In the third month after leaving Egypt, Israel encamped at the foot of Mount Sinai. The Lord called Moses up the mountain; Moses brought down the people's consent to the covenant. On the third day in the morning, there were thunders and lightnings, a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. The whole mountain quaked greatly. Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.
From the mountain God spoke the Ten Commandments to the assembled people: 'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me...' The people, terrified, drew back: 'You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.' Moses went up into the cloud for forty days and forty nights and received the two tablets of stone written by the finger of God. The site is venerated by Jewish, Christian, and Islamic tradition; St. Catherine's Monastery stands at the foot of the mountain.