Chronicles 6:1 Psalms 18:11
1 Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; Job 26:9
11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him-
the dark rain clouds of the sky.Matthew 3:17
9 He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds over it.John 7:17
17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Acts 2:3
17 If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
About Commentary Authors
Prepared by William C. Barman for George Young Memorial United Methodist Church -- Palm Harbor, FL on 9/22/03; 9:13:32 AM