The Bible describes Mount Sinai as the sacred location where God met the Israelites after the Exodus, manifesting in fire, smoke, thunder, and trumpet blasts to give Moses the Ten Commandments and the Law, establishing the Old Covenant, symbolizing divine holiness, and serving as a pivotal point for Israel's relationship with God, contrasting with the New Covenant in Christian theology. It is the holy mountain of God. God told Moses to take off his shoes because the ground he was standing on was holy ground.
When the Israelites camp at Sinai; God tells Moses to consecrate the people for the third day. The number three in the Bible is the number of divinity. On the third day, the mountain is enveloped in thick clouds, smoke, fire, thunder, lightning, and a loud trumpet blast; the whole mountain trembles.
God descends to the summit, calls Moses up, and gives him the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments and other laws (Exodus 19-24).
Strict boundaries are set; only Moses and Aaron can approach, emphasizing God's immense holiness (Exodus 19:12-13, 22-24).
Moses goes up to the mountain multiple times, staying 40 days and nights to receive instructions, including the second set of tablets after breaking the first.
Moses receives God’s holy law and the covenant between God, Moses and the children of Israel. Sinai is the birthplace of the Mosaic Covenant (Old Covenant) between God and Israel, renewed there (Exodus 34, Nehemiah 9:13). God's holy law, which, while glorious (Moses' shining face), also reveals sin and condemnation (2 Corinthians 3).
The New Covenant; the New Testament contrasts Sinai (law, slavery, fading glory) with the New Covenant in Christ (grace, freedom, lasting glory) (Galatians 2:16-21, Galatians 4:24-25, Galatians 5, Hebrews 12).
Other Names & Meanings: Horeb: Often used interchangeably with Sinai, referring to the general mountain range where God appeared (Exodus 3).
Spiritual Meaning: In some traditions, it signifies Divine Good (mountain) and Divine Truth (Sinai), representing faith's truth from good.