Mount Sinai

Excerpt from the Lexham Bible Dictionary, the most advanced Bible dictionary.

The place of God’s theophany to the generation of the exodus, and the place where the Ten Commandments were given to the IsraelitesMount Sinai is the location where Israel received the Ten Commandments from God after the departure from Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea. It remains a critical location in the history of Israel and a key component of their national identity.The name Sinai refers not only to the mountain, but to the region surrounding the mountain. The name Sinai (סיני‎, syny) is of uncertain origin, though it likely derives from the moon god Sin who was worshiped by the desert peoples (Elwell and Beitzel, “Sinai, Sina”). There are a number of mountains in the Sinai wilderness, and Mount Sinai is also called Horeb (e.g., Exod 3:1; 33:6; Deut 1:6, 19; 4:10, 15; 5:2; 1 Kgs 8:9; 19:8; Mal 4:4). Some scholars have suggested that since the name “Horeb” is preferred by the Deuteronomist, it refers to a different mountain and tradition that was later conflated with the Sinai narratives. Sinai is the more general term—“the mountain in the wilderness of Sinai”—and Horeb the more specific, regional term (Craigie, Book of Deuteronomy, 91).

Lexham Bible Dictionary

The most advanced Bible Dictionary

The most advanced Bible dictionary as a part of Biblia Plus, which includes everything you need to take your Bible study to the next level. For less than $1 a week, you'll get devotionals, Bible study guides, thematic studies, and much more!

Expand all Collapse all

Dictionaries

The Lexham Bible Dictionary

Mount Sinai

Sinai, Mount (הַר סִינָי‎, har sinay; ὄρος Σινᾶ, oros Sina). The place of God’s theophany to the generation of the exodus, and the place where the Ten Commandments were given to the IsraelitesMount Sinai is the location where Israel received the Ten Commandments from God after the departure from Egypt

Horeb, Mount

Horeb, Mount (חֹרֵֽבָה‎, chorevah). Another name for Mount Sinai (סִינַי‎, sinay), more commonly used in Deuteronomy than Exodus (e.g., Deut 1:2, 6, 19; compare Exod 33:6).

Sinai, Wilderness of

Sinai, Wilderness of (מִדְבַּ֥ר סִינָֽי‎, midbar sinay). The desert region in the vicinity of Mount Sinai (Exod 19:1–2). During the time Israel spent in the region of Mount Sinai, the area where they were camped is referred to as the “wilderness” (or “desert”) of Sinai (Num 1:1; 10:12). This region is

The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary

Sinai, Mount (Place)

SINAI, MOUNT (PLACE) [Heb sı̂nay (סִינַי)]. The hill or mountain (har) in the wilderness of Sinai at which Israel entered into a covenant with Yahweh after the release from Egyptian bondage, and where Moses received laws and instruction for the people before continuing on the wilderness journey.A. In

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible

Sinai, Sina

Sinai, Sina. Name of the mountain where God met Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Law. The name applies not only to the mountain itself but to the desert around it (e.g., Lv 7:38) and to the entire peninsula embraced by the two arms of the Red Sea known as the Gulf of Suez and

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised

Sinai

Sinai sīʹnī, sīʹnə-i [Heb. sînay; Gk. A Sina, B Seina], AV also SINA (Acts 7:38). The name of the sacred mountain before which Israel encamped at the time of the lawgiving and the establishing of the covenant relationship. The Hebrew is sometimes qualified by the words har, “hill” or “mountain,”

Tyndale Bible Dictionary

Sina, Sinai

SINA*, SINAI Name of the mountain where God met Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments and the rest of the law. The name applies not only to the mountain itself but to the desert around it (Lv 7:38), as well as the entire peninsula embraced by the two arms of the Red Sea known as the Gulf of Suez and

The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated)

Horeb, Mount

Horeb (hor´eb), Mount, the name for Mount Sinai used in some portions of the Pentateuch, namely, those that scholars identify as the Elohist (or E) material. This material exhibits certain distinctive tendencies: “Elohim” for God rather than the Tetragrammaton, YHWH (rendered “the Lord” in the nrsv);

Sinai

Sinai (si´ni; derivation uncertain, perhaps related to the Mesopotamian moon god Sin).1 The Sinai Peninsula, a large, wedge-shaped block of territory that forms a land bridge between Africa and Asia. Sinai is bounded on the west by the Suez Canal and Gulf of Suez, while the Negev and Gulf of Aqabah

The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia

Horeb

HOREB. The name of the mountain at which Moses received the first theophany (Ex 3:1). Here also the covenant was made and the law given (Deut 5:2). The name Horeb is used synonymously with Sinai (q.v.). Traditionally the mountain is thought to be the SW of the Sinai peninsula, but some modern scholars

Sina

SINA. Designation of Sinai in the KJV of Acts 7:30, 38 following the Gr. form of the word. The ASV and RSV have “Sinai” (q.v.).

Sinai

SINAI. The Sinai peninsula is an inverted triangle between the two arms of the Red Sea, with the Gulf of Suez on the W and the Gulf of Aqabah on the E. The base of the triangle is approximately 150 miles long and forms a barrier between Palestine and Egypt. The whole triangle is referred to as the Wilderness

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible

Horeb

Horeb (Heb. ḥōrēḇ, ḥôrēḇ)The name for the mountain of God in a number of biblical traditions, elsewhere called Mt. Sinai. Although in the book of Exodus the name Sinai is used most frequently, Horeb appears in Moses’ encounter with the burning bush (Exod. 3:1), at the waters Massah and Meribah

Sinai

Sinai (Heb. sɩ̂nay)The name for both a wilderness area and the mountain at which the people of Israel made a covenant with God. It has also been used to refer to the peninsula lying between Egypt and Palestine. Mt. Sinai is called Horeb in many of the biblical traditions, particularly in Deuteronomy

Eerdmans Bible Dictionary

Horeb, Mount

HOREB [hôrˊĭb] (Heb. ḥōrēḇ, ḥôrēḇ “wilderness, desolate region”), MOUNT.† The mountain of God, also called Sinai; critical scholars assign those passages using the name Horeb to the Elohist and Deuteronomist strata of the Pentateuch.It was here that Moses experienced the theophany of the

Sinai, Mount

SINAI [sīˊnī] (Heb. sînay; Gk. Seina, Sina), MOUNT.† A mountain of epochal importance in Israelite religion, also called Horeb. At Mt. Sinai Moses received his call from God (Exod. 3:1) and the people of Israel received the law and the covenant (chs. 19–20). Mt. Sinai was again a place of theophany

The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land

Sinai

SINAI A large peninsula lying between Egypt and Palestine. Triangular in shape, bordered by the two arms of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Elath on the east and the Gulf of Suez on the west, it was the scene of some of the most important events in the history of the Israelites. The northern part of the peninsula

Catholic Bible Dictionary

Sinai

SINAI The place where Israel entered into a covenant with God after leaving Egypt and where Moses received the Law from God (Exod 19:1–Num 10:11). Sinai is also called the “mountain of God” (Exod 3:1), the “mount of the Lord” (Num 10:33), and “Horeb” (Exod 33:6; Deut 1:6, 5:2; 1 Kgs 8:9; etc.). Upon

Email
Password
Forgot your password?