Deuteronomy 10:1-5 · Bible study
Deuteronomy 10:1-5 Commentary: The Ark and the Renewed Covenant
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does Moses mention the ark alongside the new tablets?
Research Summary
- Meaning: God mercifully renews the broken covenant by providing new tablets and an ark to preserve them, showing grace after failure.
- Key words: pasal (hew, cut out), emphasizes Moses' human effort while God writes; katav (write), used for God's action, underscoring divine authority; aseret had'varim (ten words), the complete, unchanging moral law.
- Main debate: Whether the ark is mentioned here in strict chronological order (placed by Moses after the fact) or as a rhetorical grouping to emphasize the covenant context (majority view).
- Theological theme: Covenant renewal through God's initiative; the law as a gift secured by divine presence (ark).
- Best use: Teaching on restoration after sin, the role of intercessory prayer, and the permanence of God's word.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
1At that time the LORD said to me, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood.
2And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you are to place them in the ark.”
3So I made an ark of acacia wood, chiseled out two stone tablets like the originals, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hands.
4And the LORD wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Commandments that He had spoken to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly. The LORD gave them to me,
5and I went back down the mountain and placed the tablets in the ark I had made, as the LORD had commanded me; and there they have remained.
WEB World English Bible 2000
1At that time Yahweh said to me, “Cut two stone tablets like the first, and come up to me onto the mountain, and make an ark of wood.
2I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke, and you shall put them in the ark.”
3So I made an ark of acacia wood, and cut two stone tablets like the first, and went up onto the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand.
4He wrote on the tablets, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which Yahweh spoke to you on the mountain out of the middle of the fire in the day of the assembly; and Yahweh gave them to me.
5I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are as Yahweh commanded me.
KJV King James Version 1769
1At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.
2And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.
3And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand.
4And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the Lord gave them unto me.
5And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
1At that time Jehovah said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.
2And I will write on the tables the words that were on the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.
3So I made an ark of acacia wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in my hand.
4And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which Jehovah spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and Jehovah gave them unto me.
5And I turned and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they are as Jehovah commanded me.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
1`At that time hath Jehovah said unto me, Grave for thee two tables of stone, like the first, and come up unto Me, into the mount, and thou hast made for thee an ark of wood,
2and I write on the tables the words which were on the first tables, which thou hast broken, and thou hast placed them in the ark;
3and I make an ark of shittim wood, and grave two tables of stone like the first, and go up to the mount, and the two tables in my hand.
4`And He writeth on the tables, according to the first writing, the Ten Matters, which Jehovah hath spoken unto you in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, in the day of the assembly, and Jehovah giveth them unto me,
5and I turn and come down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made, and they are there, as Jehovah commanded me.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
1At that time Jehovah said unto me, Hew for thyself two tables of stone like the first, and come up unto me into the mountain, and make thee an ark of wood;
2and I will write on the tables the words that were on the first tables which thou didst break, and thou shalt lay them in the ark.
3And I made an ark of acacia-wood, and hewed two tables of stone like the first, and went up the mountain with the two tables in my hand.
4And he wrote on the tables, as the first writing, the ten words which Jehovah spoke unto you on the mountain, from the midst of the fire, on the day of the assembly, and Jehovah gave them unto me.
5And I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; — and they are there, as Jehovah commanded me.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
1At that time the Lord said to me: Hew thee two tables of stone like the former, and come up to me into the mount: and thou shalt make an ark of wood,
2And I will write on the tables the words that were in them, which thou brokest before, and thou shalt put them in the ark.
3And I made an ark of setim wood. And when I had hewn two tables of stone like the former, I went up into the mount, having them in my hands.
4And he wrote in the tables, according as he had written before, the ten words, which the Lord spoke to you in the mount from the midst of the fire, when the people were assembled: and he gave them to me.
