What Really Happened on Mt. Sinai? – Answers
by Andy Hanson
Andy Hanson supplies the answers.
Since no one took the Official Sinai Quiz I posted on March 13, I have not been able to share my title of Sinai Scholar with anyone else. For those of you aspiring biblical researchers who are at least curious enough to read the answers, I have provided them, courtesy of the New International translation.
THE OFFICIAL SINAI QUIZ
1. How many times did Moses climb Mt. Sinai? 9
2. Did Moses climb the mountain alone? If not, what was the total number of people that climbed with him? Not always; 74
3. How long was his longest stay on the mountain? Did he do it more than once? 40 days and nights; twice
4. Where was Moses when God uttered the Ten Commandments? Is there more than one version? He was standing with the Israelites at the foot of Sinai.
(The first commandments were given to Moses, written by the finger of God on stone tablets near the top of the mountain. Moses broke those tablets when he witnessed the Golden Calf party.)
5. How many commandments did God give to Moses on Mt. Sinai? Two versions of the Ten Commandments—Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5— along with 13 laws regarding servants, 11 personal injury laws, 8 property protection laws, 11 social responsibility laws, 6 laws pertaining to justice and mercy, 2 additional Sabbath laws, 10 annual festival laws, and 5 additional laws recorded in Exodus 34
6. Where was Joshua when Moses received the original tablets of stone? Somewhere on Sinai, but not with Moses
7. What happened to the Golden Calf when Moses returned? It was reduced to powder, mixed with water. The Israelites were then forced to drink it.
8. Did God punish Aaron for his role in the Golden Calf debacle? No
9. Who first informed Moses that there was a Calf party going on? God
10. How was Israel punished for their worship of the Golden Calf? 3000 Israelites were hacked to death by Levites and then the rest of the population was decimated by a plague.
11. Did Moses ever get a good look at God? If he did, did anyone else? Yes; along with 70 Elders, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu. He also spoke to God “face to face” in the Tent of Meeting.
12. Was there a banquet on Mr. Sinai? If there was, who attended? Yes; God, 70 Elders, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu
13. How many times did Moses persuade God to change his mind? Three
14. In what capacity did angels assist Israel during and after this time period? At least one angel was charged by God to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. He was tasked to be Moses’ counselor as God gradually wiped out the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, and Girgashites. Hornets were to assist in “driving out” the Hivites, Canaanites, Hittites, and Jebusites.
15. When Moses was not on Mt. Sinai, where did he go to speak to God? Who sometimes accompanied him? The Tent of Meeting; Joshua
16. What’s wrong with the usual depiction of the Ten Commandments Moses carried down from Mr. Sinai? There were two separate tablets of stone, not one two-headed stone separating the first four and the last six commandments.
