Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 4:11
And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
11. ye came near and stood under the mountain ] E, Exo 19:17, took station in the nether part of the mount.
burned with fire ] J, Exo 19:18, Mount Sinai was all on smoke as the smoke of a furnace, and quaked greatly, E, Exo 20:18, thunder, lightning, and mount smoking.
unto the heart of heaven ] A characteristic deuteronomic addition; cp. Deu 1:28.
with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness ] The accumulation is characteristic; cp. E, Exo 19:16, thick cloud; Exo 20:21, thick darkness; P, Exo 24:15 b, Exo 24:18 a, cloud.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Flaming up into the air, which is oft called heaven; and the midst or the heart of it is not only that which is strictly and properly the middle part, but that which is within it, though but a little way, in which sense places or persons or things are said to be in the heart of the sea, Exo 15:8; Pro 23:34; Eze 28:2; and Christ in the heart of the earth, Mat 12:40.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And ye came near and stood under the mountain,…. At the foot of it, in the lower part of the mountain, as the Targum of Jonathan, and agrees with Ex 19:17
and the mountain burnt with fire unto the midst of heaven; the flame and smoke went up into the middle of the air: with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness; which thick darkness was occasioned partly by the smoke, which went up like the smoke of a furnace, and partly by the thick clouds, which were on the mount, and covered the face of the heavens, which were black and tempestuous with them; the Septuagint renders it a “tempest”, Ex 19:18, which denotes the obscurity of the law, and the terrors it works in the minds of men.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
11 And ye came near, and stood. This explanatory narrative is intended to prove the same thing, viz., that Moses was only the ambassador and minister of God, because the mountain burned in the sight of all the people, that God might be manifested, speaking from the midst of the fire. His statement that they only heard the voice, but saw no similitude, may be understood as a kind of admission, (concessionis.) Thus the two clauses would be read adversatively, “Although no similitude appeared, yet a voice penetrated even to your ears.” But I conceive that this was expressly stated more clearly to shew that it was the voice of God, and not proceeding from a human being; for no man could have so concealed himself by artifice as to prevent himself from being seen to speak, whereas they beheld the voice come out of the fire without any external instrumentality.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(11) Darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.The blackness, and darkness, and tempest of Heb. 12:18.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
thick darkness. See Exo 20:21, and compare Hebrew. araphel. 2Sa 22:10. 1Ki 8:12. Psa 97:2.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
stood: Deu 5:23, Exo 19:16-18, Exo 20:18, Exo 20:19
midst: Heb. heart
Reciprocal: Exo 10:22 – thick darkness Exo 19:9 – Lo Exo 19:18 – mount Sinai Deu 9:15 – the mount Deu 10:4 – out of the Jdg 5:5 – mountains 2Sa 22:10 – darkness 1Ki 8:12 – The Lord 1Ki 19:12 – a fire 2Ch 6:1 – The Lord Job 3:5 – let a cloud Job 38:1 – General Psa 18:11 – thick Psa 97:2 – Clouds Psa 97:3 – General Eze 1:4 – a great Mat 17:5 – a voice 2Th 1:8 – flaming Heb 12:18 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Deu 4:11-12. The midst of heaven Flaming up into the air, which is often called heaven. No similitude No resemblance or representation of God, whereby either his essence, or properties, or actions were represented, such as were usual among the heathen.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4:11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain {i} burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
(i) The law was given with fearful miracles, to declare both that God was the author of it, and also that no flesh was able to abide the rigour of the same.