Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.
Parallel translations
- WEB Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
- KJV And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
- BSB When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it,
- NASB Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
- NLT Then Moses climbed up the mountain, and the cloud covered it.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses went up the mountain and the cloud covered it. The cloud signals the awesome presence of God veiling His glory.
Overview
The descending cloud marks the place where God meets Moses, both revealing and concealing His holy presence. This same cloud had led Israel from Egypt, a visible sign of God dwelling with His people. Moses enters the cloud as mediator on the people's behalf. The veiling glory underscores the distance between a holy God and sinners, a distance Christ would one day bridge.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Exod 19:9Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” Moses told the words of the people to Yahweh.
- Matt 17:5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
- Exod 19:16On the third day, when it was morning, there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and the sound of an exceedingly loud trumpet; and all the people who were in the camp trembled.
- 2 Chr 6:1Then Solomon said, “Yahweh has said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 24:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.