Stone Tablets of the Law

The Stone Tablets of the Law consisted of two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God with the Ten Commandments, forming the heart of the covenant established with Israel at Mount Sinai. After Moses broke the first set upon seeing the golden calf, God directed him to prepare a replacement pair, which were then deposited in the Ark of the Covenant and housed in the Holy of Holies. These tablets underscored the enduring authority of divine law in Scripture, serving as a tangible witness to God's moral standards and covenant relationship with his people throughout Israel's history.

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Significance: The foundation of God's covenant with Israel. Represented His moral law and the standard of righteousness.
Materials: Stone, inscribed by God's finger

Key Passages

God Writes the Law

Exodus 31:18

A¹⁸nd he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Moses Breaks Them

Exodus 32:19

A¹⁹nd it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

Second Set

Exodus 34:1-4

A¹nd the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.

² And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. ³ And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. ⁴ And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.

Law Written on Hearts

Jeremiah 31:33

B³³ut this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Did You Know?

The two tablets contained the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God.

After Moses broke the first set in anger, God rewrote them on new tablets.

These tablets were the heart of the Old Covenant and were kept inside the Ark.