Deuteronomy 4:11

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.

Deuteronomy 4:11 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 4:11

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 ( Exodus 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", ( Exodus 19:18 ) ( Hebrews 12:18 ) , which denotes the obscurity of the law, and the terrors it works in the minds of men.

Deuteronomy 4:11 In-Context

9 "Only take heed to thyself and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but teach them to thy sons and thy sons' sons,

10 especially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, `Gather Me the people together, and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.'

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.

12 And the LORD spoke unto you out of the midst of the fire. Ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.

13 And He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even Ten Commandments; and He wrote them upon two tablets of stone.