Shared ground
Exodus 34:27–28 presents covenant-making as something God speaks and also fixes in writing. The text explicitly says Yahweh tells Moses to “write these words,” and that the covenant is made “in accordance with these words” (v.27). Writing functions as a stable, public record of what binds the relationship between Yahweh and Israel.
The passage also stresses the seriousness of the Sinai moment: Moses remains with Yahweh for “forty days and forty nights” and does not eat bread or drink water (v.28a). Within the story world, this marks an intense, set-apart period tied to receiving and preserving covenant terms.
Finally, the covenant words are written “on the tablets,” and those words are identified as “the ten commandments” (v.28b). Explicitly, the passage connects covenant obligation with a durable written form.
Where interpretation differs (only where needed)
1) Which “words” are meant. Some readers take “these words” (v.27) as the specific instructions in the immediate surrounding section (the renewed covenant instructions in Exodus 34). Others think “these words” reaches more broadly to the larger Sinai covenant material, with Exodus 34 highlighting a reaffirmation of what has already been given.
2) Who wrote on the tablets (the “he” of v.28). The text says “He wrote on the tablets,” but does not restate the subject’s name. Many read the “he” as Moses, since Moses has just been commanded to write (v.27) and Moses is the grammatical subject at the start of v.28 (“He was there…”). Others argue the writer is Yahweh, since earlier in Exodus the tablets are closely tied to God’s own writing, and this line could be summarizing that divine act.
3) How Moses relates to the covenant parties. The covenant is said to be “with you and with Israel” (v.27). Many read this as Moses acting as Israel’s representative mediator, so the covenant is fundamentally Yahweh–Israel, with Moses included because he is the covenant receiver and go-between. Others emphasize that the wording gives Moses a distinct role in the covenant arrangement without separating him from Israel.
Why the disagreement exists
The disagreements mostly come from pronouns and scope. “These words” could point narrowly to nearby material or more widely to covenant teaching across the Sinai section. Likewise, “he wrote” does not specify whether Moses or Yahweh is the writer, and readers compare this verse with other Sinai passages to fill in what seems most consistent.
What this passage clearly contributes
This text clearly links covenant authority to written form (words written; words on tablets) and links covenant identity to a defined core (“the ten commandments”). It also portrays Moses’ forty-day mountain stay—without food or water—as part of the covenant-renewal moment, underlining the weight and intensity of the episode at Sinai (Exodus 34:27; Exodus 34:28).