5And returning from the mount, I came down, and put the tables into the ark, that I had made, and they are there till this present, as the Lord commanded me.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Deuteronomy 10:1
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Moses deliberately condenses events in this passage to make a theological point. Barnes notes that the people's blessings and privileges, forfeited by apostasy, were restored only by an unmerited act of grace won through Moses' intercession. Keil and Delitzsch observe that Moses links together things substantially connected without strict chronology, assuming his hearers know the fuller Exodus account. The Cambridge Bible suggests that the mention of the ark here departs from the original sequence in Exodus, where the ark was commanded before the golden calf incident. By placing the ark alongside the new tablets, Moses emphasizes that God not only renews the covenant but also provides a sanctuary where the law will dwell among his people. Gill and Jamieson-Fausset-Brown agree that God himself wrote the second tablets, just as he wrote the first, underscoring the divine origin and unchanging nature of the law. The shared core is clear: God's grace restores the broken covenant, and the law is preserved as the foundation of Israel's relationship with him.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: God initiated the renewal of the covenant after the golden calf, provided new tablets with the same commandments, and commanded the ark to preserve them as the foundation of Israel's relationship with him.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Chronology of the ark | The ark was originally commanded in Exodus 25, before the golden calf incident. Both accounts refer to the same ark and tablets. | Some interpreters (e.g., Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) hold that Moses had already instructed Bezaleel to make the ark before ascending the mount, so the sequence in Deuteronomy is essentially chronological. Others (Barnes, Keil, Cambridge Bible) read the verses as a rhetorical compression, grouping events theologically rather than by precise order. |
| Who wrote the second tablets | God wrote the Ten Commandments on both sets of tablets. Moses hewed the stone. | The New Testament and some Christian traditions (e.g., 2 Cor 3:3) interpret the writing as a type of the Holy Spirit writing on hearts. Jewish tradition emphasizes the physical tablets as a permanent witness, while some Christian readings see the second tablets as inferior (Ellicott suggests something was lost), though most hold them equally authoritative. |
| Rhetorical purpose of the ark in this passage | The ark serves to show that the law is kept safely in God's presence, symbolizing the covenant relationship. | Some see it as underscoring the establishment of the tabernacle and priesthood (following verses on Levi). Others emphasize it as a sign that the covenant, once broken, is now restored and permanent. Both traditions affirm God's grace, but differ on whether the primary focus is the law or the sanctuary. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Deuteronomy 10:1-5 stands within Moses' final address to Israel on the plains of Moab, just before they enter Canaan. The golden calf incident (Ex 32) had shattered the covenant relationship. Moses' intercession (Deut 9:25-29) moved God to renew the covenant rather than destroy the people. This passage narrates the practical outworking of that renewal.
The ark (Hebrew 'aron) was originally commanded in Exodus 25, before the golden calf. But here Moses connects it directly with the second set of tablets. The ark was a chest of acacia wood (shitah), overlaid with gold, designed to hold the tablets of the covenant. Its presence in this account signals that the law is not merely a set of rules but the centerpiece of a restored relationship, placed within the sanctuary as the place of God's dwelling (Ex 25:22).
The phrase 'day of the assembly' echoes Deuteronomy 9:10 and Exodus 19:17, recalling the theophany at Sinai when Israel gathered to hear God's voice out of the fire. By rehearsing these details, Moses reminds the new generation that they stand in continuity with that covenant. The tablets remain in the ark 'to this day' (v. 5), a claim that would resonate with his original audience who knew the ark was still present in the tabernacle.
Acacia wood, common to the Sinai region, was used extensively for tabernacle furniture. Its hard, durable nature symbolized the lasting quality of God's covenant. The ark later housed not only the tablets but also manna and Aaron's rod (Heb 9:4), becoming the supreme symbol of God's presence and provision among his people.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Deuteronomy 10:1-5. The Masoretic Text is stable across manuscripts, and the minor differences in ancient versions (e.g., the Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint) do not affect the meaning or interpretation of the passage.
Reception History
Jewish tradition has long read this passage as emphasizing the permanence of the Torah. The tablets placed in the ark represent the unchangeable word of God given at Sinai, and the renewal after the golden calf demonstrates God's willingness to forgive and restore. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the community saw themselves as the keepers of the covenant, much like the ark preserved the law.
Early Christian interpreters, drawing on 2 Corinthians 3:3, saw the second tablets as a type of the new covenant written on hearts. Ellicott's Commentary explicitly connects the 'fleshy tables of the heart' with this passage. During the Reformation, the focus on God's grace in restoring the covenant was highlighted by Calvin and others, who saw Moses' intercession as a model of Christ's mediation. In modern preaching, this passage is often used to teach about second chances and the reliability of God's promises despite human failure.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God initiates restoration. The command to cut new tablets and make an ark comes directly from God. After human failure, God himself provides the way back.
- The law remains unchanged. God writes the same words on the new tablets. His standards do not lower when we fail; instead, he re-inscribes his covenant in our hearts.
- The ark secures the covenant. Placing the tablets in the ark shows that the law is not left exposed to human carelessness. It is guarded by God's presence, symbolizing the permanent place of his word in the community of faith.
Five-point outline
- Crisis and intercession (Deut 9): Moses' prayer averts destruction.
- Command and preparation (Deut 10:1-2): God tells Moses to hew tablets and build an ark.
- Human obedience (v. 3): Moses follows the instructions, using acacia wood and stone.
- Divine writing (v. 4): God himself inscribes the Ten Commandments a second time.
