Exodus 24:18

Hebrew Bible

15 Moses went up the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the Lord resided on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day he called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in plain view of the people. 18 Moses went into the cloud when he went up the mountain, and Moses was on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.

1 Kings 19:8

Hebrew Bible

7 The angel of the Lord came back again, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, for otherwise you won’t be able to make the journey.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. That meal gave him the strength to travel 40 days and 40 nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 He went into a cave there and spent the night. Suddenly the Lord’s message came to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?”

 Notes and References

"... Throughout the Horeb and Chariot narratives, the author(s) of these tales intentionally has imbued Elijah with motifs and narratives related to Moses from the Hebrew Bible. Himself the quintessential representation of both polemic against idolatry, and the exclusive and proper worship of Yahweh, it is fitting that the narrator(s) of this passage intentionally would weave into the Elijah narratives rich allusions to the towering figure of Moses. In addition to the similarity of their missions on behalf of Yahweh, allusions to Moses in Elijah’s narratives can be found in Elijah’s journey of 40 days and 40 nights to reach the mountain of god (1 Kings 19:8), where Moses had spent “forty days and forty nights” receiving the Law (Exodus 24:18). Similarly, on Mt. Horeb, Elijah stayed in a cave there (1 Kings 19:8) and was bidden to come out as Yahweh passed by, just as Moses had stood “in the crevice of a rock” for a similar theophanic appearance of Yahweh on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 33:22). Elijah covered his face with his cloak (1 Kings 19:13) in front of Yahweh’s theophany (1 Kings 19:11), just as Moses had hid his own face at the burning bush (Exodus 3:6), both of which reactions were not uncommon responses in the ancient Near East when ‘meeting’ the divine. Even Yahweh’s appearance at Sinai in thunder and fire was echoed in Elijah’s theophanic experience of the divine (1 Kings 19:11–12). Finally, when we meet the figure of Elisha in the Horeb narrative, we see another similarity with Moses; the presence of a faithful servant who becomes his successor. Joshua son of Nun was a servant of Moses for years before being appointed Moses’ successor (Exodus 33:11, Numbers 11:28, Joshua 1:1) ..."

Ferg, Erica Geography, Religion, Gods, and Saints in the Eastern Mediterranean (p. 116) Routledge, 2020

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