What Is Mount Sinai — Meaning Explained

Mount Sinai — also called Horeb, the 'mountain of God' — is the peak in the southern Sinai Peninsula where Moses encountered the burning bush, received the tablets of the Law, and where Israel camped for nearly a year after the Exodus. When Moses brought the people to the foot of the mountain, it was covered with smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire. The whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of a trumpet grew louder and louder. God spoke the Ten Commandments directly to the people from the mountain, but they were terrified and asked Moses to speak to them instead. Moses went up the mountain and received the Law written by the finger of God. When he delayed forty days, the people made the golden calf. Moses broke the first tablets, then went up again and received a second set. Mount Sinai represents the holiness of God's law, the terrifying glory of His presence, and the inadequacy of law alone to transform the heart.