- Preservation and accessibility (v. 5): The tablets are deposited in the ark, where they remain available to guide the people.
Illustration hooks
- Second chances in relationships: A friendship broken by betrayal and slowly rebuilt through honest apology and renewed commitment. Like the new tablets, the relationship is restored but not erased of its history.
- Preserving important documents: A family heirloom, a handwritten letter from a grandparent, kept in a fireproof safe. The ark is Israel's safe for the covenant document, showing its irreplaceable value.
- Tools of the trade: A carpenter who breaks a crucial tool in the middle of a project, then receives a better one from his mentor. The new tablets come at God's initiative, not Moses' demand.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God forgive even the most serious sins, like Israel's idolatry with the golden calf?
- Why does God require the same standard after forgiveness? The law doesn't change, so how do we live with grace and obedience together?
- What does the ark teach us about how God wants to be present among his people today?
Leading a Discussion
This passage shows how God restores what sin has broken. As you discuss, notice how the narrative telescopes events from Exodus to make a point about grace. The ark, mentioned alongside the new tablets, signals that God not only gives the law again but provides a place for it to dwell safely with his people.
Discussion questions
- Read Deuteronomy 9:25-29 first. What was at stake in Moses' intercession, and how does chapter 10 follow from that?
- In verse 1, God tells Moses to cut the tablets and make the ark. Why might Moses mention the ark here when in Exodus it was commanded earlier?
- Compare verse 2 with Exodus 34:1. What stays the same in the second set of tablets? What do you learn about God's character from this consistency?
- Verse 4 says 'He wrote on the tablets, according to the first writing.' Why is it significant that God himself does the writing, not Moses?
- The phrase 'the ten commandments' (literally 'the ten words') connects back to the original Sinai revelation. How does this repetition reinforce the permanence of God's covenant?
- In verse 5, Moses says 'there they are.' What does this statement say about the faithfulness of God to preserve his word? How does that encourage you personally?
- If the ark represents God's presence with the law, what does this suggest about how Christians today should relate to Scripture? Does this passage change how you view the Bible as more than just a book of rules?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 25:10 | “They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Its length shall be two and a half cubits, its width a cubit and a half, and a cubit and a half its height. |
| Exodus 25:15 | The poles shall be in the rings of the ark. They shall not be taken from it. |
| Exodus 34:1 | Yahweh said to Moses, “Chisel two stone tablets like the first. I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. |
| Exodus 34:2 | Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. |
| Exodus 34:4 | He chiseled two tablets of stone like the first; then Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up to Mount Sinai, as Yahweh had commanded him, and took in his hand two stone tablets. |
| Hebrews 9:4 | having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; |
| Exodus 25:16 | You shall put the covenant which I shall give you into the ark. |
| Exodus 25:22 | There I will meet with you, and I will tell you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the covenant, all that I command you for the children of Israel. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes highlights that all the people’s blessings had been forfeited and were only restored by God’s unmerited grace, won through Moses’ self-sacrificing mediation. He also notes that Moses arranges his account by spiritual connection rather than strict chronology, grouping related events to show how fully God had reconciled with Israel.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin observes that the narrative does not present events in strict chronological order. He notes that the mention of the ark appears out of sequence, since the ark belonged to the tabernacle described later. For Calvin, demanding that all details in the passage refer to the same moment imposes too rigid a standard on the text.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This commentary highlights how Deuteronomy presents a remarkably simple ark: a plain chest of acacia wood with no gold overlay, in sharp contrast to the elaborate Priestly description. It also notes that here Moses himself makes the ark, whereas elsewhere the craftsman Bezalel does the work.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasizes that though Moses hewed the second set of stone tablets, the writing on them was God's own work, showing the law's divine origin and unchangeable nature. He also sees the ark as a type of Christ, with the law placed inside signifying that Christ fulfilled the law and keeps it as a rule for his people.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB points out that God Himself wrote the Ten Commandments a second time with His own hand to underscore their supreme importance. He also notes that the ark was likely prepared before Moses ascended the mountain, contrary to a surface reading of the order of events.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch notes that Moses does not follow strict chronology in recounting these events. He combines them according to their substantial connection, since the historical order was already known and not required for the purpose of his address. The ark was commanded earlier but made later; Moses links them together without regard to sequence.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange sees the second tables of the law, hewn by Moses himself, as a greater miracle than the first. God's condescension to work through human mediation is more wonderful than purely divine creation. This pattern points to the enduring priesthood and anticipates the New Testament call to love the stranger.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley sees the renewal of the stone tablets as proof that God's anger has turned away. More importantly, he draws the parallel that God's writing his law in our hearts is the surest proof that we are truly reconciled to him.