Exodus 19:18

Exo 19:18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

Ver. 18. The Lord descended upon it in fire.] This fire wherein the law was given, is still in it, and will never out. {Deu 33:2}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Exo 19:18. The whole mount quaked greatly — There cannot be a more grand, awful, and majestic description than this of the descent of Jehovah upon mount Sinai. We can scarcely read it without trembling; and all the tremendous majesty of God appears before our eyes. The psalmist seems to have conceived a most high idea of God from it: — “O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; the earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God, the God of Israel,” Psa 68:7-8.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

God used these fearful signs, that his law should be had in greater reverence, and his majesty the more feared.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(18) Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke.—Heb., smoked, all of it. Some understand by this, “dense clouds, having the appearance of smoke.” But if “the mountain burned with fire,” as asserted (Deu_4:11), the smoke would be real.

The whole mount quaked greatly.—Comp. Psa_68:8, “The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God.” The expression is more suitable to an earthquake than to the vibration sometimes produced by very violent thunder.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. on smoke] For the archaism, see Wright’s Bible Word-Book, s.v. On; and cf. Hamlet v. 1. 211 ‘on a roar,’ 2Sa_9:3 ‘lame on his feet,’ Psa_78:14 (P. B. V.) ‘on an heap,’ Psa_79:1 ‘on heaps.’

the smoke of a kiln] as Exo_9:8, Gen_19:28 (‘the steam of a kiln’).

quaked] The word rendered ‘trembled’ in v. 16 end. LXX. and 9 Heb. MSS. have people for mount (as v. 16b); and it is true (Di.) that ḥârçd is not used elsewhere of the merely physical movement of inanimate objects.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke,.... Not from nature, as volcanos, but for a reason after given; it seemed to be one large body of smoke, nothing else to be seen but smoke; an emblem of the darkness of the legal dispensation, which was full of obscure types and figures, of dark shadows and smoky sacrifices, to which the clear day, of the Gospel dispensation is opposed, see Co2 3:12.

because the Lord descended upon it in fire; in flaming fire, as the Targums, which set the mountain on fire, and caused this prodigious smoke; for if he, who is a consuming fire, but toucheth the hills and mountains, they smoke, Psa 104:32.

and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace such an one as that which Abraham in vision saw, Gen 15:17.

and the whole mount quaked greatly; to which circumstance Deborah refers in her song, when she speaks of mountains melting and flowing from before the presence of the God of Israel, and particularly of Sinai, Jdg 5:4, and the psalmist, who makes mention of the earth shaking, and the heavens dropping, and of Sinai being moved at his presence, Psa 68:8, it is probable there was an earthquake at this time, which sometimes attends thunders and lightnings, see Rev 16:18.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

A furnace - The word in the original is Egyptian, and occurs only in the Pentateuch.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Terrible, by the display of so many instruments of God’s power; lightning, fire, a thick cloud, and various peals of thunder, and the sound of a trumpet; besides rain, and the company of millions of angels, Psalm lxvii. 9, 18. How different was the appearance of Sion, when Jesus proclaimed his gospel! (Hebrews xii. 18.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The Lord descended in fire for further terror to obstinate sinners. Hence this law is called a

fiery law, Deu 33:2.

The whole mount quaked greatly, by an earthquake, as appears from Psa 60:2; 104:32.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke. Literally, smoked, all of it. Kalisch suggests that "the dense clouds from which the thunders broke forth had the appearance of smoke." But the reason assigned the Lord descended on it in fire," seems to imply real smoke; and. the same re-suits from the comparison of it to "the smoke of a furnace." The whole mount quaked greatly. Scarcely "through the vehemence of the thunder" (Kalisch), for thunder does not shake the earth, though it shakes the air but rather by an actual earthquake. Compare Mat_27:51-54; Act_4:31 Act_16:26.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

עשן כלו WAS ALTOGETHER ON A SMOKE — This word עָשַׁן is not a noun, because the ש is punctuated with Patach, but it has the meaning of “it was doing something”, similar to and אָמַר and שָׁמַר and שָׁמַע. On this account, its translation in the Targum is תָּנֵן כֻּלֵּהּ “it was altogether giving forth smoke” (תָּנֵן is a verb corresponding with the Hebrew עָשַׁן). and it does not translate it by תְּנָנָא (a noun denoting smoke, corresponding to Hebrew עָשָׁן). But wherever else the word עשן occurs in Scripture it is punctuated with Kametz because it is a noun.

הכבשן A FURNACE of lime (i. e. in which lime is burnt and which emits vast quantities of smoke). One might think that the mountain emitted smoke only like such a furnace and not to a greater degree! Scripture therefore states in another passage, (Deuteronomy 4:11) “[And the mountain] burned with fire unto the very midst of the heavens”. Then what reason is there for stating that it smoked only like a furnace? This is said in order to make intelligible to the human ear as much as it can understand: Scripture gives human beings an example (a comparison) which is well-known to them. A similar case is, (Hosea 11:10) “As a lion does He (God) roar”. But who gave the lion power if not He, and yet Scripture compares him only to a lion! But the reason is that we describe Him by comparing Him to His creatures in order to make intelligible to the human ear as much as it can understand. A similar example is: (Ezekiel 43:2) “And His voice was like the sound of many waters”. But who gave the waters a thunderous sound except He, and yet you describe Him by comparing Him to His handiwork — it is to make it intelligible to the human ear (Mekhilta).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.